Posted on 15th Apr 2019
We were tasked with checking the high end of the industrial temperature range (85 C) for some of the components we used. Left over from some prior temperature testing was a cheap toaster oven picked up a WalMart became the platform of choice.
Posted on 5th Apr 2019
We were introduced to the Pokitto by NXP and were asked if we would be interested in porting our BASIC to it. We are always interested in inspiring the next generation of engineers, so we happily complied.
Posted on 27th Mar 2019
I've been doing measurements on my heating system for about the last month. We are a couple days into spring, but still have snow expected this week, though this might be the last winter storm. So its a good time to look at the almost 35 days of data, which will tell about what to expect for the p...
Posted on 21st Mar 2019
For our C users we use NXP's ISP serial download. In order for that to work we need to control 2 lines - one for RESET and one for ISP_BOOT. This is also the method Flash Magic uses for their loaders. We do produce a USB dongle based on an FTDI chip to do this, but it is a very low volume part for us, and therefore expensive. So we are always looking for alternatives.
Posted on 10th Mar 2019
It is gratifying to see something you built work as designed, even though you may have tested it many times before. With day light saving time coming up last week, I took that to spur me to finish off the design of my WiFi web connected clock. During that time I changed the program to go out and check the time about 3 AM each day. That handles calibrating the clock crystal as well as the bi-annual time changes.
Posted on 3rd Mar 2019
For many years, I was looking for a new PCB layout package. And from time to time I would try one based on somone else's recommendation. Invariably I was unimpressed and fell back on my old standby TraxMaker that I purchased back in the 90s. That too was a recommendation, but its chief advantage was that you could start using it right away import virtually any format netlist and start laying out. Its user interface was simple and followed most other conventions, and push a button at the end and get a set of gerber files ready to fab.