Electronics and Embedded Programming V2 - Developers

[QUOTE=Map in a box;33241783]Yo sexy thread! I'm thinkin about getting a 'duino finally. Anyone mind hooking me up with the stuff I need? I definitely want a GPS, an LCD screen, and a arduino battery pack. A touch screen would seal the deal, too. What would be a good bundle for this? Hopefully under $70 or so[/QUOTE] All that would easily get you over 150$

[QUOTE=ddrl46;33243107]The GPS alone would be about $50 so good luck with that.[/QUOTE] Er I've seen GPS' for $20

Has anyone bought from [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/"]SeedStudio[/URL]? I am considering buying an Arduino Uno and the [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/arduino-sidekick-basic-kit-p-775:c0f168ce8900fa56e57789e2a2f2c9d0.html"]Sidekick basic kit[/URL]

How should I start learning electronics with no prior experience or knowledge on the subject? It seems really neat and this thread has inspired me to start learning as well. I was wondering if there's any starting points that any of you would recommend to a beginner.

[QUOTE=Val67;33249412]Has anyone bought from [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/"]SeedStudio[/URL]? I am considering buying an Arduino Uno and the [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/arduino-sidekick-basic-kit-p-775:c0f168ce8900fa56e57789e2a2f2c9d0.html"]Sidekick basic kit[/URL][/QUOTE] That's a pretty cool kit for 20$! It even comes with a resistor-chart, awesome! The paper ones are so fucking handy.

[QUOTE=Val67;33249412]Has anyone bought from [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/"]SeedStudio[/URL]? I am considering buying an Arduino Uno and the [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/arduino-sidekick-basic-kit-p-775:c0f168ce8900fa56e57789e2a2f2c9d0.html"]Sidekick basic kit[/URL][/QUOTE] I haven't but its definitely bookmarked :v:

[QUOTE=Val67;33249412]Has anyone bought from [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/"]SeedStudio[/URL]? I am considering buying an Arduino Uno and the [URL="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/arduino-sidekick-basic-kit-p-775:c0f168ce8900fa56e57789e2a2f2c9d0.html"]Sidekick basic kit[/URL][/QUOTE] I think I bought my [url=http://dangerousprototypes.com/2010/02/25/prototype-open-logic-sniffer-logic-analyzer-2/]OpenBench logic sniffer[/url] from them. To be quite honest, though, the idea of buying stuff directly from a Chinese company still wierds me out a little bit.

Look what I got for € 10,- [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/4M6td.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/TqOdS.jpg[/img_thumb] 50 MHz dual channel and of course they had to put the price tag on the screen :v:. Oh and I forgot to mention, it will need some repairing but that's part of the fun.

[QUOTE=ddrl46;33259006]Look what I got for € 10,- [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/4M6td.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/TqOdS.jpg[/img_thumb] Of course they had to put the price tag on the screen :v:.[/QUOTE] Oh god I am jelly.

Is there anyone here who has experience with either Arduino or Phidgets?

[QUOTE=ddrl46;33259006]Look what I got for € 10,- -pictures, they were here- 50 MHz dual channel and of course they had to put the price tag on the screen :v:. Oh and I forgot to mention, it will need some repairing but that's part of the fun.[/QUOTE] Whaaaat, how? You lucky bastard. I love CRO's, there's nothing like setting the time-base wrong and watching the signal unfold across the screen. Best of luck on the repair front, and remember, calibrate it!

[QUOTE=Alcapwne;33259407]Is there anyone here who has experience with either Arduino or Phidgets?[/QUOTE] I think almost everyone here has experience with Arduino. Not sure about Phidgets.

[QUOTE=i300;33259525]I think almost everyone here has experience with Arduino. Not sure about Phidgets.[/QUOTE] Ah okay, What Arduino board would be best for controlling 3 motors wirelessly?

[QUOTE=Alcapwne;33259579]Ah okay, What Arduino board would be best for controlling 3 motors wirelessly?[/QUOTE] Wirelessly? Any; look into cheap RF modules and run the motors through the appropriate control and protection equipment, ideally controlled via PWM so it only takes one pin per control mechanism.

[QUOTE=Nazral;33259600]Wirelessly? Any; look into cheap RF modules and run the motors through the appropriate control and protection equipment, ideally controlled via PWM so it only takes one pin per control mechanism.[/QUOTE] I'm extremely new to this all, what exactly does that mean? Thanks

[QUOTE=Nazral;33259443]Whaaaat, how? You lucky bastard. I love CRO's, there's nothing like setting the time-base wrong and watching the signal unfold across the screen. Best of luck on the repair front, and remember, calibrate it![/QUOTE] Yeah, even through I already have a digital scope I still prefer the nice green glow of analog scopes. Apparantly there are some problems with the power supply but I can't really test it since I don't have a 1.6A fuse for it (and I'd rather not test it without one). I'll post a few pictures of the insides soon, every single transistor is in a socket!

[QUOTE=Alcapwne;33259770]I'm extremely new to this all, what exactly does that mean? Thanks[/QUOTE] Aha, my apologies. Give [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPziPfaByw"]this[/URL] a watch to get the jist of what PWM is. Basically, any Arduino/ATmega has a few pins capable of this, and there are rather a few methods of controlling motors via it, just don't hook them up directly to the chip, it won't go well. As for the wireless part, there's XBee/Zigbee, but that's overkill and massively expensive for most projects. Look into a 315Mhz or similar set of radio modules, depending on the range you need and the VirtualWire Arduino library, there's plenty of documentation. When it comes to protection, look into flyback diodes to stop back-EMF (Check the inductor related videos from the previously linked video's channel) and the use of transistors as abstraction from the pins, I can elaborate further if needed. If you're new to the whole electronics thing in general, check out [URL="http://www.play-hookey.com/"]these[/URL] [URL="http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/index.htm"]two[/URL] sites. Hope this helps a little. Edit- [QUOTE=ddrl46;33259838]Yeah, even through I already have a digital scope I still prefer the nice green glow of analog scopes. Apparantly there are some problems with the power supply but I can't really test it since I don't have a 1.6A fuse for it (and I'd rather not test it without one). I'll post a few pictures of the insides soon, every single transistor is in a socket![/QUOTE] Aw, holy shit, that's some prime through-hole design there; those were the days of user repair and upgrade, good times.

Here's some porn for you guys (click for bigger image): [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/4QQqH.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/HehDq.jpg[/img_thumb] I'll try to take better pictures tommorow when there is daylight.

[QUOTE=ddrl46;33260536]Here's some porn for you guys (click for bigger image): [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/4QQqH.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/HehDq.jpg[/img_thumb] I'll try to take better pictures tommorow when there is daylight.[/QUOTE] Its... beautiful. For 10 euros? That's a steal.

Even if you don't get it to work, you now have a tube to toy around with!

Fuck waiting, here you go. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/K1730.jpg[/img_thumb] The screw on the bottom not being in properly is my fault. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/45taT.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/XQOws.jpg[/img_thumb] Yes, tube is dated 1979 [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/M4vPi.jpg[/img_thumb] Socketed transistors. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/N5NNZ.jpg[/img_thumb] I'll stop posting about this scope now (for today).

My 2 other scopes (yes I have 3 in total): [img]http://i53.tinypic.com/1j8bhv.png[/img]

Here are my scopes: -nil- :suicide:

After reading the service manual for a bit I decided to take it apart a bit further. Had to remove the back of the oscilloscope by removing two screws and there we go, power supply! [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Ftlwq.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/JEBDH.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/2UxN5.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/20jst.jpg[/img_thumb] Looking at the transformer it looks fine, I can't find my meter at the moment so I can't measure the windings yet, but I will once I find it. Capacitors all look fine from the outside as well. And damn I love how modular this thing is. I tried turning it on with a fast blow fuse but that popped, most likely because of the inrush current, and since it's designed to be used with a slow blow fuse so I've ordered me some of those.

I can't seem to get my asynchronous data transmission to work at all :(. I don't understand how the clock and bit duration work together :suicide:

Had some fun building a quick and simple one transistor class A amplifier: [img]http://i.imgur.com/IyQc0.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/Q8GR8.png[/img] Input = Blue, Output = Yellow For those interested in building one: [b]How to design a basic class A amplifier[/b] 1. Pick the collector quiescent current, 1mA is usually a good place, in my circuit above I used 5mA. 2. Find the required value of R3 for the desired quiescent current ((Vcc / 2) / 5mA) = 1.2k 3. Pick R4 for the desired gain, this is roughly (R3 / gain) so (1.2k / 2.5) = 470 ohm~ this does however not take into account the intrinsic emitter impedance. 4. Find the maximum allowable input impedance using (hFE * R4) which is roughly 47k, you'd generally want the input impedance to be at least 10x less to avoid attenuation of the input signal. 5. Work out the required value of R1 and R2, this should be high enough to ensure the emitter is at 1V at the lowest point of the input signal you can work this out by doing (Vinput(peak) + 0.7V + 1V) assuming the input is 400mV peak this gives us 2.1V. 6. Pick the resistors R1 and R2 so you get around 2.1V, make sure the total value is no more than hFE * R4, or preferably 10 times less than this, I decided to use 39k and 8.2k which is a bit high but it works. 7. Pick the value of the coupling capacitors C1 and C2, you can use electrolytic caps but if you have any plastic film capacitors use them instead, what value you need depends on application, if you want to work out the cutoff frequency exactly you can do so by using (1/(2 * Pi * R * C)) which gives me 2Hz on the input (high pass) and the output is 1.3Hz (also high pass) but that depends on impedance of the next stage. 8. Realise you have no idea what all this means and go back to step 1. Congratulations if you know what I'm talking about.

Felt like playing some Commodore 64 today, sadly I don't have a controller... But wait, I have a soldering iron! [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/bHKPm.jpg[/img_thumb] Problem solved.

So while puzting around in Radioshack getting materials to make a jury-rigged O-scope cable, I discovered that suddenly The Shack carries Arduinos. My mind was blown.

So I've been speaking to my electronics teacher about buying an old scope from the school, he said it's happened before and talked to the principle. On friday after a class I'm gonna pop in to our classroom and we'll have a look at one to make sure it's all working. It's probably gonna be a 50 ish megahertz scope and it's gonna come with an add-on multimeter and frequency counter. Best part? Price is gonna be somewhere sub €100. I'm so excited I can hardly wait.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;33310800]So while puzting around in Radioshack getting materials to make a jury-rigged O-scope cable, I discovered that suddenly The Shack carries Arduinos. My mind was blown.[/QUOTE] I went to the RadioShack at the local mall (which used to be the absolute [i]worst[/i]) and suddenly they stock heatsinks, mica insulators, and aluminum project boxes, among other things. Just a few months ago I'd go there and find nothing but iPod accessories in the component drawers.