My recent experience with the Bald SENSE sensor feather wing project reminded me that time is often our most valuable resource. This video documents the journey that has taught me crucial lessons about design, assembly, and the value of turnkey PCB assembly services. See what went right and what went wrong, and how I ultimately brought this project back to life with the help of MacroFab.
A common question that comes up about pull-up resistors: what value do you pick and why not just use a piece of wire? In this follow-up electronics tutorial, the bald engineer looks at how to pick pull-up resistor values. Show Notes Pull-Up Resistor Tutorial (Episode 15) AddOhms Discord Server Arduino Internal Pull-Up Resistor Tutorial (baldengineer.com) Chuck Norris On Pull-Up Resistors (baldengineer.com)
Previously, we looked at resistor voltage dividers. Sometimes I get questions about using these instead of regulators. In this video, I show why that doesn’t work. In fact, I go one step further and show that Zener regulators do not work either. Voltage Divider as a Regulator Show Notes Other videos to watch #13: Voltage Dividers 7 #7: Comparing Uno to Pi 4 #17: Linear Regulators 3 Links Zener Diode makes for a lousy regulator…
Another kind of motor is the BLDC. Otherwise known as the Brushless DC Motor. Unlike the motors we talked about in #20, a BLDC has no commutation ring or brushes. This means no sparks, longer life, and very fast RPMs. Commutation is done electrically. In this video, we show the inside of a BLDC and show two ways to control one.
<br /> This Addohms Brushed DC Motor Tutorial goes into the third dimension! Using a variety of 3D models, we show you what makes a brushed DC motor, a brushed DC motor. Then, like usual, we break two simple ways to control them with a microcontroller like the Arduino. You can use a single BJT Transistor (remember those from #10?), build your own H-Bridge, or use a popular H-Bridge chip. Brushed DC Motors Show Notes This…
The LM7805 is a very popular voltage regulator. Curious about how it works? In this AddOhms Tutorial, we look at what is a Linear Voltage Regulator and how to use them in your circuits. Linear Voltage Regulators Show Notes Related Datasheets LM7805 [Fairchild] NCP1117 [On Semiconductor] PIR Sensor [Adafruit] Interesting Links Written Tutorial on Regulators [Baldengineer.com] TO-220 Information [Wikipedia] TO-220 Heatsink [Adafruit] Choosing the right LDO [All About Circuits]
Using Push-buttons with a microcontroller like an Arduino or Launchpad is made much easier with “Pull-Up Resistors.” See how they work and why you need them in this video tutorial.
https://youtu.be/EQtwsWJuUPs Understanding voltage dividers means understanding Ohm’s Law. A common use for a voltage divider in most projects is to monitor a battery. Say you are powering your circuit with a 9V or 12V battery. Microcontroller boards don’t do well with those voltages. In a future video, we’ll come back and look at more circuits that can use voltage dividers. Episode Notes Correction: There is a mistake around 3:00. I say “91 millivolts” and I should…
https://youtu.be/GrvvkYTW_0k Following up from Episode #10 on BJTs, this episode is focused on introducing MOSFETs. It is the longest video we’ve done yet, coming in just over 7 and a half minutes. There is a basic overview of how MOSFETs work, compared to a BJT. And something that is really important to consider: how hot is it going to get? So we go through how to calculate power dissipation and if you need a…
https://youtu.be/sRVvUkK0U80 The two most popular kinds of transistors you might use for a project are either BJTs or MOSFETs. With so many options, it was tough to pick just a few. We covered the 2n3904 in this video. What BJTs are your favorites and why? Leave a comment below. Transistors are electronic switches that are used to control things that would kill an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or Beaglebone. There are two major types known…