Author Archives: DP

Cheap AFSK terminal node controller

Robots shared his cheap AFSK terminal node controller design. It’s a cheap alternative to the commercial TNCs, based on a STM32VL discovery board and a small adapter board. Audio Frequency Shift Keying is an old, low speed packed based radio standard, now primarily used in HAM radios for APRS communication. What is needed for APRS […]

MicroSD card module from EmbeddedMarket review

Here is a review of the MicroSD card module that is sold through the Indian online store EmbeddedMarket. The board is well designed, and is capable of both 3.3v and 5v interfacing. End Verdict: I have successfully used this without any hitches with a PSoC3 board of mine(post on that soon!),and I am happy(except for […]

QuickPSoC3 v2 – PSOC3 mini development board

Kartik revised his EzPSoC3 board into the new quick QuickPSoC3. These boards are mini development platforms for PSoC3 system-on-chip ICs from Cypress. Here is a list of features on the new board: Longer pads(almost 3x) so it makes soldering the SSOP part easier for beginners. Widened power tracks to 70mils Arranged pins(see top-left) such that […]

Free PCB: guess where @dangerousproto is going with @Finnair

Ian and Sjaak are about to fly Finnair to another Global Geek Tour destination. Four random people who guess where we’re going will get free PCB codes tomorrow morning. Post a comment below, or help us try to get free stuff from Finnair by tweeting your answer on Twitter. Remember, there’s two ways to get […]

Update on the Little Wire AVR programmer

Little Wire is a ATtiny-based open source AVR programer, we wrote about it previously. This project should soon be available at Seeed Studio in kit form.  Here are some updates since our last post: I finished the C and C++ libraries. I created examples for C and C++ , doxygenreference page for C++, documented and […]

TCPIP and WIFI over a simple serial interface

Sjaak tipped us to the MCW1001A, a TCP/IP stack and WiFi management IC with a simple serial interface. It stands between your project and a MRF24WB0MB WiFI module so you don’t have to mess with a full TCP/IP network implementation. MCW1001A is a companion chip to the MRF24WB0 802.11 module. It provides simple socket based […]

2boots: Arduino/AVR serial and SD card bootloader

Martin tipped us off to an AVR/Arduino  serial and mmc/SD card bootlaoder. It was designed to fit the same 2kb memory area that the usual Arduino booloader fits into, but can load firmware from an SD card too. Very useful for on “in the field” programing. This is a proof-of-concept dual bootloader for Atmel AVR […]

Replay your terminal sessions and share them online

PLAYterm is a site dedicated to storing, replaying, and sharing terminal logs. When replaying your session, the code is read line by line, thus providing a more intuitive way of reviewing your logs. PLAYTERM is intended to raise the skills of terminal  CLI users, share their skills and inspire others. PLAYTERM wants to push forward […]

Part Ninja semiconductor tester demo firmware available

A demo firmware for the Part Ninja is available in the forum. The Part Ninja detects they key properties of semiconductors. It can identify transistors, FETs, resistors, diodes, capacitors, and thier pinouts. It also makes a rough estimate of key values like current gain (hFE) for BJT transistors, or the gate threshold voltage for FETs. […]

Programing CoolRunner II CPLDs from Windows 7

Kiran wrote a short tutorial on how to program the Xilinx CoolRunner II CPLD development board with a computer running Windows 7.  The board features an onboard USB programmer but the drivers for it are not supported by Windows 7. The only way to program the device, without buying an external programmer, is to run […]