Creating a good programming & test jig can be a daunting task if you’ve never attempted it before. Here is an example to demonstrate that it’s not that hard if you have a good plan. I recently had to create a programming jig for an ATmega328PB based board. 1mm diameter test pads were placed on […]
I encountered this problem on the Atmel SAMD21 Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit. The data-logging device that I developed is mainly battery powered, but uses USB every once in a while to download the data and recharge the internal battery. A resistor divider (R307 and R308) is used to detect when USB +5V is connected. This […]
I apologise, but I just have to brag a bit (a lot actually). My old faithful Onyx Boox M92 9.7″ e-ink reader stopped working a month ago. I was quite upset, because I used it frequently to read data sheets and engineering books at night. It would start up and display faint grey pixels that […]
When a button is pressed, the digital input to a microcontroller may “bounce” between high and low until it finally settles to a valid state (see this Wikipedia entry) Here is a complete, standalone Atmel Studio example project called debounce_example that demonstrates the usage of the included debounce module (debounce.h, debounce.c and debounce_cfg.h). The debounce […]
It’s undeniable that South Africa is experiencing a critical electricity crisis. On the positive side, it’s forcing us to conserve and consider alternative sources of energy. My mom sponsored our household with a cheap Chinese solar panel with battery pack and LED lights to use during load shedding (we live in Cape Town zone 6 […]
Here’s the anecdote that sheds some light on my roots… My dad bought a secondhand Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16K for me after I blindly typed in a BASIC program that locked up his Sharp PC-1500 Pocket Computer (containing crucial university notes). It was 1983 and I was 9 years old. I think this was one […]
On 2015-03-28 03h19 (GMT + 2 hours) some kind soul was generous enough to give 10 seconds back and answer my poll about the Scorpion Board. Please get in touch with me: I want to repay your kindness by sending you a free Scorpion Board. Although I do not know who you are, there are […]
Lesson: Don’t pack away your ATmel JTAGICE3 with the USB cable plugged in. When I wanted to use it again, I discovered that the connector was very “loose” indeed. Here you can see that the GND pads tore right off the PCB. Note that brownish glue that was used on the two middle GND pads […]
The author of ScienceProg and EMBEDDS has written a few nice articles about my previous generation board (the Piconomic AB111-4 Atmel ATmega128L board) and I contacted him to let him know about my new board and updated FW library. He wrote a glowing review (EMBEDDS – FEATURE RICH SCORPION BOARD) and I’m extremely flattered. Thanks […]