When running on a battery, it is important to know what parts of your circuit draw the most current. Profiling is a process where you look at sections of code or interactions with hardware to see how much power each requires. In this video, James shows four tools (and their tradeoffs) when profiling IoT or Edge Machine Learning devices. See if it makes more sense for you to use a Digital Multimeter (DMM), Power Supply…
When connecting multiple oscilloscope probes to a circuit, does each probe need to connect to ground? The short answer is yes! Why? The long answer is kind because of the ground loop. Remember, a circuit needs a closed path. And while on DC circuits we may rarely think about the distance of that path, it absolutely matters when there is an AC or frequency component. When you do not connect each probe’s ground, the signal…
Every digital oscilloscope I have ever used has a menu or dialog for “acquisition modes.” And depending on the current settings, changing that acquisition mode does not seem to have an effect on the signal. Or sometimes, changing to something like Average mode can completely destroy your measurements. It turns out, that the analog-to-digital converters in digital oscilloscopes can do more than just “sample” the data. Well, the ADCs just samples. The controller behind the…
Bench power supplies are an essential piece of test equipment gear. And like most test gear, they have a wide range of capabilities. For example, the B&K Precision 9140 is a triple output supply that can output up to 300 watts. But, the basic capability isn’t what interested me about the supply. Instead, it was advanced features like rear panel triggers, adjustable slew rate, and built-in sequencing. The element14 Community arranged for a B&K Precision…
Using a Metcal GT120, we look at three ways to improve your soldering skills. Using flux, setting a correct temperature, and selecting the proper tip all result in better solder joints. See how well the GT120 works while learning (or reviewing) some basics to improve your soldering skills. This episode was sponsored by Metcal.
