Learning circuit design the fun way Welcome to the world of electronics! Getting started in electronics is not as difficult as you may think. Using this book, you will explore and learn the most important electrical and electronics engineering concepts in a fun way by doing various experiments and by simulating circuits. It will teach you electronics practically without getting into complex technical jargon and long calculations. As a result, you will be creating your own projects soon. No prior knowledge of electronics is required, only some basic algebra is used in a few simple calculations. Many tested and working projects and simulations are presented to familiarise yourself with the construction of electronic circuits. Circuit simulation is introduced at an early stage to enable you to experiment with circuits easily without breaking anything. You will learn: The concepts of voltage, current, and power AC and DC Basic lamp circuits with switches Passive components: resistors, capacitors & inductors RC & RCL circuits Electromagnetism Loudspeakers, relays, buzzers, and transformers Active components: diodes & LEDs, bipolar transistors & MOSFETs Transistor-based switching circuits Optocoupler circuits Astable & monostable multivibrators Using the 555 timer IC The operational amplifier Digital logic Advanced examples: amplifiers, oscillators, filters, and sensors Test and measurement tools Microcontrollers: Arduino UNO, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, and Raspberry Pi Reading datasheets and best practices for selecting components EMC & EMI and norms & regulations

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From Simple Ciphers to Secure Systems Understanding how to apply cryptography on modern microcontrollers is essential for building secure, reliable, and trustworthy systems. This book explains cryptography in the context of embedded hardware, from classical ciphers that illustrate core principles to modern techniques such as AES for practical high-security applications. By combining mathematical theory with real-world microcontroller implementations, readers learn not only how cryptography works, but also how to implement it effectively on systems with limited processing power and memory. The book is intended for students starting out in cryptography, hobbyists securing personal projects, and engineers looking for a structured guide to embedded security. The book covers these key topics in applied cryptography: Classical ciphers on Arduino Uno and Raspberry Pi Pico, with full programs: Spartan Scytale, Hebrew Atbash, Caesar, ROT13, Alberti Disk, Vigenère, Affine, Polybius, Playfair, Beaufort, Ottoman Codebook, and One-Time Pad. Hacking classical ciphers using microcontrollers, with examples. Pseudo-random (PRNG) and true random number generation (TRNG) on microcontrollers. Symmetric-key cryptography with full programs: DES and AES-128/256. Memory and speed constraints of cryptography on microcontrollers. Asymmetric cryptography: public/private keys, digital signatures, key distribution and derivation (KDF), RSA, and SHA-256 implementations. A complete secure communication program using RSA and AES-256. A glossary of commonly used cryptography terms.

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Practical Low-Cost Methods for Reliable PCB Production This book explains how to carry out reliable SMD assembly using affordable tools and small-scale equipment. It follows the complete workflow step by step, including tool selection, solder paste handling, stencil use, component placement, reflow methods, inspection, and rework. The focus is on bench-level and small-lab production rather than industrial assembly lines. It shows practical methods for building single and double-sided SMD boards with repeatable results. Topics include solder paste and flux, temperature profiles, hot air and hotplate techniques, small reflow ovens, inspection methods, and defect correction. Checklists and example workflows are included to help reduce errors and improve consistency. Key features: Tools and supplies for SMD assembly and rework Solder paste types, storage, and handling Stencils and paste application methods Pick and place workflow and component orientation Temperature profiles and reflow methods Hot air, hotplate, and reflow oven processes Inspection and quality control Common defects such as tombstoning and solder bridges Practical rework and component replacement Bench-level professional workflows and checklists This book is designed as a practical bench reference for anyone who wants to assemble and troubleshoot their own SMD boards with reliable results.

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Programming the Finite State Machine with 8-Bit PICs in Assembly and C Andrew Pratt provides a detailed introduction to programming PIC microcontrollers, as well as a thorough overview of the Finite State Machine (FSM) approach to programming. Most of the book uses assembly programming, but do not be deterred. The FSM gives a structure to a program, making it easy to plan, write, and modify. The last two chapters introduce programming in C, so you can make a direct comparison between the two techniques. The book references the relevant parts of the Microchip datasheet as familiarity with it is the best way to discover detailed information. This book is aimed at Microsoft Windows and Linux users. To keep your costs to a minimum and to simplify the toolchain, specific applications are provided as a free download to enable you to use an FTDI serial lead as the programmer. The assembler used is the open-source "gpasm". All programming can be done in a text editor. There are detailed instructions on how to perform the necessary installations on Windows, Linux Debian, and derivatives such as Ubuntu and Fedora. For programming in C, Microchip's XC8 compiler is used from the command line. In addition to the programming applications, two serial read and serial write applications can be used for communicating with the PICs from a computer. A voltmeter project including practical instructions on building a circuit board from scratch is included. All theory is covered beforehand, including how to do integer arithmetic in assembly. Two PICs are covered: the PIC12F1822 and the PIC16F1823. Both can run at 32 MHz with an internal oscillator. You do not need to buy a factory-made development board and programmer. With relatively inexpensive parts including a serial lead, microcontroller, a few resistors, and LEDs, you can get started exploring embedded programming. Links Updated Programmer

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Learn programming for Alexa devices, extend it to smart home devices and control the Raspberry Pi The book is split into two parts: the first part covers creating Alexa skills and the second part, designing Internet of Things and Smart Home devices using a Raspberry Pi. The first chapters describe the process of Alexa communication, opening an Amazon account and creating a skill for free. The operation of an Alexa skill and terminology such as utterances, intents, slots, and conversations are explained. Debugging your code, saving user data between sessions, S3 data storage and Dynamo DB database are discussed. In-skill purchasing, enabling users to buy items for your skill as well as certification and publication is outlined. Creating skills using AWS Lambda and ASK CLI is covered, along with the Visual Studio code editor and local debugging. Also covered is the process of designing skills for visual displays and interactive touch designs using Alexa Presentation Language. The second half of the book starts by creating a Raspberry Pi IoT 'thing' to control a robot from your Alexa device. This covers security issues and methods of sending and receiving MQTT messages between an Alexa device and the Raspberry Pi. Creating a smart home device is described including forming a security profile, linking with Amazon, and writing a Lambda function that gets triggered by an Alexa skill. Device discovery and on/off control is demonstrated. Next, readers discover how to control a smart home Raspberry Pi display from an Alexa skill using Simple Queue Service (SQS) messaging to switch the display on and off or change the color. A node-RED design is discussed from the basic user interface right up to configuring MQTT nodes. MQTT messages sent from a user are displayed on a Raspberry Pi. A chapter discusses sending a proactive notification such as a weather alert from a Raspberry Pi to an Alexa device. The book concludes by explaining how to create Raspberry Pi as a stand-alone Alexa device.

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Design IoT Projects with Raspberry Pi, Arduino and ESP32 The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a major application area for embedded systems. As a result, more and more people are becoming interested in learning about embedded design and programming. Technical colleges and universities are moving away from legacy 8 and 16-bit microcontrollers and are introducing 32-bit embedded microcontrollers to their curriculums. Many IoT applications demand precision, high processing power, and low power consumption. Produced by IBM, Node-RED is an open-source visual editor for wiring the Internet of Things. Node-RED comes with a large number of nodes to handle a multitude of tasks. The required nodes are selected and joined together to perform a particular task. Node-RED is based on flow type programming where nodes are configured and joined together to form an application program. There are nodes for performing complex tasks, including web access, Twitter, E-mail, HTTP, Bluetooth, MQTT, controlling GPIO ports, etc. One particularly nice aspect of Node-RED is that the programmer does not need to learn how to write complex programs. For example, an email can be sent by simply joining nodes together and writing only a few lines of code. The aim of this book is to teach how Node-RED can be used in projects. The main hardware platform used with most of the projects in this book is Raspberry Pi 4. Chapters are included to show how Node-RED can be also be used with Arduino Uno, ESP32 DevKitC, and the ESP8266 NodeMCU microcontroller development boards.

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STM32 Nucleo family of processors are manufactured by STMicroelectronics. These are low-cost ARM microcontroller development boards. This book is about developing projects using the popular Nucleo development board. In the early chapters of the book, the architecture of the Nucleo family is briefly described. Software development tools that can be used with the Nucleo boards such as the Mbed, Keil MDK, TrueSTUDIO, and the System Workbench are described briefly in later Chapters. The book covers many projects using most features of the STM32 Nucleo development boards where the full software listings for Mbed and System Workbench are given for every project. The projects range from simple flashing LEDs to more complex projects using modules and devices such as GPIO, ADC, DAC, I²C, LCD, analog inputs and others. In addition, several projects are given using the Nucleo Expansion Boards, including popular expansion boards such as solid-state relay, MEMS and environmental sensors, DC motor driver, Wi-Fi, and stepper motor driver. These Expansion Boards plug on top of the Nucleo development boards and simplify the task of project development considerably. Features of this book Learn the architecture of the STM32 microcontrollers Learn how to use the Nucleo development board in projects using Mbed and System Workbench Toolchains Learn how to use the Nucleo Expansion Boards with the Nucleo development boards Update The Mbed compiler has been replaced with two software packages: The Mbed Studio and Keil Studio Cloud. Both of these software packages are free of charge and are available on the Internet. If you need assistance using the Keil Studio Cloud, please download the Guide below.

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