Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. This post was announced on Facebook, and on Monday we’ll send coupon codes to two random commenters. The coupon code usually go to Facebook ‘Other’ Messages Folder . More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three […]
Author Archives: DP
Bus Pirate v3.8 free PCB build
@Xjmaas tweeted picture of his free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB build. The Bus Pirate is an open source hacker multi-tool that talks to electronic stuff. If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a picture on Flicker, whatever – we’ll send you a coupon code for the free PCB […]
40 Watt Chinese CO2 laser upgrade with RAMPS & Arudino
Dan Beaven has written up documentation on his Chinese K40 Laser upgrade: I’ve wanted to start playing with Laser Cutter/Engravers for quite a while. I finally happened across a great deal on a Chinese made 40 watt Laser Engraver with the Moshidraw software and control hardware. Wanting something I can modify and that is of better […]
Cool room lights
Dmitry Grinberg writes, “Lighting a room is always a complicated task. This is especially true if you’re an engineer. You see, we all love blinking lights, RGB LEDs, really any combination of those things. When it came time to figure out the ligting situation for my room, I immediately knew that lots of LEDs would […]
Silicone compression molding factory
In this video Dangerous Prototypes and Pax Instruments visit a silicone molding factory in Shenzhen, China: We recently visited a silicone compression molding factory with our friends at Dangerous Prototypes. This is the same technology used for making our silicone keypads for the T400 temperature datalogger. I put together a short video showing the overall […]
DIY USB line power meter stick
A DIY USB line power meter stick from Electro-Labs: This is an USB stick which measures the supply voltage of the USB port and current drawn by the device connected to the port over the stick. Then it calculates the power consumption of the device and displays the whole information with the help of the small […]
#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs
Every Tuesday we give away two coupons for the free PCB drawer via Twitter. This post was announced on Twitter, and in 24 hours we’ll send coupon codes to two random retweeters. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a every week: Hate Twitter and Facebook? Free PCB Sunday is the classic PCB giveaway. Catch […]
Making a PCB business card
Ilia Baranov has designed a reference business card: Back of card includes: Ruler in both 1/10″ and mm. AWG Hole size gauge (not super accurate due to plating, but that is unavoidable) Resistor/capacitor/inductor/diode sizes Common surface mount component sizes Common electrical symbols and shortcuts/equations Common conversions Trace size comparison Quote from Dune! Project info at Mr.Robot […]
Hatching chicks in a hacked mini fridge
Do you need an incubator for hatching eggs? avgfitfreak shows you how to easily make a DIY egg incubator out of an unused Monster drink refrigerator: Since an incubator needs to be hot not cold, I installed a piece of heat tape (aka – heat mat for reptiles). This was taped onto the back wall behind […]
Fiddle Mini – The DIY ‘Portable’ music system
Rohit Gupta made a portable wood speaker that can play from USB, SD , Aux and has FM. Project details at Rohit’s blog. Via the contact form.
nodeLHC – ESP8266 development board
Pedro Minatel shared us his ESP8266 development board project – nodeLHC: This board was developed at the Campinas Hacker Lab in Brazil during our weekly IoT meetings. This layout and schematic was developed by Leandro Pereira. The idea was to develop a easy to use board and to learn how to use this magnificent WiFi module. We […]
App note: How to Transport Batteries
Lead Acid, Nickel-based batteries and Lithium-based batteries transporting information from Battery University. Link here Many battery types fall under strict transportation regulation. This is done for the safety of those handling them and the passengers traveling on a common carrier. Incidents of unscheduled battery events govern the firmness of the rules and the largest changes […]
Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service. This week two random commenters will […]
App note: Surface Mount Rework Considerations
Old app note from Weller on Surface mount rework. Link here(PDF!). We know you can relate to the challenges presented by newer and more complex surface mount component packages. As systems continue to evolve, rework tasks can be increasingly difficult even for the most skilled rework technicians. The process of safely and efficiently removing and […]
App note: Isolation design flow for Xilinx 7 series FPGAs or Zynq-7000 AP SoCs (ISE Tools)
Xilinx application note, Isolation design flow for Xilinx 7 series FPGAs or Zynq-7000 AP SoCs (ISE Tools) (PDF!) This application note is written for FPGA designers wishing to implement security or safety critical designs, that is, information assurance (single chip cryptography), avionics, automotive, and industrial applications, using the Xilinx Isolation Design Flow (IDF). This document explains how […]
Schlumberger 4002 signal generator
Mario wrote an article on reverse engineering a Schlumberger 4002 signal generator: What I got was a Schlumberger 4002 signal generator. It ranges from 0.1 to 2160 MHz with 10-20 Hz tuning accuracy, selectable output amplitude from -138.9 dBm up to +13 dBm in 0.1 dB steps, auto-sweeping and several extras like an OCXO for stability, 20 dB […]
PCB stencil jig
Gonazar’s PCB stencil jig: My solution to making a PCB stencil jig. I need this to do a run of ~30 small boards I got from DirtyPCB who also provided me with the stencil. However, I know that I’m going to be making more later with a new revision so I wanted a jig that I […]
ESP8266 LED display
Evan writes: This is my proof-of-concept for using mqtt with the esp8266. I saw this LED display sitting around and I couldn’t imagine why no one was using it, the answer was no one knew how to talk to it. Easy, I think. Looking at the board it’s just an 8031, a serial level shifter, […]
ESP8266 remote controlled sockets
Rui Santos made a new project, an ESP8266 remote controlled sockets: In this project your’re going to build a web server with an ESP8266 that can control remotely any sockets (safely!). Project info at Rui’s Random Nerd Tutorials site. Check out the video after the break.
American a pillar of Shenzhen maker culture
Tully Gehan’s home is a maker’s space. The three-room Bao’an district apartment looks more like a factory than a living space. There is a wall of blue boxes filled with electronics, dozens of paper cups with screws and bolts, and a laser-cutting machine in the corner. Gehan, 41, from America, made his own knife rack […]