Tag Archives: electronics

June 1, 2023

Sideband #77: Speaking of Op Amps…

The last Sideband post (over eight months ago) was about Op Amps, mostly because I think they’re very cool but also easy to understand in the context of the Three Rules of Op Amps. [See this post and maybe the one before it.]

I posted about them in part because I also wanted to post about an electronics project I designed (but never built) back in the late 1980s. I thought it was a cool solution that leveraged existing infrastructure and used off-the-shelf parts.

Be advised this post is seriously on the electronics geek side and is mainly a memory with meaning only to me. I used to love designing stuff!

9 Comments | tags: electronics, field service technician, op amp, the past | posted in Sideband

September 9, 2022

Sideband #76: Fun with Op Amps

By Wyrd Smythe

Last November I posted about electronics “shortcuts” — rules of thumb that help interpret, even design, a circuit. These are approximations of more complex behavior but work well enough for a first cut at understanding a circuit.

Do not confuse these electronics shortcuts, which are generally good, with electronic short-circuits, which are almost always bad. While both offer shorter paths, that’s not a good thing in the latter case. Sometimes the journey is the only reward.

I intended to continue with op amps but kept putting it off. There are other Sidebands pending, though, so it’s time to drop the other shoe.

4 Comments | tags: electronics, op amp, operational amplifier | posted in Sideband

November 11, 2021

Sideband #75: Electronic Shortcuts

By Wyrd Smythe

My notes don’t include what triggered the thought, but I think it was something in one of the Lee Smolin books I read recently. My recent post, Analog Computing, brought the idea to mind again, because analog computers often use op amps. I was reminded yet again while reading about SPADs.

I’m talking about the very useful rules of thumb (heuristics) I learned to help understand, even design, electronic circuitry. They’re shortcuts in the sense of being only approximately true, but their simplified view can make a circuit much easier to understand.

I thought I’d pass them on for those interested in electronic design.

8 Comments | tags: electrical current, electronics, transistor, voltage, volts | posted in Sideband

November 7, 2015

Sideband #59: Running Hot

By Wyrd Smythe

running hot As a diversion for the weekend: Have you ever wondered why computers run so hot? No? Okay, I’ll tell you. It’s actually kind of a hoot. (We’ll get back to the more serious topic of algorithms and AI, and wrap up that series, next week.)

You kind of have to wonder. Humankind has gone from oil and gas lamps to incandescent copper filaments, then to fluorescent lights, and now to LEDs. The trend here seems towards cooler more efficient light sources. But computers seem to need bigger and bigger fans!

The short answer: It’s all those short circuits!

16 Comments | tags: CMOS, computer chip, computer heat, CPU, CPU heat, digital, electronics, FET, hardware, heat, MOSFET, transitor | posted in Computers, Sideband