Author Topic: Components you wish existed.  (Read 60456 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Kjelt

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 6458
  • Country: nl
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #25 on: May 11, 2017, 08:40:59 pm »
A battery the size of an AA cell with a voltage of 12V and capacity of >2Ah that can be (dis)charged 100000 times and has a chargetime of a few minutes without getting hot.

Oh yeah and from BTF I would like a Mr. Fusion   8)
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 08:42:31 pm by Kjelt »
 

Offline james_s

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21611
  • Country: us
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #26 on: May 11, 2017, 08:45:45 pm »

Oh yeah and from BTF I would like a Mr. Fusion   8)

There you go, I'd take one of those too, got a place next to my house where it would fit nicely. Conveniently next to both my electric service entry and where I keep my garbage and recycle bins.
 

Offline Tomorokoshi

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1212
  • Country: us
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #27 on: May 11, 2017, 08:46:06 pm »
Actual Zener diodes, not TVS, in a through-hole package rated to between 8W and 10W.
 

Offline AndyC_772

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4206
  • Country: gb
  • Professional design engineer
    • Cawte Engineering | Reliable Electronics
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #28 on: May 11, 2017, 08:58:43 pm »
I'd like to see more switching regulators available with built in inductors and diodes and ceramic capacitors.. in DIP or soic or something like that. Basically just add input and output capacitors and you're done.  Linear has a bunch of them but they're mostly BGA or similar packages and cost a lot (15$+). Don't see why it would be so hard to make cheap ones with just vin , vout and maybe adjusting output voltage using a resistor.

Do you know about these?

https://www.altera.com/products/power/devices.html#powersoc-converters

Offline Ian.M

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 12753
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #29 on: May 11, 2017, 09:04:49 pm »
Actual Zener diodes, not TVS, in a through-hole package rated to between 8W and 10W.
You can bodge that, though its NDG if it ever needs to be forward biassed.  Simply take a TO220 power BJT, HFE>100 and solder a SMD SOD-323 Zener directly between base and collector next to the body, then crop the excess base lead.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 09:07:55 pm by Ian.M »
 

Offline BrianHG

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7638
  • Country: ca
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #30 on: May 11, 2017, 09:11:17 pm »
Actual Zener diodes, not TVS, in a through-hole package rated to between 8W and 10W.
:-DD The only 2 high power zener diode available today, ok so it's a stud mount through hole:
https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/microsemi-corporation/1N3311B/1N3311B-ND/4377736
https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/microsemi-corporation/1N3344B/1N3344B-ND/306760
look at the price...  :scared:
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 09:13:05 pm by BrianHG »
 

Offline BrianHG

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7638
  • Country: ca
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #31 on: May 11, 2017, 09:20:19 pm »
Oh..  would be nice to have a CHEAP (<10$)  all-in-one video card IC , let's say with only only LVDS or displayport (so you don't pay royalties for hdmi), with 2D only so it won't use a lot of power and 1366x768 60hz or 1080p 30/60hz (make it with a 8 MB / 16 MB / 32 MB sram/sdram/ddram buffer integrated in the chip, shoudn't be that hard since there's already ssd controllers with so much ram built in).

Shouldn't be hard to make a chip powered from a single 5v (only saying it because displayport connectors already have 5v in it) and/or maybe 3.3v-3.6v power supply and some simple input (spi/i2c/parallel 8bit/16bit etc).

Make it simple .. just initialize and configure the resolution and bpp (let's say 8bit / 16 bit / 24 bit / 32bit which defines the frame buffer size and number of frames in buffer) and then the chip could do it all without communication from processor, microcontroller, no hand-holding. Make it possible to write directly to the onboard memory in one of the frames in the buffer (and/or have some commands to be able overlay text, print text etc over what's there already), some basic commands to flip between frame buffers (for vsync and so you won't have screen tears, purposes etc) and then the graphics card converts the memory buffer to displayport/lvds output.

Would be awesome if it had maybe some very basic overlay support and hardware decoder support for some h264 or something like that. Doesn't have to be any h264 profile possible, could be just basic / lightweight h264 profile (let's say max 720p 2-3 mbps), to save transistors and memory and power. Basically, so you could tell the card to overlay a 640x360 h264 stream somewhere and then the microcontroller can push data into the chip through a 8bit to 32bit connection.. let's say videos with maximum 1 mbps bitrate and have the video card do the hard part.

Go here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/outputting-to-hdmi-with-a-low-power-mcu/
 

Offline Muxr

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1369
  • Country: us
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #32 on: May 11, 2017, 09:22:00 pm »
Beefy FPGAs or CPLDs with less pins.
 
The following users thanked this post: mark03, alexanderbrevig, Sferix

Offline richard.cs

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1188
  • Country: gb
  • Electronics engineer from Southampton, UK.
    • Random stuff I've built (mostly non-electronic and fairly dated).
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #33 on: May 11, 2017, 09:27:05 pm »
A four pin device.
One pin is ground.
One is +3.3 or +5V.
One pin is an analog input.
One pin is the PWM output, duty proportional to the input voltage over the supply voltage.

It exists: http://www.linear.com/product/LTC6992-1

Well, six pins rather than four. The other two are used to configure (via external resistors) the oscillator frequency, a variable internal divider (to provide additional frequency range, and the output polarity.
 
The following users thanked this post: ali_asadzadeh

Offline Codebird

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 161
  • Country: gb
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #34 on: May 11, 2017, 09:28:27 pm »
Quote
Sounds exactly what the smallest PICs and similar micros are designed for.

It just feels wrong, somehow, to use a microcontroller for something so trivial.
 
The following users thanked this post: PointyOintment

Offline mariush

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4979
  • Country: ro
  • .
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #35 on: May 11, 2017, 09:51:30 pm »

Go here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/outputting-to-hdmi-with-a-low-power-mcu/

Yes, read thread, still nothing as simple as i want them. 32-64 pin soic, tqfn/qfp , just add oscillator , 5v/3.3v and maybe 1.8v for internals , spi or parallel in, let's say max 2-5w power consumption, no babysitting, can work with or without connection to mcu meaning no need for mcu to constantly push data, no dma transfers required.. (for example let's say i want to make a kindle style tablet for text only, i want to just use low speed spi to fill a second frame buffer with content while another frame is shown and then just say command to change the frame), or for example i don't need to resend the whole screen if i want to just copy a 8x8 pixel block to another frame and invert a line in it and then copy it back (to simulate a text cursor or mouse pointer), no vga crap, no analogue stuff, just chip reading internal frame buffer and producing digital output independently from the controller..

« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 09:55:14 pm by mariush »
 

Offline MLXXXp

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 322
  • Country: ca
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #36 on: May 11, 2017, 09:57:54 pm »
I don't know if this thread is only for electronic components but:

A standard 0.1" male header strip but with the short ends replaced with something like a tiny banana plug. The long ends could be plugged into a solderless breadboard to provide temporary, reusable, connections to breakout boards designed to have header strips soldered to them. Once the device is tested on the breadboard the header could be removed without needing to desolder it. The cost of this header shouldn't be exorbitantly higher than a standard header strip.

This would be for cases where I want to experiment with a device but I don't know whether I'm going to use male or female headers, or direct wires, or something else, when I build it into something more permanent.

If you need a better explanation of what I'm talking about, it would be something like this but with a reusable spring connection (like a banana plug or equivalent) instead of the loops that are meant to be press fit in only once:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/10527
 

Offline NivagSwerdna

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2495
  • Country: gb
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #37 on: May 11, 2017, 09:58:24 pm »
5mm LEDs with built in resistors.
http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mcl053had-12/led-5mm-2v-36-orange/dp/1581228


 :-+  Oh My Oh My!  That's awesome.  I'll add some to my next order (and then probably accidentally mix them up with the regular ones!)

Probably the 5V... http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/mcl053hpd-5/led-5mm-brt-red-2-8mcd-650nm/dp/1581220   :clap:
 

Offline Circlotron

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3158
  • Country: au
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #38 on: May 11, 2017, 10:02:58 pm »
A Schmitt optocoupler like a H11L1 but with super hi impedance input side.

Only micros with linear address space. Segmented memory devices banned.
 

Offline bjcuizon

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 284
  • Country: nz
  • RF and Analog Electronics Enthusiast
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #39 on: May 11, 2017, 10:17:09 pm »
Fluxcapacitor

Apparently, Jaycar (Aus/NZ electronics store) has it for $200,000
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/flux-capacitor/p/OUTATIME
Don't mess with an Electronics Engineer, it Megahertz!
 

Offline Cerebus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 10576
  • Country: gb
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #40 on: May 11, 2017, 10:19:33 pm »
An Ideal OpAmp with +/- infinite output voltage, and no need for decoupling.

The problem with that, is that the second you open the feedback loop it blows you up, shortly followed by the rest of the universe freezing except for the very, very hot spot that is the plasma cloud that once was you.
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 

Offline Cerebus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 10576
  • Country: gb
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #41 on: May 11, 2017, 10:23:44 pm »
Beefy FPGAs or CPLDs with less pins.

... in packages that can be successfully laid out on 2 layer boards.
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 
The following users thanked this post: PointyOintment, technix, Muxr

Offline BrianHG

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7638
  • Country: ca
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #42 on: May 11, 2017, 10:25:01 pm »
A Schmitt optocoupler like a H11L1 but with super hi impedance input side.

 ??? I though this already existed, an opto with cmos buffered input.  I guess I was wrong, just buffered outputs.
 

Offline BrianHG

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7638
  • Country: ca
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #43 on: May 11, 2017, 10:53:01 pm »
Affordable 1KW, dentin free, noise free, 3 phase permanent magnet generator with over 90% efficiency right from 15 rmp through 150 rpm, at all voltage and current loads, with over 98% efficient ideal diode bridge rectifier.  (Looks like I gonna hire/contract a specialist engineer to work on this one...)
 

Offline mikeselectricstuff

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13677
  • Country: gb
    • Mike's Electric Stuff
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #44 on: May 11, 2017, 11:11:44 pm »
A low profile (<3mm, don't care how wide)  SMD capacitor, about 10uf, rated at least 35V, which doesn't "sing" acoustically under pulsed loads like PWMed LEDs.
For lower voltages, alu. or tant. polymer caps are great but seems nothing exists at higher voltages.
(and yes, I've tried the Murata ceramic ones that are supposedly quieter. They're not)

Something like a 74HC138 or HC595 with P-channel MOSFET outputs that can source a couple of amps.

A 20mA class  RGBW LED from a brand-name manufacturer like Osram etc.
 
An RGBW LED with on-chip 1-wire driver from a manufacturer that can be trusted for long-term reliability. Ditto white only.

A 16 channel, 100mA per channel ES-PWM LED driver with sensible 1-wire interface and internal regulator for its logic supply that can take up to 30V

A PIC32MX part family with 3-5V supply and IO.

A small 3.3V LDO that cuts off and draws negligible power below 3.4V in ( for use with unprotected LiPo cells)

0R resistors in 0803, 1203 and 1803 packages, for jumpering on single-layer aluminium PCBs

An FPGA family in SSOP-28,QFP/QFN28,48 and 64 with a buttload of Block RAM

A quad N-channel 500mA MOSFET with common source and series gate resistors (to limit slewrate) in a 10 pin MSOP


Youtube channel:Taking wierd stuff apart. Very apart.
Mike's Electric Stuff: High voltage, vintage electronics etc.
Day Job: Mostly LEDs
 
The following users thanked this post: SeanB, Richard Crowley

Online RoGeorge

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 6136
  • Country: ro
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #45 on: May 11, 2017, 11:20:24 pm »
5mm LEDs with built in resistors.

I still have a few of these from about 20-30 years ago. They were made by a Romanian R&D socialist/communist institute, no longer in existence, called ICCE (Institutul de Cercet?ri pentru Componente Electronice (CCSITS) B?neasa CCSIT-CE).
Back then we use to call them 5 Volts LEDs. They were very unreliable, like all the other (normal) LEDs made under the Iron Curtain Industry, 30 years ago.

If I could only find them, to trace an UI curve for those 5V LEDs compared with a normal (no resistor) LED.

Online RoGeorge

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 6136
  • Country: ro
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #46 on: May 11, 2017, 11:34:21 pm »
(SMD capacitors) which doesn't "sing" acoustically under pulsed loads like PWMed LEDs

Maybe Delta-Sigma instead of PWM might help. At least in theory, it should have a more spread spectrum, so it might help with capacitors "singing". Also, this technique is very advantageous when the LED is very dim, it avoids flickering way better then PWM. Only a couple of instructions/channel so it is no processor intensive either. If you already tried it, I would like to know your experimental results, pros and cons, 'cause I know you have hands on experience with some big LED installations.

https://hackaday.io/project/6356-delta-sigma-versus-pwm

Offline Neomys Sapiens

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3268
  • Country: de
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #47 on: May 11, 2017, 11:39:33 pm »
1.) a hermetic version (same form factor) of everything that comes in a SO package

2.) a really working analogue isolator with 10V 10MHz 10ppm over Mil-temprange

3.) linear thermistors

 

Offline Circlotron

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3158
  • Country: au
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #48 on: May 11, 2017, 11:43:43 pm »
Be careful what you wish for!
Fifteen years ago I was for quite a while involved in the design of lossless passive resonant snubbers for PFC boost converters. When the mosfet turns on you have reverse recovery current in the main diode so you put a small inductor in series with this diode to taper off the main current then ramp up the reverse current to suck out the stored charges in the diode pn junction in a controlled way. Then you have to capture the energy in this snubbing inductor and using diodes and caps return it to the main output. Great fun and it looks like art and ran like clockwork when it is all done. Back then we wished for perfect diodes to simplify life a bit, and then Lo and behold, along came high voltage silicon carbide Schottky diodes! They worked so much better and simplified the circuit greatly. The unexpected downside though was that there was almost no satisfaction in getting this much simplified circuit up and going. Sure it worked better and from a commercial point of view it was a success, but when you make stuff at home a lot of it is for the ahhhh factor. This new circuit had none of that.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2017, 12:44:22 am by Circlotron »
 

Offline nuno

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 606
  • Country: pt
Re: Components you wish existed.
« Reply #49 on: May 11, 2017, 11:46:23 pm »
Maybe merge both topics?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/components-you-wish-existed/

3 years later looks like Mike's still craving for a 74HC138 or HC595 with 1A P-channel source drivers on the output :)
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 11:50:52 pm by nuno »
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf