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

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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Serial to parallel and parallel to serial conversion with shift registers

Shift registers can be used in a wide variety of applications. You can, for example, use them to convert multiple parallel data lines to a single serial line and vice-versa. This technique can be used to extend the number of available in- and outputs of a microcontroller and this article will show you how you can achieve this.

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