Complexity in Consumer Electronics Considered Harmful
Jason Sachs watched his grandmother struggle with a Vizio TV remote, and it highlights a recurring usability failure in consumer electronics. He argues that small type, unclear icons, and modal controls make everyday tasks needlessly hard. The takeaway for embedded engineers is to prioritize common actions, separate advanced features, and design for low-vision and limited-memory users to avoid frustration and returns.
Which MOSFET topology?
Jason Sachs breaks down the four basic MOSFET topologies for switching a two-wire load, showing why low-side N-channel is usually the simplest and cheapest option. He explains why grounding or chassis return can force a high-side switch, how P-channel devices trade performance for simpler gate drive, and why high-side N-channel options need extra driver circuitry. He also stresses adding freewheeling diodes for inductive loads.
Thermistor signal conditioning: Dos and Don'ts, Tips and Tricks
Jason Sachs shows how to keep thermistor conditioning simple and accurate for embedded systems. He warns against analog linearization and excessive analog stages, and explains why ratiometric dividers, proper ADC buffering, and using the same reference voltage give better results. The post also covers thermal pitfalls like self-heating and lead conduction, plus practical tips for ADC autocalibration and polynomial temperature conversion.
Real-time clocks: Does anybody really know what time it is?
Most RTC chips still expose calendar fields rather than seconds-since-epoch, forcing embedded engineers to write ugly conversion code. Jason Sachs makes the case for offset encoding, subseconds, and an explicit snapshot feature to simplify interval math, raise precision, and avoid rare timing bugs. Read this practical take on RTC trade-offs and a short wishlist for chip makers.
Byte and Switch (Part 2)
Running a thermistor front end from a single AA cell exposes problems you might not expect. Jason Sachs walks through a switchable-gain divider using a P-channel MOSFET and shows how MOSFET off-state leakage and low supply voltages can corrupt high-impedance temperature readings. The post compares bipolar transistors and analog switch ICs as fixes and gives practical component guidance for one-cell designs.
Byte and Switch (Part 1)
Driving a 24V electromagnet from a 3.3V microcontroller looks trivial, but Jason Sachs shows how that simple switch can fail spectacularly. He walks through the cause of MOSFET destruction when an inductive load is turned off, and explains the practical fixes you actually need: a flyback diode, a gate series resistor, and a gate pulldown to keep the transistor well behaved.
April is Oscilloscope Month: In Which We Discover Agilent Offers Us a Happy Deal and a Sad Name
Jason Sachs grabbed an MSOX3034 during Agilent's bandwidth deal, used a 30-day trial to debug UART issues, and then discovered Agilent's 'Happy Deal' lets you enable all MSOX software for the price of a single option. He walks through which MSOX3000 modules are worth buying, explains memory and waveform features, and delivers a wry take on the company's new Keysight name.
Working of the first solid state amplifier
Whenever a circuit designer thinks about amplifier, the first think that pops up in his mind is that of operational amplifier (Op-Amp). The answer is simple op-amps are beautiful (literally), you just have to set the gain of the op-amps with pair of resistors and you are good to go.
The Art of Debugging
The post presents debugging as the essential, iterative craft of electronics engineering, emphasizing that practical troubleshooting is learned through experience. It advises starting with the basics—verify power rails and ground connections—before isolating faults using a binary-search approach on hardware. For firmware issues, the author recommends hardware-assisted tracing (toggling spare pins or sacrificing simple hardware) to observe routine entry/exit and interrupt activity, and using in-circuit debugging when available. The narrative also covers human factors: when stuck, step away to let unconscious problem solving work, and recognize that many failures stem from intended behavior or edge conditions. The conclusion stresses designing systems for debuggability to reduce bugs and treat debugging as an engineering art that improves with practice.
Video: The PN Junction. How Diodes Work?
The post points readers to a concise video that demonstrates the PN junction and explains how diodes work. Presented as a short endorsement, the author highlights the video’s visual approach as an accessible way to grasp fundamental semiconductor behavior. The entry serves as a quick recommendation for electronics students, hobbyists, and engineers seeking a visual primer on diode basics without an in-depth written tutorial. It frames the video as an engaging, easy-to-watch resource that complements technical study or classroom material, rather than replacing detailed textbooks or datasheets.
3 LEDs powered by fingers - puzzle
The post presents a compact electronics puzzle: a demonstration video that shows three LEDs reportedly powered by fingers. The author invites readers to watch the short movie and reverse-engineer the design, asking “How does it work?” rather than providing an explanation. The write-up targets hobbyists and circuit sleuths, prompting them to observe contact points, timing, and visible wiring, then form and test hypotheses about possible mechanisms. It frames the problem as an experimental challenge — encouraging hands-on verification, sharing measurements, and discussing candidate explanations such as conduction paths, coupling effects, or hidden circuitry — without revealing the solution, to stimulate community analysis and learning.
Series circuit - 3 LEDs
The post 'Series circuit - 3 LEDs' presents only a short prompt — "How does it work??? Solution:" — without any accompanying explanation, schematic, or component values. It therefore poses a clear question about the operation of three LEDs arranged in series but supplies no data to allow analysis. The entry functions as a request for a solution or follow-up discussion, implicitly asking for missing parameters such as supply voltage, LED forward voltages, and any current-limiting resistor. The post highlights the importance of including full circuit details when seeking help and invites contributors to provide the schematic or measurements needed to deliver a correct and practical explanation.
April is Oscilloscope Month: In Which We Discover Agilent Offers Us a Happy Deal and a Sad Name
Jason Sachs grabbed an MSOX3034 during Agilent's bandwidth deal, used a 30-day trial to debug UART issues, and then discovered Agilent's 'Happy Deal' lets you enable all MSOX software for the price of a single option. He walks through which MSOX3000 modules are worth buying, explains memory and waveform features, and delivers a wry take on the company's new Keysight name.
3 LEDs powered by fingers - puzzle
The post presents a compact electronics puzzle: a demonstration video that shows three LEDs reportedly powered by fingers. The author invites readers to watch the short movie and reverse-engineer the design, asking “How does it work?” rather than providing an explanation. The write-up targets hobbyists and circuit sleuths, prompting them to observe contact points, timing, and visible wiring, then form and test hypotheses about possible mechanisms. It frames the problem as an experimental challenge — encouraging hands-on verification, sharing measurements, and discussing candidate explanations such as conduction paths, coupling effects, or hidden circuitry — without revealing the solution, to stimulate community analysis and learning.
Video: The PN Junction. How Diodes Work?
The post points readers to a concise video that demonstrates the PN junction and explains how diodes work. Presented as a short endorsement, the author highlights the video’s visual approach as an accessible way to grasp fundamental semiconductor behavior. The entry serves as a quick recommendation for electronics students, hobbyists, and engineers seeking a visual primer on diode basics without an in-depth written tutorial. It frames the video as an engaging, easy-to-watch resource that complements technical study or classroom material, rather than replacing detailed textbooks or datasheets.
The Art of Debugging
The post presents debugging as the essential, iterative craft of electronics engineering, emphasizing that practical troubleshooting is learned through experience. It advises starting with the basics—verify power rails and ground connections—before isolating faults using a binary-search approach on hardware. For firmware issues, the author recommends hardware-assisted tracing (toggling spare pins or sacrificing simple hardware) to observe routine entry/exit and interrupt activity, and using in-circuit debugging when available. The narrative also covers human factors: when stuck, step away to let unconscious problem solving work, and recognize that many failures stem from intended behavior or edge conditions. The conclusion stresses designing systems for debuggability to reduce bugs and treat debugging as an engineering art that improves with practice.
Working of the first solid state amplifier
Whenever a circuit designer thinks about amplifier, the first think that pops up in his mind is that of operational amplifier (Op-Amp). The answer is simple op-amps are beautiful (literally), you just have to set the gain of the op-amps with pair of resistors and you are good to go.
Series circuit - 3 LEDs
The post 'Series circuit - 3 LEDs' presents only a short prompt — "How does it work??? Solution:" — without any accompanying explanation, schematic, or component values. It therefore poses a clear question about the operation of three LEDs arranged in series but supplies no data to allow analysis. The entry functions as a request for a solution or follow-up discussion, implicitly asking for missing parameters such as supply voltage, LED forward voltages, and any current-limiting resistor. The post highlights the importance of including full circuit details when seeking help and invites contributors to provide the schematic or measurements needed to deliver a correct and practical explanation.
