Louis Vlemincq is a transmission specialist at Belgacom, Evere, Belgium. He has a master's degree in electronics from the Institut de Radio-Cinematographie, Forest, Belgium. Email address: louis.vlemincq@belgacom.be
7 results found for Louis Vlemincq, displaying items 1 - 7
October 1, 2009[Ideas For Design] Backstory: Implement A Spark-Gap-Based Design For Low-Cost Energy Harvesting
The idea of using a spark-gap (SG) as the active element of a converter did not come as a sudden illumination. For a long time, I had been looking for an “acceptable” way of using high-voltage, low-current power-supply sources. For me, “acceptable” simply meant technically feasible without exotic technology and sufficiently efficient to be usable. As it was a selfimposed challenge, I had no definite specifications or deadline. When I had first reviewed the...
July 23, 2009[Ideas For Design] Implement A Spark-Gap-Based Design For Low-Cost Energy Harvesting
Energy harvesting is the art of extracting useful power from energy sources normally deemed too weak, too dilute, or too impractical to be usable. I have already presented an example of such a â??harvesterâ?? (â??Trick A BJT-Based Converter Into Starting At Only 250 mV DC,â?? http://electronicdesign.com, ED Online ...
May 7, 2009[Ideas For Design] Monitor Transformer Winding's Temperature Without A Sensor
The use of a copper winding as a temperature sensor is not new. The traditional technique is to disconnect the ac power and the load and to quickly make the measurement using an ohmmeter. But the circuit presented here goes further. It can make the measurement in-circuit and in real time. The resistance value is derived by injecting a small dc current into the monitored winding and measuring the resulting dc potential. However, care must be taken to avoid...
October 2, 2008[Ideas For Design] "Ultimate" Continuity Tester Hides Many Tricks Up Its Sleeve
I WAS REMINDED RECENTLY of a tester I designed years ago. At the time, I wanted to build “The Ultimate Continuity Tester,” and I established a wish list of all the features I required: • A “real continuity” tester. Too many multimeters and sounders react at resistances as high as hundreds or even thousands of ohms, which makes them practically useless in many cases. Within a board or a system, there are always medium-conductivity...
June 26, 2008[Ideas For Design] Trick A BJT-Based Converter Into Starting At Only 250 mV DC
The converter described below, based on a silicon bipolarjunction transistor (BJT), can operate at as low as 250 mV, which is probably a record for a converter not based on a JFET or germanium transistor. How is this possible? The VBE threshold is not clear-cut, depending on current density and other factors. But 250 mV is way below the lowest accepted values. There has to be a trick and there is, sort of. The big difficulty is in the starting....
April 28, 2003[Ideas For Design] "AC Vias" Can Improve Decoupling
Good decoupling is nearly always essential in a world of mixed-signal designs that exhibit increasing speed, performance, and component density. There are cases, though, where proper decoupling is absolutely critical if the circuit is to deliver its...
