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Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers

In this competition, participants will have an opportunity to experiment, test, or build a circuit with the MAX40080 by Maxim Integrated, a high-precision, fast-response, bi-directional digital current-sense amplifier.

The need is growing rapidly for fast and accurate current sensing for overcurrent (fault) protection, current metering, power monitoring, battery management and monitoring, as well as high-power converters. Current sensing is essential for products spanning industrial automation, telecom infrastructure equipment, portable appliances, and battery-operated devices. Current sense amplifiers (CSAs) are designed to perform this important function.

A current sense amplifier (also called a current shunt amplifier) is a purpose-built differential amplifier IC that is designed to sense the voltage developed across a current shunt resistor and output a voltage proportional to the measured current. Today's current sense amplifiers are high-precision, bi-directional devices with digital outputs, fast sampling rates, and very wide input common-mode range.

How To Enter This Competition

Before we talk about what the participants will receive in the Challenger’s kit as well as the great prizes they are competing for, let's talk about how to enter this competition, the timeline, and some FAQs.

How do you enter the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers competition?

All you need to do is log into the Community, go to the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers enrollment page, then click Enroll Now. The application entry form will appear. Complete the application form with all required information. Then click submit.

Who is Eligible to Enroll in the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers Competition?

Any element14 member can enroll in the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers competition; however, to receive one of 10 FREE kits, you need to submit an application entry form by the enrollment deadline, March 20, 2022.

What are the milestones of the competition?

Enrollment Begins: February 17, 2022
Enrollment Ends: March 20, 2022
Applicants Selected: March 25, 2022
Challenge Begins: April 8, 2022
First Blog Due: April 20, 2022
Second Blog Due: June 7, 2022
Challenge Ends: June 7, 2022
Winners Announced: June 2022

Blogging Requirements: Only 2 Blogs!

In order to successfully finish this competition, you are required to blog twice during the competition period. You can blog more than twice, if you wish. There are due dates for the blogs as described below:

  • Write Blog 1: Introduce yourself in the blog and explain what experiments you plan to perform. The due date for publishing the first blog on element14 is April 16, 2022.

  • Write Blog 2: Write up the results of your experiments, using images, screen captures, videos, tables, charts, etc. Then tell us what you learned about current sense amplifiers. The due date for publishing the second blog on element14 is May 31, 2022.

Please also tag your blogs with 'Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers'.

The Prizes

There will be two big prizes awarded in this competition: a Grand Prize and a Runner Up prize. We also offer a complimentary finisher prize to those who have met the requirements for finishing the competition, but have not been chosen for the Grand and Runner Prizes. (Note: The Grand and Runner Up Prize winners will not receive a finisher prize.)

The Grand Prize
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 + Apple Smart Watch

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 + Apple Smart Watch ($1298)

The Runner Up
Component Tester

Testing Tweezer LCR Meter ($398)

The Finisher Prize
Multicomp Pro Multimeter

Multicomp Pro Multimeter ($17.23ea)

Take A Closer Look at the MAX40080 Current Sense Amplifiers

Participants will receive a kit that contains the MAX40080 Current Sense Amplifiers, which is mounted on a MikroElektronika ClickBoard. Let's take a moment to learn more about it.

block diagram

Block Diagram of the MAX40080 Current-Sense Amplifier

See Datasheet

The MAX40080 is a high-precision, fast-response, bi-directional, current-sense amplifier with digital output and a very wide input common-mode range from -0.1V (ground sensing) to 36V. The device features an ultra-low 5µV input offset voltage and very-low 0.2% gain error. The low input offset voltage is especially important because it allows using a small sense resistor, thus saving power dissipation, but at the same time not compromising the measurement accuracy. It is also capable of measuring the input common-mode voltage up to 36V.

The MAX40080 includes an analog-to-digital converter with programmable sample rate and 12-bit resolution (13-bit including sign bit for current measurement) and features an I2C compliant and SMBus compatible interface. The MAX40080 features a wake-up current threshold and auto-shutdown mode when the I2C interface is inactive. Both features are designed to minimize power consumption. The MAX40080 is available in a small 12-pin WLP (and also a 12-pin TDFN) and is specified over the -40°C to +125°C extended operating temperature range.

Benefits and Features

  • Wide Input Common-Mode range from -0.1V (ground sensing) to 36V
  • Very low 5µV Input Offset Voltage allows using a small sense resistor
  • I2C compliant and SMBus compatible interface with smart modes to save power: (i) Wake-up current threshold, (ii) Low 4 measurements/s rate, and (iii) Auto-shutdown when I2C is inactive
  • Programmable Sample Rate up to 1Msps
  • Bi-directional current sensing
  • Common-Mode voltage monitoring up to 36V
  • Space-saving 12-bump WLP (0.4mm pitch) and 12-pin TDFN
  • Peak Current Log
  • Programmable over-current/voltage thresholds and under-voltage threshold
  • Alert output with programmable response time
  • 64-cell deep FIFO

The Kit

element14 is offering 10 kits FREE of charge. To be eligible to receive one of them, you must submit an application by the enrollment deadline (March 20, 2022). See kit below:

Product Description Buy Now
MIKROE-4914 Current 6 Click PIC: This add-on board features the MAX40080, a fast-response bi-directional current-sense amplifier. Buy Now
MIKROE-2756 Expansion Board, Pi 3 Click Shield For raspberry Pi, 2 x MikroBUS Connectors for Click Boards Buy Now
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B A Single Board Computer, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, WiFi/BLE, 40 GPIO Pins Buy Now

Anyone Can Participate in Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers Competition
Any element14 member can enroll in the 'Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers' competition. To receive one of the 10 FREE kits, you need to submit an application by the deadline, Mar 20, 2022.

Resources/Technical Documentation

Farnell/Newark
MAX40080ANC+

Maxim Integrated
MAX40080: Precision, Fast Sample-Rate, Digital Current-Sense Amplifier
MAX40080 Datasheet
Design Solution 7598 Industry's Fastest Sample-Rate Digital Current-Sense Amplifier

MikroElektronika
software: Current 6 click

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What kind of experiments can the participants perform with the current sense amplifiers?

How you experiment with them depends on your interests and what stirs your curiosity about current sense amplifiers. But CSAs can be used in power monitoring, overcurrent protection, diagnostic circuits, chargers, and portable/battery-operated devices, among others. They are also used in Industrial Control and Automation, Telecom Equipment, Base-Station PA Control, and Server Backplanes.

What do I need to do to win the Grand or Runner Up Prize?

After the enrollment period is completed, and the 10 FREE kits are shipped, you will have 8 weeks to complete your experiments, write the required two blogs, and share what you learned about Current Sense Amplifiers. You will be judged by the quality of your final blog and what you learned.

Can I still be eligible for the Grand Prize or Runner Up Prizes if I am not selected for one of the 10 kits?

Yes, on the condition that you obtain the MAX40080 current sense amplifier featured in the kit and perform experiments with it, and post your blogs in the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers Group. You must write and post two blogs before the deadline. Also, please notify rscasny@newark.com with links to your two blogs.

What do I get if I don't win the Grand Prize, but I wrote the two blogs?

If you write two blogs and post them in the Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers Group by the deadline on May 31, 2022, you have successfully completed your entry in the competition. If our judges do not select you for the Grand or Runner-Up prizes, you will be eligible to receive the finisher prize, as a thank you for participating. But remember, you have to write two blogs by the deadline to be considered a finisher!

Tips on Writing Your Application

If you want to get a chance to receive one of the 10 FREE Kits, you will need to submit an application no later than March 20, 2022. The key to writing a winning application is to provide as much meaningful information about your proposed experiments as possible.

The application entry form should be detailed enough to give a good idea of what you plan to do and how you plan to pull it off. But you don’t have to write a book! By answering each of the following questions in your application, you will provide enough information:

(a) Describe your technical background.

(b) Why are you interested in this competition? What interests you about current sense amplifiers?

(c) What kind of experiment(s) do you plan to perform? (Be as specific as you can)

(d) Have you participated in the element14 Community? If so, please provide some links to what you've done. If you are a new member, answer "New Member."

All interested element14 members must submit an application entry form before the end of enrollment on March 20, 2022.

Here are some other suggestions for completing a winning application:

  1. Please complete all required information (contact information, etc.) Please use the email address that is associated with your element14 profile.
  1. Answer all of the application questions. Tell us why you want to be selected. Before deciding what you want to write, think about the following things:You are entering a competition. The most persuasive applications are the ones that attract the eye of the judges.

A single sentence application will never be selected. This competition is not a game of chance.

Be as detailed as possible, but don't write a book.

Anyone Can Participate in Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers Competition
Any element14 member can enroll in the 'Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers' competition. To receive one of the 10 FREE kits, you need to submit an application by the deadline, Mar 20, 2022.

The Judges

Top Members of the element14 Community will be our judges. They are:

Top Member Don Bertke

Don spent 35 years in the aerospace industry working on many advanced projects. His range of experience covers nearly every scientific field and most ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. He has a very broad interest and knowledge in science with extensive analysis in image, multispectral and hyper-spectral analysis. He has also worked on a wide range of embedded computer applications, including integrated search and rescue systems.

Top Member Doug Wong

Thank you to our Judges for offering their time and service.

General Questions

For any general questions about the ‘Experimenting with Current Sense Amplifiers’ competition, please post a comment on this page.

To keep up-to-date with this competition, please bookmark it.

Terms & Conditions

  • in reply to guillengap

    Hi or Randall Scasny,.. now you deny me the right to appeal and that's not my problem either. Who is the authority that endorses this contest? I promised, and here is a report that you have earned before the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, and where you include the name of your company and your co-workers.

    image 

  • The element14 staff, sponsors and members are doing a tremendous job of making this the best tech forum on the Internet, and they are always open to suggestions for improvement. If you can think of better ways to improve participation and fairness, please articulate them. You could start by indicating what judging criteria you would use for this contest and showing how you would score all the entries. I am sure the merits of your methods would be considered.
    I would suggest you start a separate discussion on contest rules and judging criteria, where you explain what think will encourage participation and fairness.
    This thread is off the radar and not even recording all my comments properly.

  • in reply to guillengap

    The element14 staff, sponsors and members are doing a tremendous job of making this the best tech forum on the Internet, and they are always open to suggestions for improvement. If you can think of better ways to improve participation and fairness, please articulate them. You could start by indicating what judging criteria you would use for this contest and showing how you would score all the entries. I am sure the merits of your methods would be considered.

  • in reply to robogary

    Thanks for your opinion. In my case I can tell you that I have experience in participating in contests (eg, I have won 10 prizes in hackster) and I know that there is legislation that regulates these contests both in the United States and in the state where this contest takes place .. personally I do not think the administrator of this contest participates in this discussion to avoid being involved in legal problems with the authorities or a lawsuit

  • in reply to guillengap

    This Challenge states "You will be judged by the quality of your final blog and what you learned."

    The criterion is pretty subjective. I didnt judge this challenge but in my humble opinion, all the entries were really good.

    On the occasion where I would volunteer to judge, I do make a spreadsheet like Doug does for tracking order of scoring . Each evaluation item on my list may not be all equally weighted in my scorecard. VIEWS or LIKES have a small weight in my humble opinion because it usually isnt specifically listed as judging metric, and secondly because this isn't Facebook. A Views or LIKES metric would definitely be a tie breaker.  Its good to have diversity within the judging. 

    Another example, I wouldn't apply the same weightings and expectations to an obvious 12 year old doing this Challenge as I would someone who is an obvious PhD in regulator systems design.  

    I've placed poorly in some project competitions where I felt I may have a real winner submitted. I have also won a couple competitions that I thought I had no chance to compete, the other entries were so good.  I always felt the volunteer judges did their best to be fair and serious. Nothing is perfect, certainly you can appeal per Misaz suggestion. 

  • in reply to guillengap

    Hi  I just wrote you a message where I request the data to start a ticket for a complaint. I am going to write the details of my complaint to the competent authority that validates this contest. You probably won't reply to my message or want to resolve my issue, and that's not my problem... you are cordially invited to join this discussion thread

    Note: I have also sent a copy for

  • in reply to guillengap

    As far as qualifications go I would hope  my credentials are adequate, but just for transparency:

    I am a Director of Electronics Systems Engineering and have been in the industry for over 40 years. I have been a director at three different organizations and a CTO at one. I have been the technical authority for over 450 electronics products and been directly involved in designing many more. I have 9 patents. I have personally designed the schematics and PCBs for well over 300 projects. I have designed systems for a wide variety of sectors including: aircraft, ships, boats, cars, trucks, trains, industrial robotics, fiber optics telecom, defense, scientific research, marine dynamics, electronic music, medical, and consumer electronics. I have also written software for many of these sectors. I have extensive experience with most sensor technologies, for example the force sensitive resistors used in your project - I have researched the physics involved, designed at least 6 custom FSRs, had them manufactured using different technologies at 2 different companies and launched over a dozen products with FSRs in them. I even did a  little project on element14 about them. I have also had piezoresistive pressure sensors custom designed for our corporate application. In addition I have done an "Experimenting with" project on element14 that included a current sensing amplifier.

  • in reply to guillengap

    No matter how rigid and rigorous the rules and judging criteria are it is sill possible to be disappointed in the results. It is also always possible to be proud of our work and happy with whatever recognition it gets, regardless of what the judges think. It may not be in our control what the judges say, but it is in our control whether we decide to be happy or depressed at the end of a project.

    No matter what the judging criteria are and how well defined they are, if you want to win consistently you need to figure out additional requirements that are not stated, because all contenders will meet the stated requirements. For example looking at any of the Hackster criteria, like schematics - everybody will submit schematics and get 10 points, so it does not provide a differentiating criterion. If they don't give all 10 points for schematics, it is not spelled out what schematics would get 10 points versus 5 points, so then it is open for dispute. The only criterion where you may not get full points for just meeting the criterion is creativity, which is totally subjective, so it all boils down to the judge's whim.

    The quality of your work is at a level where it has a reasonable chance of winning on any given day. If you want to increase the chances of winning, it is just a matter of figuring out what additional requirements will make it happen. This is possible even if the judging criteria are not explicitly stated and even though the unstated winning requirements are different for every project. 

    Although I like having defined requirements, the more defined they are generally the fewer contestants who participate. I know I would participate in fewer contests if the criteria were more precisely defined. For example if the criteria indicated there were 10 points for a 2 layer PCB larger than 100 square cm and 20 points for a 4 layer PCB and 5 points for every 3D printed part, I might like it, but most members would not apply if they didn't have a 3D printer and didn't use CAD to design their circuits.

  • in reply to misaz

    Based on this I started to use likes count instead of views count as a more reliable characteristics of blog quality.

    I think there's no relationship between the two (or three) at all. 

  • in reply to dougw

    google "max40080" this is result #4 for me:

    image

    I believe the judges arrived at a fair and objective decision on the winners.