Microchip and Digilent handed over a chipKIT 32-bit Arduino-compatible board and Wifi shield to give away this week. Leave a comment on this post with a project idea, and these boards could be yours on Thursday. The chipKIT uC32 is based on the popular Arduino open-source hardware prototyping platform and adds the performance of the […]
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 […]
Si4707 weather band receiver IC breakout board
AIW designed a breakout board for the Si4707 weather band receiver IC. It features a coax antenna connector, and I2C pins broken out and pulled high to 3.3V. Code sample for interfacing the device to the Arduino was released in the forum. I do have comms utilizing Arduino I2C bus. The Si4707 is 3.3V so […]
Workshop Update for August 13th, 2012
Today and tomorrow are Bus Pirate days, so we’re reviewing all the latest patches in preparation for a release at the end of the week. We test fitted the SoB case for ATX, and fitted the Scheme G standoffs in a sheet with different sizes of test holes. We worked on initializing the ATX BB […]
Behind the scenes Singapore trip
Darell took these pictures during the making of the Singapore Geek Tour video. Check out the rest of the pictures on his Flickr photo stream.
Clock with 180 RGB LEDs on home-etched circuit board
An Arduino-based clock with 180 RGB LEDs. The LEDs are driven via 12 TLC5925 1- channel constant-current addressable drivers. Its built on doublesided copper clad board using Toner transfer method. The routes aren’t smaller than 0.44mm and all vias are made for 0.8mm drilling (truly DIY). Just around 5 vias are under a component and […]
Another Sick of Beige case design
Systemstech submitted a Bus Pirate v3.6 Sick of Beige design. His design has the board mounted on an inner ring with mounting holes, with the other sheets glued together. All the layers are welded with solvent but for the last two the makeup the bottom lid and those two are welded to each other. Four […]
Another review of Koba Electronics
Lategahn wrote a short review of the Koba Electronics store we visited on our Global Geek Tour of Singapore. Watch our video review of the Koba Electronics store. This shop definitely dwarfs the big European component retailers, such as Conrad with its variety of goods in stock plus delivers the same at fair prices. Amongst […]
App note: Common audio inter-IC protocols
Here is a design article from EETimes about the common inter-IC audio protocols. The article covers the traditional audio signal chain, fully digital audio signal chains, I2S protocol, and PDM. As audio integrated-circuit (IC) designs move to finer geometries, it becomes more difficult to design, and less cost-effective to integrate, high-performance analog circuits on 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: Minimizing switching regulator residue in linear regulator outputs
Here is an app note from Linear Technology describing how to minimize switching regulator noise in linear regulator outputs. Linear regulators are commonly employed to post-regulate switching regulator outputs. Benefi ts include improved stability, accuracy, transient response and lowered output impedance. Ideally, these performance gains would be accompanied by markedly reduced switching regulator generated ripple […]
App note: Theory behind Delta-Sigma analog to digital converters
Maxim describes the theory behind Delta-Sigma ADCs: This in-depth article covers the theory behind a Delta-Sigma analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It specifically focuses on the difficult to understand key digital concepts of over-sampling, noise shaping, and decimation filtering. A description of new converter, the MAX1402, and several applications for Delta-Sigma converters are included. The 16bit ADC […]
App note: Extending the life cycle of emulated EEPROM in program memory
Some applications require you to store data that wont be lost if the power goes down. Usual solutions involve either using an on-chip EEPROM or external memory devices. This app note from Microchip provides an alternative that allows you to store your data in the programming memory without having the usual low rewrite cycles associated […]
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 August 10th, 2012
Most of today was spent editing and writing today’s Singapore Global Geek Tour video post. We caught up with our forum support and the back log of emails. We sent out thank yous to the people who met us in Singapore and appeared in the video. We got a chance to search and find around […]
ExpeditInvaders: IKEA Expedit shelf modified with RGB LEDs
Michu shared his IKEA Expedit shelf RGB LED mod ExpeditInvaders. He connected 40 RGB LED modules and a keyboard to an Arduino to make a color changing Ikea bookcase: I just finished my project “ExpeditInvaders”, a spiced up Ikea shelf! I added 40 LED modules to it and glued a keyboard on the bottom of […]
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 a every week: Free PCB Sunday. The classic. Every week, […]
Week in (p)review August 10, 2012
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon. WORKSHOP VIDEO: Singapore Koba Electronics preview Singapore Maker Faire 2012: ‘Get your stuff made’ presentation Singapore Maker Faire 2012: Robots Singapore Maker Faire 2012: Dangerous Prototypes Booth Global Geek Tour Singapore: Koba Electronics shop Global Geek Tour Singapore: […]
Workshop Update for August 9th, 2012
Today we spent a lot of our time editing the video we filmed on our Singapore Global Geek Tour. Bus Pirate Demo Board v5 SPI and I2C protocols are complete. All 4 devices (EEPROM, ADC, DAC, and PWM generator) are functional on both protocols. Today we started work on the UART interface, which will feature […]
Bus Pirate v4 back in stock
Bus Pirate v4 is back in stock at Seeed Studio. The Bus Pirate is an open source hacker multi-tool that talks to electronic stuff. It’s got a bunch of features an intrepid hacker might need to prototype their next project. v4 has some great new features, but if you want a tool that “just works” […]