Many small microcontrollers require so little power that often they can draw what they need through their loads. This can simplify a system, reduce its cost, increase its reliability, and provide ...

Arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs computation. Registers needed for the basic operation of the CPU, such as the program counter (PC), stack pointer (SP), and status register (SR). Further ...

Editor’s note: I (Steve Taranovich) was a pure analog engineer with Burr-Brown Corp. until the year 2000 when Texas Instruments integrated Burr-Brown into its organization. At that point, I knew that ...

This design, based on a Maxim MAX220 RS-232 driver/receiver IC, allows you to increase the number of USARTs (universal synchronous, asynchronous receiver/transmitters) available on a microcontroller.

[manuka], aka [Stan Swan] is a teacher in New Zealand who enjoys enlightening his students on the wonders of electrical circuits. He primarily uses “snap connector” circuit kits, sold under the ...

It’s generally pretty easy to spot a microcontroller on a PCB. There are clues aplenty: the more-or-less central location, the nearby crystal oscillator, the maze of supporting passives, and perhaps ...