A Brief Introduction to Analog Signals on Arduino Boards [shorts #5]

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Some Arduino boards, like the MKR Vidor 4000, come with built-in digital-to-analog converters (also often simply abbreviated to DACs). With other popular development boards, for example, the Arduino UNO, you’ll have to live with a PWM pseudo-analog output. Or do you? This short article investigates the difference between true analog outputs and PWM pseudo-analog signals, and what you can do to get a true analog signal without having to own one of the more expensive Arduino boards.

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How to get the current time from an NTP Server using an Arduino, ESP32, or ESP8266 [shorts #4]

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Arduino-based clock projects are a staple in the maker and DIY community, and I’ve built a few ones myself. Such projects typically incorporate a real-time clock (RTC) module that keeps track of the time. However, once the battery on the RTC module runs flat, it forgets the previously set time. Another option involves adding a few push buttons to allow users to set the time. The Arduino itself keeps track of the time as long as it’s plugged into a power supply, and it forgets the settings once you disconnect it from the power source. This short article discusses a third option that allows you to make your clock projects much more user-friendly by automatically setting and adjusting the time when necessary.

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A look at various simple dithering algorithms in C++ [shorts #3]

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The previous short article investigated a simple method for scaling images using standard C++. In that article, I mentioned that I was working on a way to shrink images for displaying them on the Mac Classic CRT. I also mentioned that, to display the images on the Mac’s CRT, I’d also need to employ a dithering algorithm to prevent losing too much detail. Therefore, this article takes a look at three simple and popular dithering algorithms implemented in C++.

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How to resize bitmap images using C++ [shorts #2]

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Since 2016, I’ve always returned back to my Macintosh Classic CRT build, constantly trying to refine the project and make it easier to reproduce my results. In my latest attempt, I used a Raspberry Pi to communicate with the monitor. While that method worked like a charm for me, others have reported a few problems they’ve encountered and possible solutions. In my next attempt to finally get this project right, I decided to go down another path. Without going into too much detail here, the new method required me to implement a simple scaling and dithering algorithm in C++. This short article discusses my image scaling solution in C++.

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Writing a Quick and Easy Thread-Monitor (Watchdog) in Python [shorts #1]

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A thread-monitor, often also referred to as a watchdog, is extremely helpful when building multi-threaded and reliable applications. In its simplest form, a watchdog should detect when one or more threads hang or crash, and it should restart the problematic threads if necessary. Depending on your use-case, you could implement this helper in a variety of ways, and you could add many more features such as a heartbeat function that allows each thread to report its progress to the monitor.

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Introducing nerdhut.de shorts

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As much as I love writing long and detailed articles about complex projects, those take a long time to finish. Unfortunately, I often end up procrastinating a bit more than necessary before I get some articles done. In those longer articles, I often discuss several topics that are relevant but not directly related to the projects themselves. For example, I sometimes discuss a power supply design or a software design pattern in one part of a longer series. However, to prevent me from procrastinating too much and to make it easier for you, new readers, and search engines, I decided to publish at least one short article each week. These shorter articles discuss a single topic in as much detail as needed using as few words as possible. I’ll keep working on longer and more elaborate projects in the meantime!

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