Electronics Design

Soldering gun tech and hacks

A soldering gun is an approximately pistol-shaped, electrically powered tool for soldering metals using tin-based solder to achieve a strong mechanical bond with good electrical contact. The tool has a trigger-style switch so it can be easily operated with one hand. Soldering guns are often used where more heat is needed than from the lower-power

Induction heater wireless LED

Inductive cooker powers a LED wirelessly. The kettle needs to be here to keep the inductive stove to be turned on (it will turn off when no big metal object is detected on heating area). This LED circuit worked for me for a short test, but there is no guarantee that it will work for

Qi Charger LED Flasher

Here is one experiment to power two LEDs using Qi standard smart phone charger. The two LEDs are wired to opposite directions in parallel to the output wires of 0.17 mH coil. The coil has around 80 turns (5 layers and about 16 turns each) Here is LED active I actually built two circuits with

Oral B toothbrush charger

Wireless charging for toothbrushes offers a convenient and cable-free solution. Wireless charging eliminates the need for physical connectors or USB cables. Toothbrushes are commonly used in wet environments (bathrooms), and wireless charging systems for toothbrushes can be designed to be water-resistant. It’s a well-known fact that electronics and water do not go together. Most electric

AC power frequencies

There are two widely used mains power frequencies for alternating current: 50 Hz and 60 Hz. Unless specified by the manufacturer to operate on both 50 and 60 Hz, appliances may not operate efficiently or even safely if used on anything other than the intended frequency. But there are also other frequencies used for power. But

TTL logic is 60 years old

Transistor–transistor logic (TTL) is 60 years old this year based on the following article (Wikipedia claims this happened already in 2023). TTL became the foundation of computers and other digital electronics. TTL integrated circuits (ICs) were widely used in applications such as computers, industrial controls, test equipment and instrumentation, consumer electronics, and synthesizers. The 7400

Erratic touchscreen behavior

Ghost touches on a touchscreen occur on smart phones and tablets when the screen registers touches or taps without any actual input from the user. This issue can be frustrating, but there are several potential reasons and solutions for it: Screen Calibration: Check if your device has a screen calibration option in the settings. Calibrate

Friday Fun: An Electric Capacitor Revolver

Electrolytic capacitors blow up when they are pushed too hard. That’s normally a very bad thing. This hardware hack uses exploding capacitors as a propellant. For purely for innovation and engineering, this YouTube experimenter built a working capacitor revolver and tested its capabilities. I Built An Electric Capacitor Revolver! https://youtu.be/4Fy9bZEufx0?si=1iZFB-Kvs1GvOzR8 Funny idea, but not the