A Toolbox for Audio Lovers and Engineers
Without any ambition to reach scientific levels, this book aims to be a toolbox for both audio lovers and high-end equipment designers. The elementary theory presented is the bare minimum for readers to grasp the operation and practical use of electrical, electromagnetic, physics, and electronic operations available in the designers’ toolbox. Each tool is explained in a minimum of words and theory without needless coverage of underlying equations or figures.
The book chapters guide you through the process of designing quality amplifiers with vacuum tubes, from the very beginning, considering both technical and subjective requirements – in theory and practice.
The book is a compilation of the author’s notes used in his professional and educational career but was nevertheless primarily written as a result of true love for the audiophile hobby.
Learn the basics of designing and making things with Inventables' software (Easel) and 3D carving machines (X-Carve and Carvey)
This book was written for people who have never carved before. It teaches the basics of designing and making things with Inventables' software (Easel) and 3D carving machines (X-Carve and Carvey). It showcases five step-by-step projects you can build yourself as a beginner, including an inspiration tile, kitchen cutting board, custom block stamp, fidget spinner, and balsa wood glider. The book also features a gallery of aspirational projects, like an electric guitar and a box joint toolbox, to show what else is possible through 3D carving. The design files and instructions for these more complex projects can be found on the Inventables website.
Projects Included
Participate in the world's largest mosaic tile wall
Build a glider to your own specifications
Create your own inlay cutting boards
Carve a fidget spinner toy
Craft wooden 3D stamps you can use to create your own greeting cards
Menno van der Veen is well known for his research publications on tube amplifiers used in audio systems.
In this book he describes one of his research projects which focuses on the question of whether full compensation for distortion in tubes and output transformers is possible.
In the past, a variety of techniques have been developed. One of them has largely been forgotten: trans-conductance, which means converting current into voltage or voltage into current. Menno van der Veen has breathed new life into this technique with his research project titled “Trans”. This book discusses all aspects of this method and discusses its pitfalls. These pitfalls are addressed one by one. The end result is a set of stringent requirements for Trans amplifiers.
Armed with these requirements, Menno then develops new Trans amplifiers, starting with Transie 1 and Transie 2. These DC-coupled, single-ended tube amplifiers have unusually good characteristics and are suitable for hobbyist construction. Next the Trans principle is applied to amplifiers with higher output power.
A trial-and-error process ultimately leads to the Vanderveen Trans 30 amplifier, which optimizes the features of Trans. The characteristics of this amplifier are so special and unique that Menno believes he has struck gold. To ensure that variations in tube characteristics cannot interfere with optimal Trans behavior, Menno makes use of simulations and comparison with other amplifier types. This book reads like an adventure story, but it is much more – it is an account of solid research into new ways to achieve optimal audio reproduction.
Ce livre se concentre davantage sur les aspects pratiques que sur la théorie, et il a un caractère contemplatif, comme si l'auteur regardait des amplificateurs d'en haut. Les éléments de connaissances sont intégrés et placés dans le contexte d’un large aperçu.
Même aujourd’hui, les amplificateurs à tubes sonnent toujours bien, peut-être mieux que jamais. Cela est dû en partie au fait que nous avons désormais accès à des composants modernes tels que des transformateurs de sortie toroïdaux, des résistances et des condensateurs de très haute qualité et de nombreux types de fils dotés de bonnes propriétés acoustiques. Les sources audio modernes, telles que les lecteurs CD, et les derniers haut-parleurs haut de gamme nous permettent également d'apprécier à quel point les amplificateurs à tubes reproduisent la musique encore mieux qu'auparavant.
Ce nouveau livre de Menno van der Veen examine les amplificateurs à tubes d'un point de vue plus que théorique. Il se concentre principalement sur la phase de conception, au cours de laquelle des décisions doivent être prises concernant le but et les exigences de l'amplificateur, et aborde les questions suivantes : Quel est le rapport entre ces aspects et des critères subjectifs et objectifs ? Quels circuits sonnent le mieux et pourquoi ? Si vous souhaitez développer et commercialiser un amplificateur, à quels problèmes devez-vous vous attendre ? Quelle est la signification et la signification des mesures ? Sont-ils encore significatifs ou ont-ils perdu de leur pertinence ?
Grâce à l’énorme puissance de traitement des ordinateurs, nous pouvons désormais mesurer plus de détails que jamais. Comment ces nouvelles méthodes peuvent-elles être appliquées aux amplificateurs à tubes ? Auparavant, il suffisait de mesurer la gamme de fréquences, la puissance et la distorsion d'un amplificateur pour caractériser l'amplificateur. Ces mesures sont-elles encore suffisantes, ou devrions-nous commencer à mesurer en fonction de la façon dont nous entendons, en utilisant de vrais signaux musicaux au lieu des formes d'onde provenant de générateurs de signaux ? L'auteur esquisse un avenir où les mesures d'amplificateurs conformes à notre sens de l'ouïe nous permettront d'aboutir à de nouvelles connaissances.
Ce livre se concentre davantage sur les aspects pratiques que sur la théorie, et il a un caractère contemplatif, comme si l'auteur regardait des amplificateurs d'en haut. Les éléments de connaissances sont intégrés et placés dans le contexte d’un large aperçu.
Nobody has any doubt that valve amplifiers produce a remarkably beautiful sound. They have a lively, deep, clear, and expressive sound, and dynamically they do not appear to have any limitations. The author investigates, in a systematic theoretical approach, the reasons for these beautiful properties. He develops new models for power valves and transformers, thus enabling the designer to determine the properties of the amplifier during the design process. Mathematical models for the coupling of power valve(s) and output transformer are provided. These will generate new insights in a special kind of distortion: the dynamic damping factor distortion (DDFD). With mathematical models in the complex domain, especially the properties at the limits of our hearing range (from 20 Hz to 20 kHz) are investigated and the minimal stability criteria for the amplifier are formulated. The often-applied negative feedback in amplifiers is extensively modelled and discussed in relation to our hearing appreciating. And after all this theory a fine selection of special amplifiers is presented and discussed.
You will notice in this book that the author not only writes about amplifier technique, but tells about the way the development of valve amplifiers can have an influence on your daily life; even the usefulness of patents is discussed. Summarizing: new theories and solutions for perfect audio with valve amplifiers. Not only the professional and the DIY-er but everyone who wants to understand valve amplifiers will read this book with much pleasure.
A Toolbox for Audio Lovers and Engineers
Without any ambition to reach scientific levels, this book aims to be a toolbox for both audio lovers and high-end equipment designers. The elementary theory presented is the bare minimum for readers to grasp the operation and practical use of electrical, electromagnetic, physics, and electronic operations available in the designers’ toolbox. Each tool is explained in a minimum of words and theory without needless coverage of underlying equations or figures.
The book chapters guide you through the process of designing quality amplifiers with vacuum tubes, from the very beginning, considering both technical and subjective requirements – in theory and practice.
The book is a compilation of the author’s notes used in his professional and educational career but was nevertheless primarily written as a result of true love for the audiophile hobby.
In Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico, you will learn how to use the beginner-friendly language MicroPython to write programs and connect up hardware to make your Raspberry Pi Pico interact with the world around it. Using these skills, you can create your own electro‑mechanical projects, whether for fun or to make your life easier.
Microcontrollers, like RP2040 at the heart of Raspberry Pi Pico, are computers stripped back to their bare essentials. You don’t use monitors or keyboards, but program them to take their input from, and send their output to the input/output pins.
Using these programmable connections, you can light lights, make noises, send text to screens, and much more. In Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico, you will learn how to use the beginner-friendly language MicroPython to write programs and connect up hardware to make your Raspberry Pi Pico interact with the world around it. Using these skills, you can create your own electro‑mechanical projects, whether for fun or to make your life easier.
The robotic future is here – you just have to build it yourself. We’ll show you how.
About the authors
Gareth Halfacree is a freelance technology journalist, writer, and former system administrator in the education sector. With a passion for open-source software and hardware, he was an early adopter of the Raspberry Pi platform and has written several publications on its capabilities and flexibility.
Ben Everard is a geek who has stumbled into a career that lets him play with new hardware. As the editor of HackSpace magazine, he spends more time than he really should experimenting with the latest (and not-solatest) DIY tech.
STmicroelectronics’ wireless IoT & wearable sensor development kit
‘SensorTile.box’ is a portable multi-sensor circuit board housed in a plastic box and developed by STMicroelectronics. It is equipped with a high-performance 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 processor with DSP and FPU, and various sensor modules, such as accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, atmospheric pressure sensor, microphone, and so on. SensorTile.box is ready to use with wireless IoT and Bluetooth connectivity that can easily be used with an iOS or Android compatible smartphone, regardless of the level of expertise of the users. SensorTile.box is shipped with a long-life battery and all the user has to do is connect the battery to the circuit to start using the box.
The SensorTile.box can be operated in three modes: Basic mode, Expert mode, and Pro mode. Basic mode is the easiest way of using the box since it is pre-loaded with demo apps and all the user has to do is choose the required apps and display or plot the measured data on a smartphone using an app called STE BLE Sensor. In Expert mode users can develop simple apps using a graphical wizard provided with the STE BLE Sensor. Pro mode is the most complex mode allowing users to develop programs and upload them to the SensorTile.box.
This book is an introduction to the SensorTile.box and includes the following:
Brief specifications of the SensorTile.box; description of how to install the STE BLE Sensor app on an iOS or Android compatible smartphone required to communicate with the box.
Operation of the SensorTile.box in Basic mode is described in detail by going through all of the pre-loaded demo apps, explaining how to run these apps through a smartphone.
An introduction to the Expert mode with many example apps developed and explained in detail enabling users to develop their own apps in this mode. Again, the STE BLE Sensor app is used on the smartphone to communicate with the SensorTile.box and to run the developed apps.
The book then describes in detail how to upload the sensor data to the cloud. This is an important topic since it allows the sensor measurements to be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection, at any time.
Finally, Pro mode is described in detail where more experienced people can use the SensorTile.box to develop, debug, and test their own apps using the STM32 open development environment (STM32 ODE). The Chapter explains how to upload the developed firmware to the SensorTile.box using several methods. Additionally, the installation and use of the Unicleo-GUI package is described with reference to the SensorTile.box. This PC software package enables all of the SensorTile.box sensor measurements to be displayed or plotted in real time on the PC.
The Internet of Things is rapidly gaining interest, and that has fueled the development of the Edison. A tiny computer, the size of a postage stamp, with a lot of power and built-in wireless communication capabilities.
In this eBook we will help you get up-to-speed with the Edison, by installing the software both on the Edison as well as on your Windows PC. We will use the Edison Arduino break-out board because it is easy to work with. We will discuss Linux, Arduino C++ and Python, and show examples of how the Edison can interface with other hardware. We will use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to set up wireless connections, and show you a trick to program sketches over Wi-Fi.
Once you have completed this book your Edison will be up and running with the latest software version, and you will have sufficient knowledge of both hardware and software to start making your own applications. You will even be able to program the Edison over USB and wireless both in Arduino C++ and Python.
This is not a projects eBook, but a toolbox that will allow you to explore the wonderful world of the Intel Edison!
Mastering the Language and the Development Platform
Many people would like to learn Java but getting started is not easy since programming with Java requires at least two things: mastering the programming language and the development environment. With the help of many examples, this book shows how the language is structured. In addition, it employs the Eclipse development environment as an example of a powerful tool to teach developing Java programs.
In Basics, the first part of the book, you acquire your Java and Eclipse basic knowledge. This part lays the programming foundations, gives you an overview of Java technology, and shows you what is special about object-oriented programming.
In the second part called Java Language, everything revolves around the subtleties of the Java language and this is where the first small Java applications are created, aided by a fine blend of the knowledge part and practical exercises.
Java Technology is both the name and the focus of the third part which also introduces you to the rules to observe when programming, what class libraries are and what advantages they have. In addition, you will learn how to test programs, what algorithms are, and how to program them.
The fourth part, Java Projects, enables you to apply all the previous elements in an application with a graphical user interface. The project shows how to develop a larger application piece by piece with the Eclipse development environment. The Appendix concludes with a section on frequent errors that can occur when working with Eclipse, and a Glossary.
Valve Amplifiers are regarded by many to be the ne plus ultra when it comes to processing audio signals. The combination of classical technology and modern components has resulted in a revival of the valve amplifier. The use of toraidal-core output transformers, developed by the author over the past 15 years, has contributed to this revival. The most remarkable features of these transformers are their extremely wide frequency ranges and their very low levels of linear and nonlinear distortion.
This book explains the whys and wherefores of toroidal output transformers at various technical levels, starting with elementary concepts and culminating in complete mathematical descriptions. In all of this, the interactions of the output valves, transformer and loudspeaker form the central theme.
Next come the practical aspects. The schematic diagram of a valve amplifier often appears to be very simple at first glance, but anyone who has built a modern valve amplifier knows that a lot of critical details are hidden behind this apparent simplicity. These are discussed extensively, in connection with designs for amplifiers with output powers ranging from 10 to 100 watts. Finally, the author gives some attention to a number of special valve amplifiers, and to the theory and practice of negative feedback.
In summary, this book offers innovative solutions for achieving perfect audio quality. Do-it-yourself builders, as well as persons who want to gain a deeper technical understanding of the complex world of audio transformers, valve amplifiers and audio signal processing, will find this book a rich and useful source of information.
Le Speaker Kit pour Raspberry Pi est un petit haut-parleur amplifié conçu pour le Raspberry Pi.
Inclus
MonkMakes Haut-parleur amplifié
Jeu de 10 fils d'embase femelle à femelle
Câble audio stéréo court
Modèle GPIO Feuille de Framboise
Téléchargements
Instructions
Fiche de données
