From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Shift voltage levels

Shift voltage levels

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Shift voltage levels

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- [Instructor] When interfacing between two devices that operate at different voltages, we need a way to shift from one voltage level to another. For example, if I wanted to use an Arduino microcontroller that operates at five volts, and have it talk to an accelerometer chip that operates at 3.3 volts, I need a way to convert the five-volt signal from the Arduino down to a 3.3-volt signal for the accelerometer chip. Many digital devices either operate at five or 3.3 volts, so it's common to need to shift between those two voltage levels. When shifting from a higher to a lower voltage, making a voltage divider with two resistors is often the simplest solution. All I need is a pair of resistors whose ratio will divide a five-volt input down to around 3.3 volts. In this case, the ratio between the output 3.3 volts and the input five volts is approximately 2/3. So based on the voltage divider equation, I'll need to select…

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