Posts by Olin Lathrop
A different type of solder, other than using lead-based solder, is probably not going to help. There are two causes to your problem: Crappy tips. Higher temperature required due to lead-free sol...
It might be something called a "pendulum detuner". The are designed to partially damp out the worst natural mechanical resonance frequency of the cable. Wind can excite resonance in a cable, whic...
The main point is that you need thermal symmetry between the two pads of a small package. You want the solder paste to melt at the same time between the two pads. Molten solder has significantly ...
Your first circuit topology makes sense, although some of the part values are questionable. How the circuit works R37 provides the bias supply for the condenser microphone with a predictable impe...
My first knee-jerk reaction was to use opto-isolators. There are some that have been around for decades and are unlikely to go obsolete any time soon. I wasn't previously aware of these "digital ...
It has two female inputs on the backside that are labeled as "Grounding". This is incorrect. Take a closer look at the two connections and you will see that the left is labeled "Antenne" and t...
Thanks for asking. In my view, if it's something you'd first think of asking an electrician, it's probably off topic here. That includes what type of cable to use, whether it should be in a condu...
One of the first things you should do is provide a connection for the scope probe ground. If you think you'll be regularly looking at signals on this board, then one of those little loops or pins ...
Whichever you choose. I notice that you deliberately made the gain of one transistor a little higher than the other. That is irrelevant. The positive and negative outputs don't depend on the pow...
Reasons this is sometimes done: To get higher power dissipation. To get higher voltage capability. To get lower parasitic capacitance. For 1 and 2 the "normal" answer is to use a resistor rat...
I think such questions are OK as long as they are EE-specific. General purpose dictionaries often do a poor job with specialized technical terms, especially when they are the same or similar as re...
We don't just give direct answers to homework (or homework-like) questions here, but can help you work thru the problem on your own. You might consider trying to synthesize a subtractor from scrat...
This is a good question. I wasn't originally envisioning introductions to known concepts, but that might work if well written. If so, the Paper should at least be clearly labeled as such. We don...
Voltage Rating If a device says it needs a particular voltage, then you have to assume it needs that voltage. Both lower and higher could be bad. When no tolerance or input voltage range is specif...
EMPs (electro-magnetic pulses) occur naturally often. Every lightning strike is one example. Larger EMPs have been created artificially with nuclear weapons. The Starfish Prime H-bomb test cause...
To summarize, it seems you want a circuit that will detect an input voltage high/low with a threshold somewhere between 0 and 3.3 V, must operate correctly with 0-3.3 V input, but must tolerate inp...
Your circuit It doesn't make sense that the yellow blob is a current sink: If it were a current sink, then there would be no point to the resistor in series with it. That only wastes power, re...
First Circuit Let's start by looking at the conventional current mirror circuit: The base of Q1 (Not sure which one that is? Use component designators next time!) is driven to whatever it takes...
There are a number of things that are unclear. You talk about the red and IR phases of the light sensor signal being demultiplexed into separate red and IR signals, but there is no evidence of thi...
Catching a flyback pulse is actually a rather easy application for a diode. Many of the diode parameters don't matter much. The basics are: Reverse voltage. This is simply the maximum voltage t...
Direct answer How to clean off flux depends on what type of flux was used. Most electronic parts can handle being washed in clean water. In fact, boards often go thru what amounts to an industri...
I have boycotted the SE and neither asked or answered any questions so am happy to have a new home here. I'm glad you're here. You might also want to mention this in your SE profile, and point pe...
You generally want complementary NPN/PNP pairs when they are used as opposites of each other in the same circuit. One transistor is usually used with opposite polarity as a mirror image of the oth...
Pi filters are often used to block high frequencies between a device and the power line it draws power from. In such applications, the considerations specifying the inductor include: How much powe...
The short phrase is trying to capture the two broad classes of topics here: Electronic things, like opamps, transistors, microcontrollers, 20 W power supplies, and the like. Utility-scale power sys...
