Nuts and Volts - June 2017

4 June 2017

14 Build this Professional Grade Data Acquisition System

This is a high performance general-purpose instrument that has become the Swiss army knife of my home lab. It is my go-to instrument to measure, record, and display data in just about every experiment I do. The best part is it cost under $100.

■ By Eric Bogatin

22 DIY Super Simple Security System

Never wonder if you’ve locked a door again with this homebrew system that tells you more than if a door is just closed.

■ By C.A. Hamilton

28 Build an Adaptable Controller

Project SMART students put together a flight controller that can be used in near space ballooning projects.

However, the open-ended nature of this project is one of the things that makes it so interesting.

■ By Richard Levergood and Maria Panacopoulos

36 Receiving Data with Web Based Shortwave Radios

Your computer and the Internet give you free access to over 100 web based shortwave receivers that you can use as if they were your own. Unfortunately, employing these radios to decode data transmissions can be very difficult or impossible — unless you know the secret.

■ By George R. Steber

40 Low Cost EMI Pre-Compliance Testing

In today’s world of social media and online funding, the step from electronics hobbyist to manufacturer is not that great. Unfortunately, there’s one potential hiccup in this scenario, assuming you want to do it right: the need to demonstrate compliance with FCC emission rules. Here are some ideas to help you navigate these tricky waters.

■ By Matt Maxwell

06 Q&A

Reader Questions Answered Here

Topics discussed this month: • A Fan of Quiet Fans • NiCd to NiMH • Clean Automotive Power

09 Open Communication

The Latest in Networking and Wireless Technologies

Cheap and Dirty Wireless Remote Control

Dealing with RF circuits is daunting for most experimenters. It is tricky and a bit frustrating if you build your own RF circuits. Now you don’t have to — thanks to the many available wireless modules.

46 The Design Cycle

Advanced Techniques for Design Engineers

Putting the Digital Discovery to Work

Get introduced to the Digilent Digital Discovery. It’s no bigger than a hockey puck, however, it is a logic probe, a logic analyzer, a power supply, a pattern generator, and a waveform generator. Plus, it’s programmable via its JavaScript scripting interface.

54 Near Space

Approaching the Final Frontier

A Recording Weather Station

Create a weather station that records position and environmental data at the same time during near space missions. You’ll see that with minor modifications, it can turn into other things like a weather station for ground use, for UAV use, and hikers.

59 Practical 3D Printing

Real World Uses for Electronics Experimenters

Portable Electronics Workbench

There are many times I’d like to have a way to carry my electronics workbench with me to a Makerspace or just to an offsite location where I’ll be building an electronic project. Here’s how I made a customized portable organizer.

Columns

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58 TheGreatSchematicQuiz

Yep! We’ve got a new quiz for 2017 to get your electronic brains buzzing. You’ll be challenged to identify common symbols found on electronic schematics. Some symbols are ageless, while others are more modern.