Latest Consumer Electronics Technical Articles

Understand the I2C protocol in the context of firmware design and make your projects seamless.

Understand the I2C protocol in the context of firmware design and make your projects seamless.

This article covers information essential for understanding and designing the hardware needed for an I2C bus.

This article covers information essential for understanding and designing the hardware needed for an I2C bus.

The intuitive, step-by-step procedure presented in this article will help you to successfully perform reflow soldering in…

The intuitive, step-by-step procedure presented in this article will help you to successfully perform reflow soldering in your toaster oven.

This article covers the essential characteristics and prominent advantages of the Inter–Integrated Circuit (aka I2C)…

This article covers the essential characteristics and prominent advantages of the Inter–Integrated Circuit (aka I2C) serial-communications protocol.

With the help of a DIY thermocouple measurement system, you can use a cheap toaster oven to accurately reproduce a…

With the help of a DIY thermocouple measurement system, you can use a cheap toaster oven to accurately reproduce a reflow-soldering temperature profile.

There are all sorts of batteries out there- this short overview will help you find the right one!

There are all sorts of batteries out there- this short overview will help you find the right one!

The buck converter is a ubiquitous DC-DC converter that efficiently converts a high voltage to a low voltage efficiently.…

The buck converter is a ubiquitous DC-DC converter that efficiently converts a high voltage to a low voltage efficiently. Efficient power conversion extends battery life, reduces heat, and allows for smaller gadgets to be built. The buck converter can be used in lots of cool applications.

In the last installment, we built the hardware to control an AC waveform with a TRIAC as the first step in a DIY solder…

In the last installment, we built the hardware to control an AC waveform with a TRIAC as the first step in a DIY solder reflow oven. This tutorial continues the project by showing you how to set up the low-level hardware to measure temperature, read the zero-cross detector, drive the TRIAC, and print to the serial terminal using a USART.

Nothing on TV tonight? Control an Arduino with any infrared remote control, including the one you use to command your television.

Nothing on TV tonight? Control an Arduino with any infrared remote control, including the one you use to command your television.

An overview of how the concepts of electron flow and the role of individual circuit components can be related to the flow…

An overview of how the concepts of electron flow and the role of individual circuit components can be related to the flow of fluid in pipe networks. The analogy between hydraulics and electricity is a useful tool for teaching and for those who are struggling to understand how circuits work.

Learn how to put together your own toaster oven controller with a handful of inexpensive, through-hole parts. The…

Learn how to put together your own toaster oven controller with a handful of inexpensive, through-hole parts. The emphasis is on safety, low price, and minimal modification of the toaster oven.

NAND and NOR gates are widely known to be universal logic gates, meaning that any other logic gate be made from NAND or…

NAND and NOR gates are widely known to be universal logic gates, meaning that any other logic gate be made from NAND or NOR gates. This article discusses other universal logic gates.

This article explains how to install PyVisa and MatPlotlib for Python. PyVisa connects a computer to the measurement…

This article explains how to install PyVisa and MatPlotlib for Python. PyVisa connects a computer to the measurement instruments and matplotlib helps to visualize the data collected from these instruments.

Is IDT’s Tx/Rx wireless power solution suitable for applications that require high-precision analog performance?

Is IDT’s Tx/Rx wireless power solution suitable for applications that require high-precision analog performance?

Two evaluation boards from IDT help you to quickly and conveniently integrate wireless power into your designs.

Two evaluation boards from IDT help you to quickly and conveniently integrate wireless power into your designs.

It's never been cheaper to round up a ton of quality hardware for open source projects! Here's what you need to know…

It's never been cheaper to round up a ton of quality hardware for open source projects! Here's what you need to know about the eBay experience.

Use your Android device to open and close your garage door! Much better than that clunky remote you've been using.

Use your Android device to open and close your garage door! Much better than that clunky remote you've been using.

Create a wireless "relative comfort" light bar thermometer by broadcasting temperature data across multiple ESP8266…

Create a wireless "relative comfort" light bar thermometer by broadcasting temperature data across multiple ESP8266 modules running NodeMCU using MQTT.

How to add BLE capabilities to a wireless ceiling fan by incorporating the nRF51 in the remote control. Part of our…

How to add BLE capabilities to a wireless ceiling fan by incorporating the nRF51 in the remote control. Part of our series on the nRF51.