• What do you use to clean your soldering iron tip?

  • How do you make reliable, low-cost cables quickly?

    I do lots of electronics design and building and inevitably need to make lots of cables. Since making cables is not my favorite activity, I try to use methods that are quick while still providing reliable connections. And of course I always need to keep…

  • Happy Festivities

    Happy festivities for all those celebrating at this time of year. I hope you and your family are relaxing and enjoying each other's company. If you can work some good cheer into your element14 activities, all the better, it will cap off another stellar…

  • Where does December rank on the busy scale?

    Is December crunch time for you, trying to wrap up the year's activities? Is December an opportunity to hone your hibernation skills? Do you taper down in December and take a break? Do you use the break to launch your own projects? Does December…

  • Electronics Career Game Changers

    When the hand-held electronic calculator became available, it was a game changer in reducing design time. When the PC hit the streets it was an even bigger game changer, with word processing, spreadsheets and CAD. When the Internet took off, it was…

  • What does it take to win a design challenge?

    I know it can be very hard to win a design challenge so I thought I would put down a few pointers on how to succeed: First, I want to clarify that none of these remarks are a criticism of contest rules or the judges and judging process. The contests are…

  • Cables, Cables, Cables, What is your best method of organizing cables?

    I am sure we all have a bunch of cable management methods with varying success, and we are all probably continuously looking for better methods. So what this blog is asking for is simply a picture of your best cable management solution. And feel free…