Stability or insanity
Tim Wescott presents a hands-on exploration of oscillator stability using a custom electromechanical pendulum. He converts a hard‑drive head actuator into a pendulum resonator, winds a 220‑ft #40 coil, and mounts the assembly on low‑friction ball bearings before integrating it into an electronic oscillator. Iteration and careful modeling—treating the pendulum as a resonator and including coil inductance in the circuit—prove essential to obtain sustained oscillation. The resulting prototype functions as an intentionally inaccurate electro‑mechanical clock driven by a "tick‑toc" circuit that minimizes load to preserve a high loaded Q and requires manual start to demonstrate a hard limit cycle. The project highlights practical tradeoffs between stability, Q, and the realities of prototyping.
PID Without a PhD
You do not need control theory to implement useful PID loops in embedded projects. Tim Wescott walks through simple, ready-to-use C code, clear explanations of P, I and D terms, and a practical tuning recipe you can apply to motors, precision actuators, and heaters. The article highlights anti-windup, sampling-rate guidance, and when to call in a control expert.
PID Without a PhD
You do not need control theory to implement useful PID loops in embedded projects. Tim Wescott walks through simple, ready-to-use C code, clear explanations of P, I and D terms, and a practical tuning recipe you can apply to motors, precision actuators, and heaters. The article highlights anti-windup, sampling-rate guidance, and when to call in a control expert.
Stability or insanity
Tim Wescott presents a hands-on exploration of oscillator stability using a custom electromechanical pendulum. He converts a hard‑drive head actuator into a pendulum resonator, winds a 220‑ft #40 coil, and mounts the assembly on low‑friction ball bearings before integrating it into an electronic oscillator. Iteration and careful modeling—treating the pendulum as a resonator and including coil inductance in the circuit—prove essential to obtain sustained oscillation. The resulting prototype functions as an intentionally inaccurate electro‑mechanical clock driven by a "tick‑toc" circuit that minimizes load to preserve a high loaded Q and requires manual start to demonstrate a hard limit cycle. The project highlights practical tradeoffs between stability, Q, and the realities of prototyping.
PID Without a PhD
You do not need control theory to implement useful PID loops in embedded projects. Tim Wescott walks through simple, ready-to-use C code, clear explanations of P, I and D terms, and a practical tuning recipe you can apply to motors, precision actuators, and heaters. The article highlights anti-windup, sampling-rate guidance, and when to call in a control expert.
Stability or insanity
Tim Wescott presents a hands-on exploration of oscillator stability using a custom electromechanical pendulum. He converts a hard‑drive head actuator into a pendulum resonator, winds a 220‑ft #40 coil, and mounts the assembly on low‑friction ball bearings before integrating it into an electronic oscillator. Iteration and careful modeling—treating the pendulum as a resonator and including coil inductance in the circuit—prove essential to obtain sustained oscillation. The resulting prototype functions as an intentionally inaccurate electro‑mechanical clock driven by a "tick‑toc" circuit that minimizes load to preserve a high loaded Q and requires manual start to demonstrate a hard limit cycle. The project highlights practical tradeoffs between stability, Q, and the realities of prototyping.
