Microchip capacitive proximity design guide: This application note describes how to use the Microchip capacitive sensing solution to implement a capacitive-based proximity detector, provide hardware layout guidelines and analyze several factors that can have an impact on the sensitivity.
Author Archives: DP
App note: USB HID lithium-ion battery charging via USB with ATmega16/32U4
This app note discusses how to use the Atmel® EVK527 evaluation kit to charge Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries using USB connection as power supply: This document (PDF!) describes an application running on the Atmel EVK527 evaluation kit. The EVK527 is dedicated to the Atmel ATmega16/32U4. The USB offers a 5V power supply on the VBUS pin. […]
I2C with the Bus Pirate
Sailing the I2Cs with the Bus Pirate: The Bus Pirate came up as a topic on the mailing list a few days ago, and I realized I hadn’t yet shared the slides from my presentation (a year ago now!) on how to use the Bus Pirate to poke and prod I2C devices like sensors and […]
Nixie clock: 4 – the touch sensor
This video of Luca Dentella demonstrates the IQS127D touch sensor and an Arduino: My Nixie clock won’t have any visible buttons, so I chose to use a touch sensor, that signals to Arduino when the user touches the clock. I brought from SureElectronics the Capacitive Proximity and Touch Button Control module, based on the IQS127D […]
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 […]
Kicad Tutorial: Copper pours / fills
Here’s another Kicad tutorial by Wayne and Layne: Copper pours / fills: A copper pour or fill refers to an area on a printed circuit board where the original copper is not etched away, and remains in place, usually electrically connected to the Ground signal, producing a “Ground Plane”. This has a number of advantages, […]
Week in (p)review March 01, 2013
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon. WORKSHOP VIDEO #57: TM220A pick and place loading reels and stack setup Bus Pirate v3.6, DP6037 Protoboard v1 PCB, and 0.5mm pitch xQFP breakout boards are back in stock Smoke Tester v1 and Bus Pirate Demo board v5 free PCB […]
Sick of beige basic case v1 (DP10080)
Sick Of Beige basic case v1 (DP10080) is back in stock at Seeed Studio. A clear laser-cut acrylic project case kit that fits DP10080 PCBs (100mmx80mm). Protect your project from electrical shorts and fingers, but keep it accessible for hacking and showing off. Get Sick Of Beige basic case v1 (DP10080) for $3.
Better BBQ with Flyport and Cosm
Here’s a video demonstrating how to keep your BBQ under control using COSM and Flyport Wi-Fi: Michael Posavec, a strong supporter of openPicus, decided to hack his Maverick wireless BBQ thermometer adding Flyport Wi-Fi to make it Internet connected.
LPC1769 debugging with Bus Blaster
Alvaro tweeted: Woot! Debugging LPC1769 with @dangerousproto Bus Blaster works! The Bus Blaster is a high-speed JTAG debugger for ARM processors, FPGAs, CPLDs, flash, and more. You can get a Bus Blaster v2 for $34.95 at Seeed.
Kicad tutorial: PCB edges
Here’s a short Kicad tutorial by Wayne and Layne: PCB edges An important part of designing a PCB is to clearly indicate the outline of the board, so the board house will know how to cut your boards apart. Most PCBs are rectangular, but sometimes you want to add a more complex outline (like a […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #57: TM220A pick and place loading reels and stack setup
This week we explain the process of loading reels into the inexpensive TM220A pick and place machine. We also share the stack of components we’ll have permanently mounted on the machine.
Robofish: create your robot fish with Arduino
Boris Landoni from Open Electronics documented his Robofish build: We introduce you a robot fish that is able to swim and recognize tank edges and obstacles. We’ll find out how we can easily create it with common insulating material and a few servo motor controlled by Arduino.
Smoke Tester v1 free PCB build
Ptarmigan labs blogged about his free Smoke Tester v1 PCB build. It’s a board designed to safely power your prototypes, and check if they have a short somewhere using just about any available supply. A while back I got a free PCB from Dangerous Prototype’s Free PCB program. It’s a nice little board designed to provide […]
Workshop Update for February 27th, 2013
Slowly building up the library of models for the Bus Pirate Edu Kit exercises. To make sure everyone can easily hook up any exercise, we’ll add top-down views, schematics, and wiring tables. Here’s an example of a wiring table for the exercise above. MCP9701A Pin1 – E1 Pin2 – E2 Pin3 – E3 Wires Black: […]
Controller for soldering irons using the Hakko T12 type tips
Sparkybg shared his controller for soldering irons using Hakko T12 type tipe in the project log forum: T12 have thermocouple in series with the heater with a voltage of around 9mV at 450 degrees celsius, so the voltage to the heater must be turned off to measure the voltage of the thermocouple. Don’t measure the resistance […]
QR clock
Markus shared his QR clock in the project log forum: being inspired by ch00ftech’s QR clock I made my own variation of this nice idea: A PIC32 decodes the time signal from a DCF77 receiver, calculates a QR code containing this time information, and displays it animated at 30 FPS on a ST7735R LCD. Without […]
PIC16F74 – room thermostat with colour LCD
Room thermostat with PIC16F74, DS1820, and the Siemens M55 color LCD: The heart of the unit is an 8 bit PIC16F74 microcontroller from Microchip. It’s main task is to constantly monitor the room temperature trough a 1–wire digital thermometer IC, a DS1820 from Maxim, and to switch a relay on or off, that controls the […]
Bus Pirate Demo board v5 free PCB build
j_dja tweeted his Bus Pirate Demo Board v5c free PCB build. This board was designed to emulate various different ICs with which the Bus Pirate can talk to. I2c, SPI, and UART protocols are supported, with device emulation for RAM, ADC, DAC, and a PWM generator. These features help researchers practice probing embedded systems before […]
Bus Pirate v3.6 back in stock
Bus Pirate v3.6 universal serial interface is back in stock at Seeed Studio. This is the updated v3.6 in a standard PCB footprint. You can get a simple laser-cut acrylic protector for this board for only 3 bucks. Bus Pirate is a hacking multi-tool that has the capability to interface with most IC bus protocols […]