Learning PICs @ PCB Heaven
Welcome to our first on-line PIC learning book!
This book will learn you how to program a PIC micro controller. The book has three sections, the beginner's section, the intermediate and the advanced section. Each theory has an on-line test as well to test the knowledge taken from this page. Also, at the end of each section, there are several circuit tutorials fully documented with all code and schematics needed for implementation!
LED driving and controlling methods
I wrote this tutorial as an intro page for those that do not know how to drive the LEDs and how to control its brightness. The ltimate goal is to introduce the A6210 from Allegro Microsystems, a very efficient LED driver and controller.
How to check the Windings of a 3-Phase AC motor with an Ohmmeter
A 3-phase AC squirrel cage motor is a very common type used in many applications. In my job, there are machines that have tens of these motors, powered either directly with 3-phase supply or through inverters. It is very important to develop a quick and reliable methodology to check if the motor coils have a problem or not.
PID Theory
I plan to make a PID controller so i had to study about PID in general. In this page i explain what the terms P, I and D means and why this system is so widely used in modern automation
How to make a professional-like panel label
A walk through on making a professional-like panel label for your project.Equipment required are an inkjet printer, a laminator, laminating pouches, scissors, hole punches, adhesive.
PIC ICSP Instant SMD Connector with Pogo Pins
Some time ago i began replacing my chips and other electronic parts with SMDs, including the PIC microcontrollers. To program the microcontroller i had to add a through-hole or SMD connector with 5 pins, but this actually had much larger footprint than the PIC itself. So i decided to design a pogo-pin ICSP connector and an SMD Eagle library to print the ICSP pads on the PCB directly!
High Efficiency High Current LED Buck Driver using the A6210
This is my first high efficiency LED driver. It is a high frequency buck regulator using the Allegro 6210 chip. In this circuit i drive a 10 Watts LED with constant current using this switching mode power supply chip.
HDD LED Spindicator
I found a nice idea from a site for my PC mod. Viktor made a replica of a spindicator - a HDD IDE indicator with 10 LEDs in a circle which revolve as pulses arrive from the HDD LED of the motherboard. I thought like spicing it up by adding 12 LEDs controlled with 12 individual PWM drivers.
Reverse-Engineering the Linear Guide of a DVD Head
I plan to make a coil-winding machine, and so i needed a stacker mechanism. Inside a PC DVD player, there is a nice 35mm stroke linear guide with a precision moving mechanism, perfect for my needs. The problem is that i did not know how this works, and so i did what i do best: I reverse engineered it to find out how it works.
Reverse-Engineering an LCD Display
I have more fun reverse-engineering something, rather than making it from a scratch. I had an LCD on my hands, with absolutely no information or datasheet available whatsoever, but i badly needed to make it work.
Experimenting with a Liquid Flow Sensor
A friend of mine (thanks Siv) gave me this flow sensor. it comes from a professional (and expensive) household apparatus. It is proper for drinking water and can be connected directly to the water supply. It has a built in controller that provides pulses. With this experiment i will find the pulse counts for a specific amount of water.
Product Review - How cheap is a cheap power supply
I got from ebay a cheap power supply for my canon camera. It appeared as a normal power supply, with the canon brand printed on the label. It worked fine for some time, and then things turned really nasty...
My Job - Retrofit Star Delta motor automation on band saw
In this BLOG entry i explain how can someone make a very simple and reliable Start Delta AC motor automation. I made this automation because i was asked to retrofit an old band saw woodworking machine which had an old manual star-delta switch and no motor protection at all.
My Job - Repairing a pneumatic foot pedal
Many people think that when a pneumatic valve or other equipment fails, it has to be replaced with a new one. That is not correct. Pneumatic valves and regulators can be easily repaired just like pneumatic cylinders. In this BLOG entry i explain how can someone repair a pneumatic valve found inside a foot pedal.