In this episode, I rant about teardowns, products vs projects, LCSC, and the ESP32 microcontroller ..read more

It was a strange week. I have my first “real” job since 2003. (I’m talking full-time job.) It was a struggle to get this podcast out. I’m feeling my grip on my my reality from just 5 days ago slip away. Regardless, I was able to maintain my usual, low standards. I had plenty to talk about. I spent about a day finding a switch on LCSC. I learned a ton about the JLCPCB Assembly process, and it turns out that school may have been onto something in Python ..read more

Pocast 007 : Incredible Synth Filter, SMD MIDI Optcouplers, and Woes of Production Last week’s video: LTspice Potentiometer Download and Install — Filters —– Scowering the web ——- found interesting schematic ——- built it up. It acted weird. ——- I simulated it in LT Spice ——–I It was still weird. It wasn’t a LPF at all, but some kind of goofy resonant peak thing. ——–Later on, I re-read the description and it said, “Fake LPF”. Sigh. — No forum schematics? Fake news? — Incredible video on synth design ——-DIY Synth Design Tutorial Series – 003: Analog Filter and Power Supply ——-https://www.youtube ..read more

This episode had no big theme, but many small ones. Topics — I’m redoing this podcast because of noise and why that is GREAT! — I finally hooked a MIDI controller to Reagan Revenge. — Last week’s Youtube video was Can You Reflow Solder In The Kitchen? https://youtu.be/ioDRD-fo0PY — Fear of selecting wrong platform (comment on Embedded.FM) — A programmer without a power source — Going back to Python — Talk about e-gas — Knipex Tools lead catcher plies to keep you from shooting your eye out — Finish the code before you start the “real” hardware ..read more

Does the Arduino programming language have any place in professional products? This is a topic that comes up frequently for people that have a cool idea and feel the pull of product design but feel like maybe they are wimping out if they were to choose Arduino over Embedded C. Embedded C certainly has performance benefits, but that comes with costs of its own….TIME! In this podcast, I rant and rave incoherently about when Arduino programming should be used and should not be used when developing a product. I also talk about wool socks, heating pads, and dinosaur eggs ..read more

The creators of the Arduino IDE made decisions to “simplify” their software. Essentially, they designed the Arduino IDE to have minimal barriers to entry on the first use. Unfortunately, this omits features that would be critical to almost anyone on their third use of the tool. In this episode, I ramble about why I love the PlatformIO IDE for VSCode when programming on the Arduino framework ..read more

Last week I raved at just how much I love the STM32 Blue Pill. It’s my favorite microcontroller! Well, we have a new contender. Will the Raspberry PI Pico knock the STM32 Blue Pill from its pedestal? Find out in another action-packed Electron Injection Podcast episode. (rolled eyes ..read more

The STM32 Blue Pill is nothing new, but it may be new to you. In my view, fans of the Arduino Uno are missing out. There are numerous downsides to the Arduino Uno: no debugger, slow performance, and many others I discuss here. The STM32 Blue Pill ain’t perfect, though. It’s got a too-good-to-be-true price, which is actually a problem. I’ll talk about all of that, the fun of getting burned with a soldering iron, the need to shut off the voices in your head when getting your butt kicked by any formidable task ..read more

Amongst hobbyists, engineers, and programmers there seems to be a great divide as to the validity of the Arduino Programming language (as seen in the Arduino IDE). To be fair, professional embedded C programmers drop down to the depths of register hell to squeeze every ounce of battery life or performance out of their microcontrollers. People digging the holes always lower the eyebrows at the people in the office. The factors that MIGHT matter for a given project are the speed of development, the efficiency of the code (in CPU cycles), and the compiled size of the code. I argue that for low-vo ..read more