Want to build your own world clock? Check out Wouter’s DIY word clock instructables: …I have found one DIY project that really stands out: Elektronika.ba’s wordclock, proving that it is possible to build your own wordclock that is as pretty as the original. Also, here is a video of the manufacturing process of the original: […]
Author Archives: DP
#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 […]
Triac based lamp dimmer
Rajkumar Sharma over at Electronics Lab writes: Triac based Indecent lamp dimmer is a simple circuit and it doesnt requires additional power supply, works directly with 110V AC or 230V AC. It is a low cost dimmer circuit for adjusting the light brightness of incandescent, Halogen Lamp, Light Bulb load up to 250 W. Features: […]
Stack of dirty boards arrived from DirtyPCBs
NsN share his dirty boards from DirtyPCBs, this batch includes: Flash and Camera trigger A basic Attiny25/45/85 breakout board An attiny based I2C Infrared emitter / sender A bluetooth breakout board An USB cable quality tester Via the forum.
Tiny ATtiny Node
Tiny ATtiny Node with temperature sensor project at Arduino Praxis: Tiny sensor board with ATtiny84 and RFM12B Transceiver. The size of the PCB is 25 x 30mm, sightly larger than a canadian quarter coin.
$2 DIY compost thermometer build
afraser-kruck wrote this instructable detailing his DIY compost thermometer build: Here are some basic instructions on how to build a $2 compost thermometer using readily available supplies. It looks crappy (in a good rustic kind of way), but works great and uses few materials. You really don’t need to read this… I like this design because it’s […]
120 seconds voice record – play back
A message recording board capable of recording 120 secs of audio by Rajkumar Sharma over at Electronics Lab: This project is designed around ISD25120 which can store 120 Seconds audio. Recording and playback operations are controlled with tact switches. The kit has an onboard microphone and LED to indicate the functions of Play and Recording. IC has […]
Dirty DIY stencils
Matt Mets of Blinkinlabs shared a tutorial on making solder paste stencils quickly by hand: This is a truly quick and dirty method for making solder masks, and is nice because it only requires a few hand tools. It’s great for situations when you want to test a new design or make a single, small […]
Digitally controlled bench PSU project update
An update on Bertho’s digitally controlled bench PSU project, we wrote about it previously: Finally some spare time to get the PCBs finished and on order. Lets see how many brainfarts are there to be discovered ;-) Expected delivery in a couple of weeks, so there is some time before I can dive into the lab to […]
App note: Surface mount LEDs- applications
How to use SMD LEDs to replace through hole LEDs, this app note (PDF) from OSRAM discusses about light guides/pipes, backlighting and lenses to channel its display efficiently. The use of SMT-TOPLED varies greatly from the use of traditional through hole LEDs. Historically through hole LEDs have been incorporated directly into front panels using the […]
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: Analog switch allows USB switching at low voltages
Multiplexing USB pins using analog switches solves pin sharing between devices. Here’s a good app note(PDF) from ON Semiconductor. NLAS2066 is a dual SPST (Single Pole Single Throw) switch with over-voltage tolerance (OVT) in its input pins. The OVT feature permits the device to be used for the purpose of sharing of pins in size […]
App note: DS2406 PIO command examples
An app note from Maxim, DS2406 PIO command examples: This application note reviews and provides example commands for using the I/O capabilities of the DS2406.
DirtyPCB IKEA Samtid mood-light upgrade
madworm writes: Just wanting to share one of my latest projects, made possible by DirtyPCBs. I got a lot of good boards (actually 2 designs) and saved 25$ using this service. Very nice. It’s a simple thing, just a micro (ATmega168) + a bunch of WS2812B LEDs. Main purpose: more colours :-) It’s meant to […]
What happened to Motorola
An interesting take on the formation of what todays china mfg is. (via Adafruit blog), h/t Tom Keddie
Introducing Bo & Yana – robots helping kids learn to code
Two of the guys working on this pass through Shenzhen regularly, no end to the cool stuff going on around here: Play possibilities are endless A pusher bar to clean up your room, or an arm to present a flower to a friend — there are many accessories to give Bo & Yana new capabilities! […]
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. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week: Free PCB Sunday. The classic. Every week, get […]
Week in (p)review August 29, 2014
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon. Say hello to the new server! ATX Breakout Board V1.1 Acrylic case back in stock Maker Villa Penang – We got to attend the first two days full of hacks, food, and making new friends Check out kjetilei’s […]
Postbag from Sparkfun ‘Ding and Dents PCBs’
Jan Henrik writes, “I just recieved some postbags from Sparkfun with Ding and Dents, so I decided to make a review, what I got and if its worth it…” Via the contact form.
BT-C3100 intelligent battery charger teardown
Alan Parekh of Hacked Gadgets writes: Thanks to GearBest for sending in this Opus BT-C3100 V2.0 Intelligent Battery Charger for review. at a quick glance this charger might look like any other charger that you see at the grocery store. Your generic store bought brand probably also has 4 charging bays for AA and AAA batteries, it probably has 2 […]