Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

Surfing for Science: Phil Bresnahan of SmartfinPhil Bresnahan Has made the water his playground and office for most of his lifeSenior Development Engineer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography a department of UC San Diego, and the Lead Engineer of the Smartfin ProjectSmartFinWhat is SmartFin?The Lost Bird ProjectWhy use a Surf Board for this platform?What kind of sensors does this fin have?How does it measure the ocean’s chemistry?Construction techniques?How is the fin charged and powered?Hardware challenges with the design?How does someone contribute to the project?BBC DocumentaryAnnouncements!KiCon 2019 is a user conference for the popular open source CAD program KiCad. Happening April 26th and 27th 2019 in Chicago IL, this is the first and largest gathering of hardware developers using KiCad. Talks at the conference will span hardware design, revision control, scripting, manufacturing considerations, proper library management and getting  started developing the underlying tools. All announced talks have been listed on the conference site.Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

20 Mar 201938min

The Golden Integrated CircuitParkerPropeller Development Stick Type-C Addition Found the BQ24165RGET to handle the lithium battery power management New battery management IC handles dual inputs thus replacing the TPS2113ADRBR power mux and p-channel mosfet Wagon Tach Project Signal is a 50V pulse from the distributor Arduinos do not like 50V Wagon Powered Mirror PCB Installed! 3D printed a bracket and installed into the door Tag Connect Probe Ends Will give a full report on how well they workStephenMacro Amp Milling the top panel Transformers mounted - check! PCB mounting needs fasteners ordered J-Fet buffer for the NuTubes Riaa filter with gain options for MM and MC type A series of filter specifications for recording If the record is cut with lower bass then the cut width can be smaller allowing for more info to be cut on to the record - More music playing time Two poles and one zero R.F.O.Gain ultra-high power density for 100-W USB Power Delivery adapters Texas Instruments application document for a very dense, high power AC to DC power supply Designed around providing the power for a 100W USB Type-C charger Complete 5-Watt Power Supply in IEC Main Filter Case Combines a IEC60320 (C13 coupler) connector with EMI filtering and a AC to DC power supply Greatly simplifies product design Due to cost Parker only sees this used in low volume / high margin products and one off art installations TI Claims Breakthrough BAW Technology Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonator technology though should it be BAWRT? Will reduce BoM cost and PCB size Discussion on how to store parts Part bins, boxes for projects, and proper tool storage Parker's fasteners drawer is getting out of hand How do you organize your parts?Announcements!KiCon 2019 is a user conference for the popular open source CAD program KiCad. Happening April 26th and 27th 2019 in Chicago IL, this is the first and largest gathering of hardware developers using KiCad. Talks at the conference will span hardware design, revision control, scripting, manufacturing considerations, proper library management and getting started developing the underlying tools. All announced talks have been listed on the conference site.Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

13 Mar 201958min

Electric Vehicle Charging and Cat SafetyChristopher HowellOpenEVSE started in February 2011 with a simple experiment to try to generate the J1772 pilot signal on an ArduinoOne experiment lead to another to another until a prototype J1772 compatible controller was bornWith lots of feedback and interest a few boards were offered to other hardware hackersWhat started as 6 boards built in the first batch turned into many thousands...Today, OpenEVSE powers charging stations from many manufactures all over the world.OpenEVSEWhat is OpenEVSE? Does EVSE stand for something?What is the story behind you getting into Electric Vehicle Chargers? DesignGenerating the SAE J1772 pilot signal from an Arduino. Why Arduino?What kind of regulations do you have to deal with?What approvals or markings does your product have?Are the kits approved?KitsHave you seen much interest in these? I would think most people just want a working final product.Safety concerns?Compatibility with vehicles?Going the other way? Battery management?John Cutler from twitter asks:Allowing load sharing for multiple EVSEs sharing a circuit and/or supporting the Hydra style setup?Day based scheduling (i.e. weekdays vs weekends).Smaller, more portable and/or inexpensive models?RaspberryPi based versions?Guy Thomas grtyvr from our Slack Channel asks:What is the current state of vehicle charging grid? And what can we do to influence decision makers to move faster on adoption?Super-capacitors for buses/trains:  is there progress in that area?Inductive charging for the bus/trains.  Is that a thing?Which EV do you drive? Which do you recommend?Github RepoAnnouncements!KiCon 2019 is a user conference for the popular open source CAD program KiCad. Happening April 26th and 27th 2019 in Chicago IL, this is the first and largest gathering of hardware developers using KiCad. Talks at the conference will span hardware design, revision control, scripting, manufacturing considerations, proper library management and getting  started developing the underlying tools. All announced talks have been listed on the conference site.MacroFab will be at SXSW. We are teaming up with Particle.io to put together a Hardware Happy Hour. It will take place this Friday March 8th from 4PM until 8PM at the Jester King Brewery. Join us for food and beer and network with fellow Hardware Engineers to kick off your SXSW weekend.Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

6 Mar 201934min

Kalashinikaze: The Right to Fly ArmsParkerProp Dev Stick Type-C edition updateRouting almost completeMoved from 0603 to 0402Parallax Propeller moved from QFP to QFNChanged the voltage regulator from a NCP1117 3.3V to a AP7361C 3.3VWhy?Adding Lipo battery charging supportBQ24075 Ti partTesting my USB Type-C example boardsInteresting Dongle Type-A to Type-CWagon power mirror controller works!StephenLND150 feedback tone stack for a Roz ampSimilar to the Venteq this is a variable impedance filter inside a feedback loopUses a modified architectureLND150 makes up the active elementFrom ~80V to 400V it is linear and does not shift amplitudeHigh voltage power supply still working greatMacro AmpLooking at the component layoutNeed to get octal sockets and J-Fets for the buffersR.F.O.Know your fits and tolerancesGreat video covering tolerances and fits for mechanical designNew engineers - selecting tolerance too tight. Most of the time this is not needed.Fits - Ansi standardsMachinists handbook 30th edition $35 on Amazon.Pillow Flight gamePico-8 gameThe Kalashnikov assault rifle changed the world. Now there’s a Kalashnikov kamikaze drone.How will the future of hobby drones be affected by this?FAA Mandates External Registration Markings for DronesHunting traps in most states have this requirementKalashnikov also makes an Electric Vehicle?This reminds us of when the Media was scared that 3D printers could make "Ghost Guns"Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

27 Feb 201952min

Al Williams and the One Instruction WonderAl Williams One of the authors behind Hackaday, a website that features electronic projects and other things that appeal to people interested in computers, electronics, and technologyHam radio operatorAuthor of many booksHas worked on everything from underwater technology to the International Space Station and just about everything in betweenWas on previous episodesEP#57: Mr. Williams, your book changed my lifeEP#94: Al Williams and the Field Programmable Gate ArraysFPGA bootcamps on Hackaday5 out now, 6 soonFPGA development boardsUpduino Max10 ArrowDigilentiCEstickDr. DobbsThe One Instruction WonderA Universal Cross AssemblerThe Commando Forth CompilerWrite 8-bit code in your browserAtari 2600 programming in browser with simulation!Verilog compiler for designing a 8-bit platform from scratchJone's forth compiler: JONESFORTHProject JupyterIPython Interactive ComputingThe Jupyter NotebookSpace suit decompresses in outer spaceVisit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

20 Feb 201954min

ParkerWrote an article about the past three years of the MacroFab Engineering PodcastChime ModuleMC14069UBHex inverterMC14001UBQuad NOR gateOther Circuit componentsWhat is the best way to reverse engineer a PCB?Ray AlertStephenRebuilt and rewired 3 amplifiersSoldano clone went from being somewhat noisy to virtually nothingVery interesting grounding schemeLots of dos and dontsUtracer tube testingThe Macro AmpNu TubeAlways remember to over buy partsGame idea?Zork derivative game that comes on a "com stick"RFOPower Supply Design for Clean Jazz AmpsThis is a cool blog about building power suppliesVasily IvanenkoLots of images and good analysisHeavy focus on component selection and managing groundsBees can do simple arithmetic, offering hop to low-gate-count AINow that is kinda click baityFlow Chart on Electrical Component SelectionThis accurately describes part buying for personal projectsMacroFab will be at SXSW. We are teaming up with Particle.io to put together a Hardware Happy Hour. It will take place on Friday March 8th from 4PM until 8PM at the super cool Jester King Brewery. Check the show notes for full details and to RSVP. Join us for lite bites and refreshments, network with fellow Hardware nerds and kick off SXSW.

13 Feb 201954min

Jason CerundoloAn engineer experienced in mechanical, electrical, and firmware engineeringJason has over nine years of experience as a hardware engineer and working on electronic designs in Silicon ValleyIn his free time, he works on open source projects, such as USB Type-C tools and projectsUSB Type-C Power Delivery PHY Breakout BoardA breakout board for the FUSB302USB-PD PHY for BMC communication used in USB-C connectorsDetermine plug orientation (normal or reversed)Determine or advertise Type-C power levels (5 V at 0.5, 1.5, or 3.0 A)Use BMC communication to negotiate USB Power Delivery Explicit Contracts up to 20 V and 5 A (100 W of power)Negotiate Alternate Modes to reuse the pins in the Type-C connector for other purposesOne of the problems that I always run into with USB designs is the “Am I doing this right?”Testing, debugging, and evaluationWhat hardware and software should you look at when building a test setup for USB?Low Cost Alternatives for home designers and startups?Jason has some tools like the FUSB302 break out board and USB-C Explorer Teledyne LeCroy Mercury T2C USB HS/PD Protocol AnalyzerCypress CY4500 EZ-PD Protocol AnalyzerWhat is a good place to start if a hardware designer wants to get into USB Type-C?Jason has articles that cover a solid foundation of USB Type-C in his USB-C for Engineers, Part 1Reclaimer LabsQuick hardware layout tips for USB signalsStandard high speed signal routing appliesFor USB 2.0 just keeping them the same length should be enoughFor Superspeed USB 3.0+ length matching for each pair is more importantMacroFab will be at SXSW. We are teaming up with Particle.io to put together a Hardware Happy Hour. It will take place on Friday March 8th from 4PM until 8PM at the super cool Jester King Brewery. Check the show notes for full details and to RSVP. Join us for lite bites and refreshments, network with fellow Hardware nerds and kick off SXSW.

6 Feb 201950min

ParkerStar Wars Detonator is 95% completeIt is inside the enclosure and works!Stand needs to be printed and wrap up the paintOriginal STL files for the detonator by Roel VeldhuyzenFuture of this project?USB Type-C Article UpdateUSB Type-C -> FTDI FT230X -> Parallax Propeller is completedExample is on our githubsNext is going to be a direct to MCU style like an ATmega32u4 unless someone else has a better idea from the slack channel?StephenEQ is functioning!Grtyvr from our Slack Channel came up with a good name – The Venti-QPower HungryMost of the bands work1 band has an oscillation problem1 band is pulling too much current2 or 3 bands are weakBuilding a test harness to test each band individuallyThe Super Simple Ribbon Mic live designSaturday Feb 2 @ 6pm Central on the MacroFab Twitch ChannelPreamp design for the MicrophoneMechanical Design (design of the ribbon frame and the case)Audio Connection (USB? XLR?)R.F.O.One board dev kit has three snap off STM 8 microcontrollersOne development board with three break off boardsHas three different tiers of 8-bit STM microcontrollers: STM8L001J3, STM8L050J3, STM8S001J3STM8-SO8-DISCODon’t Toss That Bulb, It Knows Your PasswordSmart Bulbs contain your WiFi credentials in plain text. Surprise!Common Electrical Engineering Interview TopicsLuke Metro has been interviewing with Bay Area startups and big tech companies during his last year of collegeA good list to start becoming a better Electrical EngineerTags: electronics podcast, EQ Build, FT230X, FTDI, Interview topics, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, Ribbon Mic, ST Microcontrollers, Star Wars Detonator, USB Type-C, Venti-Q

30 Jan 201950min