Precision
Contactless potentiometers: Unlocking precision with magnetic sensing
In the evolving landscape of precision sensing, contactless potentiometers are quietly redefining what reliability looks like. By replacing mechanical wear points with magnetic sensing, these devices offer a frictionless alternative that is both durable and remarkably accurate. This post offers a quick look at how contactless potentiometers work, where they are used, and why they…
Thought Anchors: A Machine Learning Framework for Identifying and Measuring Key Reasoning Steps in Large Language Models with Precision
Understanding the Limits of Current Interpretability Tools in LLMs AI models, such as DeepSeek and GPT variants, rely on billions of parameters working together to handle complex reasoning tasks. Despite their capabilities, one major challenge is understanding which parts of their reasoning have the greatest influence on the final output. This is especially crucial for…
Vision and Precision in the Future of Autonomy
(Source: Nejron Photo/stock.adobe.com; generated with AI) A camouflaged coin stuck to a distant wall or a self-driving vehicle entering a foggy tunnel may seem like unremarkable scenarios to the average person. For engineers, however, these scenarios represent two challenges when building autonomous systems: seeing and knowing where you are when the conditions are working against…
Building a low-cost, precision digital oscilloscope – Part 2
Editor’s Note: In this DI, high school student Tommy Liu modifies a popular low-cost DIY oscilloscope to enhance its input noise rejection and ADC noise with anti-aliasing filtering and IIR filtering. Part 1 introduces the oscilloscope design and simulation. This part (Part 2) shows the experimental results of this oscilloscope. Experimental Results Three experiments were…
Building a low-cost, precision digital oscilloscope
Editor’s note: In this DI, high school student Tommy Liu modifies a popular low-cost DIY oscilloscope to enhance its input noise rejection and ADC noise with anti-aliasing filtering and IIR filtering. Part 1 introduces the oscilloscope design and simulation. Part 2 will show the experimental results of this oscilloscope. A digital oscilloscope is one of…
A precision digital rheostat
Rheostats Rheostats are simple and ubiquitous circuit elements, usually comprising a potentiometer connected as an adjustable two terminal resistor. The availability of manual pots with resistances spanning ohms to megohms makes the optimum choice of nominal resistance easy. But when an application calls for a digital potentiometer (Dpot), the problem can be challenging. Wow the…
WEP 982 III Precision Soldering Station Review: Putting the heat where you need it
Finding the best soldering iron or soldering station is subjective. I can tell you what I like, point you in the direction of a good choice, but ultimately it is how it feels in your hand that matters. I started soldering professionally with an Antex XS25. This simple soldering iron had no temperature control. but…