Search found 28 matches

by aretallack
Mon Aug 29, 2016 8:58 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: PCB Layout Software...
Replies: 9
Views: 10345

Re: PCB Layout Software...

I'm about 4 weeks behind the rest of the world on this forum! I've really enjoyed using KiCad over Eagle - at first it may not seem as intuitive, but it is completely free and open source, is actively being developed by passionate people and even has developers from CERN (yes, that CERN) working on ...
by aretallack
Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:33 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: How difficult it is for hobbyist to work with SMD packages?
Replies: 5
Views: 5024

Re: How difficult it is for hobbyist to work with SMD packag

There are plenty of Youtube videos showing how to work with SMD components. Check out EEVBlog on Youtube and search for his tutorial on SMD soldering - it'll probably answer all your questions as well as a bunch you haven't yet thought of.
by aretallack
Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:53 pm
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond the Arduino 8
Replies: 2
Views: 11859

Re: Beyond the Arduino 8

Apologies - only saw this thread now (thanks for the heads-up Casey!) I'm pleased that you've seen some good saving @Agg, and thanks for the kind comments on the series. @Casey1947: Your savings will be lower, as you'll be measuring the "running gear" of the Toadstool as well - for example...
by aretallack
Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:47 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: another new site.. interesting..
Replies: 7
Views: 4704

Re: another new site.. interesting..

I haven't visited their forum before, but the parent site has some awesome resources - basically a full open-source electronics textbook
by aretallack
Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:54 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Motor as generator
Replies: 5
Views: 3550

Re: Motor as generator

Sounds like the foundation for a really interesting experiment! Please share the results...
by aretallack
Thu Sep 10, 2015 5:53 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: this site is fizzling out fast....
Replies: 13
Views: 7049

Re: this site is fizzling out fast....

I think it's an epidemic of disinterest. I agree in part with you, but I don't think that we should discount the "maker movement" and the momentum behind that as an indicator of interest. I wasn't around in the days when ham radio ruled, so can't really draw a comparison to what is happen...
by aretallack
Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:41 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: need help finding a motor controller.
Replies: 14
Views: 8775

Re: need help finding a motor controller.

Not sure whether I've understood your requirements properly, but assume you've had a sniff around these sites:
https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/179
by aretallack
Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:06 am
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond Arduino Interactive Alphabet
Replies: 3
Views: 12299

Re: Beyond Arduino Interactive Alphabet

Update: We resolved this offline - the problem lay with the USB-Serial module.
by aretallack
Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:42 am
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond Arduino Interactive Alphabet
Replies: 3
Views: 12299

Re: Beyond Arduino Interactive Alphabet

Hi Thanks for posting about your challenge. Can I check that I understand correctly - with the fuse settings you have applied, you are getting accurate delays? So if you flash an LED at a 10 sec interval, and time it with a stopwatch, the timing is correct (obviously longer intervals are better for ...
by aretallack
Fri Jun 26, 2015 1:38 am
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?
Replies: 13
Views: 19914

Re: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?

Why don't you drop me a mail: andrewr (at) crash-bang (dot) com
We can discuss options offline - although unfortunately not in the immediate future
by aretallack
Thu Jun 25, 2015 4:09 am
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?
Replies: 13
Views: 19914

Re: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?

That's a really cool project. 10" digits - very nice! Wish I could help - but South Africa is a little more than an hour away :)... and I think that it would be a whole lot quicker to collaborate on something requiring specific hardware like this if we were within driving distance. If I were wo...
by aretallack
Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:12 am
Forum: Nuts & Volts Magazine Discussions
Topic: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?
Replies: 13
Views: 19914

Re: Beyond Arduino - What should I cover next?

Andrew, A couple of suggestions about what to cover next. I would really enjoy and article on an accelerometer and another on a gyro. Thanks Dave - great idea. Those would fit in with well with SPI communications. Also, is there a way to take the data from the serial program you did in #4 and save ...
by aretallack
Thu Jun 04, 2015 11:23 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Batteriser
Replies: 16
Views: 8842

Re: Batteriser

I see that Dave Jones has sunk his teeth into this one... I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but here's the link:

http://www.eevblog.com/2015/06/05/eevbl ... atteriser/
by aretallack
Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:52 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Batteriser
Replies: 16
Views: 8842

Re: Batteriser

I smell a rat - or at least a PR snowjob. I agree with the questions about the maths and claims of 8x performance posted so far. I guess that a boost convertor could be miniaturised, but I wonder about the quiescent current of the convertor, as well as the efficiency when the product is drawing curr...
by aretallack
Wed Jun 03, 2015 11:20 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Todays funny...
Replies: 4
Views: 3605

Re: Todays funny...

:grin: :grin: