Posts by Olin Lathrop
A schematic is a visual representation of a circuit. As such, its purpose is to communicate a circuit to someone else. A schematic in a special computer program for that purpose is also a machi...
Yes, damage due to ESD (electro-static discharge) is real. Just because you haven't seen it isn't much evidence of anything. Some obvious possibilities why you haven't observed the problem are: Y...
To understand this issue, we have to look at how your circuit works and what the pullup does within it. You have a pushbutton you want to read with a microcontroller. The pushbutton is a momentary...
I've heard that a bootloader is code that runs on a microcontroller, and is used to get your application code onto the micro. How does that work? Is there anything special that needs to be done to...
Another thing that would be helpful is to get the existing users to participate more. Upvote good questions when you see them! For example, the question "208VAC triple-phase to single-phase conve...
Bootloader definition A bootloader is a program that runs in the microcontroller to be programmed. It receives new program information externally via some communication means, like a serial port, ...
This site grew out of frustration with how SE was managing their sites, seemed to value clicks over quality, and lost appreciation for those providing the content that the clicks came to get. This ...
What value pullup resistor should I use for a pushbutton connected to a microcontroller input? I've seen values from 1 kΩ to over 100 kΩ. Some references just say to use 10 kΩ because it's a "goo...
We see schematics of varying quality and conventions. What is good and bad? What are the rules and conventions for drawing good schematics? What matters? What doesn't? This question is about sch...
I have no experience designing for Intrinsic Safety (IS), but need to do that now. I have read thru IEC 60079-11, which seems to be the relevant standard for my purposes. The board I need to desi...
There is no easy answer to time-estimation. Experience is essential, but even for experienced people it's never easy. For simple projects, like designing a DC-DC converter inside some larger produ...
It takes high voltage to start the arc. Once started, the air is ionized, and becomes fairly conductive. It then takes much less voltage to keep the current flowing to sustain the arc. This also...
I don't have any special knowledge about how submarines get controlled, so this is mostly speculation. I expect that the actual controls are fine. There seem to be the necessary degrees of freedo...
Bouncing signals When a mechanical switch opens and closes, there is often vibration in the contacts so that they open and close several times rapidly until the new steady state is eventually reach...
Self-answered questions can be OK here. Those are best when they are canonical questions on topics likely to come up. Some examples where I have done this are: What is a bootloader, and how would...
I have also had this problem for production runs of 100s to 1000 where you don't want to spend too much on a full fancy jig. Put plain round pads on the bottom of the board. 50 mils is usually a ...
You really have to compare datasheets. There are some general differences, but you shouldn't go by those in specific instances. MOVs usually have softer knees, are available at higher voltages, a...
Yes, you should connect the scope probe ground to the circuit ground near where you are probing. The unit under test (UUT) and the scope may have their grounds connected, but that is via a round-a...
That looks like the internal compenstation capacitor. It creates a single dominant pole over most of the opamp's intended operating range. Opamps with dominant pole compensation can be characteri...
Your main complaint seems to be that the 24 V power rail sags 800 mV when the heater is on. Three responses pop to mind: So what? It probably isn't anyway. What did you expect? #1: So what? ...
Currently, we have two categories, Q&A and Meta. Those seem to be working well. New topic type available A category can now be created where there is a single post per topic, with only comment...
I see Andy has already given a detailed answer with a lot of good background on flyback converters. I'll answer the question more directly about how I would step thru this design if given these ...
This is not a direct answer, but a few observations that might be clues. The additional pictures help, but you still haven't answered where this is. The purpose of the question was to get some id...
First, let's draw the schematic properly so that it's not so annoying to look at: Yes, it's a differential amplifier. Q1 sinks current as a function of VIN+. Q3 and Q4 are a current mirror tha...
