New Book Teardown: Learning The Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course | In The Lab With Jay Jay

This post is part of my video blog: In The Lab With Jay Jay.

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Silly Job Title: Master Planner

This video is part of the New Book Teardown feature of my video blog.

In this video I take a look at Learning the Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course by Thomas C. Hayes and Paul Horowitz published in 2016. The book has 1,140 pages and is a companion to The Art of Electronics 3rd Edition.

Some notes about things of interest we noticed in the book:

Homework

This is a part of the homework feature of my blog, which is an ongoing conversation with my mate S.F.

Hey mate. Lovely to see you again, as always.

You must watch this: Mark Osborne’s MORE (the homepage is here).

Death is the ultimate holiday. Never have to work again!

One of the most belligerent things you can say to someone is “you’re belligerent.”

The washing machine is a machine.

Aphyr is one of those one in ten thousand type geniuses, just next level. Also openly gay and into BDSM. He did this fantastic creative writing riffing on witch craft and programming interviews which I have made notes about over here. I don’t think you need to be a programmer to appreciate this, maybe give the first one a read.

I did a write up of Inside Bureaucracy by Anthony Downs. It’s long and High Modern. The five types of bureaucrats he identifies are: Climbers, Conservers, Zealots, Advocates, Statesmen.

The cargo cult phenomenon is truly bizarre and also quaint and understandable. During WWII a lot of native tribes saw cargo planes arriving full of supplies. After the war when the planes stopped coming the tribe members setup faux runways and did elaborate pantomimes with aircontrollers and radiomen etc in an attempt to mimic what they had seen the westerners do in order to bring the cargo back. Now “cargo cult” is used as a term to describe when people are doing the things they they will bring success because they think those activities will lead to success (but those activities won’t by themselves lead to success).

RE my hair: I can clip! I can clip! </Seinfeld>

This bloke Derek Muller has a video blog known as Veritasium. Recently he did a fun video about 37.

I would definitely recommend you get Authy and set it up on your phone so you can use it for 2FA (two-factor authentication).

TPM stands for Trusted Platform Module. It’s a hardware security feature which is probably in your computers. Apparently it is required by Windows 11 as explained by Microsoft over here: What is TPM?

Two fun quotes from the YouTube comments on my channel recently:

  • Lol, bald Jimmy Neutron, but its so cool
  • Look at this absolute chad flexing on all of us with his swag lab setup. Steady on king.

The 80/20 rule is known as the Pareto principle which states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the “vital few”).

Do Dogs Have Belly Buttons? (Spoiler: they do!)

Software is one form of hyperreality.

Thank you for loaning me your copy of Travels In Hyperreality by Umberto Eco, I will return it soon, along with a copy of GEB for you!

Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Matchbox Twenty – 3AM.

There is a full length version of Elegia from New Order, it’s an instrumental tribute to Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. It’s a seriously moving piece of music. It’s the soundtrack to Mark Osborne’s MORE (linked above). The words elegia and eulogy are different but they connote something similar.

Substance is a compilation album by English alternative dance band New Order. It was released in August 1987 by Factory Records and reissued in 2023. Here is Disc 1.

On a related note, the 2007 film Joy Division is a documentary on the British post-punk band Joy Division.

More from 2007, Control a British biographical film about the life of Ian Curtis, singer of the late-1970s English post-punk band Joy Division.

The Jesus nut is a slang term for the main rotor retaining nut or mast nut, which holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters.

Fucking boat people.

The 2004 film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a documentary film about American heavy metal band Metallica.

Metamodernism refers to a number of related discourses about cultural developments that move beyond postmodernism by means of postmodernism. There is a fun video on the topic over here: The Rise of the Meaning Economy – A major paradigm shift is coming, this will reshape life and work!.

It’s a simple silly little temporary thing.

Chicks man, fuck.

So there’s this American bloke out there Andrew Bustamante running EverydaySpy with his wife. They have heaps of videos on YouTube, you can get a taste over here: Leave The USA Before 2030? – CIA Spy On World War 3’s Timeline | Andrew Bustamante.

Eben Moglen is an American legal scholar and orator who is professor of law and legal history at Columbia University, and is the founder, Director-Counsel and Chairman of Software Freedom Law Center. In 2019 he spoke on the 10 year anniversary of the FreedomBox: Eben Moglen: “FreedomBox Turns Ten” (Nov. 2019) .

There is a kickass documentary featuring Bunnie Huang over here: Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware (Full Documentary) | Future Cities. Bunnie has done some cool things, not least Hacking the Xbox. Here’s an interesting talk from him: An Alternative to the American way of Innovation | Andrew ‘bunnie’ Huang | TEDxPickeringStreet.

Make: AVR Programming

I am reading Make: AVR Programming: Learning to Write Software for Hardware and I found this excellent video: Programming AVR Microcontrollers in C – O’Reilly Webcast available from here: Beyond the Arduino: Programming AVR Microcontrollers in C.

The author’s github page is still operational: https://github.com/hexagon5un/AVR-Programming

Their website littlehacks.org is offline but still available via archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20160307235812/http://littlehacks.org/

Also there’s this really cool collection of projects over here: Cornell University ECE 4760 Designing with Microcontrollers Final Projects.

ISP vs ICSP

User:

ISP vs ICSP

ChatGPT 4:

When discussing programming and interfacing with microcontrollers, “ISP” and “ICSP” are two terms that often come up. Here’s a breakdown of what each means and how they compare:

ISP (In-System Programming)

  • Definition: ISP refers to the ability to program a microcontroller while it is placed within the actual system or circuit where it will operate. This method doesn’t require the microcontroller to be removed from its application circuit for programming. It’s a very convenient way to update firmware or make changes to the program running on the microcontroller without needing to disassemble the system.
  • Advantages: It enables easy updates and debugging since the microcontroller does not need to be removed. This can significantly speed up development cycles and make maintenance simpler.
  • Usage: Common in many microcontrollers, including AVR, ARM, and others. It typically requires a few specific pins to be accessible for the programming interface.

ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming)

  • Definition: ICSP is a form of ISP specifically using a serial interface to program the microcontrollers while they are installed in a circuit. It’s a subset of ISP with a focus on the serial communication aspect. This method is often associated with Microchip microcontrollers but is not exclusive to them.
  • Advantages: The serial nature of ICSP means it usually requires fewer pins and can sometimes support lower voltage programming, making it suitable for a wide range of devices and situations. It’s particularly useful for devices where space and pin count are at a premium.
  • Usage: Predominantly seen with Microchip’s PIC microcontrollers, though the concept applies broadly. Like ISP, it necessitates access to specific programming pins but often fewer than other methods.

Comparison

  • Scope: ISP is a broader term encompassing any in-system programming technique, including serial, parallel, or any other method. ICSP is specifically about serial programming.
  • Interface and Protocol: ICSP typically involves specific protocols and hardware interfaces tailored for serial communication. In contrast, ISP can use various protocols and interfaces depending on the microcontroller and the system’s requirements.
  • Microcontroller Support: While many microcontroller families support ISP, ICSP is more commonly associated with certain brands or families, like Microchip’s PIC series.

In summary, ICSP is a specific form of ISP. The choice between ISP and ICSP often comes down to the specific requirements of the project, including the microcontroller being used, the available pins for programming, and the preferred programming method. Both aim to provide flexibility and ease of use for developers and engineers when programming microcontrollers within their final application environment.