Hacks of Electronics
Understanding the difference between Surge Protection and Over Voltage Protection is essential for designing robust electronic systems, selecting the right protective components, and complying with safety and EMC standards. Modern electronic and electrical systems are increasingly sensitive to abnormal voltage conditions. With the widespread use of microcontrollers, SMPS power supplies, communication modules, and semiconductor devices, […]
Walk into almost any attic, basement, or storage closet and you will find a small museum of forgotten technology. There is usually a clock radio that once woke someone up for work every morning, a cassette player that fueled road trips, or a VCR that still holds a half-finished movie inside. Many of these devices […]
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly is the heart of modern electronic product manufacturing. Two primary methodologies dominate PCB assembly: Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Through-Hole Technology (THT). Each technology has unique characteristics, advantages, limitations, and ideal use cases. This article presents a detailed, side-by-side examination of SMT and THT, covering fundamentals, process steps, component types, […]
While a BCD adder performs decimal addition using binary hardware with correction logic, a BCD subtractor performs the subtraction of one BCD number from another and produces a valid BCD result. This requires additional logic because simple binary subtraction does not automatically produce valid BCD outputs. Digital systems frequently need to perform arithmetic operations such […]
When the temperature drops, the first thing most of us do is reach for that thermostat and crank it up. It feels so good at first until the power bill comes and you start wondering if hibernating in a bear cave might be cheaper. The truth is, running your electric heater smartly is totally doable, […]
When you pause to consider why your smartphone starts behaving erratically after exposure to bathroom steam, or why an inexpensive kitchen timer fails after spending months near a hot stove, you are touching on one of the most demanding disciplines in electronics engineering: designing systems that can survive in harsh environments. Few environments are as […]