Tech Info, Learn Things and Other Fun Stuff

RPi 3, Pi-SPi-RS485 and Gas Sensors

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 08, 2016

The brand new Pi-SPi-RS485 Interface has just arrived and I had to take it for a spin with some of our products. Here is a pic of my test setup: F...

Posted in Raspberry Pi, RS485, Serial Converter

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Battery Circuits For Wireless Applications

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 08, 2016

Wireless transmitters, like our environment monitor, use a battery management circuit to provide clean 3.3V power to the processor and wireless rad...

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Water Leak Circuits and Bad Hot Water Tanks

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 03, 2016

It finally happened to me - my hot water tank blew. As luck would have it, I actually had one of our water leak detection products installed and I ...

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Designing Multi-Sensor Transmitters

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 01, 2016

The VP-TX-DCIM is a new multi-sensor platform designed around the PIC18LF series microprocessor and the MCP3208 A/D converter. The "must have" desi...

Posted in RS485

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Thermistors, PICs, Steinhart-Hart and Wireless Applications

by Vytas Sinkevicius October 24, 2016

One of the most basic sensors in many wireless applications is a temperature sensor. The thermistor is widely used for its low cost, it's easy to u...

Posted in Raspberry Pi, Zigbee

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RPi 3, Analog 4-20mA, Relay, and Character Display Interfaces

by Vytas Sinkevicius October 18, 2016

The most commonly used interfaces in commercial and industrial applications require some form of analog input (sensors) and relay outputs for contr...

Posted in Raspberry Pi, RS485

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VP-EC-8AI Designing Analog Input Modules

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 19, 2015

Analog inputs can be mV, Volts, mili-Amps, Amps, AC, DC, or complex wave forms. Typical process controls applications take these measurements from ...

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Serial Converter Design with the FTDI FT232RL for Raspberry Pi, Zigbee, RS485, RS232 and TTL

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 16, 2015

Many applications require converting one serial hardware protocol to another such as USB to Zigbee, Rspberry Pi Uart to RS485, RS232 tot TTL levels...

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VP-EC-RDU LCD Display

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 07, 2015

The VP-EC-RDU Remote Display is the perfect addition to any controls system or project that uses the MODBUS RTU protocol and RS485. The easy to rea...

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VP-EC-8KO Designing Relay Output Modules

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 07, 2015

The design criteria for a relay module has to have real world applications: heavy duty relay contacts of at least 10 A Ac at 120 VAC, transient pro...

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VP-PSDC-05-033 Project Power Supply

by Vytas Sinkevicius November 06, 2015

Every embedded project needs to have power, usually 5 VDC and/or 3.3VDC. A switcher power supply provides high efficiency (= low heat) and a linear...

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Serial Converter Tips for the Raspberry Pi

by Vytas Sinkevicius January 22, 2015

The Pi has a uart that is accessible on the expansion port, which we use for our wireless zigbee shield. Not too long ago I was working on a projec...

Posted in Raspberry Pi, RS232, RS485, Serial Converter, TTL, USB, Zigbee

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