We have already looked briefly at Earth ground (if any), chassis ground, and commons (often misnamed as “grounds”). These do not exist as unrelated connections in a system. The issues related to connecting commons and ground is the subject of countless articles, academic papers, vendor application notes, anecdotes, and even books. There are many rules […]
Industry Experts
What are the different “grounds” in electronic design?
The term “ground” is one of the most frequently used words in electronics, and it’s also one of its most-often misused and misunderstood terms. Fortunately, in many cases of misuse, the engineers using it know what it actually being referred to, and are able to translate it internally and so avoid negative consequences. However, there […]
Working with op amps: tying down floating pins
Operational amplifiers are used in many configurations and with many variations on specifications, depending upon the application. However, an IC package of operational amplifiers will often come with several in a package (e.g., a “quad pack” will have four op amps). If you have leftover, unused op amps on the same chip, the unused ones […]
Electrostatic discharge and analog circuits: Preventing the undetectable disaster
Analog circuits are exposed to outside influences most often through input channels by way of op amps acting as filters, buffers, or amplifiers. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) results from the direct contact of two things that are at different voltage potential levels and can also be defined as a fast, high current transfer. Analog circuit exposure […]
What is Proportional (PID) Control and why is it used? (Part 1)
Closed-loop control is the foundation of our modern automated world. In simplest terms, this approach applies negative feedback to a system to achieve a desired result. Consider the control of temperature, the most widely measured and controlled real-world physical parameter. If the measured value of this process variable is above the desired setpoint value, we […]
RTD vs. thermocouple vs. thermistor in temperature sensors
Temperature doesn’t change very quickly, and temperature sensors match that characteristic. Environmental temperature changes are generally slow, on the order of less than 0.1 sec/°C. Typical temperature sensors used in circuits are resistance temperature devices (RTDs), thermocouples, thermistors or integrated silicon sensors. Trade-offs amongst these devices include cost, cost to operate, response time, noise immunity, […]
What is common-impedance coupling?
Common-impedance coupling occurs when two or more circuits share a common ground and is the result of a shared impedance in a shared ground path. The best way to explain it is by way of a common example, such as when the lights dim when an air conditioner is turned on; they probably share the […]
A monopulse tracking system for satellite tracking
by Anil Pandey A tracking system in earth station antenna tracks the motion of the satellite. Especially in the case of Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites, that appears for the small time window to earth station antenna, it’s necessary to communicate with satellite effectively in that short duration of time and receive or download all necessary data, […]
Should I use an op amp as a comparator?
Perhaps you have a quad pack of op amps, are using only three, and need a single comparator. It might be tempting to use the remaining op amp as a comparator, after all, both have high gain, low offset, and high common-mode rejection. But it’s easier said than done, because a comparator and an op […]
Why do industrial sensors measure in 4-20mA to programmable logic controllers?
A large number of sensors that take in and translate data from the real world into electrical signals are analog sensors, and if listed as digital sensors, it’s because they have integrated analog-to-digital converters. Traditionally, wired sensors have altered an electrical current in response to environmental conditions. Sensors range from familiar examples like photodiodes and […]