Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 6: Validation and conclusion

This is a follow-up post to my previous project page Part 5 (PC software). This is the last post concerning this project. I have done some tests with the final hardware and software. Furthermore I have written a small conclusion to this project. Transient response An interesting test is the transient response on a sudden… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 6: Validation and conclusion

Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 5: PC software

This is a follow-up post to my previous project page Part 4 (Firmware). One way to interface with the active load device is to use a terminal program and query the state of the device or send commands to it manually. But this is of course very cumbersome and not very user-friendly. That’s why I… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 5: PC software

Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 4: Firmware

This is a follow-up post to my previous project page Part 3 (Schematic, layout and pictures). At this point the hardware development is finished and fortunately nothing blew up as I had plugged in a voltage source for the first time. 😉 But of course there is no functionality yet. The load sinks (nearly) no… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 4: Firmware

Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 3: Schematic, layout and pictures

This is a follow-up post to my previous project page Part 2 (Hardware design details). In this post I briefly present the full schematic and PCB layout of this project. As a proof that I actually built this device, there are also some pictures included at the end of the post. 😉 Full schematic and… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 3: Schematic, layout and pictures

Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 2: Hardware design details

This is a follow-up post to my previous project page Part 1 (Requirements). In the last part I laid out the requirements and specifications of my active load without going too much into detail. This is about to change while I write about the different implementation details. The main task of the active load is… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 2: Hardware design details

Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 1: Requirements

This time I would like to write about a project of mine: A (simple) active load with support from a microcontroller. There are times when you need a dummy load to test and validate some equipment or part of a schematic, e.g. a power supply. In the past I just used some power resistors as… Continue reading Project: Active load with microcontroller – Part 1: Requirements