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Measure Thermocouple Temperature with the MAX31855 and a PICAXE

Measure Thermocouple Temperature with the MAX31855 and a PICAXE

Whether for cooking or reflow soldering, a thermocouple is often the best choice for a high temperature sensor. The MAX31855, a PICAXE-08M2, a serial LCD, and a few lines of code will do the trick.


LED Chaser… With a Twist!

LED Chaser… With a Twist!

Build an LED chaser with a little twist: we'll be using a microcontroller and an LCD along with the usual 4017 counters.


Hack Your Toaster Oven to Become a Thermocouple Measurement System

Hack Your Toaster Oven to Become a Thermocouple Measurement System

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


Projects Dec 18, 2015 by Robert Keim
Download Your First Program Using ARM mbed and KEIL MDK V5

Download Your First Program Using ARM mbed and KEIL MDK V5

The FRDM-K64F is a development platform which utilises the MK64FN1M0VLL12 microcontroller. This tutorial includes how to download a simple blinky example onto the FRDM-K64F using the ARM mbed online IDE and KEIL MDK. Details of the GPIO module configuration are included.


Projects Dec 17, 2015 by Elliott Smith
Build a PICAXE ESP-01 Wi-Fi Communicator

Build a PICAXE ESP-01 Wi-Fi Communicator

A PCB for a Wi-Fi communicator using a PICAXE 08M2 and an ESP-01 module driven by interactive code makes a handy setup for data collection and IoT reporting.


Introduction to the Manually-Controlled Toaster Oven Reflow

Introduction to the Manually-Controlled Toaster Oven Reflow

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


Buck Converters and Their Cool Applications

Buck Converters and Their Cool Applications

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.


PCB Layout Style Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Design

PCB Layout Style Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Design

This article discusses style mistakes in PCB layout that can make assembly and debugging PCBs difficult. This is vital for designers!


Design Your Own Controller for a Solder Reflow Oven

Design Your Own Controller for a Solder Reflow Oven

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.


Projects Nov 17, 2015 by Patrick Lloyd
Practical PCB Layout Tips Every Designer Needs to Know

Practical PCB Layout Tips Every Designer Needs to Know

This article contains practical PCB layout tips that can help your PCB projects work correctly and reliably.


Control Your AC Mains with a Microcontroller

Control Your AC Mains with a Microcontroller

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.


Projects Nov 09, 2015 by Patrick Lloyd
Build 9 Simple, Low-noise Linear Voltage Regulators Using the Same PCB

Build 9 Simple, Low-noise Linear Voltage Regulators Using the Same PCB

What linear voltage regulator circuits lack in efficiency, they make up in simplicity and low noise. Here's a scheme for 9 voltages from 2.5V to 15V on the same PCB design.


How to Build a Robot - Testing Hardware

How to Build a Robot - Testing Hardware

Part three of a series of articles on building a robot that can follow lines or walls and avoid obstacles!


How to Build a Robot - PCB Design

How to Build a Robot - PCB Design

Part two of a series of articles on building a robot that can follow lines or walls and avoid obstacles! This time we'll be covering PCB design.


How to Build a Robot - Design and Schematic

How to Build a Robot - Design and Schematic

Part one of a series of articles on building a robot that can follow lines or walls and avoid obstacles!


Make an EFM8-Based System for Monitoring and Analyzing Thermocouple Measurements

Make an EFM8-Based System for Monitoring and Analyzing Thermocouple Measurements

With this microcontroller-to-PC interface you can conveniently monitor a temperature and visualize how the temperature changes over time.


Projects Oct 26, 2015 by Robert Keim
Breadboard and Program an ESP-01 Circuit with the Arduino IDE

Breadboard and Program an ESP-01 Circuit with the Arduino IDE

The ESP8266 combination microcontroller/Wi-Fi modules can now be programmed using the Arduino IDE. Here's how!


An ATMega328-based Data Acquisition System

An ATMega328-based Data Acquisition System

In this article I will show you how to use the internal EEPROM of an ATMega 328P microcontroller. I will use a USB-to-serial converter, and an LM35 temperature sensor. I will also give you some tips and tricks when designing a PCB.


Incorporating Wireless Power with IDT’s Tx/Rx Reference Kits

Incorporating Wireless Power with IDT’s Tx/Rx Reference Kits

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


Projects Oct 15, 2015 by Robert Keim
Build Your Own Time-Domain Reflectometer

Build Your Own Time-Domain Reflectometer

Build your own TDR out of a scope and a signal generator to troubleshoot long cable runs and impedance mismatches.