Whenever you hear the transformerless supply term, you initially imagine the capacitor-based solution: a high-voltage non-polarized capacitor in series with the mains line, a bridge rectifier, a Zener diode, and a filtering electrolytic capacitor...
Transformerless 85-260VAC to 12VDC-0.2A power supply
Toshiba launches high-speed colour CCD linear image sensor for Automated Optical Inspection equipment
Toshiba Electronics introduces the TCD2400DG, a new lens reduction type CCD linear image sensor designed to meet the demanding requirements of modern optical inspection equipment...
Full circle current loops: 4 mA-20 mA to 0 mA-20 mA
A topic that has recently drawn a lot of interest and no fewer than four separate design articles here in Design Ideas, is the conversion of 0 to 20 mA current sources into industrial standard 4 mA to 20 mA current loop signals...
Another silly simple precision 0-20mA to 4/20mA converter
A recent Design Idea, “Silly simple precision 0/20 mA to 4/20 mA converter,” by prolific DI contributor Stephen Woodward uses the venerable LM337 regulator in a creative configuration along with a few passive components, to translate an input 0-20 mA current source...
Short push, long push for sequential operation of multiple power supplies
Industrial systems normally use both analog and digital circuits. While digital circuits include microcontrollers that operate at 5 VDC, analog circuits operate generally at either 12 or 15 VDC...
IR distance ranger covers 1 to 20 cm
Commercially available IR distance rangers typically handle a 3- to 30-in. detection distance. Many times, it is necessary to determine smaller distances...
Classic constant current cascode
An important figure of merit for all precision constant current sources is their active impedance. Which is to say, just how “constant” is their output held against changes in applied voltage?...
Optically isolated overcurrent detector works from ac mains
The circuit in this Design Idea detects short-circuit faults or excess-current conditions in line-operated equipment, such as a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), across an isolation boundary...
Go for the gold with voltage-reference circuits
High-resolution mixed-signal devices present an interesting challenge as you try to find the right voltage-reference design. Although no universal approach exists for these voltage-reference designs, the circuit presents an interesting approach for greater-than-15-bit converters...
PIC32CM PL10 MCUs expand Microchip's Arm Cortex-M0+ portfolio
Microchip Technology has added PIC32CM PL10 MCUs to its PIC32C family of Arm Cortex-M0+ core devices...