I love Hackaday. I read it almost every day. Yesterday I a blog post caught my eye and I wanted to share it. Most of the time if you want to add a USB interface to your project, you’ll have to get an FTDI chip, or one of those similarly operating knockoffs. But those chips require additional external circuitry that you may not want to fool with (I know I don’t). This Hackaday blog post introduces a neat little chip, the CH330.…
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at 3D printing, but prices were too high and the machines required too much maintenance… until recently. I’ve purchased a Creality Ender 3 printer from Amazon in the past month or so. I grabbed the printer, along with a roll of grey AmazonBasics PLA, and decided to try my hand at 3D printing. My “all-in” budget was around $250, shipped. Now this printer is unique in several ways. It has a heated…
Distributed computing is the new norm. Multi-service architectures surround us daily. Our computing needs are served from many different independently operated services, and all implemented using different underlying technologies. When these independent units bring only one small service or set of services, it is called a microservice. While there is still some industry discussion about the exact properties of a microservice, one thing can be agreed upon: microservice-based systems enforce modular design by default. This begs the question, if…
I have been very busy with Capstone Design again this semester so I’ve not had any time to myself. However, I have quite a lot to write about! School I am wrapping up my final few classes and getting ready for graduation! This semester I have taken several rather applicable classes to my upcoming work situation. My favorite class has absolutely been Embedded Systems. This class goes from the question What is an embedded system? through What are the considerations when designing an embedded…
I’ve not posted in a few months, mainly because I’ve been extremely busy! Here’s what I’ve been up to recently. School I just finished up the semester and finals were rough, but I came out with great success. I really enjoyed a few of my classes. Namely, Computer Architecture, where I studied how the MIPS32 ISA was designed, and then implemented several hardware versions of it. The second best class was Digital Systems Design where I was introduced to VHDL and was able…
Tonight while taking a study break from cramming for a Data Structures and Algorithms exam, I ran across this exceptionally interesting site called BeAnEngineer.com. The movement is funded by ExxonMobil and supported by an array of various engineering associations and institutions that are pushing for expanded engineering education. The site contains all sorts of information on multiple engineering fields as well as the stories of some of the most famous innovators of our time. I agree wholeheartedly with this mission of advancing the…