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For my home theater controller i use an existing obsolete hmb2260 settop box and keep the 4digit display as its integrated in the casing. so an arduino nano can display info on it. The ltc display is common anode and its multiplexed. I used an mcp23017, register b outputs are connected to each segment (7seg +dp), via uln2803 darlington transistor ic. The anode of each digit is switched by a 2n3904 as this transistor can switch the required current (8x25ma=200mA max). This transistor is switched via 1k resistor by register A of the mcp. So via i2c, only 1 digit is powered at the time resulting in the current flow from 5v supply, via 2n3904, via led segment(s), via 180 ohm resistor, via uln2803 darlington, to ground. I could by software in the arduino switch each digit in a row every 20ms without seeing a flicker. So it works quite well. submitted by /u/Mcuatmel [link] [comments]

Here's something I hooked up at the weekend - it's a prototype for an NFC card reader door entry system, with buzzer and doorbell I/O + lock strike plate activator. The ESP32 is running Tasmota and the board speaks to Node-RED via MQTT over wifi. submitted by /u/Linker3000 [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Linker3000 [link] [comments]

Industrial gas company Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp (TNSC) of Tokyo, Japan (part of Nippon Sanso Holdings Group) says that Lund University in Sweden is to purchase and use a TNSC FR2000-OX metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor for its gallium oxide R&D...

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has launched what it says are the first gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors with integrated Schottky diode for industrial use. The product family of medium-voltage CoolGaN Transistors G5 with integrated Schottky diode increases the performance of power systems by reducing undesired deadtime losses, further increasing overall system efficiency. Additionally, the integrated solution simplifies the power-stage design and reduces bill-of-materials (BOM) cost...

Astable multivibrator LED ckt submitted by /u/xyz__99 [link] [comments]

Using a arcadyan hmb2260, just keeping the case and the connectors ,ir sensor and display. Grinding off all smd components of the original multilayer board. Keeping the scart,ca display,and other connectors. Adding arduino nano. Building display controller with mcp 23017. Implementing i2c bus between nano and mcp. Next a second nano will be added, as i2c slave to control hdmi cec bus. Aim is to control the home theater by sending cec commands, controlling line audio and speaker relays. submitted by /u/Mcuatmel [link] [comments]

Editor’s Note:

In this DI, high school student Tommy Liu modifies a popular low-cost DIY oscilloscope to enhance its input noise rejection and ADC noise with anti-aliasing filtering and IIR filtering.

Part 1 introduces the oscilloscope design and simulation.

This part (Part 2) shows the experimental results of this oscilloscope.

Experimental Results

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of our precision-enhanced oscilloscope using both analog and digital signal processing techniques.

First, we test the effect of the new anti-aliasing filter described in Part 1. For this purpose, a 2-kHz sinusoidal signal is amplitude modulated (AM) with a 961-kHz sinusoidal waveform by a Rigol DG1022Z signal generator (Rigol Technologies, Inc., 2016) and is used as the analog input to the oscilloscope.

In this scenario, the low-frequency (2 kHz) sinusoidal waveform is our signal, while the high-frequency tones caused by modulation with 961 kHz sinusoidal represent high frequency noises at the signal source. In the experiment, a 10% modulation depth is used to make the high frequency noise easily identifiable by sight. The time division is set at 20 µs with the ADC sampling frequency of 500 KSPS.

Wow the engineering world with your unique design: Design Ideas Submission Guide

Results of anti-aliasing filter

The original DSO138-mini lacks anti-aliasing filter capability due to its insufficient -3-dB cut-off frequencies (around 500 kHz to 800 kHz). As a result, the high-frequency noise tones caused by modulations pass through the analog front-end, without much attenuation, and are sampled by the ADC at 500 KSPS. This creates aliasing noise tones at the ADC output and can be clearly seen in the displayed waveform on the DSO128-mini (Figure 1).

Figure 1 The aliasing noise tones at the ADC output on the DSO138-mini.

Our new anti-aliasing filter provides a significant lower -3-dB cut-off frequency of around 100 kHz, and effectively filters away most of the out-of-band high frequency noises, in this case, the noise tones caused by the signal modulation with 961 kHz sinusoidal. Figure 2 is a screenshot with the new anti-aliasing filter, indicating a significant reduction in the aliasing noise.

Figure 2 Reduction of the aliasing noise with the new anti-aliasing filter.

Detailed analysis on the captured data with the new anti-aliasing filter indicates a 10 dB to 15 dB (3.2x to 5.6x) improvement over the original DSO138-mini on noise rejection at frequencies higher than the oscilloscope’s signal bandwidth.

In practical applications, high frequency noises with a magnitude of a few millivolts RMS are not uncommon. A 5-mV RMS noise at near 900 kHz is attenuated to 0.73 mV (RMS) with our new anti-aliasing filter versus 2.48 mV (RMS) with the original DSO138-mini. With an ADC full-scale input range of 3.3 V, 0.73 mV RMS is of an effective resolution well above 10 bits (ENOB). With the original DSO138-mini, the ENOB would be at only an 8-bit level.

Results of digital post-processing filter

The second test evaluates the performance of the digital post-processing filter. As explained in Part 1, besides the noises at the analog input, other noise sources in oscilloscopes, such as noises on ADC inside the MCU damage the measurement precision. This is evident in Figure 3, which is a screenshot of the DSO138-mini with its Self-Test mode turned on. In Self-Test mode, an internally generated pulse signal—less susceptible to the noises from the external signal source—is used to test and fine tune the oscilloscope. We can see that there are still ripple noises on the pulse waveform.

Figure 3 Ripples on internally generated pulse signal during self-test mode on the DSO138-mini.

It is not easy to identify the magnitude of these ripples due to the limited pixel resolution of the DSO138-mini’s LCD display (320 x 240). We transferred the captured data to a PC via DSO138-mini’s UART-USB link for precise data analysis. Figure 4 shows the waveform of the captured self-test pulses on a PC. The ripple noises are calculated and shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4 Captured self-test pulse signal waveform on PC for more precision data analysis. 

Figure 5 Magnitude of noises on self-test pulse with no digital post-processing.

Considering the voltage division setting (1 V, -20 dB on Input) and attenuation setting (x1), the ripple on the self-test pulse has a peak-peak magnitude of 8 mV. This error is about 10 LSB and the calculated RMS value is about 3 mV, yielding an effective resolution of 8.3 bits. Digital post-processing can be used to suppress some of these noises. 

Figure 6 is the waveform after first-order infinite impulse response (IIR) digital filtering (α = 0.25) is performed on the PC, and Figure 7 shows the noises on the self-test pulse.

After IIR filtering, the noise RMS value reduces to about 0.75 mV, or by a factor of 4. This brings back the effective resolution from 8.3 bits to 10.4 bits. We notice that the rise and fall transition edges of the pulse look a bit less sharp than the signal before post-processing.

This is due to the low-pass nature of the IIR filter. With α=0.25, the passband (-3 dB) is at around 23 kHz, covering an input bandwidth up to audio frequencies (20 kHz). For tracking faster signals, such as fast transition edges of a pulse signal, we can relax α to a higher value allowing for more input bandwidth. 

Figure 6 Self-test pulse with first-order IIR digital filter where α = 0.25.

Figure 7 Noises on self-test pulse with first-order IIR filter where RMS noise reduces to ~0.75 mV.

The effects of both filters

Finally, we test the overall effect of both the new anti-aliasing filter and the digital post processing by inputting a sinusoidal input of 2 kHz from a signal generator to our new oscilloscope. We can see from Figure 8 that even with the new anti-aliasing filter, there are still some noises on the waveform, due to the ADC noises inside the MCU. The RMS value of the noises is about 2.8 mV and the effective resolution is limited to below 9 bits.

Figure 8 Noises on a 2 kHz sinusoidal input waveform despite having the new anti-aliasing filter.

As shown in Figure 9, with the first-order IIR filter in effect, the waveform cleans up. The RMS noise reduces to 0.7 mV and, again, this brings up the effective resolution from below 9 bits to above 10 bits. Other input frequencies, up to 20 kHz (audio), have also been tested and an overall effective resolution of 10 bits or more was observed with the new anti-aliasing filter and the digital post-processing algorithm.

Figure 9 A 2 kHz sinusoidal input waveform after digital post-processing where the RMS noise reduces to 0.7 mV.

Low-cost oscilloscope

Many traditional low-cost DIY type digital oscilloscopes have two major technical drawbacks, namely inadequate anti-aliasing capability and large ADC noises. As a result, these oscilloscopes can only reach an effective resolution of 8 bits or less, even though most of them are based on an MCU, equipped with built-in 12-bit ADCs.

These problems limit DIY oscilloscopes from more demanding professional high school projects. To address these issues, a well-designed first-order analog low-pass filter at the analog front-end of the oscilloscope, plus a programmable first-order IIR digital post-processing filter, are implemented on a popular low-cost DIY platform (DSO138-mini).

Experimental results verified that the new oscilloscope could maintain an overall effective resolution of 10 bits or above with the presence of high frequency noises at its analog input, up to an input bandwidth of 20 kHz and real-time sampling of 1 MSPS. The implementations are inexpensive—the BOM cost of the new anti-aliasing filter is just the cost of a ceramic capacitor (far less than a dollar), and the digital post-processing program is completely implemented in the PC software.

Costing less than fifty dollars, this precision digital oscilloscope can be used in many high schools. This includes high schools without the funds for pricey commercial models and, thus, enable students to perform a wide range of tasks: from the first-time electrical signal capture and observation to the more demanding precision measurement and signal analysis for complex electrical and electronic projects.

Tommy Liu is currently a junior at Monta Vista High School (MVHS) with a passion for electronics. A dedicated hobbyist since middle school, Tommy has designed and built various projects ranging from FM radios to simple oscilloscopes and signal generators for school use. He aims to pursue Electrical Engineering in college and aspires to become a professional engineer, continuing his exploration in the field of electronics.

Related Content

• Building a low-cost, precision digital oscilloscope—Part 1
• Build your own oscilloscope probes for power measurements (part 1)
• Build your own oscilloscope probes for power measurements (part 2)
• Basic oscilloscope operation
• FFTs and oscilloscopes: A practical guide

The post Building a low-cost, precision digital oscilloscope – Part 2 appeared first on EDN.

Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the world’s first gallium nitride power transistors with integrated Schottky diode for industrial use. The product family of medium-voltage CoolGaN Transistors G5 with integrated Schottky diode increases the performance of power systems by reducing undesired deadtime losses, thereby further increasing overall system efficiency. Additionally, the integrated solution simplifies the power stage design and reduces BOM cost.

In hard-switching applications, GaN-based topologies may incur higher power losses due to the larger effective body diode voltage of GaN devices. This gets worse with long controller dead-times, resulting in lower efficiency than targeted. Until now, power design engineers often require an external Schottky diode in parallel with the GaN transistor or try to reduce dead-times via their controllers. All of which is extra effort, time and cost. The new CoolGaN Transistor G5 from Infineon significantly reduces these challenges by offering a GaN transistor with an integrated Schottky diode appropriate for use in server and telecom IBCs, DC-DC converters, synchronous rectifiers for USB-C battery chargers, high-power PSUs, and motor drives.

“As gallium nitride technology becomes increasingly widespread in power designs, Infineon recognizes the need for continuous improvement and enhancement to meet the evolving demands of customers”, says Antoine Jalabert, Vice President of Infineon’s Medium-Voltage GaN Product Line, “The CoolGaN Transistor G5 with Schottky diode exemplifies Infineon’s dedication to an accelerated innovation-to-customer approach to further push the boundaries of what is possible with wide-bandgap semiconductor materials.“

GaN transistor reverse conduction voltage (VRC) is dependent on the threshold voltage (VTH) and the OFF-state gate bias (VGS) due to the lack of body diode. Moreover, the VTH of a GaN transistor is typically higher than the turn-on voltage of a silicon diode leading to a disadvantage during the reverse conduction operation, also known as third quadrant. Hence, with this new CoolGaN Transistor, reverse conduction losses are lower, compatibility with a wider range of high-side gate drivers, and with deadtime relaxed, there is broader controller compatibility resulting in simpler design.

The first of several GaN transistors with integrated Schottky diode is the 100 V 1.5 mΩ transistor in 3 x 5 mm PQFN package.

The post Infineon launches world’s first industrial gallium nitride (GaN) transistor product family with integrated Schottky diode appeared first on ELE Times.

For fiscal third quarter 2025 (to end-February 2025), semiconductor production test and reliability qualification equipment supplier Aehr Test Systems of Fremont, CA, USA has reported revenue of $18.3m, up 35.6% on $13.5m last quarter and more than doubling from $7.6m a year ago...

• Scalable PXI-based solution delivers enhanced performance and simplifies security testing for modern chips and embedded devices

Keysight Technologies, Inc. announces the launch of the Next-Generation Embedded Security Testbench, a consolidated and scalable test solution designed to address the increasing complex security testing demands of modern chips and embedded devices. This new solution offers enhanced flexibility, reduces test setup complexities, and improves the reliability and repeatability of critical security evaluations.

The proliferation of connected devices and the escalating sophistication of security threats create significant challenges for developers and security labs. Traditional security testing often involves cumbersome setups with multiple disparate instruments, leading to increased complexity, longer test times, and potential inconsistencies in results. The Next-Generation Embedded Security Testbench addresses these pain points by providing a unified and efficient comprehensive device security analysis platform.

The new testbench leverages a high-speed PXIe architecture designed to address the complexities of modern security testing needs. It represents a significant evolution of the Device Vulnerability Analysis product line.This robust architecture enables the Next-Generation Embedded Security Testbench to deliver up to 10 times more effective results in side-channel analysis and fault injection (FI) testing, crucial techniques for identifying and mitigating hardware-based vulnerabilities.

The Embedded Security Testbench is a modular solution that meets varying test needs. Integrating essential components such as oscilloscopes, interfacing equipment, amplifiers, and trigger generators into a single PXIe chassis significantly reduces the need for extensive cabling and enhances communication speed between modules.

The platform is powered by three core components – theM9046A PXle Chassis, the M9038A PXle High-Performance Embedded Controller, and Inspector Software. Solution packages can be extended depending on requirements to include additional tools for complex testing scenarios, incorporating oscilloscopes and extra electromagnetic components. Keysight is committed to the ongoing development of the Embedded Security Testbench, with plans to introduce further enhanced modules in the future.

Wei Yan Mao, Director of Operations at Applus+ Laboratories, said: “At Applus+ Laboratories, we see the technical opportunities and flexibility of this new platform and wanted to be one of the first to start using it in our accredited IT Security Evaluation Facilities (ITSEF).”

Erwin in ’t Veld, Product Manager, Device Security Research Lab at Keysight, said: “With the Next-Generation Embedded Security Testbench, we are setting a new standard for device security testing. By boosting performance and flexibility within a simplified workflow and with its inherent scalability, we are empowering our users to effectively address today’s security challenges and adapt to future advancements.”

The post Keysight Introduces Next-Generation Embedded Security Testbench appeared first on ELE Times.

What’s a fab-in-a-box, and how it’s far more efficient in terms of cost, space, and chip manufacturing operations. Alan Patterson speaks to CEOs of Nanotronics and Pragmatic to dig deeper into how these $30 million fabs work while using AI to boost yields and make these mini-fabs more cost-competitive. These “cubefabs” are also worth attention because many markets, including the United States, aim to bolster local chip manufacturing.

Read the full story at EDN’s sister publication, EE Times.

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• Semiconductor Industry Faces a Seismic Shift
• Semiconductor Capacity Is Up, But Mind the Talent Gap
• Building Semiconductor Capacity for a Hotter, Drier World
• Tapping AI for Leaner, Greener Semiconductor Fab Operations
• SEMICON Europa: Building a Sustainable US$1 Trillion Semiconductor Industry

The post The advent of AI-empowered fab-in-a-box appeared first on EDN.

Greetings everyone! This is a follow up post on a previous one I made a month ago regarding an remote-controlled car project using an L289N motor driver with an ATMega328P microcontroller and an NRF24 module to communicate. I've been re-reading the comments and I added the necessary changes that needed to be added. An idea I have in mind is to add an Adafruit OLED screen so as to keep track of battery life or something, but I want to get the basics down first before I do that. I am open to additional feedback. Added changes : - To begin with, better-organized schematic (with the Ground symbol facing down this time hehe) with explanations. - Ground plane on both front and back so as to reduce noise. - 220 uF capacitors on both 5 Volt and 3.3 Volt regulators, as well as 10 uF capacitor for the NRF24 module to further reduce noise. - Added a 10k resistor from 5v regulator to RESET pin (Pin 1) of the ATMega328P. In my previous project I did not have this, and was worried that my project would not work because of this mistake. Luckily nothing happened but in this newer project, I added the resistor just to be sure, Thank you once again! submitted by /u/Good-Marzipan4251 [link] [comments]

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JLCPCB is great for prototyping. But I'm writing this to warn anyone considering using JLCPCB's assembly service for projects involving digital MEMS microphones. I've tried 6 times over the last two years. It has cost me countless hours, endless frustration, and over $2000. Since I do this work for a non-profit organization protecting elephants, the setbacks hurt even more. The PCB is for a wildlife audio recorder – basically a digital MEMS microphone connected to an ESP32. Nothing particularly complex. EDIT: The MEMS mic we use is the ICS-43434 Here’s the timeline of what happened: Order 1 (Apr 2023): For prototyping, I ordered 2 assembled PCBs. One MEMS microphone arrived broken. Neither JLCPCB nor I knew why initially. I spent hours troubleshooting. I specifically asked their support if they followed the correct reflow temperature profiles and if they performed board cleaning (which can destroy these mics). They replied that temperature curves looked good and claimed no board cleaning was done. Order 2 (Aug 2023): Thinking the first failure was a one-off, I ordered 10 PCBs. To my disappointment, 8 out of 10 arrived with broken mics that only recorded noise. Adding an external mic to the same PCB worked fine, confirming the onboard mics were the issue. This time, I removed the cap from the MEMS component and could see the ruptured membrane (See picture). Some also showed bad solder joints. A friend suspected the mic was too close to the panelization rails, causing stress when the rails were broken off. So, for the next design, I moved the mic further away and added a gap to the rail area. Order 3 (Dec 2023): Confident the rail spacing was the fix, I ordered 50pcs. All 50 arrived broken. Again, I opened the MEMS packages with a hot air gun and saw the membranes were shattered. After endless emails, JLCPCB initially offered a tiny coupon of 20USD, which was insulting given the scale of the failure. Eventually, after significant back-and-forth, we settled on $120. I asked how to prevent this, and support told me to add a specific note to my next order asking for extra care. Order 4 (Feb 2024): Following their advice, I ordered again, adding the requested note. Nothing changed – all boards arrived broken. Finally, JLCPCB started investigating properly. They used some of my parts from stock to test their process. And YES, they found the issue: their board cleaning process destroyed the microphones. Specifically, dry ice cleaning after manual soldering was the culprit. Apparently, they do perform cleaning sometimes (especially with through-hole parts), even if you explicitly told them not to. Order 5 (Nov 2024): Armed with JLCPCB's own findings, I explicitly added a remark for my next order of 100 boards ($1500): NO dry ice cleaning without protection. I was reassured by support that the special request would be followed. When the boards arrived... All 100 were broken again... due to dry ice cleaning. JLCPCB admitted their operator failed to follow the instruction. I received a $200 coupon after a long negotiation. Order 6 (Mar 2025): I had almost given up but placed another small prototype order (5 boards) and decided to give the mics one last chance. I wrote the note again: "NO DRY ICE CLEANING or it will destroy the MEMS". I also confirmed with support that the note was in the system and would be followed. When they arrived... No surprise: all membranes broken again, due to the dry ice cleaning process. After this final failure, I told them I was done with JLCPCB and would have to share my experience. Only then did they offer to refund this last order completely, which i refused. That's not how it should work. Based on my documented experience, JLCPCB seems incapable of reliably assembling boards with MEMS microphones or consistently following critical process instructions. If your project uses MEMS mics, I strongly advise you to consider alternatives or proceed with extreme caution. Hope this saves someone else the time, money, and frustration I went through. I have to say that the support contact I had (Emma) was always friendly and tried to be supportive. However, it felt like crucial technical details sometimes got lost in translation when relaying information between me and the engineers. submitted by /u/EDsteve [link] [comments]

I reverse-engineered a no-neutral smart switch from Sonoff. It's like 70% ready, not all values for passive, no MCU board, no PCBs. If someone is interested in collaboration, let me know. submitted by /u/Dear_Cartographer_10 [link] [comments]

I finally got rid of all those cards I had in my nightstand for years😩 submitted by /u/White_Septendecim [link] [comments]

It finally made it work submitted by /u/OtisCanHelpYou [link] [comments]

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