MEP EP#70: Bits Flying In

Parker Dillmann |   |  Board Outline, Compressor IoT, D&D, Doomed Thermostat, Hello Doom, LSM9DS1, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, MIDI, Podcast, Raspberry Pi, STM32F429, Synth, Synthesizer, TIDA-01243, VCO

MacroFab Engineering Podcast

Stream:

Download: MP3
RSS Feed: Link
Twitter: @MacroFab

Runtime: (47:04)

Hosts:
Parker Dillmann
Stephen Kraig

Guest:
N/A

Figure 1: Parker's routing problem with the LSM9DS1TR.
Figure 1: Parker’s routing problem with the LSM9DS1TR.
Figure 2: The offending zener diode in Stephen's synth design.
Figure 2: The offending zener diode in Stephen’s synth design.
Figure 3: Graph of the error at a sweep of frequencies of the VCO in the Synth.
Figure 3: Graph of the error at a sweep of frequencies of the VCO in the Synth.

Podcast Notes

  • Parker
    • Ordered Compressor IoT Board. Will start on the Software side.
    • Wrote an article about PCB board outlines and what to watch out for. Will be released next week.
    • Defining planes in DipTrace with board outlines vs Eagle.
    • Parker has Vias that haunt him. Bad pinout designs for ICs can cause unnecessary vias in board layout. The LSM9DS1TR is an example of one.
  • Stephen
    • Synthesizer Update
      • MIDI code problems and triumphs
      • Audio clip of before tuning and after tuning.
      • Frequency doubles for every ½ volt you put in for the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator).
      • Zener diode – Zener diodes leak – caused huge calibration issues with synth.
      • The Zener diode was installed to prevent over voltage of the ADC.
      • Lower frequencies were really sharp, higher frequencies were flat. Plot of IV curve now matches with data sheet.
      • Basically Stephen characterized the Zener Diode leakage current!
    • Article series for the synth – on modules and theory of operation. Block diagrams and explain how these work.
  • Pick Of the Week (POW)
    • Doomed Thermostat
      • Honeywell Prestige Thermostat
      • STM32F429 processor ARM9 processor
      • This is starting to be the 1337 version of blinky. Hello Doom?
      • It runs doom!
  • Rapid Fire Opinion (RFO)
    • TI reference design TIDA-01243
      • USB Type-C™ and Power Delivery Minidock With Video and Charging Support Reference Design
      • 20V 3A (60W)
    • Procedural generating random medieval cities – HackADay
      • Great for D&D.
      • Generate a city on the go.
      • Cool color scheme.
      • 3D printing D&D figurines? Stephen goes back on his opinion of 3D printers.
    • Raspberry Pi named a finalist for national engineering award – Electronics Weekly
      • Raspberry Pi has been named as one of this finalists for this year’s coveted MacRobert Award, the innovation prize awarded each year by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
      • 1% of the Global PC Market

Are you interested in seeing a blog series for the synth we’re working on? Let us know! 

 

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