Circuit Break Podcast #52

Anti Fitbits

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January 27, 2017, Episode #52

On this Episode, Parker and Stephen talk about silkscreen markings on diodes and tracking beer drinking.
  • Parker wrote an article about mounting holes! Stephen and Parker talked about this on the last episode of the MEP.
  • The Open Source PLC that Parker and Stephen bought is working.
    • Was able to get WiFi connected
    • ESPlorer to configure the ESP8266
    • ESP8266 Node MCU
    • LUA programming language
    • Has an example server that lets you toggle inputs and relays via web browser
  • Parker is setting up an IoT network at MacroFab to test the PLC and other ideas.
  • The Giant LED Clock segment is ordered.
    • Size of the PCB: 6.3”x2.6”
    • 86 0805 LEDs on the board
    • Each segment will pull 1.72A at 1.8V
    • Mounting holes for power input
  • FX Dev board has 21 days left. New video content to arrive tomorrow. A demonstration of how to build something.
  • Stephen is still waiting on the greatest resistor in the world PCB to arrive. Should have an update next week.
  • The synthesizer that Stephen talked about on EP#35 Surgical Synthesizers has progress! Feature creep:
    • Midi to cv
    • VCO Core Module – 6 wave outputs
    • Wave Animator
    • VCF
    • VCA
    • ADSR Envelope
    • LFO
    • 507 components on the board
    • Auto Routers stink. See Figure 1 and 2.
  • IoT Beer Drinking! IMU data from a wrist strap can you determine how many beers you have consumed. The Anti Fitbit.
  • A global distribution agreement between Mouser and SparkFun Electronics brings access to 500 SparkFun products, including SparkFun’s Arduino Pro, RedBoard and LilyPad tools to Mousers website.
  • Stephen and Parker discuss silkscreen markings for Diodes! Look for an article on this next week.
Figure 1: Stephen’s synthesizer “auto placed” parts in Diptrace.

Figure 1: Stephen’s synthesizer “auto placed” parts in Diptrace.

Figure 2: Diptrace’s auto route leaves much to be desired.

Figure 2: Diptrace’s auto route leaves much to be desired.

About the Hosts

Parker Dillmann
  Parker Dillmann

Parker is an Electrical Engineer with backgrounds in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing. He got his start in 2005 by hacking Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year he designed and produced an Atari 2600 video mod to allow the Atari to display a crisp, RF fuzz free picture on newer TVs. Over a thousand Atari video mods where produced by Parker from 2006 to 2011 and the mod is still made by other enthusiasts in the Atari community.

In 2006, Parker enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin as a Petroleum Engineer. After realizing electronics was his passion he switched majors in 2007 to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Following his previous background in making the Atari 2600 video mod, Parker decided to take more board layout classes and circuit design classes. Other areas of study include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, FPGA development with VHDL and Verilog, and image and signal processing with DSPs. In 2010, Parker won a Ti sponsored Launchpad programming and design contest that was held by the IEEE CS chapter at the University. Parker graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Spring of 2012.

In the Summer of 2012, Parker was hired on as an Electrical Engineer at Dynamic Perception to design and prototype new electronic products. Here, Parker learned about full product development cycles and honed his board layout skills. Seeing the difficulties in managing operations and FCC/CE compliance testing, Parker thought there had to be a better way for small electronic companies to get their product out in customer's hands.

Parker also runs the blog, longhornengineer.com, where he posts his personal projects, technical guides, and appnotes about board layout design and components.

Stephen Kraig
  Stephen Kraig

Stephen Kraig is a component engineer working in the aerospace industry. He has applied his electrical engineering knowledge in a variety of contexts previously, including oil and gas, contract manufacturing, audio electronic repair, and synthesizer design. A graduate of Texas A&M, Stephen has lived his adult life in the Houston, TX, and Denver, CO, areas.

Stephen has never said no to a project. From building guitar amps (starting when he was 17) to designing and building his own CNC table to fine-tuning the mineral composition of the water he uses to brew beer, he thrives on testing, experimentation, and problem-solving. Tune into the podcast to learn more about the wacky stuff Stephen gets up to.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

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