Analog {if 0}- Education

2-wire analog outputs with precision DACs

Don’t just sit there! Build something!! Learning to mathematically analyze circuits requires much study and practice. Typically, students practice by working through lots of sample problems and checking their answers against those provided by the textbook or the instructor. While this is good, there is a much better way. You will learn much more by actually building and analyzing real circuits, letting your test equipment provide the “answers” instead

After applying some of the general troubleshooting tips to narrow the scope of a problem’s location, there are techniques useful in further isolating it. Here are a few: Swap identical components In a system with identical or parallel subsystems, swap components between those subsystems and see whether or not the problem moves with the swapped component. If it does, you’ve just swapped the faulty component; if it doesn�

There were some historic crude, but usable were some historic crude, but usable semiconductor rectifiers before high purity materials were available. Ferdinand Braun invented a lead sulfide, PbS, based point contact rectifier in 1874. Cuprous oxide rectifiers were used as power rectifiers in 1924. The forward voltage drop is 0.2 V. The linear characteristic curve perhaps is why Cu2O was used as a rectifier for the AC scale on D’Arsonval based

Our next transistor configuration to study is a bit simpler for gain calculations. Called the common-collector configuration, its schematic diagram is shown in Figure below. Common collector amplifier has collector common to both input and output. It is called the common-collector configuration because (ignoring the power supply battery) both the signal source and the load share the collector lead as a common connection point as in Figure below. Common collector:

Testing a JFET with a multimeter might seem to be a relatively easy task, seeing as how it has only one PN junction to test: either measured between gate and source, or between gate and drain. Testing continuity through the drain-source channel is another matter, though. Remember from the last section how a stored charge across the capacitance of the gate-channel PN junction could hold the JFET in a pinched-off

If at all possible, shut off the power to a circuit before performing any work on it. You must secure all sources of harmful energy before a system may be considered safe to work on. In industry, securing a circuit, device, or system in this condition is commonly known as placing it in a Zero Energy State. The focus of this lesson is, of course, electrical safety. However, many of

A high-pass filter’s task is just the opposite of a low-pass filter: to offer easy passage of a high-frequency signal and difficult passage to a low-frequency signal. As one might expect, the inductive (Figure below) and capacitive (Figure below) versions of the high-pass filter are just the opposite of their respective low-pass filter designs: Capacitive high-pass filter. The Capacitor’s Impedance The capacitor’s impedance (Figure above) increases with

Ladder diagrams are specialized schematics commonly used to document industrial control logic systems. They are called “ladder” diagrams because they resemble a ladder, with two vertical rails (supply power) and as many “rungs” (horizontal lines) as there are control circuits to represent. If we wanted to draw a simple ladder diagram showing a lamp that is controlled by a hand switch, it would look like this: The “L1” and “L2”

What Is a R/2nR DAC Circuit? The R/2nR DAC circuit, otherwise known as the binary-weighted-input DAC, is a variation on the inverting summing op-amp circuit. (Note that “summing” circuits are sometimes also referred to as “summer” circuits.) If you recall, the classic inverting summing circuit is an operational amplifier using negative feedback for controlled gain, with several voltage inputs and one voltage output. The output voltage is the

A semiconductor device is one made of silicon or any number of other specially prepared materials designed to exploit the unique properties of electrons in a crystal lattice, where electrons are not as free to move as in a conductor but are far more mobile than in an insulator. A discrete device is one contained in its own package, not built on a common semiconductor substrate with other components, as

The insulated-gate field-effect transistor (IGFET), also known as the metal oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET), is a derivative of the field effect transistor (FET). Today, most transistors are of the MOSFET type as components of digital integrated circuits. Though discrete BJT’s are more numerous than discrete MOSFET’s. The MOSFET transistor count within an integrated circuit may approach hundreds of a million. The dimensions of individual MOSFET devices are

Impedance Matching Because transformers can step voltage and current to different levels, and because power is transferred equivalently between primary and secondary windings, they can be used to “convert” the impedance of a load to a different level. That last phrase deserves some explanation, so let’s investigate what it means. The purpose of a load (usually) is to do something productive with the power it dissipates. In the case

This calculator is designed to compute the parameters required to design a Pi-Match Impedance Circuit

We're concluding Section 11.1. We start out with a discussion of common-mode versus differential-mode gain. Differential-load voltage gain is the gain given to a voltage that appears between the two input terminals. It represents two different voltages on the inputs. Recall that a differential amplifier amplifies the difference and with an operational amp, the input stage is a differential amp so it will amplify the difference between the two voltages on

A circuit which removes the peak of a waveform is known as a clipper. A negative clipper is shown in Figure below. This schematic diagram was produced with Xcircuit schematic capture program. Xcircuit produced the SPICE net list Figure below, except for the second, and next to last pair of lines which were inserted with a text editor. *SPICE 03437.eps * A K ModelName D1 0 2 diode R1 2 1 1.0k V1 1 0 SIN(0 5 1k)

Bipolar junction transistors (Also known as BJTs) can be used as an amplifier, filter, rectifier, oscillator, or even a switch, which we cover an example in the first section. The transistor will operate as an amplifier or other linear circuit if the transistor is biased into the linear region. The transistor can be used as a switch if biased in the saturation and cut-off regions. This allows current to flow

PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery Low-voltage incandescent lamp (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1130 or equivalent) Long lengths of wire, 22-gauge or larger Household light switch (these are readily available at any hardware store) Household light switches are a bargain for students of basic electricity. They are readily available, very inexpensive, and almost impossible to damage with battery power. Do not get “dimmer” switches, just the simple on-off “toggle” variety used for

∫f(x) dx Calculus alert! Calculus is a branch of mathematics that originated with scientific questions concerning rates of change. The easiest rates of change for most people to understand are those dealing with time. For example, a student watching their savings account dwindle over time as they pay for tuition and other expenses is very concerned with rates of change (dollars per year being spent). In calculus, we have

To enter numbers in scientific notation into a hand calculator, there is usually a button marked “E” or “EE” used to enter the correct power of ten. For example, to enter the mass of a proton in grams (1.67 x 10-24 grams) into a hand calculator, I would enter the following keystrokes: [1] [.] [6] [7] [EE] [2] [4] [+/-] The [+/-] keystroke changes the sign of the power (24) into a -24. Some calculators allow the use