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Electronics basics

Basics

General

A Guide to Semiconductors Rate this link
How things work - physical explanations how common things work Rate this link
SI Units Rate this link
Techlearner - Basics of electronics and computers, links to industry, latest news on technology. Rate this link
The Vacuum Tube Era (1905 - 1948) - electronics history document Rate this link
Twisted Pair - a site dedicated to those in pursuit of an understanding of Electronics Rate this link
Unit Conversion Factors Rate this link
Using a multimeter - A meter is a measuring instrument. An ammeter measures current, a voltmeter measures the potential difference (voltage) between two points, and an ohmmeter measures resistance. A multimeter combines these functions, and possibly some additional ones as well, into a single instrument. Rate this link
Using the Multimeter to Measure Voltage and Resistance - Multimeters are commonly used to measure voltage and resistance between two points. Current is rarely measured because you must alter the circuit to measure the current. Rate this link Electronic Printed Circuit Board Design
Introduction
Small Run Pcb Fab - Uk
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Etchant Success! (Pages 1 2 )
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This information is presented as guidelines to the preliminary design and development stages of electronic circuits for the purpose of preventing potential electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems.?The tips are representative of good printed circuit board (PCB) design practices and are recommended as a checklist for evaluating and selecting EMI/EMC software modeling tools.?The EMI simulation of circuit delighted to be here today at the launch of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design Scheme. I believe that this project will continue to develop the United Kingdom as a leading global player, in this important high value added area.

As the Government recognised in the 2001 White Paper, "Opportunity for all in a world of change", the development and maintenance of a healthy skills base is vital for ongoing economic success and productivity in the UK. This is especially so in the all important enabling technologies that make the UK a leading Knowledge Economy: IT, Communications and electronics. This is why my Department, in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills, supports a major strategy to maintain and improve the supply of skilled labour for these vital industries.

Our strategy has three key planks:

Maintaining the skills pipeline, so there is a plentiful pool of skilled labour from which business can recruit;

Encouraging diversity in employment in IT, communications and electronics industries - we really must work hard to tackle the under-representation of women in the industry;

Developing new learning content and learning approaches that directly address the needs of business;

This PCB project is part of that third objective, to ensure that industry gets the people it needs, through a ground breaking partnership between industry, the Education system and government.

Printed Circuit Boards are found in most electronic products, virtually all electronic equipment contains one or more. The UK is particularly strong in electronics design. It has the EU's largest independent industry for silicon chip design, with;

40% of all the independent design houses in Europe and;

more than 5,000 PCB Designers.

But if Britain is to continue this work then the number of PCB Designers needs to be maintained and opportunities opened for those currently in the profession to refresh their skills.

PCB Design is one of the highest value-added activities in the production process. Design underpins many of the technical advances in chip speed and new product design and current practitioners need to constantly refresh and update their skills. But we need more than that. We need :

In excess of 500 additional PCB Designers to cope with the growth predicted over the next four years. This is a substantial challenge for various reasons.

First, the traditional methods of entry to this profession through mechanical apprenticeships is now inappropriate for the skills required.

Second, the age profile of existing practitioners is such that we have a real task to encourage and train new entrants just to meet the shortfall that will arise through retirements.

The project will therefore establish PCB design centres in six academic institutions throughout the UK;

Napier University, Edinburgh

University of Glamorgan, South Wales

Castlereagh College, Belfast

Bolton Institute, Bolton, Lancashire

University of East London

Newbury College, Newbury, Berkshire

These institutions will be charged with:

producing, by 2006, up to 500 additional PCB Designers and

retraining over 200 existing practitioners

Improving the status of PCB Designers by creating a more recognisable career path, with three levels of expertise :

Technician, at HNC level

Engineer, at degree level

Architect, through peer review

boards requires the evaluation of many details such as clock frequencies, switching rates, rise/fall times, signal harmonics, data transfer rates, impedances, trace loading and consideration of the types and values of the various circuit components.?The physical layout of the PC board and its associated metallic components are important considerations.?Special attention should be given to the placement and characteristics of signal source components, vias, traces, pads, board stack-up, shielded enclosures, connectors and cables.?/span> For example, as signal frequencies and clock/switching rates increase, PC board trace characteristics can become similar to those of transmission lines and radiators.牋 A PC board trace or component can become an efficient antenna at a length as small as one twentieth of a wavelength.?

EMI/EMC problems may be approached at the component, PC board or enclosure levels.?However, it is much more efficient to deal with these problems as close to the source or susceptible victim as possible.?Therefore, it is important to consider these tips as guidelines for PCB design and layout so that problems may be identified and prevented prior to actual fabrication of the equipment.

General

(1) EMI controls should be applied at the circuit and box levels prior to addressing EMI at the interconnected and system levels.

(2) Digital circuits are more likely to be the source of emissions due to the handling of periodic waveforms and the fast clock/switching rates.?Analog circuits are more likely to be the susceptible victims due to higher gain functions.

(3) The source or susceptible victim of most EMI problems is typically an electronic component.? Although active components are usually the sources of EMI, passive components often contribute to it, depending on the signal frequencies and component's characteristics. ?For example, an inductor can become predominantly capacitive due to the high frequency parasitic coupling between windings.?A capacitor can develop parasitic series inductance due to its internal inductance and external lead inductance at high fundamental and harmonic frequencies.?

(4) EMI problems involving an active component can be the result of the device's output transferring the emissions or its input providing the path for susceptibility.牋 However, at high frequencies the active component may become a direct radiator or receptor of EMI.?Also, the component抯 power and ground connections can provide paths for both emissions and susceptibility.

Acronyms

Abbreviations used in Electronics Rate this link
Electronics Dictionary Rate this link
Lexicon of Semiconductor Terms - Intersil has assembled this Lexicon of Semiconductor Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms to improve understanding of the exciting world of semiconductors. Rate this link
Metric Prefix in Electronics Rate this link
What does k, M, m, n and p mean in component markings ? Rate this link Practical Electronics - Electrical/Mechanical Engineering and Design -> PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Design

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PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Design
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Important Topics
Pinned: PCB - Where do you get them? (Pages 1 2 3 )
Ohmz 52 6,943 August 30, 2008
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Forum Topics
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Pcb Gerber
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High Voltage On The Pcb
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electro

What's in a dB? Rate this link

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