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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.


How to Build a Real-Time Clock with a PICAXE

How to Build a Real-Time Clock with a PICAXE

Teaming up a PICAXE µC, a DS1307 real time clock module, and an LCD117 serial adapter with a liquid crystal display is a fun, educational way to assemble your own date and time demo.


Your Guide to Home PCB Fabrication

Your Guide to Home PCB Fabrication

Use a program like Kicad and a few cheap or common supplies to fabricate your own PCBs at home. Breadboarding is fine for testing a circuit, but it never looks good to have fifty wires coming out of a circuit.


Using a Serial LCD with a PICAXE

Using a Serial LCD with a PICAXE

Using an LCD increases the versatility of any microcontroller by displaying data outputs and memory contents. This serial adapter uses only one I/O.


Clean Power for Every IC, Part 1: Understanding Bypass Capacitors

Clean Power for Every IC, Part 1: Understanding Bypass Capacitors

A thorough understanding of bypass capacitors will help you to properly incorporate these critical components into your designs.


How to Communicate with a Custom BLE using an Android App

How to Communicate with a Custom BLE using an Android App

Learn how to communicate with a custom BLE peripheral using an Android device.


An LCD for Your Microcontroller Using a Single I/O

An LCD for Your Microcontroller Using a Single I/O

LCDs are great for showing info from your microcontroller. A serial adapter is inexpensive, uses only one I/O, and is easy to connect and to use.


EFM8 Sound Synthesizer: Playing Melodies via USB

EFM8 Sound Synthesizer: Playing Melodies via USB

Part 3 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.


Projects Sep 17, 2015 by Robert Keim
EFM8 Sound Synthesizer: Driving the Speaker

EFM8 Sound Synthesizer: Driving the Speaker

Part 2 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series.


Projects Sep 11, 2015 by Robert Keim