Cooling with electricity? Yes, it’s possible, Peltier module is the name of the game. Thermoelectric cooler in other words. The big gotcha: the function is based off of a long electrical series circuit, and mechanical stress can cause this to break. So, be careful in how you mount your Peltier module.
20200824/https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/important-factors-for-improved-peltier-module-reliability
Get the inner scoop of the theory behind Peltier modules here, I still feel like the whole idea is running circles around my head. Oh, I see, so this is really interesting. Basically, the invention stems from an observation of what happens if you pass an electric current through the circuit of a thermocouple, normally a thermocouple generates electricity from heat, but if you pass an electric current through it, you force the heat flow a specific direction in the thermocouple.
20200824/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
20200824/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Peltier_effect
So, now the thing that I realize with thermoelectric cooling. All these years, I didn’t realize the true identity behind this, we’ve had this small refrigerator unit where it was once plugged in backwards so it turned into a heater rather than a cooler. Really bad. But, why did it happen? Of course, it was a thermoelectric cooler, with a heat sink and a fan on the outside to assist in the cooling effect. Now, here’s the interesting part, though. Large thermoelectric cooler modules are rather expensive, so how does this factor into the full cost of building such a cooler? Pretty much the bulk of the cost is in the thermoelectric cooling element itself, and the rest is comparatively cheap on top of that.
One-pair ethernet? Yes, it’s really possible! There exists specialized industrial equipment for encoding Ethernet over only a single wire pair. The tech is making its inroads into cars, so why not offices and homes too? Well, that’s what I’m wondering. Another note, Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) CIP and PROFINET are some specialized protocols developed for industrial automation that sit atop TCP/IP networking.
20200824/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BroadR-Reach
20200824/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEN_Alliance_SIG
20200824/https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/ethernet-ip-versus-profinet
20200824/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Industrial_Protocol
Rotary encoders, interesting, there are three types. Beyond the basic optical rotary encoders, there are also magnetic and capacitive encoders, with their own strengths over optical encoders. Their primary weakness? I’d reckon its up-front cost, though the article notes that the total cost of ownership is probably lower with the other options.
20200824/https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/weighing-the-advantages-and-tradeoffs-of-encoder-technologies
Interesting Digi-Key article about using port expanders when it feels like you need another logical child node. So, their approach specifically? I2C and SPI are the wiring methods, depending of the frequency chosen, 3 to 9 feet can be achieved. Yes, that’s because they effectively recommend parallel buses rather than serial buses.
20200824/https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/easily-efficiently-add-child-nodes-to-iiot-endpoints-using-port-expanders