Image courtesy of Microchip Inc. Many MCU-based battery powered applications spend most of the time doing nothing productive. This is especially true for IoT applications like remote sensors, which periodically monitor a variable and react to it's value, performing some local work or transmiting it elsewhere. For these types of...more
This is the final part of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups With the project complete, I decided to look back on...more
This part five of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups Installation Sometimes the hard work is already done for you In one...more
This is the fourth part of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups Basic architecture Incoming events trigger external interrupts. The handlers post...more
This is the third part of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups Mechanical design The most difficult aspects of the design are...more
This is the second part of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups Circuit design and prototyping The prior post already detailed the...more
This is the first part of a six-part post: Part 1: System design and planning Part 2: Circuit and PCB design Part 3: Mechanical design Part 4: Firmware Part 5: Installation and external power Part 6: Conclusion, problems and screwups My latest project is a cat-themed Bluetooth audio player to...more
Navigating the full range of STM32 microcontrollers and understanding which models offer which features can be somewhat challenging. This is not helped by the ST website, which has all the information required, but spread out over large areas of the site. Below is an attempt to put all of this...more
With a plethora of manufacturers and models for pool solar controllers, it can be challenging to put together a system that just works, without resorting to sourcing everything from a single manufacturer and buying their overpriced controllers. Our Equipment Our pump is a premium variable speed model, but has no...more
While renovating my apartment, I designed and built a garden wall as a partition between the living and entry areas. Plant wall with initial variety of flora. Plant wall after several years, with revised flora more suitable for the location. The design is relatively simple. The wall itself is plaster...more
Toyota Prius- courtesey of Pawel Golsztajn I own a second generation Toyota Prius, and while it's a great little car, it has one fatal flaw - the 12V auxiliary battery. Unlike most cars, the 12V battery in the Prius isn't used to power the starter motor for the combustion engine....more