Monthly Archives: December 2009

Happy New Year 2010

Posted on December 31, 2009 by robert

2009 has been a pretty tough year for everybody it seems. I’ve had a big share of nasty setbacks myself. Let’s hope the next decade of the second millennium has more pleasant things in store for us. Let’s make 2010 … Continue reading →

Posted in The Dump. | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Macroblock LED driver group buy

Posted on December 29, 2009 by robert

I’ll be placing an order at Kingelectronics on January 14th 2010. To my knowledge Kingelectronics is currently the sole distributor for Macroblock LED drivers in the western world. They have quite a few interesting chips, e.g. the MBI5168. It’s an … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics. | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Playing with the OSCCAL register of an ATmega168

Posted on December 25, 2009 by robert

I was having problems with the “led ring” boards. Their internal oscillators were not ticking with the same speed and required constant re-syncing. I tried to improve the situation by recalibrating by adjusting the OSCCAL registers. Recalibration can be done … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino., Electronics. | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

LT1618 at work — A versatile boost converter

Posted on December 18, 2009 by robert

Please make sure you check the schematic, as this one may contain errors! I shall not be responsible for any damage to your chip. This post is about the experimentation phase only. Best to start from the spice model provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics. | Tagged , | 2 Comments

MSOP10/TSSOP8 – DIP adapters — they’ve finally arrived

Posted on December 17, 2009 by robert

I’ve waited almost 8 weeks… and finally the reward ;-) And I’ve already managed to solder the LT1618 boost converter chip to one of these. Compared to soldering TQFP-32 packages this screams for solder paste and a hot air station. … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY., Electronics., Soldering & PCBs. | Tagged , , | 9 Comments