Category

Electronics Basics

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Video Do electrons flow from positive to negative? Or do they flow from negative to positive? This AddOhms tutorial looks at the difference between Conventional Flow and Electron Flow. James also addresses whether or not his drawings are incorrect. Current Flow Direction Show Notes Ben Franklin by Duplessis 20 [via wikicommons] Four Current Flow Myths 68 [via baldengineer.com]

Video Switching regulators make use of the energy storage properties of capacitors and inductors. A transistor, or switch, controls the charging and discharging. This method makes for an efficient regulator but can be difficult to design. Show Notes Here are links to the products mentioned in AddOhms #18: LM3671 Buck Controller from Texas Instruments LM3671 Breakout board from Adafruit PowerBoost 1000 (boost converter) from Adafruit VERTER (buck-boost converter) from Adafruit These are articles related to…

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]

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/81zNcctopBI What was the first electronic component you played with? It was probably a LED. They’re fun to blink in patterns or learn to fade. Most projects (and products) use them for useful indicators. LEDs add magic to every electronics project. Often not understand is what else you need to make that LED work correctly. Learn what current limiting resistors do for LEDs and watch what happens when you don’t use one. The most common…

https://youtu.be/WxJKXGugfh8 We live in a world of analog. Clocks are a great example of how time is continuously changing with nearly infinite precision. However, when you look at a digital clock, there are very specific “digits”. (Get it? Digital… Digits…) Using the analogy of clocks, this TutorialCast explains the basic difference between Analog and Digital Electronics. It ends with a slight twist. Links mentioned in video: AddOhms Episode 5: https://www.addohms.com/ac-vs-dc Adafruit ADXL377 Breakout board: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1413 Arduino…

https://youtu.be/vN9aR2wKv0U After learning the difference between Voltage, Current, and Power in Episode 4, now we look at a little bit closer type of voltage. The “C” in “AC” and “DC” stands for “Current.” However, people will commonly say “My home has 120 (or 240) Volts AC.” What the heck? How can AC mean Current and Voltage? This video, we break it down the differences with some simple examples.

https://youtu.be/lYZUXV-v71Y Simplified explanation definitions of Voltage, Current, and Power. These basic electronic terms are all related but have different, specific meanings. This plain-language explanation will help you understand how to use them. This early video had some issues with how I presented concepts. At some point, I’d like to come back and re-do it. (It is unlisted on YouTube.)