Want to play your Nintendo 64 games on the go? Travis took a N64 board, relocated the cartridge slot, and slapped on a 7” TFT & a battery. All of this is enclosed in a ABS plastic case with the original joypad buttons added for the interface. The build photos are 3 minutes into the […]
Author Archives: DP
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 December 14, 2012
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon. WORKSHOP VIDEO: Tokyo Hackerspace new Shibuya location tour WORKSHOP VIDEO: Interview with Dimitri from Smartduino The Amp Hour interviews Ian about Dangerous Prototypes Bus Pirate v3.6 Sick of Beige v1 acrylic case v1 back in stock MMA7455L accelerometer […]
Bitbang USB v1.1 on a MSP430
M-atthias was successful in running bitbang USB v1.1 on a MSP430G2452. It’s similar to the V-USB project that’s used on AVRs. It takes ~2kb of room on the microcontroller. Yes, this is similar to the efforts of V-USB for AVR, but in a very early stage. I am in contact with Christian Starkjohann who wrote […]
Workshop Update for December 13th, 2012
Today we edited the Tokyo Hackerspace video. Scanned receipts for China and Japan trips. Erected LED-adorned holiday post. We decided to add an update to our protoboards inspired by Adrian’s comment. The QFP breakouts now support two pitches. Three combos will be available covering the most common pitches (0.8mm+0.65, 0.8mm+0.5mm, and 0.65+0.5mm)
Programmable timer switch
Need a switch that turns on and off at set times? Here is a project by Victor that does exactly that. It’s PIC18F4550 based and uses a DS1307 real time clock chip to keep time. A small 12 volt relay acts as the switch. This project, like others before, has started out of need: our […]
How to Add Custom Ringtones to a Wireless Doorbell
Want your doorbell to play prerecorded messages or tunes? This hack at instructables replaces the original speaker in a wireless doorbell with a 9 volt recording module. Most doorbells just make a simple generic tone. But I thought that it would be fun to modify a door bell so that it has a customizable ringtone. That way […]
TP-Link WR703n as telemetry link and camera broadcasting tutorial
Here is a guide on how to setup the cheap TP-Link WR703n router to act as a telemetry link and an USB camera broadcasting server. The guide is in three parts, starting from flashing the OpenWrt firmware, adding a USB hub and extending the memory with a USB flash drive, and finishes with explaining how […]
Prototyping your PCBs in Europe or in China?
To use European or Chinese based PCB prototyping services is the question Electronics Lab tries to answer. They order the same PCBs from an European and a Chinese PCB manufacturer, and compare the quality and price differences. Based on their review the quality is the same, while the Chinese board is more than 5 times […]
AVR programmer from an old USB keyboard
Steve takes apart an USB keyboard and mods it into an AVR programmer. All it takes is the controller board from a keyboard and an opto-coupler IC. Most keyboards have at least three indicator LEDs (Num-, Caps- and Scroll-Lock), which can be controlled from the host using a HID Set_Report request, and thus can be […]
TXB0108 level converter breakout board
Have loads of 5 volt hardware you can’t use with your new 3.3 volt Stellaris Launchpad (or other hardware)? Mike solved this problem by building a level converter using two TXB0108 ICs And here is the proof that it works. I’m driving a 5V graphic LCD using the 3.3v Stellaris Launchpad. The TXB0108 level converters […]
How to give your Arduino wireless capability
It seems the Ethernet Shield is unnecessary if you want to connect your Arduino to WiFi via the cheap TP-Link WR703N router. This is due to the fact that the router can be hacked with OpenWrt making it a Linux box with a fully functional USB. For those of us who are not afraid of […]
Bus Pirate v3.6 Sick of Beige v1 acrylic case v1 back in stock
Bus Pirate v3.6 Sick of Beige acrylic case v1 is back in stock at Seeed Studio. Version 1 of the basic case is simple, cheap, easy to assemble, and fits our Sick of Beige standard PCB sizes. Check out our tutorial on how to customize Sick of Beige cases. Get Bus Pirate v3.6 acrylic case […]
Workshop Update for December 11th, 2012
We had a late start today, as The Amp Hour interview started at 1AM for us. We worked on our video interview with Dimitri from Smartduino, so most of our time was eaten up by it. We are developing an acrylic board witch will have a Bus Pirate and a small breadboard attached to it. […]
How to give your Arduino Ethernet shield wireless capability
Connecting your Arduino to the internet is cool, but it’s even cooler to connect over WiFi. Luca explains how to connect your Arduino Ethernet shield to a cheap WiFi router to give it WiFi access. If you want to boost the security and privacy of your home’s wifi network, you may buy residential proxies. Sometimes […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO: Interview with Dimitri from Smartduino
Last week we met with Dimitri, designer of the Smartduino, in Shenzhen, China. Dimitri is a 6 year veteran of the Huaqiangbei electronics wholesale market. He first arrived 6 years ago, and quickly opened his own stand because it seemed like the best way to make deals in the market is to become part of […]
The Amp Hour interviews Ian about Dangerous Prototypes
Yesterday Ian talked with Chris and Dave on The Amp Hour podcast. Hear about how Dangerous Prototypes got started in the open source hardware, the Bus Pirate, and Sick of Beige cases and standard PCBs. We also discuss how our fulfillment with Seeed Studio functions, and the process of developing a project from idea to […]
#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 […]
Virtual Archery game
As a final project in their class Mohamed and Michael developed the Virtual Archery game. It’s based on the ATmega1268p, an accelerometer, and a stretch sensor. The stretch sensor lets the game know how much force there is behind the arrow, while the accelerometer records it’s exiting direction. Using these two parameters the game extrapolates […]
Workshop Update for December 10th, 2012
We’re editing the tomorrows video. It’s the interview with Dimitri from the recently controversial Smartduino project, a market veteran with 7 years experience running market stalls and exporting components. We’re working on a Bus Pirate kit, and today we designed an acrylic board which will hold the Bus Pirate and a half-sized breakout board. We […]