riccardo | Hardware To Software

Common Emitter. Why and how to

riccardoOctober 10, 2011May 22, 2015

Common Emitter is an expression to indicate exactly an electrical configuration where a part on three of BJT transitor (and only that kind of transistors) is used as reference for the other two.
So keep in mind it's impossible to make confusion with other contexts.

But... what's an emitter, or a transistor? why bjt? I'm instead confused!
And you're right if never seen one of them, neither in theory exposition.

Generally a transistor is a semiconductor device which you can regulate voltage and/or current in output with; maybe its name's explanation could give a bit of information more: transistor is the contraction of "transfer resistor".
According to their inventors it's been so called "because it's a resistor or semiconductor device that can amplify electrical signals as they are transferred through it from input to output terminals". ...continue reading "Common Emitter. Why and how to"

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SciDAVis. Art of approximation

riccardoOctober 7, 2011May 22, 2015

In every-day life compromise is a good way to go on; not only with people but in interaction with our world.
Think when you have to remember something, a good old friend you still don't meet since many years: how could you preserve the last record? but above all, how could you record every his/her single particular?
It's impossible; you have to retain just some important points, but not all.
In other words, some informations are lost: a truly necessary compromise. But remaining ones are enough to rebuild the original?

That's our article's target!

...continue reading "SciDAVis. Art of approximation"

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Kicad. From Software To Hardware Part3

riccardoOctober 3, 2011May 22, 2015

Every package of software suite comes with an amount of collateral applications, extensions and/or libraries.
KiCad does the same; but sometimes default components aren't enough for specific goals.

Thanks to KiCad's popularity people around the world spent some of their time to enrich the base: so that you can find useful libraries or scheme directly for free on websites. Here some of them (in my opinion the most important):

KiCADlib.org;
kicadlibraries.com (contains material for LTSpice too, for electrical circuits analysis);
ohsec (libraries converted from Eagle to KiCad);
smisioto (old but good).

Now think you don't find component you need among default and external or third-part libraries.
Two main solutions show to yourself:

desperation, with profession abandon or change;
design your own.

...continue reading "Kicad. From Software To Hardware Part3"

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Burn Arduino bootloader into ATMega (USBtinyISP)

riccardoSeptember 14, 2011May 22, 2015

The beauty of micro controllers is that some operations can be achieved in more than a single way.

When you buy them you generally get them free of any software or - better - firmware, totally virgin and ready only to be inserted onto your board.
Sometimes they are bootloaded, that's necessary to communicate with some other specific hardware: ATMega is a good example.
Thanks to Arduino board's popularity is easy to find ATMega microcontrollers directly set to work with it. ...continue reading "Burn Arduino bootloader into ATMega (USBtinyISP)"

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