Read what a thermistor is, how NTC and PTC types work, the beta and Steinhart-Hart equations, key specs, applications and how to test one.
Technical Guides
Latest Posts
A practical selection guide to the STM32 Nucleo family: the three form factors, what the order code tells you, what the on-board ST-LINK actually does, and how Nucleo compares to Discovery kits and to Blue Pill and Black Pill boards.
DIN rail terminal blocks are modular connectors that secure and organize wires on standardized DIN rails. This article explains rail profiles, ratings, connection methods, wire sizes, accessories, and assembly practices for reliable control panels.
A terminal block provides a secure electrical and mechanical connection between conductors. This guide explains how to select terminal blocks based on connection technology, current and voltage ratings, conductor size, mounting method, environmental conditions, and potential failure modes.
A working reference for the STM32F103 line: the four density classes and what each gives you, why USB and CAN can't run together, the LQFP48 pin functions, how the Blue Pill is wired, and how to spot the clones on cheap boards.
This article examines microcontroller vs microprocessor architectures at the system level, explaining how their hardware resources, boot requirements, software stacks, and application demands differ.
A Schmitt trigger is a circuit that converts slow or noisy inputs into clean digital signals using two switching thresholds. This guide explains hysteresis, op-amp and transistor designs, equations, real 74HC14, CD40106B, and 555 timer examples, and common design mistakes.
A shunt resistor turns a current you cannot measure directly into a small voltage you can. This guide covers how shunt resistors work, how to size one, why manganin dominates precision designs, and where real measurement errors come from.
This article explains the ESP32 pinout, including GPIO, ADC, DAC, PWM, UART, SPI, and I2C pins; safe and reserved GPIOs; strapping pins; board differences; power limits; and practical design considerations.
VCXO (voltage-controlled crystal oscillator) is a precision timing device that enables fine frequency control. This article explains how VCXOs work, their tuning range, Kv, key specifications, circuit design, applications, alternatives, and how to select the right device.
An OCXO maintains its quartz crystal at a controlled temperature for exceptional frequency stability. This guide covers OCXO design for timing engineers, including oven systems, temperature-control loops, crystal selection, specifications, variants, applications, and emerging trends.
A phase-locked loop keeps one oscillator locked to another. This guide covers the building blocks and the loop dynamics for a stable design.
This article explains the ESP8266 pinout, covering GPIO mapping, boot-strapping pins, safe-to-use pins, flash connections, ADC limits, deep-sleep functions, and NodeMCU and D1 mini pin labels.
Learn how strain gauges work, their types, Wheatstone bridge circuits, and how to select and install the right one for your application.
This article is a practical guide to RF PCB materials, controlled impedance, stackup design, manufacturing processes, signal integrity, and 5G mmWave techniques for achieving reliable, low-loss high-frequency performance.
Arduino Mega 2560 pinout guide: 54 digital pins, 16 analog inputs, 4 UARTs, the PWM timer map, ATmega2560 port mapping, and current limits.
The LM358 is a dual operational amplifier that runs from a single power supply and senses all the way down to ground. This guide covers the pinout, specs that actually constrain your design, the output stage behaviour that catches engineers out, and worked circuit examples.
Complete ATmega328P reference: PDIP and QFN/MLF pinout, port registers, fuse bytes, Arduino pin mapping, errata, and lifecycle status.
The SPI protocol is a preferred protocol for short-distance communication between microcontrollers and peripherals. This reference covers the signals, the four SPI modes, multi-device wiring, timing, and real-world integration challenges you need to know to use it well.
SPI, or Serial Peripheral Interface, is a synchronous, full-duplex serial communication protocol used to connect a controller to one or more peripherals.
GPUs excel in parallel processing for graphics and AI training with scalability, while NPUs focus on low-latency AI inference on edge devices, enhancing privacy by processing data locally. Together, they complement each other in addressing different stages of AI workloads efficiently.
How differential amplifiers work, from the transistor differential pair to the op amp difference amplifier: CMRR, resistor matching, and applications.
How engineers measure jitter, crosstalk, impedance, eye margin, and BER for reliable PCB designs
An instrumentation amplifier is a precision differential amplifier designed to amplify small voltage differences. This guide explains the three-op-amp architecture, and how to choose between INA128, AD620, LT1167, and a standard difference amplifier for sensor front-ends.
Every embedded design needs a clock, but not every clock needs the same source. This guide compares bare quartz crystals against packaged crystal oscillators, including TCXO, OCXO, VCXO, and MEMS variants, to help engineers pick the right timing component.
