When available fixed-gain values match design requirements, a PGA (programmable-gain-amplifier) IC offers a drop-in choice, but what does a designer do when a suitable PGA is unavailable? Before the ...

Building reliable hardware requires that you account for all tolerances during the design stage. Many references discuss active component errors resulting from parameter deviations—showing how to ...

With modern microcontrollers, the process of interfacing with the analogue world is easy. Simply enable the on-board DAC or ADC, and talk to the world. If you’ve ever done this with a slightly older ...

All circuits, analog or digital, have characteristics dependent on the values of their component parts. Invariably, these parts are non-ideal in many ways. Even their most fundamental characteristics, ...

The Excel cell formula below calculates the nearest standard 1%-resistor value without using a lookup table or macro. Type or electronically paste the text below into any cell (other than A1). The ...

Although there are several ways to sense current flowing from a source such as a battery, or to a load such as a motor, the current-sense resistor is among the most widely used approaches. There are ...

You probably have needed to match impedances and levels from time to time. Perhaps you want to connect a consumer computer’s sound card to your console; or you need to lower a balanced output level to ...

One of the first things you learn in electronics is how to identify a resistor’s value. Through-hole resistors have color codes, and that’s generally where beginners begin. But why are they marked ...

A potential divider, also known as a voltage divider, is a simple yet essential circuit used to reduce voltage to a desired level. It consists of two resistors connected in series close seriesA way of ...

This resistor with bands of red, violet, yellow, and gold has a value of 270,000 ohms (270kΩ) with a tolerance of ±5%. \( \begin{eqnarray*}\text{R}_\text{t ...