User Thomas O - Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

61 votes

7 answers

330k views

What standard UART rates are there?

asked Jan 21, 2011 at 13:14

61 votes

1 answer

21k views

What is the practical difference between watts and VA (volt-amps)?

asked Apr 10, 2011 at 14:23

54 votes

6 answers

172k views

Standard PCB trace widths?

asked Oct 20, 2010 at 16:54

48 votes

5 answers

24k views

Why are things like RESET/MCLR active low on most ICs?

asked Dec 8, 2010 at 15:53

43 votes

11 answers

48k views

Is paralleling diodes a bad idea?

asked Nov 3, 2010 at 23:43

43 votes

3 answers

53k views

How does an electronic caliper work?

asked Nov 14, 2010 at 0:22

36 votes

6 answers

175k views

What is a "digital" motor?

asked Apr 15, 2011 at 0:04

33 votes

5 answers

155k views

What is the significance of -3 dB?

asked Nov 19, 2010 at 13:46

31 votes

6 answers

17k views

Is it really a bad idea to leave an MCU input pin floating?

asked Nov 26, 2010 at 23:56

30 votes

8 answers

16k views

What's up with the operating voltages 5 V, 3.3 V, 2.5 V, 1.8 V, etc.?

asked Nov 8, 2010 at 9:38

29 votes

5 answers

31k views

Why is it important for mains power supplies to be isolated?

asked Nov 15, 2010 at 11:06

26 votes

7 answers

36k views

How efficient is a capacitive power supply?

asked Oct 24, 2010 at 21:50

26 votes

5 answers

9k views

Do I need to pay royalties to the SD card people if my device "just happens" to be compatible with SD cards? [closed]

asked Oct 25, 2010 at 19:49

25 votes

4 answers

43k views

Sizing a trace on a PCB to carry 2.5 amps

asked Dec 30, 2010 at 3:53

24 votes

4 answers

27k views

Gate capacitance vs. Gate charge in n-ch FETs, and how to calculate power dissipation during charging/discharging of the gate

asked Jun 6, 2011 at 23:07

24 votes

3 answers

9k views

Zero ohm resistor tolerance?

asked Oct 19, 2010 at 19:48

24 votes

6 answers

112k views

Standard via sizes?

asked Oct 31, 2010 at 23:29

23 votes

8 answers

11k views

How do components fail?

asked Dec 21, 2010 at 1:47

22 votes

5 answers

16k views

Why is a MOSFET triggered by Vgs and not Vgd?

asked Jul 2, 2011 at 22:27

21 votes

3 answers

16k views

Why don't we measure electrical consumption in joules, instead of kWh?

asked Mar 14, 2011 at 13:27

21 votes

8 answers

81k views

Fans: suck or blow?

asked Nov 7, 2010 at 22:11

21 votes

4 answers

3k views

Supercap compared to a battery

asked Oct 25, 2010 at 20:57

20 votes

10 answers

46k views

Is it worth really buying a Fluke for hobbyist use? [closed]

asked Sep 30, 2010 at 15:01

20 votes

2 answers

21k views

Difference between thin film and thick film precision surface mount resistors

asked Jan 5, 2011 at 19:54

19 votes

4 answers

25k views

What I2C address should I choose?

asked Dec 5, 2010 at 18:54

19 votes

4 answers

19k views

How can you tell how many layers a PCB has?

asked Mar 3, 2011 at 1:11

19 votes

1 answer

36k views

LQFP package vs. TQFP package?

asked Nov 4, 2010 at 13:47

18 votes

4 answers

3k views

Why are power supplies almost always made using through hole components?

asked Nov 15, 2010 at 23:11

18 votes

1 answer

17k views

How important is self-resonant frequency for an inductor when used in a fast (~3MHz) buck SMPS?

asked Oct 19, 2010 at 17:45

18 votes

4 answers

15k views

Are discrete MOSFETs ESD sensitive?

asked Feb 9, 2011 at 18:49

Stack Exchange Network

294 Questions

What standard UART rates are there?

What is the practical difference between watts and VA (volt-amps)?

Standard PCB trace widths?

Why are things like RESET/MCLR active low on most ICs?

Is paralleling diodes a bad idea?

How does an electronic caliper work?

What is a "digital" motor?

What is the significance of -3 dB?

Is it really a bad idea to leave an MCU input pin floating?

What's up with the operating voltages 5 V, 3.3 V, 2.5 V, 1.8 V, etc.?

Why is it important for mains power supplies to be isolated?

How efficient is a capacitive power supply?

Do I need to pay royalties to the SD card people if my device "just happens" to be compatible with SD cards? [closed]

Sizing a trace on a PCB to carry 2.5 amps

Gate capacitance vs. Gate charge in n-ch FETs, and how to calculate power dissipation during charging/discharging of the gate

Zero ohm resistor tolerance?

Standard via sizes?

How do components fail?

Why is a MOSFET triggered by Vgs and not Vgd?

Why don't we measure electrical consumption in joules, instead of kWh?

Fans: suck or blow?

Supercap compared to a battery

Is it worth really buying a Fluke for hobbyist use? [closed]

Difference between thin film and thick film precision surface mount resistors

What I2C address should I choose?

How can you tell how many layers a PCB has?

LQFP package vs. TQFP package?

Why are power supplies almost always made using through hole components?

How important is self-resonant frequency for an inductor when used in a fast (~3MHz) buck SMPS?

Are discrete MOSFETs ESD sensitive?