I’ve had to make the hard decision as to what type of capacitors to use in a power supply I’ve been designing.  I need a 5.0v, 3.3v, 1.9v and 1.2v rails powered by a 12v adaptor.  The 5.0v and 3.3v rails use a DC/DC switching regulator while the 1.9v and 1.2v use a LDO regulator feed from the 3.3v rail.   Both require bypass/filtering capacitors and I’ve traditionally used 10uF 16V 20% Tantalums — for some reason the “Case B” end up being cheaper than the 2010 sized equivalent of the X7R MLCC (ceramic).

I understand the pro’s and con’s of each:

Ceramic benefits over Tantalum

• non-polarized
• smaller sizes
• don’t explode

Tantalum benefits over Ceramic

• cheaper (at least for the sizes I’m finding)
• look nicer on boards
• fixed capacitance, does not changes with voltage

I’ve read lots of white papers and there seems to be no clear answer to which capacitor is better.   I’d love to here what you think.  Please post your experiences/preferences in the comments.…

The hardware is solid and well made and ships with everything you need — a nice hard case, USB cable and color coded wiring harness with micro-hook probes.  The best part, however, is the software — I use a MacBook Pro (also running WindowsXP via VMWare)  with 16gb ram and it’s always better to run native apps as much as possible but most companies don’t provide native apps for OSX, hence VMWare.  Saleae actually offers ports of their software that runs on all major platforms (Windows, OSX, Linux).  The software offers almost endless sample captures but the most useful feature is the protocol analyzer.  It currently supports I2C, Async Serial, SPI, 1-Wire, CAN, I2S, PCM, UNI/O, Manchester, and MP Mode — making it easier to see the decoded results along with the waveform   So far I have used I2C, SPI, I2S/PCM and Async Serial with it working flawlessly.

Highly recommended!

- Saleae Logic 16  [ Buy Now @AMAZON  ]

 …

I currently have a Weller WES51 Soldering Station that I’ve owned for about 10 years.  While it have served me well all these years — I feel like the thermal recovery time can be a lot better.   Hand soldering prototype boards with many different types of footprints is the latest challenge my WES51 is having a harder time with.   It feels like it cannot keep up and I have to pause a few seconds while the temp recovers — I believe this is caused by the LEAD FREE solder I’m using that requires higher temp than the old LEAD based 60/40.

So I’m asking the readers of Mavromatic for their recommendations of “Best Soldering Iron”.   I’m leaning towards the JBC CD-1BC (or the 2012 JBC-CD-1BB) — what do you think?

…

Progress! These last few weeks have been very productive; finalized the boards and received the custom stainless steel name badges — each one is uniquely struck with a number. As we will be initially only producing 100 units, numbers 1-100 have been made. Soon you will be able to reserve your unit — email preorderair@myrocontrol.com and you will be notified when the site launches.

What is myro:air? An audiophile grade AirPlay streamer featuring the highly regarded Wolfson WM8741 DAC as well as 2-way control of the AirPlay device via RS232 & Russound RNET interfaces, this is a custom integrators dream come true. Two long years in the making and we’re almost ready!

What’s next? I will be getting sample production boards in a couple weeks.…

I’ve been meaning to organize my garage and turn a section into a place where I can work on my Myro Control stuff. I have been researching and looking at all sorts of “Garage Systems” and everything I have seen is either VERY expensive or VERY cheaply made using flimsy metal or thin wood/melamine.

My dream garage would be filled with Lista Cabinets (as seen on American Chopper) as they offer both of my requirements: American Made and modular cabinets on casters. The only drawback being cost.

Sears Craftsmen’s popped into my mind — thinking everything Craftsmen’s would be American made, right? Uh, nope. Then right next to the Craftsmen benches was this product called Gladiator Garageworks by Whirlpool Corporation. Modular cabinets on casters, check. Made in the U.S.A.? YES! Apparently all their “premium” welded case products are made in the U.S.A. That includes the benches and the gearbox. The ones you need to assemble are not so keep that in mind.

The only design element I’m not too big on is the “tread” or “diamond plate” texture on the doors. I would have liked a smooth finish or options for different colors (silver, red, black, blue, etc) like the Lista Cabinets offer. Not a huge deal and the pattern is growing on me.

Overall, I dig them! The price, the quality and the fact they are Made in the U.S.A. — I couldn’t be happier.

Off to finish organizing the garage!

- Gladiator Garage Works…

Rejoice! Myro:Air is progressing. The circuit design and custom MCU firmware code is almost final with only the case design really left to hash out. I’m going for the old vintage look and each unit will have a stainless steel plate which is made here in the U.S.A. — like the old Bell & Howell projectors. The case features both metal and solid walnut wood side pieces and is something that you will want to leave on display.

The plan is to release and sell a small number initially. These will be handmade in the U.S.A. and sold exclusively direct to Myro Control customers. Myro:Air will offer audiophile playback via the Wolfson WM8741 DAC as well as 2-way metadata and transport control to whole house audio systems like Russound and Crestron.

More details to follow — and for those that have requested to be on our pre-order mailing list (preorderAIR@myrocontrol.com) we haven’t forgotten about you!…

It’s that time of year and here are my latest technology gadget gift ideas for 2012 exclusively at ESPN.com.…

If you have been wondering why the lack of posts here at Mavromatic, it’s because I have been heads down working on a new product for Myro Control.  It’s now to the point that I can give you all a sneak peak of Myro:Air!

This will be the first certified Apple AirPlay hardware device that features audiophile sound quality using the highly respected WM8741 DAC by Wolfson Microelectronics.     Myro:Air will also be a home integrators dream come true — yup — it will feature RS232 and “Myro:Link” which will provide full metadata and transport control (Play/Pause/Next/Previous) of the AirPlay stream.   This means Crestron, Control4, Russound and any other system that can interface via RS232 or Russound RNET will be able to control and receive metadata from the AirPlay stream.

Myro:Air will also provide a USB port that will allow iOS device charging and control/playback as well.  So you can either plug in your iPad/iPhone/iPod touch or any iPod and it will not only charge the device but will also stream digital audio processed through the quality DAC and provide metadata and transport control via the connected control system.

I’m very proud and excited about this new product and can’t wait to get it to market.   Email preorderAIR@myrocontrol.com if you’d like to get on the early pre-order list.  The first run will be VERY limited so get on the waiting list now!…

The Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headphones is a great gift for the person that wants high-end sound in the most compact form factor possible.  As with all Bowers & Wilkins products, the build quality is as superb as the sound quality.   What really sets these in-ear headphones apart from the rest is the loop part — that fits against the cartilage of the ear giving it a secure fit.   While these are not active noise-canceling, the design amazingly blocks out noise as if they are.  The Bowers & Wilkins C5′s cost $180.

AMAZON.com - Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-ear noise-isolating headphones

For even more gift ideas be sure to check out my picks over at ESPN.com!…

The Zoom H2n is the perfect gift for a musician, videographer, student or anyone that like to record high-quality audio.  This is the latest revision of the original H2 and offers some major improvements over the original — specifically the LED display.  The old version had a LCD display which was really hard to see.  There are five “studio-quality” microphones in the H2n and even a built-in speaker.   All this for only $199 (currently $179 @ Amazon)!

AMAZON.COM - Zoom H2n Handy Recorder

For even more gift ideas be sure to check out my picks over at ESPN.com!…