Review: The ADALM-2000 (‘M2k’) Electronics-Lab-in-a-Box

The M5Stack base module contains an ESP32 board along with a 320 x 240 pixels graphics-capable colour display all packaged in a cute case. I was curious to see how quickly I could build a small network application with it ...

Author Burkhard Kainka’s inspiring Foreword in the book I’m reviewing here has important clues as to why software defined radio (SDR) is a hit not only among existing radio amateurs. SDR has proven to be a great promotion tool for the declining radio hobby in general. Since the tuning and decoding of shortwave radio signals is now done with a minimum of hardware and powerful (free) software, it’s easy to see why newcomers to the radio hobby and others with “DC minds” or with “deep fears of RF” have been totally captured by the concept of SDR.

The SmartScope is an exceptionally handy and versatile two-channel USB oscilloscope that works with all computer systems, tablets and smartphones that operate on Windows, OS X, iOS, Android and Linux. A handy expansion module is now available that enables the SmartScope to operate wirelessly via WiFi: the WiFi-Bridge. We were among the first to evaluate this module.

This circular wall clock comes as a partially assembled kit. It is presented in the form of a simple ring of about 25 cm (10 inches) diameter, to hang on the wall. In fact, all you see is this sober black crown a few centimetres in size, which acts as the dial. No display, no hands, no second hand, no pendulum, nothing like that. And yet, like all good timepieces, this one does have hands, a second hand, and even a pendulum.

From your lab power supply, you look for power, infallible reliablility and stability of a gazlillionth of a volt. Hence the reticence towards anything in this area that is not a-na-lo-gue… Now the Siglent SPD3000X programmable power supply is, rightly, striking for its TFT liquid crystal screen. Since this one displays essential parameters and voltage waveforms in real time, does that carry enough weight to sway the opinion of old greybeards?

As even the Elektor Store offers various infrared imaging devices in its range, amongst which are the famous SEEK accessories which connect to a smartphone, is this a suitable subject for our video? Certainly. And here’s the proof. The question as to whether such tools have a place in the electronics toolkit finds a nuanced response here. One could say a composite response, because there are arguments for and against.

You have a thirty year old multimeter, another one that’s 10 years old and a third one that you just bought. Their prices are wildly different and you can’t compare them that way. Happily their measurements are pretty close, but you still want to know which one is absolutely right. A simple voltage reference source should let you select the best one.

At the “Intel Partner Connect Summit” held in Dublin in mid-April, the American semiconductor manufacturer Intel presented Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH with the “Best Growth in IoT Group” award. In 2018, Rutronik grew revenue from the sale of Intel products by around 140 percent compared with 2017.

Microchip Technology Inc., via its Microsemi subsidiary, announces a cost-effective eight-port Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch which provides guaranteed power of 60 Watts (W) per port for all eight ports simultaneously. Ideal for digital ceiling installations, the IEEE 802.3bt-compliant PDS-408G PoE switch runs noise-free with a fanless design.

Microchip announces, via its Microsemi subsidiary, additions to its Precision Time Protocol (PTP) PackeTime® portfolio, including the TimeProvider 4100 Release 2.0.

This is a submission from Distrelec about the new Coral Development Board by Google which they have added to their web shop. The Coral Development Board is a single-board computer with a removable system-on-module (SOM) that contains eMMC SOC, wireless radios and Google’s Edge TPU.