The ForceTronics blog provides tutorials on creating fun and unique electronic projects. The goal of each project will be to create a foundation or jumping off point for amateur, hobbyist, and professional engineers to build on and innovate. Please use the comments section for questions and go to forcetronics.com for information on forcetronics consulting services.
In this two part series we take a look at mechanical relays: different types, terminology, theory of operation, and design considerations. We finish part one with a demo of an armature relay showing its inside, how to actuate it, and capture its flyback voltage waveform with an Oscilloscope. In part 2 we look at a simple circuit that allows us to control armature or reed relays with a simple digital pin from a microcontroller. We also look at a circuit design that allows us to avoid hot switching when using mechanical relays.
Check us out on Patreon for exclusive content related to this series: https://www.patreon.com/forcetronics
In this video series we implement an adjustable LED Drive circuit using the AL8862FF-7. In part 1 we review the target LED applications for our drive circuit and how the switch mode buck architecture of the AL8862FF-7 LED drive IC works. We then look at the schematic design for our circuit. In part 2 we look at a demo of our LED Drive Circuit in action. We also take a look at the PCB layout of the LED Drive Circuit. At the end we look at measurement data from our circuit including the max and adjusted current values as well as look at measurements to calculate the efficiency of the design. The extended Patreon version of the video include more measurement data on the design and reviews the ESP32 Arduino code used in the demo.
Link to ForceTronics Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/forcetronics
AL8862FF-7 datasheet: https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/115/AL8862-1274720.pdf
This video series will take you step by step through how to design a circuit that can be powered from a USB input (5V) or from a Lithium Ion battery cell and output a regulated 5V. The design includes a battery charging circuit and a circuit that automatically isolates the battery from the power bus when USB power is applied.
In part one we review the overall plan for the design, go over Li-ion battery cell basics, and give a crash course on boost switching voltage regulators.
Battery university link: https://batteryuniversity.com/
In part two we go into detail on our boost switching regulator design using Texas Instruments TPS61202 5-V fixed output voltage boost converter.
Link to TI’s TPS61202 product page: https://www.ti.com/product/TPS61202?qgpn=tps61202
In part three we look at the battery charging circuit and the power source isolation circuit
Link to MAX1898 battery charging IC datasheet: https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/256/MAX1898-1515496.pdf
In part 4 we look at the PCB layout for our circuits and we see a demo of our circuits in action
In this video we give an overview of the USB type-C connector standard along with other related USB standards. We then look at an example design that implements a USB type-C connector and converts the USB 2.0 communication to serial or UART communication. You can then use the serial data to communicate, debug, or program your microcontroller for programming environments such as Arduino.
In this two part series we look at how to control a Solenoid using an ESP32 board and the Arduino IoT Cloud. In part one we focus on what a solenoid is and the hardware needed to drive a solenoid open or closed. In part 2 we focus on setting up the Arduino IoT Cloud control.
