Archive for October 2018

More measurement on Potato TDR circuit

This is a continuation to my recent potato chip to TDR circuit posting at http://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2018/10/16/potato-chip-to-tdr-circuit/ Here are some measurement results made with high speed oscilloscope (at shortest pulse setting and 50 ohms impedance). Blue measurement with circuit directly connected to scope and yellow wirh 10x scope probe.

Switched-mode power supply tutorials

A switching-mode power supply (SMPS) is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently. Switching regulators are used as replacements for linear regulators when higher efficiency, smaller size or lighter weight are required. The main advantage of the switching power supply is greater efficiency than linear regulators. The downside of

The largest software acquisition ever: IBM to buy Red Hat for $34B

This is a big deal for Linux business: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/28/biggest-software-acquisition/ IBM announced today it would pay a record $34 billion in cash and debt to acquire enterprise open source provider Red Hat. This is the biggest software acquisition in history. It seems that IBM is buying Red Hat to become a hybrid cloud company. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/28/ibm-to-acquire-red-hat-in-deal-valued-at-34-billion.html Prior

Halloween links

Some engineering and science links for this Halloween: Scientist Trains AI To Create Brilliantly Ludicrous “Sexy” Halloween Costume Ideas article shows what happens when you use AI to design a Halloween costume. 10 Scary True Stories from Engineering History presents you scary experiments like resurrecting the dead, mind control, radiation gone wrong, and man-eating robots,

LED lighting can disrupt radio communications | Southgate Amateur Radio News

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/october/led-lighting-can-disrupt-radio-communications.htm#.W9XAslNyg0M Dutch amateur radio society VERON reports the current EMC standard, developed in the last century, no longer suffices. “The faulty LED lights disrupt wireless connections in and around the house. Radiocommunications Agency therefore starts an investigation into 50 LED lamp suppliers.” “A number of lamps do not appear to meet the EMC standard. Especially

Uusiteknologia 2/2018

Uusiteknologia.fi is new Finnish language electronics and technology professionals magazine. In the newest issue have written articles on four topics (text in Finnish with short introduction in English). Here are the topics I have written articles to it: Buyers Guide: IoT Cloud Services Internet of Things (IoT) solves today many business challenges and creates opportunities

Damaged USB type C cables

USB type C connector is becoming more and more common in many devices. It is now a very common charging interface for modern smart phones. Generally USB C is more convient and more robust than micro-USB connector. But in those rare cases when something goes wrong, effect can be more severe. Where microUSB chargers normally

Ageing in Human Cells Successfully Reversed in the Lab

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/ageing-in-human-cells-successfully-reversed-in-the-lab-307820 The ability to reverse ageing is something many people would hope to see in their lifetime. We still don’t fully understand why cells become senescent as we age. Reversing aging is still a long way from reality, but this latest laboratory experiment seems to show that scientists have reversed the ageing of human cells.

With the “Dead Bug” Method, Hobbyists Can Break Through the High-Frequency Barrier – IEEE Spectrum

https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/with-the-dead-bug-method-hobbyists-can-break-through-the-highfrequency-barrier PCBs are essential in mass-produced products. They assure almost perfectly repeatable circuits. And PCBs with a good ground plane are essential for high-frequency circuits. But rapid prototyping with PCBs has drawbacks compared with the speed and ease of building a circuit on a breadboard. This article presents one practical alternative to PCB for high-frequency