DIY – Page 3 – VoltLog

Water Valve Servo Automation (part 1) | Voltlog #412

Welcome to a new video, this will be part 1 from what I expect to be a 2 or 3 part series where I show you how I designed and manufactured an automation for controlling the main water supply valve in my apartment. The first part will be related to the mechanical construction while the second part will likely be related to the electronics needed for control.

So first of all the reason why you might want to automate this is for protection in case of failure, you can detect the water leaks using other sensors and close the main valve to prevent extensive water damage. You might also want to conveniently turn it off remotely if you go on vacation for extended periods of time, stuff like that.

Now you might say there are ready made solenoid valves that run on various voltages and you can use one of those to replace an existing analog valve and at that stage you would just need a relay to turn power on or off to that valve. And that is certainly a good option for those that are building a new installation, you can certainly plan for that and install one of those solenoid valves but in my case, I would need to shut-off the building main water supply and get a plumber to install that valve which I would like to avoid. I am also aware of servo type accessories that clamp over existing valves but seem to be designed for the lever type valves so they wouldn’t work for the style of valve that I have installed.

So the first step for me was to get a spare valve, needed it to be the exact same model, luckily I could find an identical one, it’s from this company Herz Austria so now I could take measurements of this and recreate a 3D model in Fusion 360. I could not find a 3D model for this specific model from the manufacturer so I had to recreate this but it didn’t take too long because I was only interested in the rough outside dimensions and not the intricate details on the inside.

USB Type-C Power Delivery The Easy Way! | Voltlog #411

You would think that implementing USB Type-C Power Delivery protocol on your upstream facing port is a difficult task and if I would ask you if you can also support Qualcomm quick charge on top of that, the issue is even more complicated and you would probably be right to think so if you wanted to implement all of this by yourself but luckily you don’t have to, because there are dedicated chips that can do all of this and in this video I’m gonna show you how to use them.

So recently I started working on a project which needs USB Type-C Power Delivery input for negotiating 5 and 12V, it would be nice to also support Quick Charge, I basically need the capability to power my board from a standard phone charger with either Power Delivery or Quick Charge support. This will be an open source project, but I’ll talk about it in a future video after I build the first prototype.

Now to understand more about USB Type-C and the different power roles like Downstream Facing Port, Upstream Facing Port or Dual Role Port I suggest you check out this neat application note from TexasInstruments which is called “a primer on USB Type-C and Power Delivery” I will put a link to this in the description below and if all of this is new to you, it will help you understand how things are organized under USB Type-C.

What I need is the ability to sink up to 3A with 5V or 12V selectable voltage levels into my board, so that fits under an Upstream Facing Port definition and I wasn’t going to start implementing the power delivery negotiation protocol, it’s just not worth the effort when there are chips, specifically designed to do that. After a bit of research I have identified a company named Legendary Technologies from Shenzhen, they seem to specialize in building these chips that provide USB Type-C negotiation for various roles. I have contacted them and I’ve been in touch with one of their applications engineers, they’ve been very supportive and have provided me with samples and support for implementing their chip which is very nice. I appreciate that kind of support and it helped me decide to use their chip in my design.

Expand your GPIO! PCF8574 & MCP23008 | Voltlog #409

Welcome to another Voltlog, in this video we’re going to take a look at an easy way of adding more GPIOs to your project because if you’ve been tinkering with electronics at some point sooner or later you’re going to need more GPIOS than what’s available from your microcontroller.

Sometimes manufacturers do offer a higher pin count package with more GPIOs with approximately the same CPU inside but in the case of an ESP32 module for example, that’s all you get and if you need more than you are out of luck as far as options from the manufacturer. And even if the manufacturer does offer a higher pin count option, those are usually more expensive and given the current chip shortage that we’re going through, they might not be available for purchase.

I had such a need recently for a design of mine so I decided to do this video to show you an option that you can use for expanding the GPIO capability of your circuit. In my case it was the ESP32 thermostat valve controller circuit, which makes use of pretty much all of the available GPIO so if I wanted to add some extra output channels I have no more available GPIO.

Luckily this problem is not new, it has been around since the introduction of digital processors so there is a very convenient solution to our problem in the form of GPIO expanders. They can come in many shapes and sizes but the key feature is that they usually take a serial input which means a low pin count for the input and they provide a number of different outputs depending on the package. So here is for example the datasheet for a very popular GPIO expander chip, this is the PCF8574, the datasheet is from NXP but this is manufactured by different companies and this is a big plus because there is a higher chance of finding these in stock.

Best Affordable USB Analyzer QC/PD AVHzY CT-3 Shizuku | Voltlog #407

Welcome to a new Voltlog, In this video I’m gonna show you what I think it’s the best affordable USB Meter you can get right now in terms of functionality and build quality. The functionality built into this usb meter goes beyond your imagination and it’s hard to even remember all of the different functions this meter will support and the PC app they offer has to be one of the best apps I’ve seen from a Chinese company. It doesn’t mean it’s perfect, might still have a few bugs but definitely the best choice you can make right now.

The meter is branded AVHzY, the model number is CT-3 and full disclosure here, they offered this unit for free for the purpose of this review but they don’t pay me and I have full control over this review. The meter comes in a hard shell case so it’s well protected during shipping and to my surprise I got this in just under 2 weeks while the usual transit times for my packages are in the 3-4 weeks. Inside you get this english quick start guide, there was also a screen protector film which I already installed, it went in there perfectly and I really appreciate having that included because it was the perfect size.

This is the typical USB meter sandwich construction with different layers, this one seems to be using a single PCB in the middle with a couple of metal sheets on the outer layers which makes it feel premium and more rugged than simple plastic. We have the typical USB Type-A connectors for input and output , USB Type C input and output and also a micro USB for PC connection. The LCD is 128*160 pixels at just 1.77” which is not a lot, you can definitely see those pixels but for a small USB Meter I can’t complain, it’s still readable.

Global Chip Shortage Solution Or Maybe Not? | Voltlog #406

Welcome to a new Voltlog, In this video I’m gonna show you one potential solution if your design uses a part that you can’t source anymore due to the global chip shortage but also the pitfalls of using this method in the case of a dc-dc converter. Please keep in mind that actual price per unit or stock availability will vary between the point I started working on this video which is a couple of months ago, the actual time when I publish it or the time that you are watching it.

Let me start with providing you a bit of context here, this is the CanLite, an ESP32 based design that I sell on my Tindie store. It’s a CAN development board, it’s got a couple of high side switches, a CAN interface, a powerful processor with Wifi Capability and an automotive rated DC_DC converter to allow the user to power this from a car 12V system.

The DC-DC converter chip that I’m using is the Texas Instruments LMR14006 and I’ve been pretty happy with using dc-dc controllers from TI over the years because they generally perform really well and they have good documentation and design resources available.

Now as you all know the chip shortage has not been kind to us and as a result I can’t find this chip anymore. If we go to Octopart which is like a search engine for electronic components, we see there is no stock with any of the major distributors for the particular part number that I was using LMR14006XDDCR. And don’t get your hopes up with Winsource or Cytek, these guys just list stock for stuff that they don’t have and even if they have it, it’s not worth going through them unless you have a high volume.

VoltLink revC CP2102N USB Serial Bridge & ESP32 Programmer | Voltlog #405

Welcome to a new Voltlog, a rather short video for today. I’m gonna be showing you the latest revision of the VoltLink USB To Serial Adapter. This is revision C and while this revision doesn’t necessarily bring any new functionality to the VoltLink it does optimize the design for manufacturing a little more which makes it easier for me to build these units.

Before I go into more details let me just quickly mention that if you would like to order one of these, they are available on Tindie and there will be links in the video description to the product page.

So like I mentioned, no new functionality added in revC, but that’s okay because I’m pretty happy with the functionality we have so far, I mean there is USB Type-C which means you no longer need to resort to the older micro usb cables, you got over current protection at 500mA, ESD protection.

We still have a high quality, high speed, usb to serial converter in the form of the CP2102N which enables baud rates up to 3M baud and this significantly improves the time you need to flash your board and you will quickly get used to this higher speed so much that when you switch to some other converter or board that only supports lower baud rate you will feel how slow that is.

We still have the 500mA rated low dropout regulator which provides 3.3V to the target board and 500mA is enough to cover the majority of boards that you will be programming. For example all of the ESP32 based boards that I design can be powered by the VoltLink while flashing firmware with no issues. Additionally I showed in a recent video that with a custom optional cable that you can order with the VoltLink you can safely flash Shelly relays without having them connected to mains voltage.

How To Flash Shelly Relays With Tasmota Or ESPHome | Voltlog #404

Welcome to a new Voltlog, in this video I’m going to show how to flash your Shelly relay with Tasmota or ESPHome, the easy way, using the VoltLink USB to serial converter. What is a Shelly relay you might ask? Well, if you are into home automation, a shelly relay is a wifi connected smart relay, built into a very compact form factor in order to fit inside electrical junction boxes like behind wall switches or wall sockets.

Is A Genuine JBC Station Better Than A Clone? | Voltlog 401

If you are a subscriber of the channel you’ve seen me review this Best soldering station in Voltlog #340 This is a clone of a JBC station and I’ve been happily using this station for the past year as my daily driver. But is this very different in terms of performance or build quality from a genuine JBC station? In this video we’re going to answer that question because thanks to welectron.com I was able to acquire this JBC station for a 50% discount so if you are looking to get yourself a new soldering station please check them out, they have a pretty good offer, a link will be in the description below.

So as you can see these two have a fairly similar size & shape but upon comparing their weight I discovered the JBC original is 2.5KG while the Best station is 3KG. The soldering hand piece which is model T245A is fairly similar for both units if not identical, you don’t get the soft foam padding for the BEST but otherwise very much the same plastic, same silicone wire, same length. However as you may know, the handle piece from my BEST station failed at some point soon after I got it and I did an autopsy in Voltlog #387.

I’ve replaced the failed handle with a genuine JBC T245 which I got for like 20EUR from ebay as new old stock. So generally speaking while the two handle pieces are almost identical, you can expect lower quality control on something like the BEST and you might be unlucky enough to get a bad handle that will fail at some point like mine did. There is ofcourse a bunch of happy users who didn’t have this issue but the bottom-line is, there is no guarantee on the quality control.

Use Templates In Kicad V6 To Save Time | Voltlog 400

Welcome to a new Voltlog, yes it’s number 400, it’s been a great journey so far, thank you for being a subscriber and for all of the support that I have received so far. If you enjoy these videos please consider hitting the like button as that is a great feedback for me.

Now back to the topic of this video, I’m gonna show you how to create project templates in Kicad V6. I’ve noticed there isn’t much info available on Youtube on this topic and yet I find this a very useful feature.

You might ask yourself what project templates are and whether you need them or not. Well the answer depends, but if you work on a lot of different projects that share a common starting point, like say for example how I’m creating multiple internet of things boards and modules that all have some parts in common like the ESP32 processor, the VoltLink connector for programming the boards as well as a few other bits and pieces like decoupling capacitors, pull-up resistors, mounting holes, fiducials, board config, schematic config and the list can go on and on depending on the particular setup that you are running and the projects that you are building.

Kicad V6 First Impressions | Voltlog 399

Welcome to a new Voltlog and I’m gonna start with a question: why should you care about Kicad and what it’s most recent version is like? Well, there is a very simple reason, if you are a subscriber of the channel I have to assume you are a supporter of open-source software and hardware and Kicad is probably the world’s best open-source printer circuit board CAD program.

I have been using Kicad for the past 2 years and it’s been a great journey and if there is one thing I would ask is that if you have been using Kicad and you are getting good use out of it, please consider sending donation by going to kicad.org and hitting the Donate button. This will help fund the small team behind Kicad to continue releasing new and improved versions of Kicad.

So now back to the subject of the video, I’ve been using Kicad version 5 in it’s different releases for a while and I’ve gotten used to how things are done in Kicad but just before Christmas they released version 6 which brings a bunch of improvements. Depending on your workflow you might experience these improvements directly or not, hence why I’m not covering the whole list of upgrades and improvements in this video, just stuff that I have noticed while using the new Kicad V6.

I’m gonna start with probably the biggest change in Kicad V6, which is in the file format, that is definitely an under the hood change and one that not many people would care about, including myself but there could be great benefits coming up from this change, because the new file format should allow for easier handling of Kicad files by plugins and external tools. There is also a minor downside to this, once you convert a project and save it in the Kicad V6 format you can’t use it with V5 anymore but I don’t see why you would want to go back.