<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
    <link href="https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/?sAtom=1" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" />
    <author>
        <name>Funduinoshop</name>
    </author>
    <title>Blog / Atom Feed</title>
    <id>https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/?sRss=1</id>
    <updated>2026-04-26T20:08:59+02:00</updated>
    
        <entry>
            <title type="text">Level converter in microelectronics</title>
            <id>https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/level-converter-in-microelectronics</id>
            <link href="https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/level-converter-in-microelectronics"/>
            <summary type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                
                                            Often in electronic circuits two devices or modules are to communicate with each other. Even more often, these two modules require a different voltage level. In microelectronics...
                                        ]]>
            </summary>
            <content type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                 Where are level converters used in microelectronics? 
 Often two devices or modules are to communicate with each other in electronic circuits. Even more often, these two modules require a different voltage level. In microelectronics, for example in an Arduino microcontroller, this voltage level is usually 3.3V or 5V. If one were to directly connect a module operating at 3.3V and a module operating at 5V, the module with a maximum operating voltage of 3.3V would be destroyed with a 5V level applied.&amp;nbsp; 
 So that exactly this is avoided, one falls back to so-called level converters. Level converters allow the communication between two modules with different voltage levels. It is particularly interesting that level converters work in two directions without having to change anything on the connection. The signal can therefore be sent from one module to the other. Level converters are therefore also suitable for I2C lines. Furthermore it is possible to raise or lower the voltage level of switch inputs or switch outputs.&amp;nbsp; 
   
 Level converters: How do they work? 
 The picture above shows very well how the signal transmission inside a level converter for 3.3 and 5V works. On the board, the 5V level (HV, &quot;High Voltage&quot;) and the 3.3V level (LV, &quot;Low Voltage&quot;) are directly opposite each other. It should be noted that the module used in this example (article is linked below) can only &quot;switch&quot; a few milliamps. The module is not suitable for switching motors or lamps, for example. 
                ]]>
            </content>

                            <updated>2022-05-17T00:15:00+02:00</updated>
                    </entry>

    
    
        <entry>
            <title type="text">PWM speed controller in microelectronics</title>
            <id>https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/pwm-speed-controller-in-microelectronics</id>
            <link href="https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/pwm-speed-controller-in-microelectronics"/>
            <summary type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                
                                            Before the development of power electronics, the speed control of (brushed) DC motors was solved with linear regulators or series resistors. Figuratively speaking, the...
                                        ]]>
            </summary>
            <content type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                 Origin of PWM speed controllers 
 Before the development of power electronics, speed control&amp;nbsp;of (brushed) DC motors was solved with linear regulators or&amp;nbsp;series resistors. Figuratively speaking, one reduced the voltage&amp;nbsp;(and thereby also the current) to change the speed. 
 However, this has some disadvantages, which become apparent especially in battery operation&amp;nbsp;. Voltage and current are converted into (unused) heat energy (&quot;burned&quot;) at the control unit (or&amp;nbsp;the resistor). 
 The total consumption remains very high, while the usable&amp;nbsp;power becomes less.&amp;nbsp;Since the torque depends on the current flow, this also collapses. 
 How PWM speed controllers work 
 With (further) development of power electronics, people have approached the problem with a&amp;nbsp;different idea.&amp;nbsp;By (very) quickly switching the supply voltage&amp;nbsp; on and off, one &quot;pulses&quot; the voltage (and thus the current).&amp;nbsp;No power is dropped at the (electronic) switch during the &quot;OFF&quot; time.&amp;nbsp;As a result, (almost) no more losses occur at the controller. 
 During the &quot;ON&quot; time, the FULL voltage is applied to the motor. As a result,&amp;nbsp;the current - and thus the torque - is correspondingly high.&amp;nbsp;Unfortunately, a motor with its coils and the iron core is not an ideal&amp;nbsp;ohmic consumer, which is why this statement is not&amp;nbsp;completely correct from a physical point of view.&amp;nbsp; 
 However, the combination of coil inductance and motor inertia helps&amp;nbsp;smooth the speed, so the motor behaves as&amp;nbsp;if&amp;nbsp;it were operated with continuous DC voltage. 
 &amp;nbsp; 
   
 &amp;nbsp; 
 This brings us to the disadvantages of pulse width modulation.&amp;nbsp;Modulation with a square wave voltage leads to the emission of&amp;nbsp;multiple radio frequencies. This results in EMC interference, which can lead to treacherous errors, especially with&amp;nbsp;controllers. 
 In the low PWM frequency range (1-2kHz) there are unpleasant&amp;nbsp;whistling noises at the motor.&amp;nbsp;One could now simply increase the switching frequency further.&amp;nbsp;But then the current does not have enough time to reach its maximum state&amp;nbsp;in the coil/winding.&amp;nbsp;It then oscillates between two non-stable state values, which leads to&amp;nbsp;a current ripple. 
 Excessive current ripple increases heating in the winding package,&amp;nbsp;which decreases motor performance and affects motor life&amp;nbsp;. 
 ... quite a lot of physics for a small component. 
 Now the good news:&amp;nbsp;For motors in the power class, these disadvantages are quite&amp;nbsp;acceptable. Let&#039;s be happy about the previously described advantages. 
                ]]>
            </content>

                            <updated>2022-05-12T09:00:00+02:00</updated>
                    </entry>

    
    
        <entry>
            <title type="text">How to install a CH340/CH341 driver?</title>
            <id>https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/how-to-install-a-ch340/ch341-driver</id>
            <link href="https://funduinoshop.com/en/blog/knowledge/how-to-install-a-ch340/ch341-driver"/>
            <summary type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                
                                            More and more often we are contacted by you and asked how to install the CH340 driver for Arduino compatible microcontrollers. So in this blog post we would like to explain you...
                                        ]]>
            </summary>
            <content type="html">
                <![CDATA[
                  How to install CH340/CH341 driver for Arduino compatible microcontrollers?  
 More and more often we are contacted by you and asked how to install CH340 driver for Arduino compatible microcontrollers. In this blog post we would like to explain    - What is the difference between microcontroller boards with CH340 chipset and &quot;originals&quot;  - Where to download CH340 driver  - How to install CH340 driver on Windows  - How to program Arduino compatible microcontrollers with CH340 driver inside Arduino IDE 
 After reading the blog post, you will be aware of all the stumbling blocks when starting up cheap Arduino clones! 
  The difference of microcontrollers with CH340 and the ATmega328P chipset  
 First things first: Arduino compatible microcontroller boards with CH340 chipset are slightly cheaper than classic boards with ATmega328p. This is partly due to the fact that the classic boards with &quot;original&quot; chipset can be connected to the home computer via USB immediately after purchase and are therefore ready for use.     Before we jump to conclusions at this point, let&#039;s take a detailed look at the most important advantages and disadvantages of CH340 boards: 
 Disadvantage 1: &amp;nbsp;The CH340 chipset is not compatible with all operating systems! 
 Especially with Windows systems, the CH340 chipset often leads to frustration: the Windows operating system is usually not equipped with the CH340 driver ex works. Arduino compatible boards with CH340/CH341 driver, which are connected to a Windows PC, are often not recognized as such by the PC. Within the Arduino IDE, error messages are therefore issued when uploading sketches. 
 Disadvantage 2: Uploading sketches to CH340 boards takes longer (tested at 5V)! 
 We admit: maybe this disadvantage is negligible in home prototyping, however it exists. The easiest way to see the difference is to look at the following data series. 
 
 
 
 
 Size of the sketch (byte) 
 
 
 R3 Upload time (seconds) 
 
 
 CH340 Upload time (seconds) 
 
 
 
 
 500 
 
 
 5.3 
 
 
 5.6 
 
 
 
 
 5000 
 
 
 9.3 
 
 
 9.7 
 
 
 
 
 7000 
 
 
 9.6 
 
 
 10.2 
 
 
 
 
 &amp;nbsp;  On average the program upload takes about 0.4 seconds longer with CH340 boards. 
 Advantage 1: The power consumption of the CH340/CH341 board is lower! 
 Of course you can neglect the upload time of sketches, especially for rapid prototyping. But what about the power consumption? Again, we looked at the board&#039;s behavior with two standard sketches that I&#039;m sure each of you knows: &quot;Bare Minimum&quot; and &quot;Blink&quot;. 
 
 
 
 
  Example sketch  
 
 
  Power consumption R3 (mA)  
 
 
  Power consumption CH340 (mA)  
 
 
 
 
 Bare Minimum 
 
 
 32.3 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 Blink 
 
 
 37.1 
 
 
 20.1 
 
 
 
 
 We are as surprised as you are! The power consumption of the CH340 microcontroller board is only half that of the R3... exciting! 
  So let&#039;s come to the conclusion:  
 For those who can live with the extra effort due to the installation of the additionally required driver, Arduino compatible microcontrollers with CH340/CH341 chipset are certainly a good alternative. The technical disadvantage of the CH340 version, the upload time, is certainly negligible for the hobbyist. Here even outweighs the gain by the low power consumption! 
 Where can you download the CH340 driver? 
 Now it gets a bit tricky: In the following we link you the CH340 drivers for the platforms Windows, OS and Linux. The links of the Windows and OS drivers link to a website with Chinese characters. Don&#039;t let that put you off: You can simply download the driver by clicking on the blue bar (cloud symbol). At the time of our test, the sketches were of course virus-free! 
 Windows:  http://www.wch.cn/download/CH341SER_ZIP.html  Linux:     &amp;nbsp;   https://github.com/juliagoda/CH341SER   OS: http:  //www.wch.cn/download/CH341SER_MAC_ZIP.html  
 Update 11/21/2022: We were informed by a customer that using the above driver for OS may cause complications. We therefore recommend the following driver (subject to a charge).&amp;nbsp;   https://www.mac-usb-serial.com/dashboard/   Further information can be found at&amp;nbsp; https://thingsmatic.com/2017/08/07/using-ch340-devices-with-osx/ &amp;nbsp;. 
 At this point we would like to point out that administrator rights may be required for the installation. 
 How do I install the CH340 driver now? 
 If you have downloaded the corresponding file, you can unpack it (for example with WinRar). Then open the Setup.exe file. After that a new window will open. In this window you select the file &quot;CH341SER.INF&quot; under &quot;Select INF&quot;. Afterwards you confirm the selection with the button &quot;Install&quot;. If the installation was successful, a popup appears, which confirms the installation. 
 And how can I use my compatible microcontroller board with CH340 driver now? 
 Quite simple: (almost) exactly like a board with ATmega328p or ATmega16U2 chipset. First you establish the USB connection between microcontroller and your computer. The microcontroller should be visible in the device manager. 
 Then open the Arduino IDE. Select the type of your microcontroller under &quot;Tools&quot; and &quot;Board&quot;. Then under &quot;Tools&quot; and &quot;Port&quot; select the so-called COM port of your controller. Usually this is the COM port with the highest number.     Important: In the next step you have to select the ATmega329p (old bootloader) under &quot;Tools&quot; and &quot;Processor&quot;. Only then you can load the CH340 controller!    That wasn&#039;t so hard, was it? If you want to start your next project right now, we recommend our free learning platform  www.funduino.de  with more than 250 free tutorials for the most popular sensors, actuators and much more! 
                ]]>
            </content>

                            <updated>2022-05-04T11:00:00+02:00</updated>
                    </entry>

    
</feed>
