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Monthly Archives: September 2011

MikroMedia for PIC18FJ – MikroElektronika

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This Development Board for Multimedia Apps has an On-board PIC18FJ, which is preprogrammed with fast USB HID bootloader, ready for your R&D Project or even a Home Automation Solution.

MikroMedia for PIC18FJ – MikroElektronika

MikroMedia for PIC18FJ

It has Large 320×240 TFT Color Display with Touch Screen and Stereo. The batteries can be charged from USB port. The microSD memory card and 8Mbit Serial Flash Memory can help in storing data and media like pictures, sounds and other files.

Visual TFT is a standalone application used for rapid development of graphical user interfaces for TFT displays. Software generates code compatible with mikroElektronika compilers.

If you are a fan of arcade games, you won’t resist this fantastic board. Gaming shield is an extension board for your mikromedia that provides you with standard gaming buttons and audio speakers, so you can build and play your favorite arcade games.

mikromedia GAMING Shield

mikromedia GAMING Shield

GAMING Shield comes with convenient stacking headers, so you can easily connect not only mikromedia, but other shields as well, such as battery boost shield.

Test Board for P89LPC938 – Future Designs

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FDI makes Development Kits, Touch Screen Kits, SBC and many other Embedded System Tools. They also offer Engineering and Manufacturing services.Derivative Board for TSSOP with LPC938 loaded

Test Board for P89LPC938 – Future Designs

NXP – P89LPC938 is a 8-bit microcontroller with accelerated two-clock 80C51 core 8 kB 3 V byte-erasable Flash with 10-bit A/D converter

NXP – P89LPC938

The USB-Dongle provides a Virtual COM Port interface to the PC and allows hex files to be downloaded and programmed using Flash Magic or other common utilities.

USB Programming Interface for Derivative Boards USB Programming Interface for Derivative Boards

Derivative Boards – In general, Derivative Boards require the use of the USB-Dongle for power and a programming interface. Low cost Derivative Boards are available for many different microcontrollers from NXP. Supported families include the LPC9xx, ARM7 LPC2xxx and 89V52X2.

FDI Engineering Design Services

Future Designs, Inc.
996 A Cleaner Way SW, Huntsville, AL 35805, USA

Safe and Sound – Product Safety

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Product Safety

  • Product should not give even the lightest shock, Even metal parts on user side to be laminated.
  • High energy circuits never enters analog and digital circuit areas without Opto or other Isolation.
  • Gadgets, Furniture, Tools and Storage Units should not cause injury. Rounded Edges, Non Toxic.

Worker Safety

  • Helmet, Goggles and Face/Respiratory Mask when working with power tools/ abrasion and large objects.
  • Crepe Bandage, Neoprene Ankle/Knee/Thigh Support when pushing or pulling or Physical Exertion.
  • Waist/Back Support Belts and Straps to reinforce back/spine while doing Heavy Lifting or Movement.
  • Waistband Thick Belt or Traditional Sash helps Posture and prevents slipped disc or spinal injury.
  • When using a Knife, Sharp Tool, Pointed Tool or Drill; cut/bore away from your body or finger/leg not towards.
  • Use Long Riding Leather/Synthetic Boots when working in chemical plants and heavy industry.
  • Cross Ventilation and exhaust fans important if even little chemical fumes are generated in your work.
  • Soldering, plastic forming and even for some kinds of material processing. Good Ventilation or Masks needed.

Safe and Sound - Product Safety

Workshop Safety

  • Fire hazard and Air pollution in the workplace is the most important two dangers, Electricity is third.
  • Use Leather Boots when working with high voltage, also silicone flexible gloves or Latex Gloves.

My Recent Lessons –

I have long stopped using power tools as the injury is more in that. I have again started using small tools. Some notes.
Wear ear muffs when Noise present in surroundings to avoid distraction. When your own tools/work create too much noise, then also ear muffs protect ears, give some allowance/filter for audio feedback .

  • Cut away from you, not towards. Sharp tools and Power tools keep job at a distance. Watch for Splinters.
  • Both Legs and at least one hand insulated when working with High Voltage.
  • Use the right tool for the right job. Do not use cutting plair like a hammer.
  • Do not use Teeth, Legs etc. as tools. Only Iron and Steel should face the Job.

Power Electronics Java Applets

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Some very useful, educative and interactive Java Applets. Tutorials around Power Electronics. Includes Diode and SCR Circuits, Controlled 1/3 Phase SCR-Thyristor Bridge Rectifier and Switch-Mode Power Supplies SMPS.

Power electronics-interactive text

They include Simple diode, SCR and thyristor controlled bridge rectifier circuits and most important the Switch-Mode Power Supply SMPS.

Interactive Power Electronics Seminar (iPES)

Interactive Power Electronics Seminar

The following Java applets are part of the Introductory Course on Power Electronics taught by Prof. Kolar at the ETH Zurich. The interactive and animated applets are used as aid for teaching in the classroom and are displayed using a laptop and a beamer. Furthermore, the applets do provide an opportunity for the students to experiment and learn at home more efficiently.

Simulations like these can be made with various methods. Client Side and Server Side. Flash, Java and Ajax(with dhtml) can be client side. Server side are numerous. Perl and CGI, Python, PHP and many more.

Small Tutorials can be made in Flash. More Flexibility and Power in Java. Ajax (implies even DHTML, JS, CSS) also good. Client only Tutors. But larger simulations or Web applications means server side computing. Here the Client side is just GUI and some basic reflexes and data caching. The other CPU/Data load is moved online to servers.

As tools are moving online even EDA, ASIC design and Chip Programming can be made into Webapps or SaaS – Software as a service. This also safeguards the IP and Codebase of developer/programmer/firms better.

Here some power electronics design info is available. Switching-Mode Power Supply Design

At Alexandre Manuel Mota‘s pages you will find – Op Amps for Everyone Design Guide, History of Switched Mode Power Supplies, DC Power Supply Handbook, SWITCHMODE Power Supply Reference Manual, Linear & Switching Voltage Reference Handbook. The above PDF files seem to be good study material, before you design and build your next power supply, SMPS or AC/DC converter. – delabs

Kit for MPR03x Capacitive Touch Sensor Controller

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The evaluation kit allows a user to observe the basic functionality of the device through a couple of demo’s including a pinball game and a presentation device.

Kit for MPR03x Capacitive Touch Sensor Controller

The MPR03X is an Inter-Integrated Circuit Communication (I2C) driven Capacitive Touch Sensor Controller, optimized to manage two electrodes with interrupt functionality, or three electrodes with the interrupt disabled.

MPR03x: Proximity Capacitive Touch Sensor Controller

Kit for MPR03x Capacitive Touch Sensor Controller

  • KITMPR03x motherboard
  • MPR031 DIP board
  • 2+IRQ electrode daughter card
  • 3 electrode daughter card
  • 4 MPR031 cut tape samples
  • Quick Start Guide

Freescale Semiconductor is the leading manufacturer of microcontrollers, microprocessors and semiconductors.

Freescale – Semiconductors and Microcontrollers

CIPCO Energy Library – Electrical Study

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Presented in a Easy to understand, layman language. This Energy and Electrical Basics is a must for all who want to save power and lead a Green Lifestyle.

Undertand your Appliance and The Energy Supplier. The way electricity is generated and reaches your home.

CIPCO Energy Library – Electrical Study

A class in basic electricity and how the electric utility industry generates and delivers power to customers. Designed primarily for use by utility field representatives who need to understand electrical principles. – Fundamentals of Electricity Covers the subject of motors from an explanation of how they work, to the advantages/disadvantages of adjustable speed drives, see Motors & Drives section.

Complete descriptive information on closed- and open-loop geothermal heat pump systems. Residential, multifamily and commercial applications are all covered. – Geothermal Heat Pump Systems

CompuPhase Projects and Programmable MP3-player

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CompuPhase Services include contract programming of applications and embedded systems, and also the design and production of custom electronics.

http://www.compuphase.com/mp3/h0420_photo2.jpg

CompuPhase Projects and Programmable MP3-player

Domains of Expertise

  • Signal processing (audio & video) and compression
  • Edutainment, computer based training (CBT), multimedia and kiosk applications
  • Databases and the integration of databases with statistical computation
  • International software, multi-lingual or easily translatable software (internationalization)
  • Embedded applications
  • Special lighting projects, using fibre optics or high-power LEDs

On the right is a Programmable MP3-player for scale models, broadcast systems and special applications. High quality audio, based on a 24-bit D/A converter with 8× oversampling digital filter, low noise and low distortion.

Termite Terminal – RS232 Interfacing – CompuPhase

Termite is an easy to use and easy to configure RS232 terminal. It uses an interface similar to that of “messenger” or “chat” programs, with a large window that contains all received data and an edit line for typing in strings to transmit. This terminal ought to help serial port SBC development.

Plug-in interface for pre-processing or alternative views of the data, logging received data to a file, adding a toolbar to Termite, and other functionality that you may think of.

It can also do ..

  • A history of commands that you typed, with auto-completion.
  • Support for non-standard Baud rates (MIDI, DMX512).
  • Data can be forwarded between two RS232 ports.

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