Bashing leds

Circuit Break Podcast #234

Bashing LEDs

Related Topics
Current Conscience Comparator

How low can the power consumption of the Cat Feeder Unreminder go? Parker and Stephen discuss leakage current on this episode of the podcast!

Color Clashing Chip Consolidation

What is the worst thing about the Analog Devices and Linear Technologies merger? The incompatible color schemes of course.

The Heartbeat of Cats and LEDs

How do you know if an electrical component is inexpensive? When it says "Cost Effective" as a main bullet point on the datasheet!

Other Resources

Circuit Break Podcast
Blog
eBooks & Guides
Webinars
Videos
Case Studies
Tour MacroFab's ITAR-Compliant Facility

July 22, 2020, Episode #234

One week from start to finish on a product? Stephen explains his latest project at WMD for improving testing and calibration routines, the Sub Volt!

Parker

  • Didn’t get to work on the Cat Feeder Unreminder but there are lots of interest and ideas in our slack channel!
    • TheStumbler
      • Found a 12hr egg timer. Defeats the purpose of building and learning a new embedded skill.
    • Eric McFall
      • E-Ink for the persistent display.
      • This is a great idea. I will look through my parts bins for a e-ink. Might have one.
    • Derek
      • Does it count as feature creep if the project is still doing the same thing but is way more complicated?
    • Tony W
      • Jack in the box
    • DJ
      • Has been working with Flip Dot displays. Kinda power hungry in short bursts. 4A for only 5ms. 
    • Bombledmonk
      • Go solar
      • Sanyo / Panasonic has panels for indoor lighting

Stephen

  • Snap dome buttons
    • Interesting requirements for footprints. Not sure how to do it.
    • Snaptron BL-series
    • 0.07 or 0.01” hole for LED – not a whole lot…
  • One week product

About the Hosts

Parker Dillmann
  Parker Dillmann

Parker is an Electrical Engineer with backgrounds in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing. He got his start in 2005 by hacking Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year he designed and produced an Atari 2600 video mod to allow the Atari to display a crisp, RF fuzz free picture on newer TVs. Over a thousand Atari video mods where produced by Parker from 2006 to 2011 and the mod is still made by other enthusiasts in the Atari community.

In 2006, Parker enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin as a Petroleum Engineer. After realizing electronics was his passion he switched majors in 2007 to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Following his previous background in making the Atari 2600 video mod, Parker decided to take more board layout classes and circuit design classes. Other areas of study include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, FPGA development with VHDL and Verilog, and image and signal processing with DSPs. In 2010, Parker won a Ti sponsored Launchpad programming and design contest that was held by the IEEE CS chapter at the University. Parker graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Spring of 2012.

In the Summer of 2012, Parker was hired on as an Electrical Engineer at Dynamic Perception to design and prototype new electronic products. Here, Parker learned about full product development cycles and honed his board layout skills. Seeing the difficulties in managing operations and FCC/CE compliance testing, Parker thought there had to be a better way for small electronic companies to get their product out in customer's hands.

Parker also runs the blog, longhornengineer.com, where he posts his personal projects, technical guides, and appnotes about board layout design and components.

Stephen Kraig
  Stephen Kraig

Stephen Kraig is a component engineer working in the aerospace industry. He has applied his electrical engineering knowledge in a variety of contexts previously, including oil and gas, contract manufacturing, audio electronic repair, and synthesizer design. A graduate of Texas A&M, Stephen has lived his adult life in the Houston, TX, and Denver, CO, areas.

Stephen has never said no to a project. From building guitar amps (starting when he was 17) to designing and building his own CNC table to fine-tuning the mineral composition of the water he uses to brew beer, he thrives on testing, experimentation, and problem-solving. Tune into the podcast to learn more about the wacky stuff Stephen gets up to.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

Related Podcasts

Ice cream solder paste equipotential

Ice Cream Solder Paste Equipotential

High voltage and low current measuring got you down? Stephen looks into how he is going to measure the specifications for his tubes.

The heartbeat of cats and leds

The Heartbeat of Cats and LEDs

How do you know if an electrical component is inexpensive? When it says "Cost Effective" as a main bullet point on the datasheet!

Solar freaking cat feeders

Solar Freaking Cat Feeders

Parker's Cat Feeder Unreminder now has a parts list! Listen as Parker explains his electrical component choices and Stephen discusses CNC upgrades.

Excited electrons

Excited Electrons

Is lead forming components a lost art? What specifications of a solar panel is important for an embedded system? Find out more on this weeks episode!

Color clashing chip consolidation

Color Clashing Chip Consolidation

What is the worst thing about the Analog Devices and Linear Technologies merger? The incompatible color schemes of course.

Current conscience comparator

Current Conscience Comparator

How low can the power consumption of the Cat Feeder Unreminder go? Parker and Stephen discuss leakage current on this episode of the podcast!