Mastering the SiLabs C8051 Microcontroller

In a world where upgrades and advancements are constant, it is easy to overlook older technology in favour of newer, more advanced options. However, the case of 8051 microcontrollers defies this trend. Despite being considered relics of the past, there is still a significant demand for these microcontrollers. Manufacturers have revitalized the proven 8051 architecture by incorporating modern features such as ADCs and communication modules, transforming them into powerful, reliable and versatile devices. Silicon Laboratories (SiLabs) is an American semiconductor-manufacturing company, similar to Microchip and STMicroelectronics. They are renowned for producing a wide range of semiconductor components, including both 8

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Inductance-Capacitance Measurement using PIC18 Microcontroller

When designing or debugging an electrical or electronics device, it is very important to know the values of the components that have been used on board. With a multimeter most of the components can be easily measured and identified but most ordinary multimeters do not have options to measure inductors and capacitors as this is rarely needed. However, without capacitors there are literally no circuits while complex circuits may have inductors in them. A LCR (inductor-capacitor-resistor) measurement meter can be used to determine the aforementioned components but usually such meters are pretty expensive.

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A Simple Solar Irradiation Measurement Technique

A pyranometer or solar irradiation tester is measurement tool that is a must-have for every professional in renewable energy sector. However, owing one is not easy because it is both expensive and rare. It is expensive because it uses highly calibrated components and it is rare because it is not an ordinary multi-meter that is available in common hardware shops. Personally, I have a long professional career in the field of LED lighting, renewable energy (mainly solar), Lithium and industrial battery systems, electronics and embedded-systems. I have been at the core of designing, testing, commissioning and analyzing some of the

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Exploring STC 8051 Microcontrollers – Coding

About STC8A8K64S4A12 Microcontroller and its Development Board This is the continuation of my first post on STC 8051 Microcontrollers here. Many Chinese microcontroller manufacturers develop awesome and cheap general-purpose MCUs using the popular 8051 architecture. There are many reasons for that but most importantly the 8051 architecture is a very common one that has been around for quite a long time. Secondly, manufacturing MCUs with 8051 DNA allows manufacturers to focus less on developing their own proprietary core and to give more effort in adding features. Holtek, Nuvoton, STC, etc are a few manufacturers to name.

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Elecrow launches Crowbits: Electronic Blocks for STEM Education

With the grand success of CROWPI2, an all-in-one portable Raspberry Pi Laptop development platform, Elecrow has now come up with Crowbits: easy-to-use electronic building blocks for young inventors. Crowbits include more than 80 modules that can be easily snapped through built-in magnets to create projects. It also incorporates a graphical programming software -Letsocde, where users can simply drag and drop blocks to develop applications.

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