MAKERVILLA is back! It is sponsored by a top crypto casino locally and will be held 31 July – 2 August 2019 at the National Design Centre Singapore. MAKERVILLA 3.0 is a 3-day creative learning experience (CLX) design conference for local and international makers, practitioners & educators to gather under one roof for a time […]
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 […]
Spectrometer on PC
Boris Landoni over at Open Electronics writes, “We use the platform based on the AMS sensors in combination with the Personal Computer and thanks to an ad hoc software we trace on the screen the spectrum curves resulting from the analysis performed.” More info on Open Source Project page.
6CY7 dual triode valve amplifier
Josh built this 6CY7 dual triode valve amplifier: I’ve always wanted to know what the “tube magic” was all about. There is much opinion in the science of music production, probably because music and its perception is highly personal and subjective. Ive always imagined that since transistor amplifiers were “perfect” with their large amounts of […]
App note: Programmable analog functions
Another app note from ON Semiconductors about various digital potentiometers application. Link here (PDF) Analog circuits are made programmable by using digital potentiometers (POTs) to vary the key circuit parameters. This application note provides the analog design engineer with basic reference designs and circuit ideas for controlling the key parameters of analog circuits using digital […]
App note: Digital potentiometer (POT) to control LED brightness
Controlling LED brightness through digital potentiometer and a LED driver from ON Semiconductor. Link here (PDF) Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) require a regulated current, and their brightness is proportional to the current that flows through them. Some LED drivers use an external resistor to set the LED current. A digital POT can replace a discrete resistor […]
Run a Korg SQ-1 Sequencer from a 9V Stompbox supply
Run a Korg SQ-1 Sequencer from a 9V Stompbox supply: The Korg SQ-1 is a great little sequencer, and one of my favourite bits of kit for its simple hands-on feel and penchant for lucky randomness (I have 3 of them!) I tend to use it in a live setup with no computer but […]
Simple NTP clock using USB display module
Dilshan Jayakody writes: Simple NTP clock is a maintenance-free clock application developed to work on single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, etc. This clock application uses the Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) to get the time and display it on seven segment display which I designed. This application is designed to work on most of […]
#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 […]
Bitcoin mining on an Apollo Guidance Computer: 10.3 seconds per hash
Ken Shirriff implemented the SHA-256 hash algorithm and ran it on the vintage Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) that they’re restoring: We’ve been restoring an Apollo Guidance Computer. Now that we have the world’s only working AGC, I decided to write some code for it. Trying to mine Bitcoin on this 1960s computer seemed both pointless […]
‘No-Parts’ temperature measurement with Arduino Pro Mini
From the comments on our ESP8266 temperature logger post, Edward Mallon writes: The ESP8266 has a hardware watchdog timer, so you could probably use that to measure temperature to much better resolution that you’d get from a DS18B20. We get better than 0.003C using the technique with cheap Pro Mini Clones Ooops, I missed an important […]
App note: High density serial flash addressing
Old app note from Macronix about accessing high density serial flash. Link here (PDF) Many consumer products have converted or are converting from parallel flash to SPI serial flash. Generally, high end applications require higher memory density, but in the past, serial flash densities were limited to 128Mb due to addressing constraints.
App note: USB On-The-Go (OTG) basics
USB OTG explained in this app note from Cypress Semiconductors. Link here This application note discusses several aspects of OTG functionality. The note introduces end-applications and different types of cables and connectors involved with OTG. It also describes the OTG protocol state changes when both Mini-A and Mini-B devices are connected .The host negotiation protocol […]
Acorn BBC Master and electron cartridge breakout
The Acorn Master cartridge breakout board by Simon Inns: This project provides a simple breadboard adapter/breakout board for prototyping cartridges for the Acorn BBC Master and Acorn Electron 8-bit computers. The design consists of two PCBs, the first plugs into the computer’s cartridge slot and the second is designed to plug along the edge of […]
USB seven segment display module
Dilshan Jayakody published a new build: This project is about an open source, USB based, 10 digit seven segment display unit. This unit is specifically designed to work with POS systems and banking applications. Initially, this system is developed to work with PC based systems, and later it was modified to work with other platforms […]
Use a MCP4728 DAC with AVR ATmega
AVR ATmega MCP4728 DAC library: The MCP4728 device is a quad channel, 12bit voltage output DAC. It also has EEPROM embedded. The DAC is driven using the I2C interface. This library implements an ATmega driver for this IC. More details on Davide Gironi’s blog. Check out the video after the break.
Build your own IoT/MQTT node for less than $2
Albert David writes, “This blog explains how to use ESP-12F module without the need of a base board but with minimal set of components.” See the full post on his blog.
Making a SPL dB meter
Shawon Shahryiar over at Embedded Lab shared a how-to on making a SPL dB meter: Sound needs a medium for propagation or travel. It can’t travel in vacuum. Normally air is that medium but sound can also propagate in liquids and other states of matter. I am not going to lecture on how sound travels […]
App note: Meeting transient specifications for electrical systems in military vehicles
Hardened circuit protection against voltage spikes and surges tackled in this app note from Vicor. Link here (PDF) Electrical systems in military vehicles are normally required to meet stringent transient requirements. Typical of these specifications is the MIL-STD-1275B. Although the specified levels of these surges and spikes are outside the capability of Vicors Maxi, Mini, […]
3 cent PMS150C MCU driving 300 WS2812B LED’s
Driving 300 WS2812B RGB LED’s with “the 3 cent microcontroller” – the Padauk PMS150C. The 3 cent Padauk PMS150C is.. Interesting to say the least. First of all there’s a lot this little MCU doesn’t do. It doesn’t have a lot of code space (1K Word), it doesn’t have a lot of RAM (64 bytes) […]