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Month: January 2014

Cord Cutters Part 1 – Breaking the bonds of the power conglomerate

Cord Cutters Part 1 – Breaking the bonds of the power conglomerate

It’s been my hope for quite sometime that my studies would eventually be tasked to solve a real world problem.  My current day to day work has little to do with electrical engineering or micro control applications.  We simply operate like most of the general population and purchase, instead of develop.  Recently we had deployed a device that interfaces using a USB cable.  That device is in a rather harsh environment and care has to be taken to prevent damage….

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Radio Frequency Links – Seemless connection options

Radio Frequency Links – Seemless connection options

Another requirement for this quarter was to explore the different connection options available.  I did a browse of the offerings from the folks at Sparkfun and found quite of few.  There were some really inexpensive RF modules that look promising. RF Link Transmitter – 434MHz RF Link Receiver – 4800bps (434MHz) There were a bunch of other options and of course bluetooth modules.  The basic RF link looked like I could use if for both analog and digital signals.  Some…

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eBikeology Part 2- A personal account on electric bikes

eBikeology Part 2- A personal account on electric bikes

I had a bunch of problems that crept up using the 408 and the 36v 25A system.  The weight of the hub motor and battery pack on the rear wheel caused me to bend over 4 rims and break serveral spokes in a 2 year period.  Also, the bike was heavy and handled differently.  What really sealed it for me was the Pelican case, the latches cracked and broke off.  I can only guess that they aren’t resistant to UV…

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