Circuit Break Podcast #163

The Golden Integrated Circuit

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March 12, 2019, Episode #163

Parker finds his lithium charger IC and Stephen works on the 2nd longest running project on the MEP!

Parker

  • Propeller Development Stick Type-C Addition
    • After much soul searching, found the BQ24165RGET to handle the lithium battery power management
    • New battery management IC handles dual inputs thus replacing the TPS2113ADRBR power mux and p-channel mosfet
  • Wagon Tach Project
    • Wanted to build an inexpensive tachometer for the Wagon
    • Signal is a 50V pulse from the distributor
    • Arduinos do not like 50V
    • Used old VFD screen from previous project
    • Needs some more signal filtering but it works
  • Wagon Powered Mirror PCB Installed!
    • 3D printed a bracket and installed into the door
    • Has a fancy face plate as well!
  • Tag Connect Probe Ends
    • Will give a full report on how well they work

Stephen

  • Macro Amp
    • Top panel layout complete
    • Milling the top panel
    • Transformers mounted – check!
    • PCB mounting needs fasteners ordered
      • Lots of Stephen’s projects are at this stage right now
    • J-Fet buffer for the NuTubes
  • Riaa filter with gain options for MM and MC type
    • A series of filter specifications for recording
    • If the record is cut with lower bass then the cut width can be smaller allowing for more info to be cut on to the record – More music playing time
    • Two poles and one zero
      • 50.05 Hz
      • 500.5 Hz
      • 2122.1 Hz

R.F.O.

  • Gain ultra-high power density for 100-W USB Power Delivery adapters
  • Texas Instruments application document for a very dense, high power AC to DC power supply
  • Designed around providing the power for a 100W USB Type-C charger
  • Complete 5-Watt Power Supply in IEC Main Filter Case
  • Combines a IEC60320 (C13 coupler) connector with EMI filtering and a AC to DC power supply
  • Greatly simplifies product design
  • Due to cost Parker only sees this used in low volume / high margin products and one off art installations
  • TI Claims Breakthrough BAW Technology
  • Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) resonator technology though should it be BAWRT?
  • Will reduce BoM cost and PCB size
  • Discussion on how to store parts
  • Part bins, boxes for projects, and proper tool storage
  • Parker’s fasteners drawer is getting out of hand
  • How do you organize your parts?

Announcements!
KiCon 2019 is a user conference for the popular open source CAD program KiCad. Happening April 26th and 27th 2019 in Chicago IL, this is the first and largest gathering of hardware developers using KiCad. Talks at the conference will span hardware design, revision control, scripting, manufacturing considerations, proper library management and getting started developing the underlying tools. All announced talks have been listed on the conference site.

Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

Signal from the distributor tachometer output. This is through a 10X probe.

Signal from the distributor tachometer output. This is through a 10X probe.

VFD working with an Arduino Nano. VFD part number CU16025-UW6J. Noritake has some really easy to use Arduino libraries for it!

VFD working with an Arduino Nano. VFD part number CU16025-UW6J. Noritake has some really easy to use Arduino libraries for it!

With a bit of signal massaging the ATmega328P can read the tach signal!

With a bit of signal massaging the ATmega328P can read the tach signal!

Wagon Power Mirror PCB. Fully Assembled.

Wagon Power Mirror PCB. Fully Assembled.

3D Printed bracket with the Wagon Power Mirror PCB installed. Front Side.

3D Printed bracket with the Wagon Power Mirror PCB installed. Front Side.

3D Printed bracket with the Wagon Power Mirror PCB installed. Back Side.

3D Printed bracket with the Wagon Power Mirror PCB installed. Back Side.

Installed into the door and wired to the mirrors and power.

Installed into the door and wired to the mirrors and power.

Door card drilled and face plate mounted.

Door card drilled and face plate mounted.

Macro Amp chassis work. Transformers installed.

Macro Amp chassis work. Transformers installed.

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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