Electrical Engineering V2 - Developers

Are you kidding? OSHPark is one of the better cheap PCB fabs out there, they don't shit out crap quality boards like some of the Chinese fabs.

I know, I've used them several times and they're amazing. I was just wondering if there was some place I wasn't aware of that was cheaper.

[QUOTE=papkee;46966321]I know, I've used them several times and they're amazing. I was just wondering if there was some place I wasn't aware of that was cheaper.[/QUOTE] Oops read your post like you were purposefully looking for a pcb fab that produced low quality PCBs instead of low quantity. :v:.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;46960472]Yeah, but they need to order single sided copper clad just for you, which will ultimately be more expensive to source and set up the machines for you. You'd need to order thousands of boards to make this worthwhile.[/QUOTE] Also don't forget power supplies are usually single sided along with a lot of cheaper and low density products so single sided is quite common particularly with Chinese PCB fabs.

I just compared my ATMega328P's from eBay to an ATMega8 that a dude is working with at school. Let's just, his markings on the top are all superbright white, with excellent definition, and my markings are so dim you can hardly see them, and they look like they've been extremely lightly drilled, instead of being printed. I just flashed the Arduino Uno bootloader to my chip, and blinked an LED with it, though, so, it works.

I notice all my ebay chips have that kind of dim barely-there kind of marking.

It's that special Shenzhen touch baby. Also, using EAGLE for the first time ever right now. It's interesting to say the least, but christ, the library system is so much better than what Proteus can offer.

And download [URL="https://github.com/chiengineer/Eagle-Libraries"]this library set[/URL] and never have trouble searching for a part again.

Holy fucking shitbiscuits

[QUOTE=papkee;46973349]And download [URL="https://github.com/chiengineer/Eagle-Libraries"]this library set[/URL] and never have trouble searching for a part again.[/QUOTE] Dayum, I wish there was something equivalent for DipTrace.

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;46973668]Dayum, I wish there was something equivalent for DipTrace.[/QUOTE] I remember being able to import EAGLE libraries into Diptrace.

I keep losing my Teensy. I'll literally put it somewhere, and something will fall on top of it, and I'll spend an hour hunting it down the next day. This thing is too damn small.

Mystery chinese package today was 20 female BNC panel jacks. Awww yus DIY antennas.

Anyone know a cheap source for video patch connectors? [img]http://www.tecnec.com/productImage/BIG/PATCH-CRIMP.jpg[/img] I'm not paying $5 a connector to make two dozen cables.

Never saw this type of connector, didnt they use BNC connectors?

Video patch cables are like BNC but for ease of use they have no locking mechanism and a long neck so that the cables can't work themselves loose. The patch bays also weigh a ton because they're incredibly shielded, plus they are expensive. [img]http://www.fullcompass.com/common/products/lg/38200.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.canford.co.uk/Images/ItemImages/large/48-4383_01.jpg[/img] I got a bunch of scrap patch bays but asshole stole all the cables.

great, I bought one of [URL="http://eud.dx.com/product/7-digital-lcd-screen-drive-board-hdmi-vga-2av-for-raspberry-pcduino-cubieboard-black-844275810#.VL-7J1WG_2R"]these[/URL] only to figure out I don't actually have 12 V power supply around :v: [editline]21st January 2015[/editline] I'm not sure about it tho because of what's in the description: [QUOTE]Power input: DC 12V, 2A, 6~7W[/QUOTE] 12V @ 2A != 6~7W now I don't assume it would run on something like 6V, but perhaps a supply of 1.5 A is sufficient?

[QUOTE=scratch (nl);46979942]great, I bought one of [URL="http://eud.dx.com/product/7-digital-lcd-screen-drive-board-hdmi-vga-2av-for-raspberry-pcduino-cubieboard-black-844275810#.VL-7J1WG_2R"]these[/URL] only to figure out I don't actually have 12 V power supply around :v: [editline]21st January 2015[/editline] I'm not sure about it tho because of what's in the description: 12V @ 2A != 6~7W now I don't assume it would run on something like 6V, but perhaps a supply of 1.5 A is sufficient?[/QUOTE] If it says 2A, make sure it's at least 2A. As for 12V, surely you have an old ATX supply lying around?

7W is just under 0.6A which makes a lot more sense, a 1A supply should be more than enough.

fuck me, 20 mins after ordering a supply I find one in the corner :v: oh well, the one I ordered can be adjusted from from between 3V and 12 V, can be of use.

I hope this is the right thread for this lol. I am about to buy an Arduino starter kit to mess around with. Does anyone have any recommendations of one that they have/have heard good things about? Things I would really like in it: - IR reciever (but I am strongly expecting to purchase this seperately) - LCD screen - Servo motor - USB/Ethernet Shield

What are your plans for it? [editline]21st January 2015[/editline] And due to [url]http://sensors.limonene.net/rtlsdr.php[/url] not picking up NOAA satellites, its time to construct a bigger, better antenna. I think I can fit a 2 meter crossed dipole in my closet, so its time to do that! [editline]b[/editline] Oh wait, a half-wave at 137MHz is only 1.09 meters, easy.

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;46985075]What are your plans for it? [editline]21st January 2015[/editline] And due to [url]http://sensors.limonene.net/rtlsdr.php[/url] not picking up NOAA satellites, its time to construct a bigger, better antenna. I think I can fit a 2 meter crossed dipole in my closet, so its time to do that![/QUOTE] Also ytou may want to build an LNA along with that (Alteast according to this [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8aVbARGJk"]tutorial[/URL]): [img_thumb]http://oi48.tinypic.com/2m46fkz.jpg[/img_thumb]

[QUOTE=Th3applek1d;46984656]I hope this is the right thread for this lol. I am about to buy an Arduino starter kit to mess around with. Does anyone have any recommendations of one that they have/have heard good things about? Things I would really like in it: - IR reciever (but I am strongly expecting to purchase this seperately) - LCD screen - Servo motor - USB/Ethernet Shield[/QUOTE] I've actually decided to just buy the parts separately, since it's a hell of a lot cheaper to do it that way.

After waiting 1.5 months my perfboard arrived. Now I don't know what to make. Also I've never used this stuff before. Any tips?

-snip-

[QUOTE=Leestons;46986947]Any tips?[/QUOTE] [t]http://ec.hakko.com/imgs/det/900M-T-2.4D.jpg[/t] [t]http://ec.hakko.com/imgs/det/900M-T-R.jpg[/t] [t]http://ec.hakko.com/imgs/det/900M-T-1C.jpg[/t] But on a more serious note, if you want nice traces, get some thin solid wire, or stranded wire and twist it, and then use that as guides for solder.

I thought the cold killed the Arduino and GSM shield that I have in my car to trigger the remote starter, though the cell carrier network name changed from "Speakout" to "HOME" for some bizarre reason. My code was checking the AT+COPS? command for "Speakout" to see if it was registered to the network before doing anything else, so it was just failing. I changed that function to look for "HOME" and it's working again, though I'll need to read the modem datasheet again to find a better command to check if it's registered. Phew, I thought I would have to deal with a cold car for the rest of the winter. EDIT: Ahh, the "AT+CREG?" command is what I was looking for. Seems to work well. I've also started cleaning up the code a bit, I may throw it on Github at some point. It's a bit ugly and feels hacky because I'm used to Python, though someone might find the code useful.

So i'm absolutely terrified of soldering and stuff, because I have super shaky hands and get migraines super easily from straining my eyes and concentrating on things really hard, and my Arduino is on the way. Is there going to be a point where I am gonna have to solder? I'm buying all my stuff with heads already on it, but what else do I have to solder for?

[QUOTE=Th3applek1d;46989447]So i'm absolutely terrified of soldering and stuff, because I have super shaky hands and get migraines super easily from straining my eyes and concentrating on things really hard, and my Arduino is on the way. Is there going to be a point where I am gonna have to solder? I'm buying all my stuff with heads already on it, but what else do I have to solder for?[/QUOTE] I've had an Uno for over a year and haven't had to solder at all yet. Breadboards and jumper wires are great for that. Soldering would be for if you made your own power supply for example, or an amp or something. With an arduino you shouldn't need to solder.