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Q&A

General Q&A about the design and function of electronic systems, electric power systems and infrastructure, their theory, and tools specific to those fields. Read these guidelines before posting.

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60%
+4 −2
estimation of pogo pin resistance

Is there a scientific way to estimate the resistance of a pogo pin? If it was a solid cylinder or wire one could calculate the resistance: R = ρ × L / A But a pogo pin is hollow inside, the sp...

2 answers  ·  posted 10mo ago by dekker‭  ·  last activity 10mo ago by TonyStewart‭

66%
+2 −0
What type of button is this on a remote control

The remote control of my TV has two kinds of buttons. There are "normal" ones for the digits etc. which work by bringing a conductive material on the underside of the button in contact with the boa...

2 answers  ·  posted 10mo ago by samcarter‭  ·  last activity 10mo ago by TonyStewart‭

75%
+4 −0
High voltage transformer design

Suppose I have a planar PCB transformer. The primary and secondary coils are printed on different PCBs. The core is inserted through these PCBs to link the two coils. The primary is at a low voltag...

2 answers  ·  posted 10mo ago by jonathan_the_seagull‭  ·  last activity 10mo ago by Andy aka‭

75%
+4 −0
Level shifting of a 3 state logic pin

I want to design a simple battery charger using MCP73831/2. This chip has a 3-State state pin according to the table below: I have a 3.3V MCU and I want to connect this pin to a GPIO. The MCU is...

2 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by dekker‭  ·  last activity 10mo ago by Nick Alexeev‭

75%
+4 −0
Most reliable galvanic isolation technology for extreme EMI environments?

I'm working on another project with extreme EMC requirements as per various notorious military EMC standards. Civilian product but for military use, and as such subject to the toughest levels of co...

1 answer  ·  posted 11mo ago by Lundin‭  ·  last activity 11mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭

50%
+2 −2
Weird grounding on a vintage hifi sideboard

I got a vintage ('64) hifi sideboard for Christmas! It's super awesome. However, I don't understand the grounding. It has two female inputs on the backside that are labeled as "Grounding". There w...

1 answer  ·  posted 11mo ago by OddDeer‭  ·  last activity 11mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭

75%
+4 −0
Speed of EM waves from the point of view of an electrical engineer

An important formula in physics is one that relates the speed of an EM wave (c for instance) with the magnetic permeability and electric permittivity of the medium. In short: - $$c = \dfrac{1}{\sq...

1 answer  ·  posted 11mo ago by Andy aka‭  ·  edited 11mo ago by Andy aka‭

71%
+3 −0
Transformer design for a Series Resonant Converter

I am determining the Area-Product of the core required for a transformer to be used within a series resonant converter. The specifications are as follows: Switching frequency = 400 kHz Primary ...

1 answer  ·  posted 11mo ago by jonathan_the_seagull‭  ·  last activity 11mo ago by Andy aka‭

60%
+1 −0
CAN BUS monitoring with a LED

Hi, how can I use can bus monitoring through a simple led without disturbing the can line , I started with a diagram found on this forum, I need your help to correct where necessary, I want to use...

3 answers  ·  posted 12mo ago by Marian_20099‭  ·  last activity 11mo ago by Lundin‭

57%
+2 −1
Can I make an AC inductor (reactor) rated 75mH 40A from a 3-phase induction motor?

For my test bench I need an inductor (aka "reactor") that meets the requirements below. I have tried to purchase it outright as a made-up item, or the parts to make it (core and windings), but have...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Fabio Barone‭  ·  last activity 11mo ago by TonyStewart‭

50%
+0 −0
Converting 5V to ±12V

I would like to convert 5V rail I have on PCB to ±12V. Existing solution is using boost converter 5V to 12V, and a buck for 5V to -12V. This feels bulky for what it's needed - here are the requirem...

2 answers  ·  posted 12mo ago by 2kind‭  ·  last activity 12mo ago by H_H‭

77%
+5 −0
Ceramic capacitor "memory" effect?

I have run into an interesting phenomenon related to ceramic capacitors. This question is part of the effort to understand the issue, and eventually work around it. But first, some background of ...

2 answers  ·  posted 12mo ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  last activity 12mo ago by TonyStewart‭

60%
+1 −0
Noise from oscillator on top layer to clock on bottom layer with VCC & GND layers between

What effect does an oscillator potentially have on a SPI clk signal if the oscillator is on the top layer, with GND and VCC layer in between on a four layer board. I know running it on the same lay...

2 answers  ·  posted 12mo ago by Hawk2020‭  ·  last activity 12mo ago by Nick Alexeev‭

71%
+3 −0
What fabrication process is being used for jellybean parts

I want to know why the top-of-the-line CPUs and GPUs from Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD are all bragging about the fabrication process (7nm and 5nm) and trying to be consistently smaller. At the same tim...

3 answers  ·  posted 12mo ago by dekker‭  ·  last activity 12mo ago by TonyStewart‭

62%
+3 −1
When and where to use vias in an IC design layout

I am learning IC design layouts using Cadence Virtuoso and now I got stuck with the concept of using vias. The question is when and where to use it? I am attaching the schematic of my inverter tuto...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by aditya98‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Designalog‭

60%
+1 −0
IEPE Sensor Internal Circuit

Based on reading the All About Circuits article on IEPE sensors there are two general types of circuits integrated into this class of sensors: voltage amplifier and charge amplifier. This question...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by DavidE‭

75%
+4 −0
Driving LED with NPN transistor from I/O pin

I'm trying to understand a circuit for driving a LED found on a board I purchased. Below is the circuit driven by an I/O pin (HS2) of a small 3.3V processor. The HS2 pin is driven by the I/O wi...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by eric‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

60%
+1 −0
derating MLCC ripple current for transient current spikes

This graph - MLCC temperature rise vs ripple current RMS & frequency If I had a 10 us current spike every 100 000 us (akin to a half-sine wave and then the rest of 9999 sine waves missing), ...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by kellogs‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

66%
+2 −0
Will shorting a lithium ion battery cause an explosion?

I've seen batteries get shorted a few times. They heat up, and obviously the battery is not useful after, but I've never seen them explode or catch fire. I've read reports of some batteries catchin...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by matthewsnyder‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

75%
+4 −0
What are some best practices for library management?

Most CAD packages use a "symbol" and "footprint" library approach when it comes to designing schematics and PCBs. Some (like recent versions of Altium) have "component" libraries where symbols and ...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Mu3‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by H_H‭

72%
+6 −1
How to protect RF switches from ESD?

Assume that I have some generic antenna connector, followed by a pi-filter/50ohm impedance matching components, then a DC blocking cap (as per the RF switch recommendations) and then a RF switch fo...

4 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Lundin‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Nick Alexeev‭

RF
71%
+3 −0
Burned Source Driver - Noise Spikes from Relay Coil

I am trying to figure out what is causing an Allegro A2982 source driver to burn up. The source driver (A2982) is connected to the coil of a Panasonic TXS2-9V relay. The source driver and coil ar...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by mrbean‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

77%
+5 −0
Soft-start circuit behaviour

Let's take a soft-start circuit that looks like this: To my understanding, the function can be described as follows: C1 charges to open the gate. Value of C1 will dictate the soft-start delay...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Mu3‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

50%
+1 −1
Confusion about channel capacity definition and units

Why can the channel capacity C of the additive white gaussion noise (AWGN) channel be denoted in different ways and how do they relate to each other? Examples: C = (1/2) * log2(1 + SNR) [bit?] ...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by daniel_s‭  ·  reopened 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

66%
+2 −0
ATX Computer Power Supply Spark in Non-computer Application

Hello! I would like to ask for your assistance with using a Silverstone DA1650 Gold computer power supply (you can find more about it here: Silverstone DA1650 Gold) for a non-computer application. ...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Gabriel‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by DSI‭

85%
+10 −0
Why 3.3V instead of 3V?

Usual values used in doing electronics/power supplies are almost always round numbers: 5V 12V 28V 48V 60V I understand that in some cases ICs are built to accept the voltage directly comi...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by 2kind‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

71%
+3 −0
What is Ground Electrode in EMG?

*Learning about EMG as a part of our research. My team has at least some experience with electronics that is worth mentioning, but don't have any experience with EMG/bio-potentials. Most EMG hardwa...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by tilly‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

75%
+4 −0
Essential safety features of an EMG/medical grade device?

EMG consists of an electrode gel skin interface, op-amps with a certain gain and an ADC. Question is in the context of passive electrodes. What are the essential safety features of such types of h...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by tilly‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

75%
+4 −0
Power switches and automotive load dump, unclamped

Power switches used in automotive are usually rated to withstand clamped load dump events, of the 35 - 40 V peak variety. AFAICT there are two main clamping mechanisms - first one for the logic par...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by kellogs‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

60%
+1 −0
Can the corner frequency of thermal noise change with change in source impedance?

In EMG there is a certain level of thermal noise created at the electrode-gel-skin interface which depends on the skin-electrode impedance (also known as source impedance). I have been able get th...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by tilly‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by TonyStewart‭

77%
+5 −0
Deriving resistor values for a taper pad attenuator

A taper pad is a resistive attenuator that maintains impedances on both ports and provides a specific amount of gain-loss ($A_{12}$): - I have derived formulas for each resistor (that I know to ...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Andy aka‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

40%
+0 −1
Suggestions for projects in Embedded systems [closed]

Currently, I enrolled myself in a master's course this fall in the field of Computer Engineering. I am excited to create my microcontroller projects. I want to understand how much complexity is exp...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by aditya98‭  ·  closed 1y ago by Nick Alexeev‭

75%
+4 −0
Disabling breakpoints in real-time section of firmware

Got a question about hazardous breakpoints in real-time firmware. Does C have a mechanism which lets me mark a section of code such that breakpoints are somehow ignored or not allowed just in that...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by misk94555‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Gnomo‭

75%
+4 −0
Cable loops between utility poles?

Sometimes cables between utility poles make a loop and do a U-turn. What is the purpose of such loops? The loop I'm asking about is in the lower set of wires towards the left of the picture. The...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

82%
+12 −1
Why are some PCB design software programs considered to be 'hobbyist' programs?

Recently I have heard this opinion from experienced engineers when discussing PCB design software. The common opinion was that Allegro and Altium are supposedly professional programs whereas Eagle ...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Wilkins Ticklebum‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Sclrx‭

66%
+2 −0
Understanding the s11 and s21 coefficients of a microstrip line with resistor to ground

I thought I understood the theory of scattering parameters, smith charts etc. until I tried a practical example. The following stupid example is supposed to be a microstrip line shunted by two 100...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by coquelicot‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

50%
+0 −0
Complex frequency of a pole

If we have the transfer function of a LC high pass filter: $H(s) = \frac{sL}{sL+\frac{1}{sC}}$ If we want to find the pole of that filter in the end we get: $s = \frac{j}{\sqrt{LC}}$ and for a ...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by MissMulan‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

28%
+0 −3
Capacitance gain using conductive core for inductors [closed]

I have learnt that if we have 2 parallel conductive plates and we seperate them the capacitance is increased if we put a good conductor between the plates. Now the resonant frequency of a inductor...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by MissMulan‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

25%
+0 −4
Fuse monitoring on multiple batteries [closed]

Looking for KalleMP who last commented on the link attached. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/368517/remotely-monitor-condition-of-fuse#:~:text=R1 %26 the LED are the basic indicato...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Natti‭  ·  closed 1y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

70%
+5 −1
How to calculate the RC filter of a TCXO for a RFIC reference?

I have a 30MHz TCXO circuit (TCXO datasheet) like this serving as local oscillator to a RFIC: The RFIC manufacturer recommends to "add filtering caps" for high RF output cases. That is >20d...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by Lundin‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

75%
+4 −0
Correct way to think about thermal noise?

I have just started learning about thermal noise in op-amps and while studying could not find if the noise given in op-amps data sheets is random sample to sample regardless of the time interval be...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Joel‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

71%
+3 −0
Is it always necessary to use the ground terminal of the oscilloscope probe?

Assume my oscilloscope is grounded, and the DUT is grounded as well (earth ground). I am using a standard 10 Mohm impedance 1:10 passive probe. So, the ground terminal of the probe is in fact con...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by coquelicot‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

80%
+6 −0
Ground pour on outer layers on 4-layer PCB

I'm designing a board that contains a cortex-M4 mcu working at 120MHz, and an ethernet bus with a wiznet chip that communicates with SPI. The ethernet chip gives me a phy output that goes directly...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by DeadMouse‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

33%
+0 −2
How to calculate the voltage of a coil?

Hi guys, I need to calculate the voltage that will center the magnetic field of a coil. The coil gonna be used in an induction heater thank you. Edit: I edited the paragraph because it was misu...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by deleted user  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

71%
+3 −0
Altium. Reusing schematic symbols for pin-compatible parts.

I want to create a schematic symbol and reuse it for multiple ICs which have identical pinouts. For example, OpaMPS, or the venerable SN74LS00, SN74HC00, SN74HCT00. How can I do this in an Altium...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by Nick Alexeev‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

71%
+3 −0
Case temperature of MOSFET

Homework problem A MOSFET has a power dissipation of $P_{d} = 10\text{W}$. The MOSFET is mounted on a heatsink. There is an isolation pad between the MOSFET case and the heatsink. We are given t...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by Carl‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

50%
+1 −1
Confusion in operation of analog computer

I am studying for a test in control systems and we have a practical part which is to program a analog computer. Here is a picture of the analog computer: The variable resistor is basically a vo...

2 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by Volpina‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

71%
+3 −0
H(jω) does not exist for unstable systems, but we still use it when designing controllers - contradiction?

According to Signal processing and linear systems by Lathi, the transfer function $H(j\omega)$ does not exist for systems with poles in the RHP: - This makes sense to me, since $H(j\omega) = \fr...

3 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Carl‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

60%
+1 −0
Asynchronous connection question

Assume we have a channel and send 7-bit data(0100100) asynchronously with 1 parity bit(0).Suppose the start bit is 1.The end bits are in the same logic level with the idle state of the channel(0).H...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by MissMulan‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

71%
+3 −0
PTC resettable fuse leakage current

Intro Hi everyone, I have a question about the practical use of a PTC (positive thermal coefficient) resettable fuse. I've never used one before, but I'd like to add one to a DC motor circuit to p...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by cosined‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭