Electronic components - Open Source Hardware

Low Pass Filter: all you need to know about this circuit

low pass filter, circuit

The coils and the operational amplifiers allow to create very interesting circuits, such as the famous frequency filters. These filters have many applications in the electronics industry. As is the case with the low pass filter, the high pass filter, etc. They are specially interesting for certain sound applications, being able to filter noise, or more or less low sounds according to their frequency. Therefore, they are very useful.

If you want to know more about the low pass filter, and other filters, and how they can help you in your projects with Arduino or DIY, I encourage you to read on…

RGB LED: everything you need to know about this component

LED RGB

There are many types of semiconductor diodes on the market, and within them there is a particular type such as LEDs (Light-Emitting Diode). These types can emit light, but not all of them are identical. Manufacturers play with different compositions of the semiconductor material so that they emit lights of different colours. In addition, there is the RGB LED, which uses various combinations of LEDs to emit light in different colors.

Therefore, if you want to create a project in which a single color LED is not enough, with RGB LEDs you can achieve wonderful multicolor light effects. And they are not very different from conventional LEDs, so you can integrate them with your Arduino board or other electronic projects in a very simple way.

Multiplexer: all you need to know

chip multiplexor

A multiplexer is a combination circuit that has several inputs and a single data output. This allows you to select the step of only one of its inputs to channel it to its output. That is, you could select from which input to take the data or bit at the input and ignore the rest of the inputs. This is very common in electronics when several connections need to share a single line or bus.

That is, by controlling the multiplexer you can select the appropriate input at any time. This makes it possible to work with multiple input devices at the same time without them interfering with each other, even though there is only one connection. Also, you should know that usually a demultiplexer is used in conjunction with the multiplexer in many projects .

Termistor: everything you need to know to measure temperature in your projects

termistor

Different temperature sensors have been analyzed in other articles. One of the elements or devices you can use to measure such temperature is precisely the thermistor (thermally sensitive resistor). As its name suggests, it is based on a material that changes its electrical resistance according to the temperature it is subjected to.

In this way, by means of a simple formula, knowing the voltage and the intensity to which it is subjected, the resistance can be analysed to determine the temperature according to its scale. But it is not only used as a temperature sensor, it can also be used to alter some characteristics of the circuit according to its temperature, as a protection element against current excesses, etc.

Electromagnet: how to integrate this element with your Arduino board

electromagnet

There are some electronic projects or to use with your Arduino, in which you will need to work with controlled magnetism. I mean, in a normal permanent magnet, there will always be a force of attraction, but with a electromagnet you can control that magnetic field to generate it just when you need it. That way, you can attract ferromagnetic materials for a multitude of applications.

For example, imagine that you want to open or close a small trap door automatically when something happens, or move some metal object, etc. In that case, the best thing you can use is an electromagnet, avoiding having to create other complete mechanisms that do the same function.

Hall effect sensor: everything you need to know for your projects with Arduino

sensor Hall effect

You may be looking for a device that allows you to detect nearby magnetic fields, or to use it as a non-contact switch, for applications that need water protection, etc. In that case, you can use the Hall effect sensors of which I will show you everything you need to know to integrate it with your future Arduino projects. In fact, if you are going to use them together with neodymium magnets, the applications you can get out of them are many.

The connection of this type of device is very simple, as you can see. Moreover, they are very cheap electronic components and you can easily find them in many specialized shops or on the Internet. If you want to know more, you can read on…

MOSFET: everything you need to know about this type of transistor

transistor

There are several types of transistors. These electronic devices are very important for today’s electronics, and they represented a great advance in moving from vacuum tube based electronics to solid state based electronics, which are much more reliable and consume less energy. In fact, the MOSFET are the ones used in most chips or integrated circuits, although you can also find them in printed circuit boards for many other applications.

Well, since it is such an important semiconductor device, I will present you everything you need to know about this work of science and engineering that allows us to make so many circuits and that have improved our lives in many ways.

Flow meter: all you need to know

caudalímetro

Measuring the flow of fluid or consumption is important in some cases, and for this you need a flowmeter. For example, if you follow Formula 1, you will know that the FIA forces teams to use a flowmeter in the engine to detect the consumption that each team makes in their cars and thus avoid possible traps by injecting more flow to get more power in some moments or how the oil is used to burn the engine .

But outside of F1 you may be interested in having one of these devices to know what consumption of water or any other liquid a system has, or also to determine the flow rate of a tube that is extracted from a tank to determine when it is consumed, automated garden irrigation systems, etc. The applications of these elements are many, you can set the limit yourself.

Gyroscope: all you need to know

Gyroscope module

Many electronic projects need an element of governance, and that happens by having a giroscope or gyroscope. This element can also detect movement or rotation of the device, and help generate a reaction to that movement. For example, if it’s a controller, it could make it turn in the direction the user wants to handle some element or a video game.

The applications of a gyroscope, as you can imagine, are many, like the one integrated in smartphones to be able to know when the screen has been turned and perform some control action on the operating system, to drive vehicles or video game characters, etc. It is also integrated in some laptops to determine that the equipment has been dropped so that the hard disk (HDD) can be turned off in time to prevent the head from hitting the rotating disk and breaking, etc.

28BYJ-48: everything you need to know about this stepper motor

28BYJ-48 stepper motor

One of the most popular stepper motors is the 28BYJ-48. After the article published in this blog, you should already know everything you need about this type of precision stepper motors. This allows them to have a multitude of applications, from industrial, to robotics, to many others that you can think of.

The 28BYJ-48 is a small single-pole stepper motor, and easy to integrate with Arduino, as it has a driver/controller module model ULN2003A that is usually included with it. All for a very cheap price and a quite compact size. These features also make it ideal to start practicing with these devices.