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James Lewis

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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s 4th Nerdist Interview

You are probably familiar with Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is as brilliant as he is entertaining. That fact is why I was so excited when I saw his name pop-up on my queue for the Nerdist Podcast.

Nerdist Podcast

In the past, I suggested some electrical engineering podcasts. The Nerdist isn’t like those. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, each episode includes an interview. As the podcast’s name suggests, most of the guests have some roots in today’s nerd or geek culture. So while not an engineering podcast, there may be the occasional guest that interest you.

4 Great Things Neil deGrasse Tyson on Nerdist Said

This episode was the first time I took notes while listening to the Nerdist. Here are four quotes I captured, that make listening to the entire episode worthwhile.

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Arduino

Measure PWM Current with a Modified Moving Average

Measure PWM Current with MMA

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) makes it possible to dim lights, control the speed of motors, and (with the help of filters) generate analog reference voltages. When measuring the voltage or current of a PWM signal, there are unique challenges. You can use this tutorial to measure PWM current with a modified moving average (MMA).

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AddOhms

Brushed DC Motor Video Tutorial

How a Brushed DC Motor works and how to use them

This Addohms Electronics Motor Tutorial goes into the third dimension. Using a 3D model, we show what makes a brushed DC motor, well, a “brushed motor.” (Hint: It’s the brushes!) Then, as usual, we break down two simple ways to control them with a microcontroller like the Arduino. You can use a single BJT Transistor (remember those from #10?), build a discrete H-Bridge to go in both directions, or use a popular H-Bridge chip like the L293D or L298D. (Notice the ‘D’!)

Tutorial Contents

The video starts with a couple of (mixed) motor examples. Do you know what a “stator” or “rotor” is? If not, that’s okay because that’s one of the first things we explain. After that, we add part like the commutator and brushes to make the Brushed DC Motor. After that is control with a transistor and an explosive reason you need a protection diode. 🙂 Then we show how an H-Bridge Works. Lastly, the advantages and disadvantages of this motor type.

You can see the full Brushed DC Motor Tutorial on YouTube or on the AddOhms page.

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Blog

Social Media Guide for Engineers, a How-To

Social Media Guide for Engineers
[featured-image link=”https://www.baldengineer.com/social-media-guide-engineers.html” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”Social Media Guide for Engineers” title=”Attribute”]Bloomicon / Shutterstock.com[/featured-image]

Engineers are notorious introverts. An untrue generalization is that introverts hate being social. Like all humans, introverts are social creatures. We just prefer only to discuss the topics which are of interest to us. We will listen to anything. This social media guide for engineers explains why and how you can participate in social media, without being social.

Let’s address something head-on. Gone are the days of just “here’s what I ate” or “I’m in the bathroom” social posts. Social media channels are mature platforms for communication. Sure, junk still exists. However. You can filter out the signal from the noise when you following my social media guide for engineers.

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3D Printing

3D Printer Tips I wish I knew 3 years ago

3d printer tips by bald engineer

While I bought my 3D printer a couple of years ago, in March of this year, it only had 75 hours of use. Since March, my counter is over 300 hours. Why? After spending some time doing the right tweaks my printer is printing crazy good. Here are some of my 3D printer tips.

Maybe you’re in the market for a printer, use one at school, get access to one through a maker space, or (like me) used to use yours for a desk ornament, these 3D printer tips are likely to help.

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