Larry blogged about his DIY AVR ATTiny85 programmer and development board: Starting from upper left is the 6-pin AVR programming header. I chose it because it has +5 and GND as well as the programming signals and can power the board. Next a red LED to show power to the board. Upper right is an LED […]
Author Archives: DP
Proof of concept: Open source ARM SWD debug and general purpose board
Erich of MCUonEclipse writes: The Freescale FRDM boards are using a Kinetis K20 based circuit (see “OpenSDA on the Freedom KL25Z Board“): However, that firmware is not open: the K20 is secured and protected, so the firmware cannot be changed. Newer Freescale FRDM boards like FRDM-K22F2 and FRDM-K64F do have an open source bootloader and debug […]
GPS based car locator
A GPS based car locator by msuzuki777, an instructable here: The GPS continuously reads the latitude and longitude of the CarTracker. When the button is pressed, the coordinates are saved to the EEPROM. E.g., this would be the location of your car. Now, let’s say you walk out of a store and are looking for […]
#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 […]
DIY ATX Bench power supply
@LuisMirandaAceb tweeted, “I started only with ATX PS and your breakout board but finally this is what I ended with… ”
Serial terminal view in Eclipse Luna
Erich writes: I’m using mostly an external terminal program like Termite. But it is a very useful thing to have a terminal view in Eclipse so I do not need to switch to another application. All what is needed is the installation of a plugin plus the RXTX (at least on Windows). And best of […]
ChipHeadBang – design for an USB to Serial converter with ICSP header for (slow) bitbang programming
microtherion has published new project the ChipHeadBang, that is available on Github: Design for an USB to Serial converter with ICSP header for (slow) bitbang programming, based on the CH340G chip. While this seems to work pretty well, and the CH340G can be obtained extremely cheaply from sources such as AliExpress, driver support can be a bit […]
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: Magnetic stripe reader
Application note(PDF) from Silicon Labs on Magnetic stripe reader (MSR) implementation. Magnetic stripe readers (MSRs) are widely used in many different applications such as point-of-sale terminals and key card readers. The C8051F330 is capable of integrating MSR functionality in a very small space with few external components. The high-speed, high-resolution ADC, coupled with a fast […]
App note: SMBus communication for small form factor device families
SMBus specifications and example implementation on Silabs’ C8051F3xx and C8051F41x. App note here(PDF) This application note describes the SMBus specification, how to configure and use the on-chip SMBus interface, and SMBus debugging techniques. Code examples written in C provide the general framework for most SM Bus Master and Slave implementations. An example that interfaces to […]
App note: A Closed-loop, wideband, 100A active load
A closed-loop, wideband, 100A active load (PDF!) app note by Jim Williams of Linear Technology: Digital systems, particularly microprocessors, furnish transient loads in the 100A range that a voltage regulator must service. Ideally, regulator output is invariant during a load transient. In practice, some variation is encountered and becomes problematic if allowable operating voltage tolerances are exceeded. 100A […]
Audio oscillator with frequency counter
Xristost blogged about his DIY Audio oscillator with frequency counter project: After I finished the oscillator, I made some minor changes in the square signal part of the schematic. I connected five of the inverters in parallel with low value load resistors, thus reducing the influence of the parasitic capacitance of the PCB. The goal is […]
Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters
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 times every […]
Week in (p)review April 17, 2015
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon. CNC3020 assembled in 30 minutes CNC3020 milling machine arrives LED strip testing with Bus Pirate Jason Mann, kubatyszko and jure94 built a free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB XC2C64A CPLD development board and Bus Pirate v3.6 acrylic case v1 (DP6037) are back […]
Graphic equalizer display using ESP8266-12, MSGEQ7 and WS2812
Amir Avni made a graphic equalizer display using ESP8266-12, MSGEQ7 and WS2812: Finally, I’ve created a this project: An equalizer display controlled by ESP8266 with the NodeMCU firmware, where the equalizer colors are controlled via WiFi Project info at whatimadetoday site. Check out the video after the break.
Easy Pulse Plugin, an Arduino pulse sensor
Raj over at Embedded Lab has written an article detailing the new version of their Easy Pulse Sensor: the Easy Pulse Plugin, an Arduino and chipKIT compatible pulse sensor based on Photoplethysmography Today we are happy to announce the release of a new addition to our Easy Pulse Sensor series named Easy Pulse Plugin. Like its predecessors, the original Easy […]
ESP8266 relay board
renze shares his ESP8266 based relay-switch board in the project log forum: Functions – 2x relay output – DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor – GPIO header – On board 3.3 volt regulator Project info at RN+ site. The design files and firmware are available on GitHub.
Yet another Bus Pirate free PCB build
Jason Mann built a free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB. The Bus Pirate is an open source hacker multi-tool that talks to electronic stuff. I received my free PCBs from #dangerousprototypes at the end of last month. I quickly put them together, but I ran into problems programming the bootloader and firmware. I finally managed to […]
Bus Pirate v3.8 free PCB build
jure94 built a free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB. 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 drawer. Get […]
DIY ESP8266 Development Board
A DIY ESP8266 Development Board from Electro-Labs: In this project, we are building an ESP8266 Development Board which lets the user make connection to ESP8266 from a PIC microcontroller and a PC. The board also provides all the needs to be used as microcontroller peripherals such as LCD display, pusbuttons, indicator LEDs and GPIO extension. The PC […]