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To USB or not to USB, that is the question!
I have done quite a lot of small boards now, as I have blogged at various points.It has helped me build up my skills in circuit and PCB design, and over time I have moved to different approaches for...
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JLCPCB and fun rules
I am using JLCPCB for my small boards. There are other places, but they seem reasonably sensibly priced, have a good automated ordering process, and are quite quick.However, I have been trying to do...
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CH340X DTR/TNOW with ESP8266/ESP32 BOOT and RESET
The CH340X is a small chip that does USB UART, and is part of a family of CH340 chips in various sizes. A UART can need few or many pins, and they do a really small one that is just Rx, Tx and RTS...
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Pipelining
I am reminded of years gone by when "compiling" would take a long time, even hours in some cases.This lead to a "pipelined" debugging and development cycle. By the time what you did was compiled you...
View Articletoot
Twice I setup Mastodon.Once many years ago - I followed the step but step guide and got it working. It worked for quite a while and then broke - out of disk. I gave up.Then a second time we easier -...
View ArticleNON-STERLING TRANS FEE
One thing pisses me off is cards charging a Non sterling transfer fee. I'd have expected them to make money on the exchange rate, or be big enough that they can handle currencies without such silly...
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BMA423
The BMA423 is a small accelerometer by Bosch. The data sheet is here. It is 129 pages. It is really crap if you want to just use this chip. It repeats itself quite a bit as well. The Quick Start Guide...
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WIFi: Aruba vs FS
I have used Aruba WiFi for some time - they are nice, but expensive. The latest Aruba Instant series seem more sensibly priced though.When picking WiFi there are a number of factors, but if you are...
View ArticleRoyal Mail API (RMAPI v4)
We have used Royal Mail for postage for some time. They had an XML API which we have used, and it works.What is interesting is how all of these APIs are moving from XML to JSON now. One of the big...
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ESP32-S3
I have worked through a few of these processors - starting with the ESP8266. I moved to the ESP32 quickly and have not looked back - initially with the WROOM module (which can be hand soldered), to the...
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ESP32-S3-MINI-1 GPIO
I now have a few boards, including a general test board...The ESP32-S3-MINI-1 has 39 GPIO pins, though the data sheet defines that one (GPIO26) is reserved when using PSRAM (e.g....
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LIGHT HAS A SPEED - SO WHY NOT DARK?
I was looking at today's xkcd, and am reminded of a Terry Pratchett quote: [The science of Discworld, Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen, ISBN 9780091886578, chapter 22 "Things That...
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Amazon done wrong
We sell on Amazon, and for that I'll apologise at the start, but it does provide some convenience to some customers and mostly works.A few weeks ago we got an email saying we have to upload dome...
View ArticleWhat counts as R&D?
One of the things a company can do in the UK is claim some tax benefits for spending some of the company resources on R&D. It is an incentive for companies to do R&D.As a company that does a...
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Setting the temperature
My air-con can have a temperature set and aim for it.It has a wide range of ± a few degrees which I don't like.It is not setting temperature by me, it is basing it on some sensor it has.To fix this I...
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Dialling the gate
People will know I am a slight Stargate fan (!), and I like making PCBs. So, well... Latest is...LEDsFirst off, the LEDs. There is a very popular LED format, a WS2812B chip and RGB LEDs in a package....
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Stroke
Old MRI image, not showing my strokeIf you think you are having a stroke, call 999, get help as soon as possible, please.For more information see stroke.org.ukBut this is my experience.MisconceptionsI...
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Shelly Plus 1 Mini
The new Shelly Plus 1 Mini is now available, and it is indeed tiny.Note: Detailed instructions of upgrade from Shelly to Tasmota via web interface at the end of this blog.Key differences from the...
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Shelly Plus PM Mini
Another in the Mini series from Shelly, the PM (Power monitor).Update: explanation from Shelly: Easy, N is almost double the heat inside of the device. Sorry but in such small size we didn't want it....
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Playing with a serious number of WS2812B RGB LEDs
I have done some fun stuff with LEDs, but now I have found some very small 1mmx1mm WS2812B LEDs, I decided to make a Stargate.Well, the doctor said to rest, so this is my resting! I have spent a week...
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