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10 Common Power Supply Acronyms Explained

By Tommy Reed on February 5, 2021May 30, 2023Leave a Comment

This post originally appeared on DesignSpark.

A good, low-noise power supply is an essential piece of test equipment whether you’re testing analog circuits, like audio amplifiers, digital circuits, like a new Arduino board, or RF circuits, like a new SDR radio. These vital pieces of test equipment supply clean voltages to your devices under test while having the option to limit things like current draw. There are many other protections built into the best DC power supplies, but these are often listed on spec sheets as confusing acronyms. In this post we will run through 10 common acronyms associated with power supplies and explain each of them in layman’s terms.

Let’s jump right in!

Ultimate Guide to DC Power Supplies [PLUS 4 Top DC Power Supplies]

By Tommy Reed on December 2, 2020July 19, 20232 Comments

A good DC power supply is one of the most essential pieces of test equipment for any lab. In this post we’ll cover everything you could need to know about DC power supplies. We’ll go through what they are, the different types of power supplies, how to choose the best DC power supply for your application or lab, and finally our recommendations on the right power supply for various budgets and use-cases.

Read all the way through our ultimate guide to DC Power Supplies. Or you can jump straight to our recommendations for the best DC Power Supplies below!

Looking for an even more complete list of great DC Power Supply options? Check out comprehensive list of over 20 adjustable DC power supplies.

10 Things to do with your SDR [Great SDR Projects]

By Tommy Reed on November 23, 2020March 8, 2021Leave a Comment

So you did your research and picked up a great SDR receiver or transceiver and are looking for a cool SDR project to get you started. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a collection of 10 killer projects to help you get more familiar with your software defined radio.

Every Multimeter Measurement Explained

By Tommy Reed on November 10, 2020November 10, 2020Leave a Comment

This article was originally published on Evaluation Engineering.

What is a multimeter?

A multimeter or digital multimeter (DMM) is one of the most essential and common pieces of lab equipment. Multimeters are used for taking basic electrical measurements related to Ohm’s Law. This includes measurements like voltage, current, resistance, etc. Multimeters can be both handheld or benchtop units. Benchtop multimeters tend to offer higher precision than their smaller handheld counterparts. For this purpose of this article, we’ll assume a benchtop multimeter is being used.

Without further ado, here is an explanation of every multimeter measurement.

5 Myths about BGA Rework Stations [PLUS Real Considerations]

By Tommy Reed on November 3, 2020March 8, 2021Leave a Comment

Of all the different situations a technician or electronics hobbyist can find themselves in… perhaps one of the most intimidating is needing to replace a bad BGA (Ball Grid Array) component on a board. Reworking BGAs is not for the faint of heart, which is probably why there are so many myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic. In this post, we’ll tackle 5 common myths about BGA Rework Stations and hopefully make you a bit more comfortable deciding to tackle that Xbox chip replacement or CPU upgrade.

What are Signal Generators? Plus 5 Common Types of Signal Generators

By Tommy Reed on October 8, 2020November 10, 2020Leave a Comment

One common piece of test equipment in any RF laboratory is the signal generator. The purpose of these devices is in the name itself “signal generator,” in that it generates signals with tunable properties such as amplitude, frequency, and wave shape. Signal generators are also called function generators, although, function generators often have more advanced features.

Signal generators are most commonly used to test the response of circuits using known and controllable input signal. In order to validate the output signal coming from the function generator it is common to validate that signal with an oscilloscope (but that’s the topic of a future post).

Three Aviation Signals for Your Next SDR Project

By Tommy Reed on September 22, 2020December 10, 2020Leave a Comment

This post originally appeared on RS-Online on Sept, 28, 2020.

You’ve scoured all the blogs and forums and finally decided on a great new software defined radio (SDR) rig… now what?!? Choosing your first SDR project can seem daunting, not to mention some of the most interesting signals may seem relatively obscure or unknown if you’re new to software defined radios.

If you’re new to SDRs, check out this post that describes software defined radios
If your just getting started, we’ve put together a beginner’s guide to SDRs.
If your ready to buy your first SDR, check out this list of 10 great radios for any budget.

We’ve compiled a list of the most popular aviation related waveforms and signals to explore with your SDR. Before building a new SDR project, be sure to confirm your radio has the appropriate bandwidth and frequency range to detect the signals listed below. Without further ado…

How to pick the best multimeter [PLUS, 5 great benchtop multimeters]

By Tommy Reed on September 17, 2020March 8, 20213 Comments

One of the most essential pieces of test equipment for any electronics lab is the multimeter. Today, multimeters are typically all digital and are referred to as Digital Multimeters or DMMs. Choosing the right digital multimeter can be daunting since the DMM is one of the most used pieces of equipment in the lab.

Digital multi-meters can be portable or benchtop. For this article, we’ll focus on benchtop multimeters suitable for use in a typical electronics lab. As the name implies, benchtop multimeters are used to measure multiple fundamental electronics measurements. The most basic measurements include measuring voltage, current, and resistance. More advanced benchtop digital multimeters can also measure things like capacitance, inductance, conductance, frequency, duty cycle, diode drops, etc.

A Beginner’s Guide to Software Defined Radios

By Tommy Reed on June 14, 2020November 10, 20202 Comments

Software Defined Radios or SDRs offer a high level of flexibility and adaptability compared to traditional hardware based radios. However adding all these 1s and 0s to the already complex and beautiful art of MHz and dBs can be daunting. We wrote this post to help you start your journey using software defined radios (SDRs) in 5 simple steps.

If you’re scratching your head wondering “what the heck are SDR radios or software defined radios anyways?!?” check out this post that describes SDR radios compared to traditional radios.

Without further delay, here is our beginner’s guide to get started using software defined radios!