HDMI wiring and pinout

HDMI is the go-to standard for video output (and, subsequently, input). Partly thanks to its simple, backward-compatible standardized plug. But still, there are a bunch of different cables out there and an odd-looking tiny HDMI port on some devices, so what's the deal here?

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LED strip amplifier / LED amplifier / RGB amplifier. Features, problems, choice.

A seemingly simple thing - an LED amplifier. The user chooses a device of suitable output power and uses it. But the devil lies in the details. From this post, you will know how LED strip amplifiers differ, what is not written in the documentation, where and in what lies, and what problems these devices can create. And also any buyer wants to understand why these simple devices have a large price range.

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Finding branches using a reflectometer

How cable branches are formed? What's wrong if a branch is? Methodology for locating the branch connection point

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Power control unit for testing

This simple and inexpensive unit will help test various devices; with it, one can determine the power factor of the AC grid draw, power-on and power-off times, etc.

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Marshall Guv`nor: a Pedal that sounds like a Tube Stack

When it comes to clean guitar tone, we all think of Fender amps. And the overdriven sound is, of course, Marshall. Can a small transistor pedal replace a real tube amp? - Let's try and listen!

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HDMI standard and functions

HDMI is the most common interface for video signals. But what is HDMI, and why is it so popular? And what should we know about it?

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PWM frequency in Shelly RGBW2 controller

The poor quality of light (flashing) in Shelly bulbs and LED controllers damages your eyes. However, the cause of light flickering (PWM frequency) can be fixed with your hands in 10 minutes. How can we improve the light performance?

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Finding water damage in a cable using a reflectometer

Signs of water presence in the cable Methods for locating cable water ingress points What if there's a fault in the waterlogged section of the cable?

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Review, teardown, and testing of RSP-320-24 Mean Well power supply

We teardown and tested in different modes RSP-320-24 power supply from Mean Well. It's a 24-volt power supply with a maximum current of 13.4 amps. The supported mains voltage is from 88 to 264 volts without an additional switch.

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VGA videocard for microcontrollers. Part 2

In this second part, we'll examine how to transform a successfully prototyped idea into a physical product. Several key aspects need to be reconsidered.

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VGA videocard for microcontrollers. Part 1

Sometimes, when making your own devices on microcontrollers, there is a need to display huge amounts of information on a display and to use a bigger screen for ease of perception. Unfortunately, there are no ready-made and budget-friendly solutions for this task on the market.

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Power supply characteristics. Turns the AC/DC power supply on and off. Low-cost parameter measurement.

What characteristics are important? What do the characteristics mean? How to measure parameters cheaply?

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Pi Extension board "PiEBridge" adapters

PiEBridge has built-in programmable power supply for external/target devices and two connectors IDC6 and IDC10. More details in the post.

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Reflectometer applications: methods for finding significant cable damage

Consider the primary functions of reflectometers, such as automatic detection, searching for crossed pairs, and identifying 'floating' defects.

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DIY single transistor reflex AM radio with regeneration and AGC

To make a good AM radio, one transistor is enough. It can amplify both radio frequency and audio signal. It is called a reflex circuit, and it shows excellent results.

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Review, teardown, and testing of LRS-150-24 Mean Well power supply

We teardown and tested in different modes LRS-150-24 power supply from Mean Well. It's a 150W single-output enclosed-type power supply with a 1 3/16" low-profile design. Adopting the input of 115VAC, the power supply provides an output voltage line of 24V DC.

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Pi Extension board "PiEBridge"

"PiEBridge" is an extension board for microcomputers similar to the Raspberry Pi (Pi), which is designed to be a helper for the DIY-maker in all his activities...

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Reflectometers' characteristics: additional capabilities

Critical options for reflectometers: Why is this important, and how do you use it?

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Regency TR-1 superheterodyne transistor radio

It was the very first all-transistor commercial radio in the United States and in the world. How much have circuits and enclosure designs changed in 69 years?

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When is the best case for HDMI over IP extenders?

Why use HDMI over IP in some cases? The image quality is noticeably worse than a classic HDMI twisted-pair extender. Let's see a few examples and answer this together.

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