Voltlog #287 – Switching From Eagle To Kicad

Welcome to a new Voltlog, today I’m gonna talk a bit about my process of switching from EagleCad to Kicad. So i’ve been an EagleCAD user for years, I’ve practically learned how to do pcb layout in eagle cad so there is that emotional attachment to a piece of software because it’s what I used while developing this skill. And to be honest there wasn’t any better alternative years ago, Eagle was the first decent piece of cad software to offer a freeware license and it quickly became popular for hobbyists. It didn’t have all the bells and whistles of the expensive software like Altium or Candece but it did the job while being user friendly.

Since it quickly became popular for makers and hobbyists it also meant there was an abundance of support on the forums as well as many user generated scripts and libraries freely available. It was similar to the popularity Arduino got but it was never open source and if you needed some extra features like 4 layer layout or pcb sizes larger than 8x10cm you needed to pay for a license.

Voltlog #249 – Making Some USB Serial Converter Boards With CH340E (part 1)

Welcome to a new video, today I’m building a bunch of usb to serial converter boards because if you are into electronics and microcontrollers you will for sure need a bunch of usb to serial converters to connect your boards to a computer for example.

The idea for building these boards started when I found the CH340E converter chip on aliexpress, I like several things about this chip, it was small because it comes in MSOP10 package, it was cheap at about $0.40 a piece and it requires minimal external circuitry, in fact it only needs an external bypass cap.

Voltlog #219 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail, the series that will touch both your passion for electronics and your bank account at the same time. We’re gonna start with a set of 3 prying tools from Best which is kinda of known in the mobile phone repair business, it’s a Chinese brand that sells this kind of tools. I like these because they have a nice rubber handle which provides a good grip for when you’re trying to pry open an enclosure.

Voltlog #106 – InTheMail

Hello and welcome to a new InTheMail, this one is shot from the new Voltlog lab. I haven’t finished setting everything up in here so the sound & lighting might not be to the same level that I had before but please bare with me I’m working on solving everything. Since I haven’t installed all my equipment I thought it’s better if I do an InTheMail episode so let’s get started.

Here are links to all the items shown in this video:

Voltlog #75 – InTheMail

As mentioned in the previous video this month will be mostly InTheMail episodes because I just have a bunch of stuff from China and I gotta show it to you before I go use it on other projects. Same as before I tried grouping similar items in this episode so let’s get started on another InTheMail.

Here is a list with all the items shown in this video:

  • Bourns 10K 10 Turn Potentiometer
  • Plastic Rotary Knob 6mm Shaft 10pcs
  • 16mm Potentiometer Knob Black With 6mm Shaft
  • 3P4T 3 Pole 4 Position Rotary Selection Switch
  • On/Off Momentary Push Switches
  • PBS-11A Locking 2 Pin On/Off Switch
  • KSD9700 Slim Bimetal Temperature Switch
  • KSD301 Bimetal Temperature Switch
  • 2mm Binding Post Plug Connectors
  • M5 Banana Jack 4mm Socket
  • 3.5mm Slim Metallic Stereo Jack 4 Pole
  • JST XH 2.5mm Connector With Wire Set
  • 1007 Hook Up Wire 24AWG

Links to all of these products are in the video description visible on youtube.