Retro Blinky
This was the very first electronic circuit I assembled 40 years ago. Now, in 2020, I designed it properly.
I hope it would help someone in the next generation to learn the basics of electronics more easily.
Small things I designed for fun, or used for learning new things or testing other prototypes.
Full documentation, all design files, Gerber files, 3D models, etc. are downloadable from here.
Everything is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA) license, which means you can use it for anything you want to, as long as give me appropriate credit. In practice it means you keep the "https://pintergabor.eu" link printed on the PCB, and do not delete it from the documentation either.
As it is impossible to make only a few samples of these small cards, I have plenty of bare PCBs available in the shop for ridiculously low prices.
This was the very first electronic circuit I assembled 40 years ago. Now, in 2020, I designed it properly.
I hope it would help someone in the next generation to learn the basics of electronics more easily.
When we start learning a new processor we often start with a very simple circuit. We often assemble that first circuit on a breadboard, and face the challenge of debugging our first program for an unknown processor, using a new IDE, a new emulator or programmer, and an untested HW.
Sometimes we are lucky to have an evaluation board from the manufacturer, but these evaluation boards often focus on the advanced features of the microcontroller, and they are far from ideal for our first baby steps.
I designed this PCB long after I have learned STM8S programming the hard way. I hope it will make your life easier.
After making a STM8S blinky the next step is to create something useful. This ultra cheap board can drive up to 6 servos, or 6 chains of WS2812B LEDs, using one of the world's cheapest microcontroller, the STM8S003F3P6.
Similar to STM8S003F3P6 Blinky, but for STM8L051F3P6.
The PCB is built into the USB connector. It uses FT230X in its recommended configuration.
Measuring the waveform of the current is important for debugging power converters, and to improve efficiency and reduce EMC radiation of every circuit. High-end oscilloscopes have current probes, but these are very expensive. This little and cheap board helps those, who cannot afford them.
The board can also be used as an evaluation board for INA199.