Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 05 April 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with electrical, esp8266 • 1 min read
Following the previous two weeks of topics, Introduction to ESP32/ESP8266 and What is MicroPython?.  I wrote an article on maker.pro in which I describe how to program the ESP8266 with MicroPython in detail.
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 29 March 2019 in Python • Tagged with python, micropython • 2 min read
From the MicroPython docs themselves “MicroPython is a lean and efficient implementation of the Python 3 programming language that includes a small subset of the Python standard library and is optimised to run on microcontrollers and in constrained environments.”. But what does all this mean? Python 3 is one of …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 22 March 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with esp8266 • 3 min read
The ESP32 and ESP8266 are low-cost Wi-Fi modules, which are perfect for DIY Internet of Things (IoT) projects. They both come with general purpose input/output pins (GPIOs), support a variety of protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART and many more. The most attractive part …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 15 March 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with networking • 2 min read
Following last weeks post around network topologies, I believe the next topic to cover is routing and addressing. Routing is the process of selecting a path for traffic to flow through in a network while addressing is marking elements within a network. A real-world example of routing and addressing is …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 08 March 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with networking • 3 min read
A network is defined as “A network is a collection of computers, servers, mainframes, network devices, peripherals, or other devices connected to one another to allow the sharing of data”. There are various configurations of networks for specific design scenarios as represented in:
Typical residential home networks are configured in …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 01 March 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with electrical • 2 min read
A C.T is the abbreviated form for a current transformer in electrical terms. It is a simple but effective use of magnetic circuits and transformer characteristics to monitor how power is behaving in a conductor. The C.T works by wrapping a coil of conductor around a core (typically …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 22 February 2019 in Machine Learning • Tagged with machinelearning, ai • 2 min read
With AI and Machine Learning becoming the buzzwords in technology for 2018 and the real world applications now maturing to show the benefits of this technology. It can be very confusing when first entering the world of AI and machine learning with new techniques coming out every other day in …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 15 February 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with electrical • 2 min read
Before I started in a more buildings-focused electrical engineering position, I didn't think that much went into selecting lights for buildings. Once you first get started in lighting design, it is like opening a can of worms, there is so much detail that goes into lighting design, it's unfathomable.
First …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 08 February 2019 in Software Development • Tagged with software, git • 2 min read
One of the biggest issues when working on any project regardless of what industry, discipline or context, as soon as a new 'version' of design or update comes along, the issue of version control appears. When this change(s) come along in the life cycle of a project, it is …
Posted by Jack McKew on Fri 01 February 2019 in Engineering • Tagged with power, electrical, python • 5 min read
I've always lived by the rule that if you can't explain something to a 5 year old then you don't know it well enough. I was asked recently by some (non-electrical focused) colleagues on a handful of electrical terms and components. One of the biggest things that kept popping up …