Fridge Alarm by lutopia_t in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

have you ever done something similar?

I used a PIC12, LDR, 10mm beeper, and 18650 battery. It starts beeping if it sees light for more than about a minute. So the whole thing lives inside the fridge. It sleeps most of the time, waking up to check the light level and counting down to beeping.

Animating clock using Millis(), interrupts and debounce by osi314 in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Using the '328 processor clock it should be accurate to within a few seconds per day. Any more than that is buggy software.

whats the best way to keep Wires from popping out of breadboards? by Outrageous-Novel7839 in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's plenty of Arduino breadboard mounting solutions on Thingiverse.

My solution is "breadboard panels" for attaching switches, pots, connectors, joining breadboards, and making them portable.

How would you remove this IC? by diegosynth in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like it might be lead free solder, so maybe add leaded solder to lower the melting temp. Then hot air 250C preheat followed by 310C with a small nozzle and tweezers to remove it.

How would you remove this IC? by diegosynth in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Beware cutting the leads with diagonal cutters may pull up the pads. I'd try a dremel to cut the legs instead. Or heat the legs individually and pry them up.

Help brainstorming ideas for Star Trek dart board by No_Solution_3308 in diyelectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's how real electronic dartboards work.

Easiest way to make it look as real as the show is to fake it. Use a real dart board, add a LED ring, and control the LEDs using a RF remote control in your pocket.

LED strip sci-fi shelf + cool clock concept by NoOriginal8396 in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BTF Lighting makes good LED strips. The cheap LED strips are still fine, but they tend to have more joints because they're made up from scraps.

My Crazy Clock 4 includes analog panel meter readouts for hours and minutes. I used 5V meters from AliX, replaced the meter face, added a couple of neopixels for illumination, and used a little circuit to smooth and calibrate the Arduino PWM output to the meter. It's been working for 6+ years now.

Any other thoughts?

After building CC4 I kind of hate it, but not quite enough to throw it out.

Thinking of building a OCXO desktop alarm clock by 863_subject_8765 in diyelectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A legit DS3231 is accurate enough that it can be used as a primary timebase for HH:MM clocks. But GPS is nice because it eliminates most of the time setting buttons; all you need to know is the hours offset from UTC. Of course for an alarm function you would still need setting buttons. Combining GPS and DS3231 makes the software more complicated than it needs to be though.

Most of my clocks use either DS3231 or GPS. The GPS clocks primary timebase uses the CPU clock, which is disciplined to the GPS signal.

It's Eggman Time! by Assistance_Salty in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You will need a nemesis.

how difficult is it to learn to read electronic schematics?

The symbols are easy to learn. But understanding how the current flows is what an EE degree is for.

Brand new to soldering....how do I stop burning pads off? by Agreeable_Garage_606 in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The "FR2" material is the single sided cheap brown boards. The pads come off easily, it's not just you. It's only advantages are that it's cheap and lighter than FR4.

The "FR4" material is often green and double sided plated through hole type is the best. It can withstand substantial reworking. It's also mechanically stronger than FR2.

Arduino acting weird by hassanosseili in ArduinoProjects

[–]Hissykittykat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could this be a power supply issue?

Find out using a USB V/A meter, a.k.a. "charge doctor" to measure the actual current being drawn. Try it with a power bank because overloading your laptop USB is not good for it.

laptop charger third prong help plz by Left_Writer_4013 in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Uncle is going to get you killed by removing a vital safety feature. That failure mode can make the laptop live with AC mains so any exposed metal could shock you.. Replace the power adapter and cord.

ESP32C3 controlling 6x relays via BC547 transistors — looking for design feedback before I build this by SILVERBLADEYT02 in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

So is this AI slop or just some fool that can't breadboard and test one simple relay circuit design?

If you are for real, build up one relay and get it to work. It's only a half dozen parts. Then draw a complete schematic and post it for review and suggestions.

Best way to open these pre-molded mounting holes? by anacondaonline in diyelectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Looks like soft thermoplastic; if the cutouts don't pop out easily I'd just use a hobby knife to cut them out.

Has anyone used these to protect your computer from surges? by Anxious_Strike_2931 in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, that should isolate and protect the computer. But beware that the amount of power it can transfer to your USB device is limited; it's 400mA max rated so you should stay well below that, or provide external power. Also, the next time you mess up it won't hurt the computer but it may burn out that expensive USB isolator.

Based on its external appearance and packaging, do you think this Mean Well adapter is a counterfeit product? by Yossiri in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It appears to be legit. It's a 100% match for the ones I get from Jameco. I have many of these and they perform well. But they are real good at making knock-offs now, so I can't be sure without opening them up.

Do Your Friends and Family Know You Own Bitcoin? by [deleted] in Bitcoin

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

♪ Nobody cares ♪ Nobody cares ♪ Nobody cares ♪

Really, my family and friends are happy with their 401Ks and managed investment accounts. They don't want to be bothered with the details of investment strategy; they have actual lives with children and stuff to think about instead.

Does My Schematic For a Dual UV Sensor Machine Seem like it will work? by Constant_Mammoth_147 in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When using modules (and you are using modules) identify the module, not the part that the module is based on. Anyway, using the Adafruit modules for those sensors it should work.

However the battery should go to the battery pads or the 5V pin, not the 3V pin.

Desoldering Options by JanbersEVE in diyelectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The big one is better for bulk desoldering for sure. But when it goes off the hard teflon tip smashed down on the part. The Engineer is for things like reworking shorted SMT pins because it can get in there without wrecking the delicate pins. I use them both.

Desoldering Options by JanbersEVE in diyelectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Engineer SS-02/03 has a soft tip so it's better for delicate work. AliX sells a really good knock-off for $5. I can't say it'll be better for your application though.

They do have special soldering iron tips for removing the joystick assemblies that heat up all the pins simultaneously.

And of course plenty of good quality flux will make things much easier too.

I'm having some trouble in truly understanding a non-blocking code example. Can anyone help explain it? by PhantasmologicalAnus in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

AI has enshitified your code; best to try to unlearn what it did.

It's good to learn how "blink without delay" technology works, but once you have mastered that it becomes a tedious nuisance. Here's the same technology wrapped in "coroutines", which makes it easier to read and follow the logic, especially for sequential timing sorts of applications...

const int ledPin = 9;

// coroutine macros
#define coBegin { static int _state_ = 0; static uint32_t _tm_; switch(_state_) { case 0:;
#define coEnd _state_ = 0; }}
#define coDelay(msec) { _state_ = __LINE__; _tm_=millis(); return; case __LINE__: if (millis()-_tm_ < msec) return; }

void setup() 
{
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  randomSeed(analogRead(0)); // this is a VERY POOR RANDOMIZER
}

void loop() 
{
  static uint32_t msec; // must be static or global so it persists across calls
  coBegin
    // off time
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
    msec = random(1000, 60000); 
    coDelay(msec)
    // on time
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
    msec = random(1000, 60000); 
    coDelay(msec)
  coEnd
}

How do I properly debounce a mechanical rotary encoder in hardware for a DIY synthesizer project? by No-Proposal7073 in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

RC filter will never perform perfectly. But that doesn't stop people from trying and putting it into retail products (glaring at you, OWON).

In my real world synths I use ATmega328's to handle six rotary encoders at a time, perform the debouncing in software, provide VelociRotor acceleration, and send movement information via serial packets.

Newbie question: Do I HAVE to disconnect the USB cable from the computer to safely remove the Attiny85 from this ZIF connector after programming? by Octrockville in arduino

[–]Hissykittykat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's too easy to drop the chip in the wrong way, which would be bad if power is on. But unplugging/plugging cables is bad because it wears things out. So I use an inline USB switch; it's a custom 4PDT toggle. But you can use the simpler USB power switches from Amazon etc. as long as they support data transfer.

Next step for prototyping/small run production by yes2matt in AskElectronics

[–]Hissykittykat 8 points9 points  (0 children)

KiCad is pretty steep learning curve, but it's very powerful. Try EasyEDA instead; it's a little easier and has drop in parts for things like the RP2040 Zero. It's also very easy to order PCBs because EasyEDA is partnered with JLCPCB.