The Part Ninja identifies electronic components like transistors and FETs, and measures basic specifications. Get an overview of this new project in this week’s workshop video. If you’re at Bay Area Maker Faire next month please stop by and see it in person. We give a preview of the revision 2 board in the video. […]
Author Archives: DP
Control your Bus Pirate with an Android Tablet
N3mesys successfully controlled the Bus Pirate with an Android Tablet using the USB Serial Monitor app. This software lets Android enabled devices connect to FTDI USB-to-serial chips. The FT232RL and FT230X ICs are supported, so this works with older Arduinos and lots of other stuff with the common USB-to-serial chip. The only thing you need […]
Logic Sniffer back in stock at Seeed
The Logic Sniffer is back in stock at Seeed Studio. The Open Bench Logic Sniffer is an open source logic analyzer. It’s designed to support the SUMP logic analyzer software at the lowest possible cost. Get a Logic Sniffer for $50, with free worldwide shipping.
ATMega328 RC vs quartz oscillator comparison
Kenneth compares the RC oscillator found on the ATMeg328 against an external quartz crystal. As expected there is a huge difference in precision and stability between the two. This really demonstrates how both oscillators, but particularly the internal one, are very sensitive to temperature changes around the microcontroller. This is why my counter’s oscillator is […]
PCB macro photography without a macro lens
Torwag started a thread in the forum with lots of interesting tips for taking macro pictures of PCBs without buying an expensive macro lens: Many here know how difficult it could be to do good detailed images of your project. A lot of point and shoot cameras are not up to this (macro) task. DSLRs […]
Sound controlled 5x5x5 LED cube
This 5x5x5 LED cube uses a microphone and op-amp to react to sound. It’s run via an Atmega328P with an Arduino bootloader: ok, it is nothing new and far away from well done.. But its just amazing for me to see it working and i learned quiet a lot :) I just want to share […]
Analog Discovery 2 channel scope, waveform generator, logic analyzer
Digilent’s Analog design kit is a 100 MSPS 2 channel scope, a 2 channel 100MSPS waveform generator, and a 16 channel logic analyzer built into one. The pricing ranges from $99 for US-students required to buy one for a class, to $249 for non-academics. Updated specs, thanks Torwag! Two 50 MSPS, 5 MHz differential oscilloscopes […]
PIC18F2550 Breakout Board free PCB build
Palma built the PIC18F2550 Breakout Board free PCB. The PIC18F2550 is a really popular USB chip from Microchip. There are lots of projects floating around the internet for it, as well as some of our own, like the USB IR Toy, USB LCD Backpack, etc… This is a breakout board for the 28pin SOIC package […]
DIY soldering station for mains-powered soldering irons
Pantelis designed and built a DIY soldering station for mains powered soldering irons. He added a thermocouple temperature sensor to the heater, and controls the power to it via a microcontroller. The whole project is documented in pictures. Via PCB heaven.
BlackBoard perf-board prototype circuit design utility
BlackBoard is an open source app that helps you design perf-board circuits. It has a schematic editor to layout your design, and an perf-board editor to check if the connections match the schematic.
#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 […]
Long distance SPI: Lessons learned
Protocols like SPI, I2C, and UART are intended for chips sharing a PCB, lots of problems crop up when you try to send them over long distances. Michu designed individually controllable LED modules controlled by SPI signals sent over long lengths of cable. Initially he had lots of noise and buggy control. After some debugging […]
Machined Bus Pirate v3 case
Timotet machined a case for his Bus Pirate v3. The bottom side of the case is machined on a CNC, while the top is made from acrylic cut to size. I thought my Bus Pirate deserved a decent case. After all Its only a matter of time before I inadvertently set it on something that […]
Adam’s Geek Tour of Akihabara Electric Town
Adam went to the Akihabara electronics market in Tokyo using the Global Geek Tour map and video. Visit his blog for a list of his buys. We asked him for his top tips for other hackers visiting Akihabara: DP: What should people take to Akihabara? Adam: Money! As you mentioned in the comments, stuff there […]
Single-sided Little Wire AVR programmer
FloHimself designed and built a Little Wire AVR programmer/tool. I’ve seen this project on the frontpage and thought I’d like to tinker with this a bit. For that reason I’ve designed a simple single sided version of the board in Fritzing… Little wire is am ATtiny-based open source AVR programer that’s packed full of features: […]
3D Model: PIC18F2550 Breakout Board
Our latest 3D model is the PIC18F2550 Breakout Board. This project lets you get familiar with the popular PIC18F2550 microcontroller in a breadboard friendly “blade” style breakout board. Check out our tutorial on how to build 3D models from Cadsoft Eagle board files, as well as the tutorial on how to render life like images […]
Solder paste stencil review
Check out this solder paste stencil review [PDF!], including differences between laser cut and chemically etched stencils: Page 11 has nice photos comparing three stencil production methods, chemical, laser, and electro-form. There is good information, scattered through-out. pg 15 to paraphrase “go slower!” seems a key pattern, it’s repeated for other things like the spreader […]
Bus Blaster free PCB build
Hmms built a free Bus Blaster PCB. Bus Blaster is a high-speed JTAG debugger for ARM processors, FPGAs, CPLDs, flash, and more. Version 3 is a small update to v2/v2.5 with symmetrical connector placement to make it fit a case. If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a […]
App note: Voltage reference circuit collection
Here is a voltage reference circuit collection from Linear Technology. This is a 32 page article with a ton of reference designs and specifications for each. How to select passive components for best performance is also covered.
Another fantastic Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB from the drawer!
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 we have a guest […]