Creating a Second Factor Authentication Token
You can test most electronic components to see if they’re working using a multi-meter. Just know the range of your component, the multi-meter setting, and how to use the multi-meter and you’re good to go. Testing Resistors Set multi-meter to Resistance (Ω) Setting Connect multi-meter leads to both ends of component. IF meter reads …
What is a Breadboard? A breadboard is a device that allows you to connect electronic components and create circuits without soldering. It is a plastic board with lots of tiny holes that allow easy insertion and removal of parts. Usually will come in three sizes: full, half, and mini. Terminology Leads- the long metal legs …
Definitions: Multimeter- a device used to measure voltage, current, or resistance. Voltage- a measurement of the electric field potential to create a current in a conductor. Current- a measurement of how much charge moves through a circuit during a specific period of time. Resistance- how freely electrons can flow through materials because of a voltage …
Overview: For surface mount soldering you can use a variety of tools. Anything from a heat gun to an oven will work. Many people invest in their own reflow ovens (yes, you CAN buy an already set up reflow oven!) or a new toaster oven. What did we do? We bought a $5 used toaster …
PCB Stencils- what are they? When trying to apply solder paste to a printed circuit board for surface mount soldering, a PCB stencil can be very useful. A stencil is a flat sheet with pads cut out to match your pcb design. This allows you to build boards faster, better, and more easily. Most PCB …
We first stumbled across KiCad when looking to modify PCB components before sending the boards in for manufacturing. We learned that to modify the PCB, we had to modify the Gerber files, and to do that, you should use KiCad. This was a bit of a snag in our plan as none of use knew …
Learning to desolder takes a lot of time. The first time I tried, it took me almost 30 minutes just to remove 1 component! There’s a lot of technique involved, so every night I try to practice on old circuit boards. When I think I have this under control, I’ll move on to soldering small …