capacitors on Bald Engineer

STOP! Using the Wrong Capacitors | Teardown 2024

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 02:04:11 +0000

Learn more about Teardown 2024 Google Slides Download Slides (PDF) Links Circuit Break Podcast #434: The Other VCC Circuit Break Podcast #141: It Depends MLCCs with James Lewis YouTube: Bald Engineer’s Capacitor Videos Hioki USA: Unlocking the Secrets of Capacitor Impedance Plots Murata: SimSurfing Yageo Group / KEMET: K-SIM

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From MLCC to Polymer: Unlocking Capacitor Impedance Plot Secrets

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 16:41:10 +0000

April 17, 2024, at 1:00 pm CDT Register Now Capacitors are deceptively complex devices. It is why I love talking about them so much! Hioki USA loaned me an LCR Meter that works as an Impedance Analyzer to try out some measurements. As a result, I noted a few things that might catch someone off guard if they have never attempted to characterize capacitors. For example, many of us know about the MLCC DC Voltage Coefficient. However, do you know how to evaluate whether your parts lose 20 or 80% of their capacitance? Or, what considerations do you need to make when measuring a polymer electrolytic versus a film capacitor?

What Passive Components Do You Need? | Workbench Wednesdays #28

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 21:41:00 +0000

Whether you are just getting started in electronics or you have boxes of parts, it is good to know what are the most critical parts to have in your kit. James asked the element 14 community for what they considered to be essential passive components like resistors, capacitors, switches, wires, and even diodes. In this video, he consolidated their puts and explains what to think about when buying these parts for your kit.

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Instrument Basics: LCR Meter | Workbench Wednesdays #22

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 23:31:00 +0000

Learn how to use an LCR meter, such as the Tenma 72-10465, to measure reactive components. An LCR meter uses an AC signal at different frequencies to characterize capacitors, inductors, and even resistors. They can also provide impedance measurements. These include phase angle, ESR, quality factor, and dissipation factor. You can even use the 72-10465 to sort components by their tolerance range.

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PWM a 3-pin PC fan with an Arduino

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 13:13:53 +0000

A question came up on IRC regarding how to PWM a 3-pin PC fan with an Arduino using analogWrite(). Controlling the fan was seemingly straightforward. The problem was that the hall effect sensor, or TACH signal, was incredibly noisy. The noise made it impossible to measure the fan’s rotation. Working through the question, I found three issues to tackle: You need to use a PNP transistor Filter capacitors help Create a non-blocking RPM measurement (with millis()) This post addresses all three issues regarding how to PWM a 3-pin PC fan with an Arduino.

Cool learning resource: KEMET Engineering Center

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 13:00:21 +0000

Whether you are an engineer with enough experience to be called a graybeard or a novice that keeps grabbing the wrong end of a soldering iron, there is one component that eludes everyone working in electronics. It’s the humble capacitor. A seemingly simple device, turns out, to be incredibly complex. While the basic electrode-dielectric-electrode structure sounds simple, the materials used in that structure drastically changes the characteristics of the device. KEMET Engineering Center Screenshot, Courtesy of KEMET Corporation.

Can a 1µF decoupling capacitor be too much?

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:06:12 +0000

To save time, breadboard pins or just lack of knowledge people try to skip adding even one decoupling capacitor to a circuit. Either on IRC or in Forums you can almost always see it coming: “randomly, my circuit stops working” And then, “what do you mean a decoupling capacitor?” question. While working on breadboard Arduino, I came across some unexpected measurements. Initially, the only capacitors on the breadboard were the two 22pF from crystal to ground and the capacitor connected to RESET for Auto-RESET.

Captain Picard on Decoupling Caps

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:56:25 +0000

Fun with the meme generating. When it comes to adding decoupling caps, Make It So.

Introduction to Polymer Capacitors

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:15:37 +0000

November 2013’s issue of Electronic Products features an article on the cover titled “Introduction to Polymer Capacitors.” The author is, well, me. This article explains the differences between traditional MnO2-Tantalum and Polymer-Tantalum capacitors. Previously I explained these differences in the post on the fire hazard the Arduino GSM shield poses (due to improper derating). You can find the Electronic Products article wherever magazines are sold or here: Introduction to Polymer Capacitors. Check below for links to high-resolution pictures.

Ouch. The Arduino GSM shield has a pretty serious design flaw, with its capacitors.

Sat, 14 Sep 2013 02:44:39 +0000

Tantalum is a really misunderstood capacitor. Well, all capacitors are misunderstood, but that’s a subject for another post. I ran across this post on the Arduino forums on the Arduino GSM shield. In the post, ddewaele, reports that the shield blew up, catching fire. At first some might think it was due to abuse by the user. While it is possible that reversing the polarity or applying over-voltage could cause a catastrophic failure, it is also possible that the user doing nothing wrong could result in the same failure mode!

What Capacitor Measurements Mean

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:57:00 +0000

Electronics Weekly has invited Dale Cigoy of Keithley Instruments to talk about how capacitors work. Since capacitors are part of almost any Electronic circuit or project, it is a good idea to understand these basic components a little more. The article is titled “Seeing how capacitors work is invaluable.”