Electronics-Lab.com Blog

Ray Wang wrote this post about voltage conversion from 24VAC to 5VDC.

Voltage conversion from 24VAC to 5VDC is quite useful, because a lot of home automation devices use 24VAC, including sprinkler solenoids, home surveillance systems etc. Having a conversion module makes it easy to use a single power supply, without a separate 5V adapter for your control circuit. There are plenty of resources you can find online about it. But these resources are rather scattered. So in this blog post I summarize and discuss the common choices.

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24VAC to 5VDC Conversion - [Link]

The Aithon board is an integrated robot controller board with a 32-bit ARM microcontroller and a powerful software library.

The Aithon board is a microcontroller board that combines the power of a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 with several integrated features that make robot building and experimentation fun. We set out to create a board that has more processing power and memory than the typical Arduino, yet has integrated hardware that you would not find on a Raspberry Pi.

Aithon: 32-bit ARM Microcontroller Board - [Link]

Thermocouples are a great way to take accurate temperature measurements in hard to reach places or in very rugged environments.  Using one can be tricky if your new to the device. This circuit has two parts the thermocouple needs to be driven by a device and then an amplifier can be used to amplify and offset the voltage into a signal that can be useful. In this circuit the output of the amplifier Vout = 10mv/°C when using a K-Type thermocouple.

How to Driving and Measure a Thermocouple - [Link]

GPS modules from company Quectel have excellent features and enable a relatively quick development of applications also thanks to ready-made development kits.

GPS receivers are still more often used in various segments, what is also reflected in our offer of top-featured GPS modules from company  Quectel. Naturally, it is ideal, when there´s also available a development kit for a given module.  Really, development kits are the components, which significantly help at development and thanks to a simplified and accelerated development, this investment usually refunds very quickly. That´s why it´s possible to find in our offer development kits for almost every GPS or GSM/GPRS module from Quectel, moreover immediately available directly from our stock.

Do you want to know your position? - [Link]

Microchip announces two new 8-bit PIC microcontrollers (MCUs), the PIC16F527 and PIC16F570, which combine a PIC MCU with a dual Op Amp module, an 8-bit ADC and two comparators. The new MCUs add several features to support ease of use and system robustness.

8-bit PIC Integrates Analog Circuitry - [Link]

by Publitek European Editors:

This article looks at the integration of sensors into 4 to 20 mA control loops and field bus implementations in industrial automation applications. Adding intelligence to the sensor allows more control and options for closed or open control loops with tighter latencies, and the article looks at the different approaches to implementing a smart sensor control loop. It looks at devices that are optimized for the control loops such as the Texas Instruments XTR117 transceiver and the HCPL-4200 optocoupler from Avago Technologies, as well as controllers that are optimized for sensors on these control loops such as the ADuC816 from Analog Devices.

Smart Sensors in 4 to 20 mA Control Loops - [Link]

Asgard build this Rapper project:

What this is, is a small device that records a command sequence for a TV remote control, then emits the same sequence when activated by a pulse detected in a piezo transducer. Such pulse can be as simple as rapping your knuckles on the table where the Rapper is placed. Typically the Rapper would record the mute control for the TV, so that you can run to get the phone without having to hunt down the remote control for the TV. Cute, eh?

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Rapper project - [Link]

WiFiDuino is a new Arduino board that has a WiFi module. The circuit is based on the famous open source “Arduino Micro” from Arduino and Adafruit. To add WiFi connection, the new module “CC3000” from TI is used.

WiFiDuino = WiFi + Arduino - [Link]

Erl shared his voltage reference project in the forum:

I had almost 6 x 6 cm left over on a 10 x 10 board I was ordering from Seeed Studios, so inspired by the Mr. Ref voltage reference project, I made something similar. It’s based on the MAX6126 2.048 V reference, uses 3 AAA batteries for power, and fits in the Dangerous Prototypes Sick of Beige 60 x 60 mm case.

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Erl’s Voltage Reference - [Link]

To monitor dangerous gases concentration with ready-made calibrated modules USM 5.1 series is a breeze.

It is generally known, that it´s suitable and often even inevitable to monitor air in various factories, shopping centers but also in smaller buildings and in households. For this purpose, we offer you already for several years top-quality sensors from Japan company Figaro. However, how it uses to be, application of bare sensors requires some development and sometimes also a demanding calibration, what can be unprofitable and expensive especially at smaller production batches.

That´s why we added in stock read-made calibrated modules USM 5.1 series employing well-proven Figaro sensors. USM 5.1 series consists of 5 types for monitoring of CO, ethanol, methane, LPG and hydrogen. With these modules there´s no need to care about development, testing and calibration. All that is necessary is to connect them to a 5VDC power supply and the open collector output is able to switch relay, siren etc. Modules don´t provide value of the exact concentration of a given gas, but they are set to a fixed value of concentration (according to a table), at which they switch on the output transistor.

As for the price, the USM 5.1 series is quite profitable, when we realize, that it is a ready-made calibrated and tested solution containing a relatively expensive sensor. That´s why they are ideal for construction of various safety devices with a minimal effort.  Detailed information will provide you the datasheet USM 5.1. Modules are available directly from our stock, in case of interest please contact us at info@soselectronic.com.

Gas detection? It´s also possible in a simpler way… – [Link]