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1500 questions
25
votes
9 answers
What is the easiest way to connect a breadboard to a multimeter?
The test leads on my multimeter are too large to fit in the holes in my breadboard. How can I easily connect my multimeter to test voltage on my breadboard?
Anonymous Penguin
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25
votes
8 answers
Stopping electric arcs between layers in PCB - big PCB burn
Firstly, let me preface this with the fact that I am not interested in chastising the user, and I am not interested in looking at the original source of the arc (it was a tool accidentally breaching the power rails). This question is EXPLICITLY…
David Molony
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25
votes
1 answer
Reverse polarity protection
I read somewhere that this can be used for the reverse polarity protection in the circuit. But I am quite confused with its operation. Can somebody help me with this.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
IamDp
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25
votes
1 answer
Why is "silkscreen" called that way?
Why is the set of white labels on a PCB called the "silkscreen"?
Randomblue
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25
votes
3 answers
Why should I worry about a motor causing my supply voltage to shoot up when the back-EMF can't exceed the supply voltage?
I have heard people say that in motor control circuits, one must take precautions to keep the motor from feeding back into the power supply, causing the supply voltage to rise, consequently breaking things. But how can this be? Unless some external…
Phil Frost
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25
votes
2 answers
C coding design - function pointers?
I have a PIC18F46K22 and program it with the XC8 compiler. In the end, I'll have a system like a pc with stdin and stdout. So in the main loop there will be a function which is checking if there is new input. If there's input, a function will be…
user17592
25
votes
4 answers
Does a self-powered USB device have to connect to VCC from the host port?
A self-powered USB peripheral provides its own power, so is it okay to connect just D+, D- and GND to the host port, or do you always have to connect +5V as well, then wait for the negotiation phase for the device to tell the host that it is…
kbro
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25
votes
11 answers
Why did USB win out over parallel interfaces?
What were the technical reason(s) USB massively overtook parallel interfaces such as SCSI, IEEE-488, and enhanced parallel ports? I understand the hardware can be simpler with just one data line rather than eight. But intuitively there would be a…
RichF
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25
votes
4 answers
Ceramic resonator changes and maintains frequency when touched
I'm experiencing a weird phenomenon with a ceramic resonator test circuit, where the frequency of its output can be changed by touching the circuit with my finger. The circuit would maintain this higher frequency oscillation indefinitely as long as…
crossroad
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25
votes
15 answers
Is there a theoretical possibility of having a full computer on a silicon wafer instead of a motherboard?
I have not seen a single reference where a whole computer is built inside a chip itself instead of modularizing and spreading it on a board.
I acknowledge that having modular parts enable versatility, but can big silicon companies such as Intel, AMD…
user0193
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25
votes
7 answers
How do we know that voltmeters are accurate?
Something that has always puzzled me is how we know the accuracy of voltmeters. From googling around, it seems that today's digital voltmeters use an ADC. An ADC works by comparing the voltage that is to be measured against a highly precise known…
John Allen
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25
votes
7 answers
How to clean my soldering iron tip or how to determine that it's beyond repair?
First, I've read though questions Soldering Iron Maintenance and Going through Soldering tips quickly and was unable to solve my problem. I have recently (as in less then a month ago) obtained Multitip 25 ERSA Microsoldering iron with 0172BD/10…
AndrejaKo
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25
votes
6 answers
How to learn PID Control?
I want to learn PID (Proportional–Integral–Derivative) control mainly for temperature.
I would like to learn preferably through an easy project to do.
Could you please recommend something which would take a few weeks to learn?
Edit: I want to…
Daniel Grillo
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25
votes
4 answers
Illustrating op amp feedback without control theory
We are teaching op amps in a high school class, before calculus. So we can't use control theory to teach how op amps respond. All the same, I would like to have an intuitive explanation for how a feedback circuit works. Take the negative…
Dov
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25
votes
2 answers
Why are the same alloys solid in solder wire and liquid in solder paste?
Is there a chemical difference between alloys in solder wire and alloys solder paste that make solder wires solid and solder paste fluids?
For instance, this solder wire and this solder paste both have the composition Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5, but the wire is…
Ken Grimes
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