Category: Electronics

Explorations in things electronic

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Nexus 5 X-ray

Continuing the tradition of making radiographs of my electronic things, I got a radiograph of my new Nexus 5, the DDS modules and the Arduino Pro Mini.

The Nexus 5. The battery takes up a good bit of the space inside. The square object to the right of center near the top is the camera module. The SIM card tray is easily visible below that. The boards look pretty crowded (click for the jumbo sized image).

Nexus 5 x-ray
Nexus 5 x-ray

The AD9850 modules. Not a whole lot to them. The crystal in each module is easily visible as the rectangular object on the left. The AD9850 chip is in the middle.

AD9850 modules
AD9850 modules

Sparkfun Arduino Pro Mini. Not a whole lot to this either. There’s the AT Mega 328P chip in the middle, and at the top is the reset button.

Sparkfun Arduino Pro Mini x-ray
Sparkfun Arduino Pro Mini x-ray

All images were acquired using an 8″x10″ cassette. X-ray technique was 80 kVp, 5 mAs with the small focal spot (0.6 mm). Source to image distance (SID) was 172 cm, and the object to image distance (OID) was about 100 cm giving a magnification factor of about 1.7. This results in some magnification blur, but at this magnification, the Nexus 5 takes up pretty much all of the cassette.

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More Arduino and some DDS modules

Jason/NT7S was doing some more shack cleaning so I took the opportunity to buy an Arduino Pro Mini and some AD9850 DDS modules he put up for sale.

Arduino Pro Mini
Arduino Pro Mini
AD9850 DDS modules
AD9850 DDS modules

No immediate plans for either of them yet. I’m looking forward to learning more about the DDS modules and figuring out how to use them with the [Net|Ar]duinos.

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The workbench

Thought I’d show off some pictures of the current state of my workbench, now that I’ve started to build up some inventory. No current projects on it yet, but I’m planning on finally getting around to building the Softrock Ensemble RXTX kit.

Parts storage. Going to need more space soon. Up top are a couple of storage bins with wall warts and wires. I think I’ll need another parts bin soon. Below that is the test gear: oscilloscope, Heathkit signal generator, DMM and some tools.

A bookshelf containing electronic tools and boxes of electronics parts

The one bookcase on the right needs me to put in another shelf or two. More parts bins and stuff that needs to be put away properly.

Parts bins and electronics components

The workbench itself is starting to get a little cluttered.

Tools hanging on pegboard mounted on a wall and a workbench

The Radio Shack soldering station has been working out pretty well, especially after I replaced the stock tip. It’s not fancy, but it gets hot enough to melt solder, which is really what counts. I’ve found that yogurt cups make great containers for holding components while I’m working on a project. An old paint brush is very useful for sweeping up the dust, wire trimmings and little bits of solder that end up on the bench.

The Astron RS-35A provides a nice source of 13.7V power for the bench, although I’d eventually like to get a variable power supply so that I don’t have to keep rummaging through the wall warts to find something suitable.

The only problem with having the workbench in the garage is that temperature control isn’t that great. A little portable heater for the winter and a box fan for the summer come in pretty handy though.

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Moar copper clad

An order of 20lb of copper clad PCB arrived, getting me closer to my goal of having the workshop stocked well enough so that I can build and experiment without triggering that “can’t use it because I’m running low” instinct.

CuPCB.jpg
Box of copper-clad PCB

(Banana for scale)

This is my second order from Copper Clad Laminates on ebay, and so far I’ve been pretty pleased with the product. This was one of his bulk items containing boards that maybe aren’t the right size, have some light scratches or other imperfections that wouldn’t qualify them for a regular batch, but are more than suitable for my purposes. It’s all double sided and there’s a nice variety of sizes too. At $1.05/lb, it’s a pretty good deal.

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Adding to the *uinos

The two Sparkfun RedBoards I ordered during their Arduino Day sale arrived yesterday.

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Sparkfun RedBoard

With the two RedBoards, the Netduinos, and the Ham Radio for Arduino and PICAXE book I picked up a couple weeks ago, I should have a lot of fun exploring and playing. Now I’ll have to start accumulating shields…

I think I’m going to need a new project box to store these boards in now.