Over the past few years, I tried a number of different micro-controllers to design the system with. It started with an Arduino Uno, then went into different sizes and capabilities until it ended up in a different Atmel AVR. Now, with the project nearing completion, Covid has put a stop to completion of the design. […]
No CPU stock, so a different CPU must be found and ported-to.
The worldwide supply crisis has resulted in a shortage of electronic components. While this has impacted large vendors more than it could me, it never the less has caused obstacles. The electronics of Minder1 have to be assembled onto a PCB, which is a distillation of the circuitry onto a small plate. This is done […]
One of the unforeseen consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is the rise in, and the volatility of, the prices of integrated circuit (IC) chips made in China. ICs that were often less than a dollar, are now several dollars; a CPU that used to be $2 is now $15, affecting the base cost of the […]
In North America at least, much manufacturing has turned to what they call ‘low volume, high mix’. The story told is that, with large-volume manufacturing having been off-shored, what remains is only low-volume; for manufacturers to survive, they have to adapt to having lots of clients, ordering a variety of small jobs. Having designed the […]
Unknown to the general public is that, 1.5 years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a supply crisis. Large, Western firms–and presumably others, elsewhere–have trouble getting supplies from China. The ostensible Factory to the World cannot provide, thus becoming the bottle neck to consumption. In brief, shipping containers are at Los Angeles’ […]
