Speaker 1: Welcome to the deep dive. Today, we're plunging into a
Speaker 1: topic that might seem a little intimidating at first, but
Speaker 1: trust me, it's incredibly accessible and empowering. We're talking about
Speaker 1: hacking electronics, and before that word conjures images of complex
Speaker 1: code or maybe illicit activities, let's clarify here, it means
Speaker 1: something far more approachable, hands on and genuinely.
Speaker 2: Created exactly our source material, hacking electronics an illustrated DIY
Speaker 2: guide for makers and hobbyists. It really redefines hacking as simply,
Speaker 2: we'll just do it. It's about giving you the power
Speaker 2: to experiment, to build, to modify electronic devices without needing
Speaker 2: a formal engineering degree. The core idea is really to
Speaker 2: demystify what often feels like a total black box of
Speaker 2: circuits and components, and.
Speaker 1: That's our mission today. We're going to extract the most
Speaker 1: important nuggets of knowledge from this fantastic guide, offering you
Speaker 1: a shortcut kind of to becoming truly well informed in
Speaker 1: the world of electronics. I think surprising facts, practical insights,
Speaker 1: and enough humor to keep you hooked. So if you
Speaker 1: ever wanted to understand how gadgets work or maybe even
Speaker 1: build your own. This deep dive is definitely for you, Okay,
Speaker 1: so let's unpack that core philosophy. Just do it.
Speaker 2: The guide really emphasizes learning from your mistakes. It encourages
Speaker 2: you to try things out first, see what happens, and
Speaker 2: then worry about the deep theory later. It's all about experimentation,
Speaker 2: and that's well.
Speaker 1: It's a revolutionary approach, right, especially in a field that
Speaker 1: often seems highly specialized and intimidating. If we connect this
Speaker 1: to the bigger picture, it's really about breaking down those
Speaker 1: barriers to entry. Knowledge in this context is most valuable
Speaker 1: when you can actually apply it, even if it's through
Speaker 1: trial and error. You'll learn so much more by physically
Speaker 1: building a circuit that maybe doesn't work at first than
Speaker 1: by just reading a textbook. I couldn't agree more so.
Speaker 1: Once you're ready to just do it, where do you
Speaker 1: even get the stuff to hack? The guide points out
Speaker 1: that most component purchases nowadays happen online.
Speaker 2: Absolutely yeah, I think to sites like Mouser, Digikey, Spark,
Speaker 2: fun A to Fruit. These are your big online component supermarkets.
Speaker 2: Basically you'll find pretty much everything you need there, usually
Speaker 2: with good descriptions and data sheets too.
Speaker 1: Now, if you're in a pinch need something like right now,
Speaker 1: you might find brick and mortar stores, but yeah, their
Speaker 1: range is often pretty limited and prices are usually higher.
Speaker 1: But here's a secret weapon for hackers. Online auction sites
Speaker 1: like eBay.
Speaker 2: Oh, eBay is a gold mine for the adventurous. Seriously,
Speaker 2: it's fantastic for unusual components like specific laser modules or
Speaker 2: say high power LEDs, and especially for bulk buying. You
Speaker 2: can often get things incredibly cheap, often directly from manufacturers
Speaker 2: or suppliers in the Far East. Just a quick heads
Speaker 2: up though sometimes these components might not be shall we
Speaker 2: say grade A, so read descriptions carefully and maybe don't
Speaker 2: be too surprised if you get a few dead on
Speaker 2: arrival items. That's just part of the low cost game.
Speaker 1: And speaking of low costs, the ultimate hackers trick. Scavenging
Speaker 1: low cost consumer items can be amazing donors of components
Speaker 1: really amazing. We're talking old flashlights, broken fans, solar garden lights,
Speaker 1: computer speakers.
Speaker 2: Nice power supplies, even.
Speaker 1: Old radio receivers. You can often extract motors, led arrays,
Speaker 1: switch is perfectly good wires for far less than buying
Speaker 1: the raw parts. It's truly sustainable hacking.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1: So you've gathered your treasures, what tools do you actually
Speaker 1: need to start putting things together? The good news is
Speaker 1: it's surprisingly.
Speaker 2: Little, honestly. Yeah, you can get started with just maybe
Speaker 2: four main things. A multimeter, basic soldering equipment that's an iron,
Speaker 2: some solder and a stand, pliers, snips, and a couple
Speaker 2: of screwdrivers. The advice is always to start inexpensive. You
Speaker 2: wouldn't learn violin on a stratuvarius, right, Get comfortable with
Speaker 2: the basics before you invest in the pro gear.
Speaker 1: That makes total sense. And when it comes to that multimeter,
Speaker 1: what are the absolutely essentials? They're often crammed with functions
Speaker 1: you might not need right away.
Speaker 2: For getting into electronics, you really only need four key
Speaker 2: functions DC volts, DC current resistance, and maybe most importantly,
Speaker 2: a continuity test. That continuity test is your quick is
Speaker 2: this wire connected check? It usually just beeps simple. All
Speaker 2: the other bills and whistles mostly fluff you'll rarely use
Speaker 2: when you're just starting out, okay, And.
Speaker 1: A crucial prototyping tool solderless bread boards. These are incredibly
Speaker 1: useful for quickly trying out designs without any permanent connections.
Speaker 2: Right exactly. You just poke component leads into the sockets
Speaker 2: ye and tiny metal clips underneath connect the holes in rows.
Speaker 2: It's perfect for rapid prototyping and testing super fast.
Speaker 1: Nice. Now about wire, you'll primarily encounter a couple of types.
Speaker 1: There's solid core or hookup wire that's best for those
Speaker 1: bread boards.
Speaker 2: Right. Yeah, it's a single strand doesn't bunch up, makes
Speaker 2: it easy to plug in and.
Speaker 1: Approchip use different colors red for positive, black for negative,
Speaker 1: yellow for other connections. It makes your project so much
Speaker 1: easier to understand at a glance.
Speaker 2: Definitely. And then you have multi core wire that's great
Speaker 2: for more flexible connections like linking an amplifier to a loudspeaker.
Speaker 2: But for audio you'll often see screamed. This is crucial.
Speaker 2: It has an inner core surrounded by an outer mesh
Speaker 2: screen which acts as a shield against electrical noise think
Speaker 2: annoying mans hum from messing with your delicate signals. It's
Speaker 2: like a little Faraday cage around your audio.
Speaker 1: Right, keeps it clean. Okay, stripping wire that's a fundamental skill.
Speaker 1: You can use dedicated wire scrippers, sure, but with practice
Speaker 1: you can do it just as well with a good
Speaker 1: pair of pliers and snips.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the key is finding that sweet spot. You grip
Speaker 2: the wire with pliers, then gently drip the insulation with
Speaker 2: snips and just pull it off. Practice makes perfect, Otherwise
Speaker 2: you might cut the wire itself or maybe not get
Speaker 2: all the insulation off cleanly.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's get to the fun part putting things together.
Speaker 1: The simplest way to join wires is just twisting the
Speaker 1: bear ends together.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that works best for multi core wire, and if
Speaker 2: you twist it properly, neatly, it can actually make a
Speaker 2: surprisingly reliable connection for simple stuff.
Speaker 1: But the main skill for serious electronics hacking is definitely soldering.
Speaker 2: Ah yes, soldering, And this brings up a critical point safety.
Speaker 2: You're melting at pretty high temperatures, right, and the fumes
Speaker 2: aren't great for your lungs, so always always put the
Speaker 2: iron back in its stand when you're not actively using it.
Speaker 2: Good point were safety glasses, because molten solder blobs can
Speaker 2: flick up seriously if you get a burn, run it
Speaker 2: under cold water immediately, and most importantly, solder in a
Speaker 2: well ventilated room, ideally with a fume extractor. It's really
Speaker 2: worth the small investment for.
Speaker 1: Your health absolutely safety first. Once you have those precautions down,
Speaker 1: the technique itself is pretty straightforward. You can flow solder
Speaker 1: into a twisted knot of wires, or.
Speaker 2: For a cleaner joint, you can attend each wire and
Speaker 2: first just put a little solder on each bare wire.
Speaker 2: Then hold them side by side, heath them both with
Speaker 2: the iron, and apply a bit more solder to join them.
Speaker 2: The solder flows towards the heat, creating a nice solid connection.
Speaker 1: Okay, so once you've made a connection, how do you
Speaker 1: actually test it? Make sure it's good. This is where
Speaker 1: your multimeter comes in.
Speaker 2: Handy again, right, Nearly all multimeters have a continuity mode.
Speaker 2: It'll beep when the probes touch, indicating a good electrical path.
Speaker 2: You can use this to check wires, check circuit board tracks,
Speaker 2: and even identify common problems like dry joints where the
Speaker 2: solder hasn't flowed properly, making a poor connection, or tiny
Speaker 2: cracks in a circuit board and.
Speaker 1: The dry joint is easy to fix.
Speaker 2: Usually, yeah, just reapply heat and maybe a little fresh solder.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's put these basic skills into action. A practical
Speaker 1: build from the book A simple computer fan fume extractor.
Speaker 1: Its purpose is exactly what it sounds like, directing those
Speaker 1: solder fumes away from your face.
Speaker 2: And this is where understanding those seemingly intimidating schematic diagrams
Speaker 2: really starts to pay off. They might look like I
Speaker 2: don't know, squiggly lines at first, but they follow simple
Speaker 2: logical conventions. Positive voltages usually at the top. The flow
Speaker 2: of electricity generally moves from left to right power source
Speaker 2: on the left. Components are clearly named S one for switch,
Speaker 2: R one for resistor, D one for diode, and their
Speaker 2: values are always indicated. Once you learn to read a schematic,
Speaker 2: it's like having a blueprint for any electronic project. It
Speaker 2: opens things up.
Speaker 1: So for this fume extractor, you start by carefully stripping
Speaker 1: the power supply leads. Crucially, make sure that power supply
Speaker 1: is unplugged first, don't want any.
Speaker 2: Sparks definitely unplugged.
Speaker 1: Then use your multimeter on its DC voltage range to
Speaker 1: identify the polarity of the leads. Usually the positive is
Speaker 1: marked somehow, maybe a stripe.
Speaker 2: Yeah, or the guide mentions a solid line above a
Speaker 2: dotted line symbol sometimes right.
Speaker 1: Once you know which is positive, you solder that lead
Speaker 1: to one side of a switch and the fans positive
Speaker 1: lead to the other side of the switch. Okay, the
Speaker 1: fans negative lead goes directly to the power supplies. Negative
Speaker 1: insulate all your bare connections, maybe with heat rink, tubing
Speaker 1: or electrical tape. Plug it in, and your fans show
Speaker 1: word to life when you flip the switch.
Speaker 2: Nice A great first project. Practical too.
Speaker 1: Okay, now we've got our hands dirty with some practical stuff.
Speaker 1: Let's dive into the essential components and the fundamental theories
Speaker 1: that make all this possible. Understanding these is the foundation
Speaker 1: for building anything interesting.
Speaker 2: Indeed, it's not just about memorizing what a component does,
Speaker 2: but understanding why it does it and why it matters
Speaker 2: to your overall circuit. That foundational knowledge really boosts your
Speaker 2: critical thinking, helps you troubleshoot when things inevitably don't work.
Speaker 2: Is planned first time?
Speaker 1: Okay, we'll start by identifying some of the most common
Speaker 1: electronic components you'll find in almost any starter kit. First up, resistors. Yeah,
Speaker 1: their purpose is simple, right, they resist the flow.
Speaker 2: Of current exactly. They come in different physical sizes for
Speaker 2: different power ratings. But those little point two five watt
Speaker 2: resistors are your general purpose workhourses. They have those colorful
Speaker 2: bands which are actually a code.
Speaker 1: The color code Yeah, black.
Speaker 2: Is zero, brown one, red, two, and so on. You
Speaker 2: need to learn that sequence. The first two bands give
Speaker 2: you digits, the third is a multiplier the number of
Speaker 2: zeros to add, and the final gold or silver band
Speaker 2: indicates tolerance how precise it is.
Speaker 1: And besides fixed resistors, they're also variable.
Speaker 2: Resistors right like potentiometer or pots. You'll recognize them as
Speaker 2: volume controls on old radios, things like that.
Speaker 1: Okay, got it, learn the code next.
Speaker 2: Capacitors capacitors. Think of them as tiny temporary batteries. They
Speaker 2: store an electrical charge and can release it very quickly.
Speaker 2: They're often used for decoupling or smoothing, basically filtering out
Speaker 2: unwonted noise or instability in a circuit's power supply. You'll
Speaker 2: see them rated in ferrouds, though usually microferrad nanoferads NF
Speaker 2: or picoferads PF much smaller units.
Speaker 1: And there's a warning about some types.
Speaker 2: Yes, a crucial detail. Electrolytic capacitors. The can shaped ones
Speaker 2: usually are polarized, meaning they have a positive and negative lead.
Speaker 2: The longer lead is usually positive and the negative side
Speaker 2: always has a stripe or marking, and they have maximum
Speaker 2: voltage ratings. Exceed that voltage well, the book says, spectacular failure.
Speaker 2: They can pop quite dramatically, so watch the polarity and voltage.
Speaker 1: You've been warned. Okay, then we have diodes.
Speaker 2: Diodes. These are like one way valves for electricity. Current
Speaker 2: flows in only one direction. They're often used to protect
Speaker 2: sensitive components from reverse voltage, which can instantly kill some parts.
Speaker 2: You'll identify them by a strap at one end that
Speaker 2: marks the cathode the negative side. The other end is
Speaker 2: the anode positive and related.
Speaker 1: To diodes LEDs light emitting diodes.
Speaker 2: Of course LEDs they light up obviously, but they're sensitive
Speaker 2: little things, very sensitive. You must use a resistor in
Speaker 2: series with an LED to limit the current always or
Speaker 2: else or it will burn out almost instantly. Poof gone.
Speaker 2: And because they're diodes, polarity matters. Get the anode and
Speaker 2: cathode reversed and it simply won't light up. No harm
Speaker 2: done usually but no light either.
Speaker 1: Right current limiting resistor check polarity. Got it. Moving to
Speaker 1: something a bit more complex. Transistors.
Speaker 2: These sound important, they are truly the workhorses of modern electronics.
Speaker 2: Think of them as electronic switches. A very small current
Speaker 2: going into one lid can control a much bigger current
Speaker 2: flowing through the other two. The most common type you'll
Speaker 2: encounter first is probably and NPN bipolar transistor. It has
Speaker 2: three leads, emitter, collector, and base. Their physical size generally
Speaker 2: gives you a rough hint about how much current they
Speaker 2: can handle. Bigger means more current.
Speaker 1: Usually okay, a tiny current controls a big current.
Speaker 2: And if you want specifics, then you look at the
Speaker 2: data sheet. Data sheets provide all the details for a
Speaker 2: specific part number, including something called dc current gain often
Speaker 2: written as HFE or beta. This is essential to the
Speaker 2: multiplier how much the transistor amplifies the base current. For example,
Speaker 2: an HFE of one hundred means if you put say
Speaker 2: one milli ampier into the base, it will allow one
Speaker 2: hundred million ampiers of collector current to flow.
Speaker 1: That's the amplification okay, amplification factor. What about mossfets?
Speaker 2: Are they similar, similar concept, but generally even more powerful.
Speaker 2: Mossfets or metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors.
Speaker 1: That's mouthful, it is.
Speaker 2: They amplify current even more efficiently. An incredibly tiny current
Speaker 2: or sometimes just a voltage change on the gate lead
Speaker 2: controls a much much larger current through the drain and
Speaker 2: source leads. N channel mossfets are the most common, and
Speaker 2: what's really useful for hobbyists are logic level mossfets. These
Speaker 2: are designed specifically to be controlled directly by the low
Speaker 2: volted signals from micro controllers like an Arduino five volts
Speaker 2: or even three point three volts.
Speaker 1: Ah, so you don't need extra circuitry to switch big
Speaker 1: things exactly.
Speaker 2: It's game changing for controlling motors or high power LEDs
Speaker 2: directly from your micro controller.
Speaker 1: Cool. And then we get two integrated circuits or ICs
Speaker 1: tips right.
Speaker 2: ICs. These are literally entire circuits crammed onto a tiny
Speaker 2: piece of silicon. Think of the super versatile five five
Speaker 2: fifty five timer chip or operational amplifiers micro controllers themselves
Speaker 2: that convince a huge amount of functionality into one small,
Speaker 2: usually black package with pins.
Speaker 1: And finally, quick mention of surface mount components SMDs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, SMDs. These are the super tiny versions of resistors, capacitors, ICs, everything.
Speaker 2: They're designed for automated machines, soldering onto the surface of
Speaker 2: circuit boards, not through holes. While the book focuses on
Speaker 2: conventional through hole components, the ones with wires that you
Speaker 2: poke through holes, it's good to know SMDs exist.
Speaker 1: Is there everywhere?
Speaker 2: Now, everywhere in modern devices. Don't be afraid to experiment
Speaker 2: with them Eventually, maybe with adapters or careful soldering as
Speaker 2: your skills grow.
Speaker 1: Okay, so we know the basic building blocks. But what
Speaker 1: does this all mean for understanding how electricity itself works.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the big three. We're talking about current, resistance,
Speaker 1: and voltage.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the fundamentals. I often use the river analogy for these.
Speaker 2: It seems to help. Current measured in amps a is
Speaker 2: like the amount of water flowing past a point per second.
Speaker 2: It's the flow of electrical charge. Resistance measured in omes
Speaker 2: is like a constriction in that river, something narrowing the
Speaker 2: channel and making it harder for water to flow. It
Speaker 2: impedes the current and voltage measured in volts v. That's
Speaker 2: like the pressure or the drop in height the force
Speaker 2: pushing the water along. Crucially, voltage is always relative. It's
Speaker 2: a potential difference between two points, not an absolute value.
Speaker 1: Okay, Flow, restriction, pressure, makes sense. Now here's the absolute
Speaker 1: foundational concept for all of electronics, something the book calls
Speaker 1: truly revolutionary Ohm's law. This tells you how current, voltage,
Speaker 1: and resistance are all interconnected exactly.
Speaker 2: This is hands down the single most useful thing you
Speaker 2: can know about electronics. Memorize it, understand it. It's expressed
Speaker 2: simply as I equals VR current I equals voltage V
Speaker 2: divided by resistance are So if you have say ten
Speaker 2: volts pushing through a one hundred.
Speaker 1: Ohm resistor, it just divided by one hundred is.
Speaker 2: View point one amps for one hundred millionams m a.
Speaker 2: That's the current that will flow. Master this relationship and
Speaker 2: you'll avoid so many common beginner mistakes like burning out
Speaker 2: LEDs because you forgot the resistor. It's truly the Rosetta
Speaker 2: stone of basic electronics.
Speaker 1: I will VR. Got it. And finally, power.
Speaker 2: Watts right, Power measured in watts W is all about
Speaker 2: the rate at which energy is trans formed, usually into
Speaker 2: heat and electronics. It's calculated as peiv row power equals
Speaker 2: current times voltage, or using Ohm's law, you can also
Speaker 2: calculate it as P equals V two R multi square
Speaker 2: divided by resistance When you're selecting components, especially resistors or
Speaker 2: transistors that handle significant current, you must check their maximum power.
Speaker 1: Ratings to make sure they don't overheat.
Speaker 2: Exactly to ensure they can handle the expected heat dissipation
Speaker 2: without burning up.
Speaker 1: And power explains them everyday things too.
Speaker 2: Definitely think about it. An FM radio might use what
Speaker 2: twenty mili loots point zero two w tiny amount of power.
Speaker 2: An electric kettle, on the other hand, uses maybe three
Speaker 2: thousand watts, a huge difference. That massive difference in power
Speaker 2: explains why you don't find battery powered kettles, right. The
Speaker 2: batteries just couldn't supply that much energy safely or for
Speaker 2: very long without overheating or dying almost instantly.
Speaker 1: That makes perfect sense. Okay, so we know the components,
Speaker 1: the fundamentals like Ohm's law and power. How do you
Speaker 1: read the blueprints for a project? We touched on schematics,
Speaker 1: but let's reinforce that understanding how to read this schematic
Speaker 1: diagram is your key to unlocking endless projects.
Speaker 2: It really is, and it's not as scary as it looks.
Speaker 2: Remember those simple conventions. Higher voltages usually drawn at the top,
Speaker 2: ground or negative at the bottom. The general signal flow
Speaker 2: or action happens from left to right. Consistent naming for
Speaker 2: components B one for battery, S one for switch, R one,
Speaker 2: R two for resistors, D one for diodes, C one
Speaker 2: for capacitor, and so on, and their values like one
Speaker 2: hundred day ten five V are clearly noted right next
Speaker 2: to them. Once you grasp these basics, you can look
Speaker 2: at almost any circuit diagram and start to figure out
Speaker 2: what it's supposed to do. It really simplifies everything.
Speaker 1: Okay, with those foundational concepts under our belts, let's explore
Speaker 1: how they play out in actual hacks and projects. Let's
Speaker 1: show you exactly what you can build, because that's where
Speaker 1: the real excitement begins.
Speaker 2: Right absolutely, this section really answers the question how do
Speaker 2: these theoretical principles translate into real world functionality. It's often
Speaker 2: in these practical applications that surprising interactions emerge when you
Speaker 2: start com binding different components in clever ways.
Speaker 1: Let's start with a surprisingly simple demonstration of Ohm's law
Speaker 1: and power in action making resistor get hot deliberately. If
Speaker 1: you connect a common one hundred zero zero point twenty
Speaker 1: five want resistor across a six vu bla battery pack.
Speaker 1: The power calculation PEKE two R gives you six times
Speaker 1: six divided by one hundred, which is point three.
Speaker 2: To six watts, and the resistor is only rated FORER
Speaker 2: point twenty five watts exactly.
Speaker 1: It exceeds the resistors rating. The source cautions it will
Speaker 1: get noticeably hot around fifty degree C or one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty two degrees fahrenheit. It's a quick way to
Speaker 1: physically feel power dissipation, and for hobbyist hacking, the book
Speaker 1: notes it often won't break immediately. That would be a
Speaker 1: terrible design for a commercial product that needs reliability. Highlights
Speaker 1: the difference in.
Speaker 2: Thinking right good practical demo. And you can also use
Speaker 2: resistors more constructively, like to divide voltage. This is incredibly useful.
Speaker 2: A variable resistor like a trimpo or a potentiometer can
Speaker 2: be wired up as a voltage divider. Basically, you apply
Speaker 2: of woltage across its outer terminals, and the middle wiper
Speaker 2: terminal gives you a variable voltage between zero and the
Speaker 2: input voltage depending on where you turn the knobber screw
Speaker 2: like a volume control, exactly how volume controls work in
Speaker 2: many audio circuits. They divide the audio signal voltage before
Speaker 2: it gets amplified.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's focus on LEDs again because they're so common
Speaker 1: and so much fun to work with. To stop an
Speaker 1: LED from burning out, we said you must use a
Speaker 1: series resistor always. For example, with a typical red LED,
Speaker 1: which might have a forward voltage drop of a round
Speaker 1: two V and a six V supply, if you want
Speaker 1: about fifteen million amps point zero one five A if current,
Speaker 1: you'd calculate the resistor value using Ome's law r V
Speaker 1: supply of v led I. So six V two V
Speaker 1: point zero one five A.
Speaker 2: That's four V zero point zero one five A, which
Speaker 2: is about two hundred and sixty seven oms.
Speaker 1: Right. Since two hundred and sixty seven OMS isn't a
Speaker 1: standard value, you'd use the nearest standard value that's higher.
Speaker 1: Maybe you have two seventy ohm or three thirty erter resistor.
Speaker 2: Just to be safe exactly, and here's that crucial point
Speaker 2: again worth repeating. If you're lighting multiple LEDs in parallel
Speaker 2: from the same voltage source, always use a separate series
Speaker 2: resistor for each individual LED.
Speaker 1: Don't connect them all to just one resistor.
Speaker 2: No. If you do that, the LED with the slightly
Speaker 2: lowest forward voltage will naturally draw more current, It'll hog
Speaker 2: the current, it might burn out, and then the others
Speaker 2: might follow in a cascade of failure. Each LED needs
Speaker 2: its own personal current limitter.
Speaker 1: Got it one resistor per LED in parallel? Okay, when
Speaker 1: selecting the right LED? What else matters?
Speaker 2: Well? Different colors obviously have slightly different forward voltages. Brightness
Speaker 2: is a factor measured in MILLICANDELA or MCD. Viewing angle
Speaker 2: matters to how wide the beam of light is, and
Speaker 2: for mixing colors you can get RGB LEDs, which basically
Speaker 2: have a red, green, and blue LED in one package.
Speaker 1: What about really bright ones high lower LEDs, like for
Speaker 1: flashlights or room lighting?
Speaker 2: Right for those like a one? What white LED? A
Speaker 2: simple series resistor isn't very efficient. It would waste a
Speaker 2: lot of energy as heat itself. Instead, you'd typically use
Speaker 2: a dedicated constant current dry circuit. And I see like
Speaker 2: the M three seventeen, which is actually a voltage regulator,
Speaker 2: can be cleverly configured to act as a constant current source.
Speaker 2: It's much more efficient. It sets the current using just
Speaker 2: a single resistor value, regardless of small changes in supply
Speaker 2: voltage or LED temperature.
Speaker 1: And if you don't know the forward voltage of a
Speaker 1: specific LED you salvaged, you.
Speaker 2: Can measure it practically. The book suggests using a variable resistor,
Speaker 2: a power supply, and your multimeter. You slowly increase the
Speaker 2: current through the LED while measuring it with the multimeter
Speaker 2: in current mode. May be aiming for ten twenty men a.
Speaker 2: Then switch the multimeter to voltage mode and measure the
Speaker 2: voltage directly across the LED's leads. That's its VF at
Speaker 2: that current.
Speaker 1: Clever. Okay, what about making things move or react to
Speaker 1: the world motors?
Speaker 2: This is where those power moss FETs we mentioned earlier
Speaker 2: are really shine. Unlike standard bipolar transistors, moss fetes are
Speaker 2: generally better for switching larger currents like the one or
Speaker 2: two ams a typical small DC motor might draw. And
Speaker 2: remember those logic levels fats. They can be switched on
Speaker 2: and off directly by the five V or three point
Speaker 2: three V signals from a micro controller like an Arduino.
Speaker 1: So our duenopin high masfit turns on motor runs pretty much.
Speaker 2: It massively simplifies controlling motors, high power lights, solenoids, anything
Speaker 2: that needs more current than the micro controller pin can
Speaker 2: supply directly, while you can sort of control motor speed
Speaker 2: by varying the gate voltage around the threshold with a
Speaker 2: variable resistor. Moss fats are usually used more like fast
Speaker 2: on off switches, often with PWM for speed control.
Speaker 1: Okay, Beyond basic components, pre built modules can really accelerate
Speaker 1: your projects. They package up common functions.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, They save a ton of wiring and figuring out.
Speaker 1: For instance, pir motion sensor modules those little white dome
Speaker 1: things you see in security.
Speaker 2: Lights Exactly, they're incredibly low cost now. They detect movement
Speaker 2: by sensing changes in infrared radiation body heat. Basically, their
Speaker 2: output is usually a simple digital signal high when motion
Speaker 2: is detected low Otherwise you can use that output to
Speaker 2: instantly light an LED, sound a buzzer, or trigger an
Speaker 2: action on an arduino.
Speaker 1: The book even suggests building a fart detector with one
Speaker 1: based on detecting methane's infrared signature.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it does mention that as a quirky example of
Speaker 2: sensing gas changes. Maybe stick to motion detection first, right, okay.
Speaker 1: Or if you need to measure distance, Ultrasonic rangefinder.
Speaker 2: Modules fantastic little things. They work like sonar on a submarine,
Speaker 2: but with sound waves and air. They send out a
Speaker 2: short ultrasonic pulse and measure the time it takes for
Speaker 2: the echo to bounce back from an object. The cheaper
Speaker 2: eight C SRO four module requires your arduino to precisely
Speaker 2: time that echo pulse using the pulsane function. More expensive
Speaker 2: ones like the Macrobotics LVEZ one mentioned do more of
Speaker 2: the processing onboard and often give you a simpler output
Speaker 2: like an analog voltage proportional.
Speaker 1: To distance in accuracy depends on.
Speaker 2: Temperature and humidity can subtly affect the speed of sound,
Speaker 2: so that can influence accuracy slightly okay. And for remote control,
Speaker 2: wireless remote modules are super cheap these days, often sold
Speaker 2: as pairs a transmitter, maybe in a little keyfob and
Speaker 2: a receiver module. You press a button on the remote
Speaker 2: and a corresponding digital pin on the receiver module goes
Speaker 2: high or low. Really easy way to add simple wireless
Speaker 2: control to almost any project.
Speaker 1: And for controlling motors, especially make m go forwards and backwards.
Speaker 2: You need an h bridge. Wiring one up from scratch
Speaker 2: with transistors can be complex and prone to errors that
Speaker 2: could fry your parts so h bridge modules are a
Speaker 2: life saver. Modules like the Spark fund TB six to
Speaker 2: six wall FNG mentioned in the source are popular. They
Speaker 2: take simple digital inputs like direction and speed inable and
Speaker 2: handle the high current switching for the motor. This particular
Speaker 2: one can handle about one point two amps continuously with
Speaker 2: peaks over twice.
Speaker 1: That and you can use these for stepper motors too.
Speaker 2: Yes, stepper motors are different from regular DC motors. They
Speaker 2: move in precise, discrete steps, which is great for positioning
Speaker 2: things accurately, like in three D printers or robots. They
Speaker 2: typically have four or more wires. An Onduino combined with
Speaker 2: an h bridge module or a dedicated stepper driver module
Speaker 2: can send the specific sequence of pulses needed to make
Speaker 2: the stepper motor turn exactly the number of steps you
Speaker 2: want in either direction.
Speaker 1: Okay, modules simplify things a lot, and of course the
Speaker 1: heart of so many modern hacks, the Arduino itself. Setting
Speaker 1: up in Arduino seems pretty straightforward.
Speaker 2: It really is. You download the free Arduino ID software
Speaker 2: onto your computer, connect the Arduino board via USB. In
Speaker 2: the software, you select your specific board type like the
Speaker 2: common Ardueno Uno and choose the correct communication port comport
Speaker 2: on Windows usually something like DEVDACM zero On Linux.
Speaker 1: Mac and programs are called sketches.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they call them sketches. The classic first step is
Speaker 2: to load and upload the blink sketch from the example's menu.
Speaker 2: It just makes the little built in led on the
Speaker 2: Duena board flash.
Speaker 1: On and off, and you can easily change the blink rate.
Speaker 2: Yep, just by modifying the number inside the delay functions
Speaker 2: and the sketch. Change delay one thousand to delay one hundred.
Speaker 2: Upload again and it blinks much faster. It instantly shows
Speaker 2: you the edit compile upload cycle.
Speaker 1: Simple but effective first step. What about controlling something external
Speaker 1: like a relay?
Speaker 2: Easy with Ardueno. Remember, relays are electro mechanical switches. They
Speaker 2: let your low voltage or Duena safely control high voltage
Speaker 2: devices like a lamp or appliance. Because the relay coil
Speaker 2: needs more current than an Arduino pin can provide, you
Speaker 2: typically use a transistor like a small NPN or a
Speaker 2: logic level moss FET as a switch. For the switch,
Speaker 2: the arduenopin turns the transistor on. The transistor lets current
Speaker 2: flow through the relay coil. And the relay context.
Speaker 1: Clickover and the code is just digital right.
Speaker 2: Pretty much pin mode relay pin uput in your setup,
Speaker 2: then digital right relay pin hgh to turn it on,
Speaker 2: digital right relaypin low to turn it off. You'll also
Speaker 2: need a flyback diode across the relay coil to protect
Speaker 2: the transistor. But the principle is simple.
Speaker 1: Okay. Now here's where it gets really interesting. According to
Speaker 1: the source, you can even control that relay from a
Speaker 1: web page, turning the arduino into a server.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is super cool. You use an Ethernet shield,
Speaker 2: which is one of those add on boards that plugs
Speaker 2: right onto the arduino. It gives the ardueno network connectivity.
Speaker 2: You assign it a matt C address usually printed on
Speaker 2: the shield, and a static IP address for your local network. Then,
Speaker 2: using the Arduino Ethernet library, your spetch can act as
Speaker 2: a tiny web server. It listens for incoming browser requests
Speaker 2: on that IP address.
Speaker 1: And you can serve a simple web page exactly.
Speaker 2: The example shows serving a basic HTML page with on
Speaker 2: and off links. Clicking the on link sends a request
Speaker 2: back to the Ardweno like dot A one. The Arduino
Speaker 2: code sees the A one, turns the relay on and
Speaker 2: maybe updates the page.
Speaker 1: So you could control a hacked toy or a lamp
Speaker 1: from your phone's browser on your home.
Speaker 2: Network precisely, or even over the Internet. If you can
Speaker 2: figure port forwarding on your router, though security becomes a
Speaker 2: concern then but yeah, web control devices become possible.
Speaker 1: That opens up a lot of possibilities. What about reading inputs?
Speaker 1: Can an ardueno measure voltage?
Speaker 2: Yes, easily. Our Duena boards have several analog input pins,
Speaker 2: usually labeled A zero, A one, A two, and so on.
Speaker 2: These pins can measure DC voltages between zero V and
Speaker 2: the arduino's operating voltage, usually five V or three point
Speaker 2: three V. You might use a variable resistor connected as
Speaker 2: a voltage divider to feed a changing voltage into an.
Speaker 1: Analog pin, and the function is analogory right.
Speaker 2: Analogreed A zero reads the voltage on pin A zero
Speaker 2: and returns a number between zero for zero V and
Speaker 2: ten twenty three for five V On a five V arduino,
Speaker 2: it's a ten bit resolution. You can then use serial
Speaker 2: dot print LINOIM to print that reading to the serial
Speaker 2: monitor window in the Arduino ide so you can see
Speaker 2: the values changing in real time as you turn the knob.
Speaker 1: Okay easy voltage reading and controlling LEDs beyond just blinking.
Speaker 2: Brightness absolutely driving a standard LED is just like blinking
Speaker 2: pin mode. To out tpt digital rate high or low W.
Speaker 2: Don't forget the series resistor. You could control the flash
Speaker 2: rate using a variable resistor read by ANALOGREED, maybe using
Speaker 2: the map function to scale the zero win O two
Speaker 2: three reading to a suitable delay ring.
Speaker 1: But for actual brightness control.
Speaker 2: For that you use pulsewith modulation or PWM. Certain digital
Speaker 2: pins on the ardrino, marked with a tilled symbol usually
Speaker 2: support PWM. Instead of digital right you use analog right
Speaker 2: lead pin brightness, where brightness is a value from zero
Speaker 2: off to two hundred and fifty five full brightness.
Speaker 1: How does that work? It's still a digital pin.
Speaker 2: It rapidly pulses the pin on and off. Analog right
Speaker 2: lead pin one twenty seven means the pin is heigh
Speaker 2: for fifty percent of the time and low W for
Speaker 2: fifty percent. Analog right lead pin sixty four means high
Speaker 2: for twenty five percent of the time. These pulses happen
Speaker 2: so fast around five hundred hertz that your eye just
Speaker 2: perceives it as varying brightness. It's a very common technique
Speaker 2: for dimming LEDs or controlling DC motor speed.
Speaker 1: Clever trick. Can you play sound with an Arduino two?
Speaker 1: You can?
Speaker 2: The simplest way is to rapidly turn a digital output
Speaker 2: pin on and off at an audible frequency, say a
Speaker 2: few hundred hertz to a few kilo herds. Connecting that pin,
Speaker 2: maybe through a small resistor to a PISO sounder or
Speaker 2: even a small speaker, will produce a tone. The Arduena
Speaker 2: software provides handy functions. Tone pin frequency starts playing a tone,
Speaker 2: and no tone pin stops it. The example project uses
Speaker 2: buttons connected to digital inputs to select and play different
Speaker 2: musical notes. Simple sound generation. And we mentioned Ardueno shields briefly.
Speaker 2: They just plug in.
Speaker 1: Yep. They're pre made circuit boards designed to stack right
Speaker 1: on top of the main Arguino board, connecting to its
Speaker 1: pins automatically. There are shields for almost everything Ethernet, LCD screens,
Speaker 1: motor drivers, relays, prototyping areas. They really save a ton
Speaker 1: of wiring time for common tasks.
Speaker 2: Now for a really fascinating and surprising hack mentored automatic
Speaker 2: password entry.
Speaker 1: Yeah. This one uses a specific type of Ardueno board,
Speaker 1: like the Arduino Leonardo or Micro. Unlike the Uno, these
Speaker 1: boards can emulate a standard USB human interface device hid
Speaker 1: like a keyboard or mouse, so.
Speaker 2: The computer just thinks it's a regular keyboard exactly.
Speaker 1: You can program the Leonardo using the built in keyboard
Speaker 1: library to type out a preset string of characters like
Speaker 1: your complex password. Whenever say, a button connected to one
Speaker 1: of its pins is pressed.
Speaker 2: Wow, plug it an I pressed button, password.
Speaker 1: Typed YEP, keyboard dot print my super three qrept sword
Speaker 1: and keyboard dot press kere return done. The book suggests
Speaker 1: potential uses from convenience to UH security testing or practical jokes. Intriguing.
Speaker 1: What about servo motors? How are they different?
Speaker 2: Servos are great for precise rotational positioning. Unlike a DC
Speaker 2: motor that just spins, a servo moves to a specific angle,
Speaker 2: typically within a one hundred and eighty degree range, and
Speaker 2: holds that position. Think robot arms or steering controls on
Speaker 2: ourc cars. They usually have three wires ground black or brown,
Speaker 2: power red usually five V, and control off an orange
Speaker 2: or yellow The angles are determined by the duration of
Speaker 2: pulses sent down the control line, usually every twenty milliseconds
Speaker 2: or so. A one point five millisecond pulse typically corresponds
Speaker 2: to the center position ninety degrees. Shorter pulses like one
Speaker 2: meters move it one way. Longer pulses like two meters
Speaker 2: move it the other way.
Speaker 1: And Ardwino has libraries for this.
Speaker 2: Yes, the standard servo library makes controlling them really easy.
Speaker 2: My servo dot right angle sets the desired angle directly
Speaker 2: in degrees.
Speaker 1: Okay, service for precise angles. Let's touch on more sensors
Speaker 1: for gathering information from the world. How about measuring color?
Speaker 2: For that, the source mentions modules based on chips like
Speaker 2: the TCS thirty two hundred. This chip has an array
Speaker 2: of photodiodes covered with red, green, blue, and clear filters.
Speaker 2: By selecting which filter set to read, you can measure
Speaker 2: the intensity of red, green, and blue light reflecting off
Speaker 2: an object, allowing you to determine its color. Useful for
Speaker 2: color sorting robots or ambient light analysis.
Speaker 1: What about detecting vibration?
Speaker 2: Simple PISO vibration sensors are good for that. They're often thin,
Speaker 2: flexible strips. When they're bent or vibrated. The piso electric
Speaker 2: material generates a small voltage spike, and Arduino can read
Speaker 2: the spike on an analog input pin. If the reading
Speaker 2: exceeds a certain threshold, it knows.
Speaker 1: A vibration occurred and trigger inaction.
Speaker 2: Yeah like light an led log the event, et cetera.
Speaker 2: The book even suggests a simple self care celebration function
Speaker 2: where the Ardueno measures the baseline noise level and sets
Speaker 2: the trigger threshold just above it.
Speaker 1: Smart and basic temperature measurement.
Speaker 2: The TMP thirty six IC is a really easy way
Speaker 2: to do that. It's a simple three pin integrated circuit.
Speaker 2: You give it power. It works well with Ardueno's five
Speaker 2: V connect the middle pin to an Ardueno analog input
Speaker 2: and the voltage on that pin is directly proportional to
Speaker 2: the temperature and celsius. The data sheet tells you the
Speaker 2: exact formula, usually something like temps equals voltage zero point
Speaker 2: five one hundred.
Speaker 1: Very straightforward, okay. And accelerometers for sensing motion or tilt right.
Speaker 2: Tiny accelerometer modules are common now. They usually provide analog
Speaker 2: or digital outputs corresponding to acceleration along the X, y
Speaker 2: and z axis. They can detect orientation relative to gravity,
Speaker 2: tilt sensing, as well as dynamic acceleration, movement, vibration shocks.
Speaker 1: The project idea is an Ardueno egg and spoon RaSE.
Speaker 2: Yeah, where an LED lights up if the acceleration jostling
Speaker 2: exceed a certain threshold, indicating you drop the virtual egg
Speaker 2: fun way to demonstrate.
Speaker 1: The sensor and finally, magnetic field sensing.
Speaker 2: A linear hal effect sensor can do that. It's typically
Speaker 2: another small three pin device. It outputs an analog voltage
Speaker 2: that's proportional to the strength of the magnetic field perpendicular
Speaker 2: to the sensor's face. Useful for detecting the presence or
Speaker 2: proximity of magnets, maybe as a no contact switch, or
Speaker 2: even measuring current in a wire since current creates a
Speaker 2: magnetic field.
Speaker 1: Okay, a whole world of sensors. Now for the audio
Speaker 1: files and creators, let's talk hacking audio leads.
Speaker 2: Ah. Yes, audio signals are delicate. When making your own
Speaker 2: audio cables, screened wire is pretty much essential to prevent
Speaker 2: picking up ham and noise. Remember that's the wire with
Speaker 2: the inner conductors surrounded by a braided or foil shield.
Speaker 2: The shield gets connected to ground. The book details the
Speaker 2: steps for carefully stripping and soldering a screened lead to
Speaker 2: a standard jack plug like a headphone plug.
Speaker 1: And there's a crucial practical tip.
Speaker 2: Yes a classic mistake. Always slide the plugs screw on
Speaker 2: enclosure onto the cable before where you start soldering the
Speaker 2: second plus Otherwise you finish soldering, realize the enclosure is
Speaker 2: still sitting on your workbench and you have to desolder
Speaker 2: everything to get it on. Painful lesson learned, Been there, okay.
Speaker 1: Another common audio issue converting stereo to mono. You can't
Speaker 1: just wire left and right together.
Speaker 2: No, definitely not. If you just short the left and
Speaker 2: right outputs of a device together, you might damage the
Speaker 2: output amplifier, or at best, you'll likely lose one channel
Speaker 2: entirely due to phase cancelation or impedance issues. The proper
Speaker 2: way is to use mixing resistors. You connect a resistor,
Speaker 2: say one King in series with the left channel, another
Speaker 2: identical resistor in series with the right channel, and then
Speaker 2: join the outputs of those resistors together. That combined signal
Speaker 2: is your mono output. It safely mixes the two channels.
Speaker 1: Good to know. What about micromodules? Mike's need help, right.
Speaker 2: Yes, the signal directly from a microphone element, especially electric
Speaker 2: mics common in module, is incredibly faint. It needs significant
Speaker 2: amplification to be useful. This is where operational amplifiers or
Speaker 2: op amps come in. They are designed for high amplification,
Speaker 2: but raw op amps have huge gain, often too much.
Speaker 2: So you use feedback, connecting the output back to one
Speaker 2: of the inputs, usually through resistors, to precisely control and
Speaker 2: tame the amplification gain to a usable level, ensuring a
Speaker 2: clear signal without excessive noise or distortion.
Speaker 1: Okay, op amps for mic signals. Now here's a truly
Speaker 1: creative and uh maybe slightly mischievous hack from the book
Speaker 1: making an FM bug Ah.
Speaker 2: Yes. This involves taking apart one of those cheap MP
Speaker 2: three FM transmitters, the kind you used to use to
Speaker 2: play music from your phone through a car radio. Okay,
Speaker 2: You find the audio input points on its circuit board
Speaker 2: where the headphone jack connected. You connect the output of
Speaker 2: a simple amplified microphone module to those points. Then you
Speaker 2: power the microphone module from the transmitter's existing battery.
Speaker 1: And a broadcast whatever the mic picks.
Speaker 2: Up exactly, It turns the empty three transmitter into a
Speaker 2: wireless microphone, a bug that broadcasts audio over short range
Speaker 2: to any standard FM radio tuned to the right frequency.
Speaker 2: Just a note, the original on off button of the
Speaker 2: transmitter probably won't control power to the added mic module.
Speaker 2: You might meet a separate switch or just connect it
Speaker 2: directly to the battery.
Speaker 1: Clever repurposing, Okay. Selecting loudspeakers what matters well.
Speaker 2: Understanding how they work helps. A cone attached to a
Speaker 2: voice coil sitting in a magnetic field vibrates back and forth.
Speaker 2: When an audio signal passes through the coil, this pushes air,
Speaker 2: creating sound waves. Keyspecs are omes the impedance or resistance
Speaker 2: usually four to eight omes. Your amplifier needs to match this,
Speaker 2: and watts the power rating how much power it can
Speaker 2: handle without damage. For full range sound, you often need
Speaker 2: different sized speakers, larger woofers for low frequencies and smaller
Speaker 2: tweeters for high frequencies. Trouble and crossover networks right crossovers
Speaker 2: are filter circuits that split the audio signal, directing the
Speaker 2: low frequencies to the woofer and the high frequencies to
Speaker 2: the tweeter, so each speaker operates in the range it's
Speaker 2: best suited for.
Speaker 1: Makes sense. Can you build your own amplifier easily?
Speaker 2: Yes, you can make a simple one watt audio amplifier
Speaker 2: using a dedicated amplifier IC like the TDA seven zero
Speaker 2: fifty two mentioned. These ICs contain most of the amplifier
Speaker 2: circuitry internally, requiring only a few external components. The example
Speaker 2: shows building it on strip board. R one is typically
Speaker 2: a potentiometer acting as the volume control. C one is
Speaker 2: a coupling capacitor to block any DC voltage from the
Speaker 2: input signal. C two might be for power supply smoothing.
Speaker 2: It makes building a small, decent amp quite straightforward.
Speaker 1: And the five fifty five timer again, it can.
Speaker 2: Makes sounse Oh yeah. The five to fifty five is
Speaker 2: incredibly versatile. We talked about blinking LEDs, but if you
Speaker 2: can figure it as in a stable multivibrator with the
Speaker 2: right resistor and capacitor values, it can oscillate at higher
Speaker 2: frequencies well into the audio range, generating tones. The example
Speaker 2: project uses a light dependent resistor LDR as part of
Speaker 2: the timing circuit. As you wave your hand over the
Speaker 2: LDR changing the light level, its resistance changes, which alters
Speaker 2: the oscillation frequency and thus the pitch of the tone.
Speaker 1: Creating is simple. They're in like instrument exactly.
Speaker 2: Loads of fun from a simple chip.
Speaker 1: Cool Okay. Powering all these amazing creations is absolutely critical.
Speaker 1: Let's talk batteries. When selecting the right battery, what are
Speaker 1: the choices?
Speaker 2: Lots of choices. For single use, you have common alkaline
Speaker 2: batteries AA, triple A, et cetera, and lithium not rechargeable
Speaker 2: lithium I AM, but primary lithium cells often coin cells
Speaker 2: or triple A replacements, good voltage, long life. For rechargeable
Speaker 2: common types are neumh nickel metal hydride replaces alkalines, LiPo
Speaker 2: lithium polymer popular in phones drones, high energy density, and
Speaker 2: lead acid like car batteries or smaller seal versions for
Speaker 2: backup power. Heavy but robust key battery specs are capacity,
Speaker 2: usually measured in million empowers, how much energy it stores,
Speaker 2: and sometimes maximum discharge rate or c rate how quickly
Speaker 2: you can safely draw power from it.
Speaker 1: And the book advises a certain spirit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the hacking spirit here suggests spend less time agonizing
Speaker 2: over perfect calculations, more time trying things out. Connect your
Speaker 2: battery see if things get hot, see how long it lasts,
Speaker 2: Observe and learn.
Speaker 1: Okay, can you make your own packs? Rolling your own
Speaker 1: battery packs?
Speaker 2: Sure? You can put individual cells in series positive to
Speaker 2: negative to increase the voltage. Standard battery holders make this easy.
Speaker 2: Just remember that rechargeable cells often have a lower voltage
Speaker 2: per cell than the single use ones, and g NMH
Speaker 2: is one point two V versus Alkalin's one point five V,
Speaker 2: so you might need more cells in series to reach
Speaker 2: your target voltage.
Speaker 1: Right now, charging batteries, this seems tricky.
Speaker 2: General principles, Yeah, charging needs care. The c rate we
Speaker 2: mentioned often applies to charging two. Charging at point one
Speaker 2: C means charging with a current equal to one tenth
Speaker 2: of the batteries AH capacity takes about ten twelve hours.
Speaker 2: The biggest dangers are overcharging, pushing too much current in
Speaker 2: or charging for too long. This causes heat, can permanently
Speaker 2: damage the battery, and for LiPo batteries especially, can lead
Speaker 2: to swelling or even fire, very dangerous and over discharging.
Speaker 2: Draining the battery too much can also cause permanent damling,
Speaker 2: especially to rechargeables. Battery life is also limited, usually measured
Speaker 2: in the number of recharge cycles, maybe a few hundred
Speaker 2: to a thousand, depending on type and usage.
Speaker 1: Okay, respect the battery. How do you charge specific types
Speaker 1: trickle charging NAMEH for nim MH.
Speaker 2: A simple trickle charge is often okay for maintaining a
Speaker 2: charge or slow charging. The book shows a basic schematic
Speaker 2: using just a resistor connected between a suitable DC power
Speaker 2: supply and the battery pack. To limit the current, you'd
Speaker 2: calculate the resistor value R equals V supply V battery
Speaker 2: I charge To give a very low current like point
Speaker 2: zero five C. You also need to calculate the resistor's
Speaker 2: power rating P equals I two R to make sure
Speaker 2: it doesn't overheat.
Speaker 1: All about charging sealed lead acid batteries.
Speaker 2: They typically prefer a more controlled charge, often a constant
Speaker 2: voltage charge with current limiting. This is where a lab
Speaker 2: power supply becomes incredibly useful, really an essential tool. If
Speaker 2: you get serious, You can set the output voltage precisely
Speaker 2: eg to the batteries recommended float voltage in set a
Speaker 2: maximum current limit. The powers apply automatically handles delivering the
Speaker 2: right amount of current without exceeding the limit.
Speaker 1: And LiPo batteries they need special.
Speaker 2: Care, absolutely lipos are a different beast. They require dedicated
Speaker 2: charge management ships or specific balanced chargers, especially when charging
Speaker 2: multi cell packs. You cannot safely charge multiple LiPo cells
Speaker 2: in series the same way you might with namimage or
Speaker 2: lead acid. Each cell needs to be monitored and charged
Speaker 2: individually or balanced, and definitely do not trickle charge LiPo batteries.
Speaker 2: They need a specific charge profile, usually constant current than
Speaker 2: constant voltage, and must be stopped when full. Overcharging is
Speaker 2: extremely hazardous.
Speaker 1: Okay, LiPo needs respect. Can you salvage them hacking a
Speaker 1: cell phone battery? Yes?
Speaker 2: Old cell phone batteries are often perfectly good LiPo cells.
Speaker 2: You can repurpose you carefully remove the cell from the
Speaker 2: phone avoid puncturing it. Often they have protection circuits built in.
Speaker 2: You can then use dedicated LiPo charging modules cheaply available online,
Speaker 2: often based on the TP four or A five to
Speaker 2: six chip, to safely charge the salvage cell. One caution
Speaker 2: make sure the salvage battery does have a protection circuit
Speaker 2: that includes an automatic cutoff to prevent dangerous over discharging
Speaker 2: in your project.
Speaker 1: Good tip. Now, batteries don't maintain voltage perfectly. How do
Speaker 1: you deal with that? Controlling battery voltage right.
Speaker 2: Battery voltage drops as they discharge. This can be a
Speaker 2: problem for electronics, especially integrated circuits that need a very stable,
Speaker 2: precise voltage like three point three V or five V.
Speaker 2: The solution is a voltage regulator. Common are three pin
Speaker 2: linear regulators like the famous seven eight H five or
Speaker 2: five V output or seven eight twelve for twelve V,
Speaker 2: or the LM three seventeen for adjustable output. You feed
Speaker 2: the higher unstable battery voltage into the input pin, connect
Speaker 2: the middle pin to ground, and the output tin provides
Speaker 2: a steady regulated voltage. You usually need a couple of
Speaker 2: small capacitors input and output for stability, as shown in
Speaker 2: the schematic, but they're simple to use.
Speaker 1: What if your battery voltage is lower than you need.
Speaker 2: Then you need the opposite, a boost converter sometimes called
Speaker 2: a step up converter. These are switching circuits can take
Speaker 2: a low input voltage, say from one or two belier batteries,
Speaker 2: and efficiently boosted up to a higher stable output foltives
Speaker 2: like three point three V or five V usually available
Speaker 2: as pre built modules too.
Speaker 1: Okay, how do you figure out how long a battery
Speaker 1: will last in your project.
Speaker 2: Seems important, very important. This raises that key question, how
Speaker 2: do you prevent your project from dying unexpectedly? The source
Speaker 2: provides a really insightful method, using the example of an
Speaker 2: automated chicken house door opener. You need to estimate the
Speaker 2: average current consumption. The motor to open the door used
Speaker 2: a high current, say one amp, but only for a
Speaker 2: few seconds each day. The micro controller controlling it used
Speaker 2: very little current, maybe twenty milliamps, but it was running
Speaker 2: constantly two hundred and forty seven.
Speaker 1: So the controller used more energy overall.
Speaker 2: Exactly when you calculate the total millionamp hours Babaya consumed
Speaker 2: per day current time, the low current controller ended up
Speaker 2: using far more battery capacity than the high current motor.
Speaker 2: It's a counterintuitive result that highlights the importance of considering
Speaker 2: how long each part is drawing current, not just how
Speaker 2: much current it draws momentarily. You then divide the battery's
Speaker 2: total macapacity by your calculated daily MAC consumption to estimate
Speaker 2: how many days it will last.
Speaker 1: Great example, what about battery backup running from mainz but
Speaker 1: switching to battery if power fails.
Speaker 2: You can do that using diodes as one way valves
Speaker 2: for the power. The schematic shows the main power supply
Speaker 2: connected through a diode D one to the project's power input.
Speaker 2: The backup battery is also connected through another diode D
Speaker 2: two to the same point. Whichever source has the slightly
Speaker 2: higher voltage wins and provides power, while the diodes prevent
Speaker 2: current from flowing back into the lower voltage source or
Speaker 2: the battery charging from the main supply unintentionally. There is
Speaker 2: also usually a diode B three to protect the main
Speaker 2: power supply itself from backfeed when it's turned off. Simple
Speaker 2: but effective automatic switchover.
Speaker 1: Clever use of diodes. Okay, finally, let's explore some more
Speaker 1: advanced tools and maintenance. How do use solar cells.
Speaker 2: Solar cells convert light directly into electricity. Great idea, but
Speaker 2: they typically produce small amounts of power that's suited for
Speaker 2: low power outdoor devices where they can charge a rechargeable
Speaker 2: battery during the day and the device runs off the battery.
Speaker 2: Panels are often rated for a nominal voltage like six
Speaker 2: V or twelve, but their actual open circuit voltage with
Speaker 2: nothing connected can be much higher. Voltage drops quickly under load,
Speaker 2: so testing is important. Yes, the book emphasizes test aginals
Speaker 2: under realistic conditions, maybe using a dummy load resistor and
Speaker 2: recording voltage and current in different light levels. A spreadsheet
Speaker 2: is even provided on the book's website. And crucially, always
Speaker 2: use a blocking diode in series with the solar panel
Speaker 2: when charging a battery. This prevents the battery from discharging
Speaker 2: back through the solar panel at night or in low light.
Speaker 1: Okay, what about when things go wrong or you need
Speaker 1: to salvage parts safely avoiding electrocution seems like a good
Speaker 1: place to start.
Speaker 2: Absolutely paramount rule number one. Never work on household electricity
Speaker 2: circuits while they are plugged in. Always disconnect the power
Speaker 2: at the source first, seriously. Also, be aware of high
Speaker 2: value capacitors, especially in power supplies. They can store a
Speaker 2: dangerous charge long after the power is off. Safely discharge
Speaker 2: them by connecting a suitable resistor, maybe a few keys
Speaker 2: rated for the power across their terminals. Never short them
Speaker 2: directly with the screwdriver. It can cause a huge spark,
Speaker 2: damage the capacitor, and potentially hurt you.
Speaker 1: Right, safety first, What about simple things like checking fuses.
Speaker 2: Fuses are safety devices designed to blow and break the
Speaker 2: circuit if too much current flows. You can often identify
Speaker 2: a blown fuse visually the thin wire inside will be
Speaker 2: broken or look burnt, or you can test them with
Speaker 2: your multi meter incontinuity mode. A good fuse will beep
Speaker 2: show near zero resistance. A blown fuse will show an
Speaker 2: open circuit, no beep, infinite.
Speaker 1: Resistance if it blows again right away.
Speaker 2: Replace a blown fuse once with the exact same rating.
Speaker 2: If the new one blows immediately when you apply power stop,
Speaker 2: there's an underlying fault like a short circuit, causing the problem.
Speaker 2: Find and fix that first before trying another fuse.
Speaker 1: Okay, testing a battery again more accurately.
Speaker 2: Measuring the open circuit voltage gives you some idea, but
Speaker 2: it can be misleading, especially with rechargeables. A more accurate
Speaker 2: test of its health or remaining capacity is to measure
Speaker 2: the voltage under load. Connect a dummy load resistor across
Speaker 2: its terminals. The book suggests maybe one hundred day for
Speaker 2: typical small batteries, and measure the voltage while the resistor
Speaker 2: is connected. A weak batteries voltage will drop significantly more
Speaker 2: underload than a healthy one.
Speaker 1: How about finding and replacing failed components on a.
Speaker 2: Board, first, use your eyes and nose. Look for obvious
Speaker 2: signs of distress, charring, bulging capacitors, cracked resistors, maybe even
Speaker 2: a burnt smell. Resistors can often be tested in circuit
Speaker 2: with a multimeter set to resistance mode, though surrounding components
Speaker 2: can sometimes affect the reading compare to the expected value
Speaker 2: from color known or schematic. Other components like transistors, I
Speaker 2: seize and capacitors are much harder to test definitively while
Speaker 2: still startered in place. Often the easiest approach if you
Speaker 2: suspect a component is to carefully desolder and replace it
Speaker 2: with a known good one, especially if spars are cheap
Speaker 2: and available.
Speaker 1: And desoldering itself any tips it can be.
Speaker 2: Tricky, especially on boards with small pads or multiple leads.
Speaker 2: Sometimes paradoxically, adding a little fresh solder to the joint
Speaker 2: first helps the old solder melt and flow better. Then
Speaker 2: you can use a solder sucker, a spring loaded vacuum pump,
Speaker 2: or often better desoldering braid warven copper wick. You press
Speaker 2: the braid onto the joint with your hot iron, and
Speaker 2: the braid wix the molten solder away through capillary action.
Speaker 2: Takes a bit of practice.
Speaker 1: Okay, in a fantastic recycling tip reusing a cell phone
Speaker 1: power adaptor.
Speaker 2: Yeah, those old wallwarts, we all have a drawer full
Speaker 2: of them. Many are perfectly good regulated DC power supplies.
Speaker 2: Just carefully cut off the proprietary plug that went into
Speaker 2: the old phone. Then use your multimeter in DC boltz
Speaker 2: mode to identify the output voltage and crucially the polarity
Speaker 2: of the two wires plus and label them clearly. Once
Speaker 2: you know the voltage and polarity, you can use it
Speaker 2: to power countless electronics projects that need that specific voltage.
Speaker 2: Great way to recycle E waste.
Speaker 1: Excellent. Let's quickly revisit your multimeter with a deeper dive,
Speaker 1: covering some more functions now that we know a bit more.
Speaker 2: Okay, we covered continuity, DC vaults, DC current and resistance
Speaker 2: many meters combine continuity and diodtest in diotest mode. It
Speaker 2: outputs a small voltage current. You can use it to
Speaker 2: measure the forward voltage drop VF of diodes or LEDs directly.
Speaker 2: It will display the voltage maybe zero point seven V
Speaker 2: for silicon diode, one point eight three V for LEDs.
Speaker 2: It also confirms they conduct in only one direction. For resistance,
Speaker 2: always start on a high range and work down for
Speaker 2: unknown values. For very high resistance values megums, avoid touching
Speaker 2: the metal tips of the probes with your fingers, as
Speaker 2: your body resistance can affect the reading. Some meters have
Speaker 2: capacitance measurement, often not super accurate, especially for small values
Speaker 2: or in circuit, but can be useful for a rough
Speaker 2: check if a capacitor is completely dead, reads zero or infinite.
Speaker 2: Many have temperature using plugin Thermo couple leads handy for
Speaker 2: time check and component temperatures. AC voltage v measures AC
Speaker 2: voltages like from a wall socket carefully or transformer output.
Speaker 2: Note it usually displays the RMS rootmine square value, which
Speaker 2: is like the DC equivalent, not the peak voltage DC current.
Speaker 2: Remember you usually have to move the red probe to
Speaker 2: a separate socket often marked A or MA for current measurement.
Speaker 2: Be very careful to connect the meter in series with
Speaker 2: the circuit, like breaking the wire and inserting the meter.
Speaker 2: Connecting it in parallel like a vault meter will cause
Speaker 2: a short circuit and likely blow the meter's internal fuze
Speaker 2: or worse.
Speaker 1: And always put the probe back after measuring current.
Speaker 2: Yes critically important safety habit. Always return the red lead
Speaker 2: to the vase socket immediately after finishing a current measurement
Speaker 2: before you forget and try to measure voltage next time.
Speaker 1: Got it? Can you test a transistor with a multimeter.
Speaker 2: You can do a basic health check on a standard
Speaker 2: NPN or PNP bipolar transistor using the diode test mode.
Speaker 2: For an NPN, you should see a diode drop around
Speaker 2: point seven v while measuring from base plus to emitter
Speaker 2: and from base plus to collector. All other combinations should
Speaker 2: read open circuit infinite. If you see shorts or readings
Speaker 2: in the wrong direction, the transistor is likely damaged. It's
Speaker 2: a quick go no go test.
Speaker 1: Okay, And if you get more serious the lab power supply.
Speaker 1: Why is it so good?
Speaker 2: It really is the next item to invest in after
Speaker 2: good soldering gear and a multimeter. Its benefits are huge.
Speaker 2: It displays both the voltage and the current being drawn
Speaker 2: in real time. You can precisely set the output voltage. Crucially,
Speaker 2: you can set a current limit.
Speaker 1: So won't provide more than a certain current exactly.
Speaker 2: This is fantastic for safely powering up a new project
Speaker 2: for the first time. You can set the voltage to
Speaker 2: say five v and limit the current to maybe one
Speaker 2: hundred milliarray. If there is a short circuit in your project,
Speaker 2: the power supply will just hit the current limit instead
Speaker 2: of dumping huge amounts of current and frying everything. The
Speaker 2: voltage will drop, the current limit indicator will light up,
Speaker 2: and you know you have a problem to fix safely.
Speaker 2: Many also have a constant current mode, essential for things
Speaker 2: like charging certain batteries or driving high power LEDs directly.
Speaker 2: It's incredibly versatile and much safer than just using fixed
Speaker 2: wall adapters or batteries.
Speaker 1: For testing makes sense and the ultimate tool the selloscope.
Speaker 2: Ugh the scope yes for really understanding what's going on
Speaker 2: with signals that change over time. It's indispensable. A multimeter
Speaker 2: just gives you a number, and a silloscope draws you
Speaker 2: a picture a graph of voltage versus time. It displays
Speaker 2: the waveform on a grid. The vertical axis is calibrated
Speaker 2: in volts per division and the horizontal axis is time
Speaker 2: per division. By looking at the waveform on the grid,
Speaker 2: you can visually measure things like peak voltage frequency by
Speaker 2: measuring the time for one cycle duty cycle of PWM
Speaker 2: signals see noise or distortion things A multimeter can't.
Speaker 1: Show you sounds complex.
Speaker 2: It has a learning curve, but the basics are straightforward.
Speaker 2: Modern digital scopes often have autoset features and on screen
Speaker 2: measurements that make them much easier to use than old
Speaker 2: analog ones. They also have high impedance per robes that
Speaker 2: don't significantly load down the circuit you're measuring, essential for
Speaker 2: serious debugging or design work.
Speaker 1: Okay, and finally, beyond the bench tools, what about software
Speaker 1: tools and online resources?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the digital world offers a lot too. There are
Speaker 2: circuit simulation tools like circuit lab web based or lt
Speaker 2: spice free download, where you can design and test circuits
Speaker 2: virtually before building them. Saves time and potentially blown components.
Speaker 2: For designing customs circuit boards PCBs, there's software like egl
Speaker 2: E popular free version available, kikad open source, very powerful,
Speaker 2: or the more beginner friendly fritzing, which also helps with
Speaker 2: breadboard layouts and crucially leverage the amazing online resources and communities.
Speaker 2: Websites like Hackanmad dot com, instructibles dot com are full
Speaker 2: of project ideas and tutorials. The official Arduino site Arduino
Speaker 2: dot cc has huge forums and documentation. Retailers like spark
Speaker 2: fund dot com and adafruit dot com have fantastic tutorials
Speaker 2: alongside the parts they sell, and forums are great places
Speaker 2: to ask questions when you get stuck.
Speaker 1: Don't forge at places for parts too right.
Speaker 2: Besides the main distributors, deal extreme dot com and eBay
Speaker 2: dot com are mentioned for finding deals, especially from overseas sellers.
Speaker 2: The online hacker maker community is incredibly supportive and full
Speaker 2: of shared knowledge.
Speaker 1: Wow, okay, we have just taken a really deep dive
Speaker 1: into the surprisingly accessible world of electronics hacking. From understanding
Speaker 1: those fundamental concepts like Own's law and power, to demystifying
Speaker 1: components like resistors, transistors, moss fits, and even building complex
Speaker 1: projects like web controlled relays or automatic password entry devices,
Speaker 1: We've covered a lot of ground.
Speaker 2: What's truly fascinating here, I think, is the sheer breadth
Speaker 2: of what you can achieve with just that just do
Speaker 2: it mindset and really a few basic tools. The source
Speaker 2: material truly underscores that learning from hands on experimentation and
Speaker 2: embracing small, achievable projects is really the most effective path
Speaker 2: to understanding electronics. You don't have to be an expert
Speaker 2: to start building things exactly.
Speaker 1: We've seen that you don't need a formal engineering degree
Speaker 1: to create, fix, or repurpose electronic devis. The world is
Speaker 1: full of cheap components and hackable gadgets just waiting for
Speaker 1: your curiosity and creativity. So what does this all mean
Speaker 1: for you listening right now? It means the only real
Speaker 1: limit is your imagination and your willingness to actually get
Speaker 1: your hands dirty. Pick a simple project that interests you,
Speaker 1: grab a multimeter and a soldering iron, and just start.
Speaker 1: You might be genuinely surprised at what you can create.
Speaker 2: You really might.
Speaker 1: Now Here is a provocative thought for you to moll
Speaker 1: over as we wrap up in a world increasingly filled
Speaker 1: with complex, opaque, black box electronics that most of us
Speaker 1: don't understand at all. What might be the ultimate power,
Speaker 1: maybe even the subversive power, of simply understanding how to hack,
Speaker 1: to modify, repair, and create with even the simplest, most
Speaker 1: everyday devices. What unexpected innovations or maybe just useful fixes
Speaker 1: could spring from that very basic curiosity and willingness to
Speaker 1: experiment rather than just consume what's given to us.
Speaker 2: Hmmm, that's a good question.
Speaker 1: Join us next time on the deep dive as we
Speaker 1: continue to locked the knowledge hidden within your sources,