Custom DIY LCR SMD fixture for low-Z components

Many folks have bench type LCR meters available and employ the usual general purpose Kelvin type clips or direct connect fixtures for most measurements. When encountering SMD components these measurement tools/methods can become difficult and…

5 decade antilogarithmic PWM current source

The pages of Design Ideas (DIs) have recently been awash in a veritable cascade of designs for variable frequency oscillators with frequency ranges tunable over multiple decades: Self-oscillating sawtooth generator spans 5 decades of frequencies 555…

Fuel cell sensors: From breath to benchmark

Fuel cell sensors are electrochemical devices designed for precise measurement. In measurement applications, they have become the gold standard for breath alcohol concentration detection, valued for their ethanol specificity, stability, and…

Newer, shinier DMM RTDs—part 1

This two-part Design Idea (DI) follows on from a couple of previous articles relating to 100-Ω platinum resistance temperature detectors (Pt100 RTDs). The first of those (which we’ll call Ref 1) used a simple current-driven bridge to give…

TP-Link’s Kasa EP10: If at first it doesn’t connect, buy, buy again

How visibly different (if at all) inside are two generations of smart plugs, and is the more recent device’s comparative connectivity issue due to hardware, software, or a combination of the two? Back in early December, EDN published my initial…

Analog IC longevity is an underappreciated reality

I recently saw an announcement from a major IC vendor, posted in September 2025, letting users know that “STMicroelectronics sets 20-year availability for popular automotive microcontrollers.” The news is that ST was committed to maintaining…

Risk assessment in the workplace

Risks come in more than one form. There are risks that arise from science and technology, and there are risks that arise from human motivations, which are not always of an obvious sort. This is about the latter. I had a client company that was…

Last-level cache has become a critical SoC design element

As AI workloads extend across nearly every technology sector, systems must move more data, use memory more efficiently, and respond more predictably than traditional design methodologies allow. These pressures are exposing limitations in conventional…

Apple’s spring 2026 soirée: The rest of the story

With smartphone and tablet news already discussed, what else did Apple unveil this week? Read on for all the goodies and their details. As I teased at the end of my prior piece, computers and displays were also on the plate for Apple’s “big…

MCU brings USB-C power to embedded devices

Infineon’s EZ-PD PMG1-B2 MCU integrates a single-port USB Type-C PD controller with a 55-V buck-boost controller for charging 2- to 12-cell Li-ion battery packs. Compliant with the latest USB Type-C and PD specifications, the device accepts…

Passive limiter shields electronics from RF threats

Teledyne Microwave UK’s B3LT98026 is a passive wideband limiter designed to protect sensitive receiver front ends in defense and military communication systems. It operates from 0.1 GHz to 20 GHz and withstands up to 10 W peak input power…

Nordic debuts multiple cellular IoT products

Nordic Semiconductor expands its ultra-low-power cellular IoT portfolio with Cat 1 bis, satellite NTN, and advanced LTE-M/NB-IoT with edge AI. Leveraging the proven nRF91 series, the nRF92 and nRF93 deliver a scalable, secure platform for global…