Tanukifu made a blog entry about his free Superprobe PCB built. If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a picture on Flicker, whatever – we’ll send you a coupon code for the free PCB drawer. Via contact form.
Author Archives: DP
App note: PCB design perfection starts in the CAD library
This 19 part tutorial shows how to design CAD library parts that make PCB design easier. Part one is a white paper, while the other parts are written as editorials on his blog. If you are serious about building up a part library this is definitely worth a look. The CAD library is the starting […]
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 we have a guest […]
App note: Noise sources in low dropout (LDO) regulators
Looking for a clean power supply for a sensitive analog circuit? Analog Devices describes the sources of noise in LDO voltage regulators, and provides some examples to limit and combat the noise. In general, LDO noise comprises two components: intrinsic, or internally generated noise, and extrinsic, or externally generated noise. Thermal and 1/f noise are […]
App note: Layout guidelines for DC/DC switching power supplies
Maxim describes how to design PCBs for DC/DC switching power supplies. Learn which traces to keep as short as possible, and the reasoning behind it. The diagram sums up our own approach nicely as well. When working with any buck or boot converter, we: Keep the main power path (shown in blue) straight and compact. […]
App note: Cadsoft Eagle User Language programing
User Language Programs are C-like scripts that automate functions in Cadsoft Eagle. We use it to export images and partlists for the wiki, import images to use on PCBs, and more. This app note is an introduction to writing ULPs.
MSP430 microcontroller comparison tool
Compare Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontrollers with this online tool. Differences are highlighted in red: This comparison engine has been developed using data found on TI homepage. As there are close to 400 types of MCUs at TI, it’s often difficult to know at once what differs form 1 CPU to another. This utility is based […]
Pager network snifffing
Kenneth tapping a pager’s output to sniff pager traffic. He bought an old pager and was happily surprised that he could easily tap into the demodulated digital signal. A little poking around between the circuit boards and Google and I found that this pager uses the Toshiba TA31142 FM detector specifically designed for pagers. What […]
DIY MMA7455L 3-axis accelerometer breakout
Here is a DIY breakout board for the MMA7455L, an inexpensive three-axis accelerometer. It’s got all the decoupling capacitors and pull-up resistors specified by the accelerometer datasheet.There’s also an interfacing tutorial for the Arduino. We like this chip because it’s cheap, but the LGA package is difficult to solder. If you’re not up for soldering […]
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: February 10, 2012
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon: WORKSHOP VIDEO: Video editing workstation build Part Ninja v1 in this week’s status update post Bus Pirate v4 and Bus Pirate PIC programming adapter are back in stock at Seeed Studio Bus Pirate Arduino Shield, Bus Pirate v4 […]
Bus Pirate v3.5a-SOIC DIY build
Planetjay posted his Bus Pirate v3.5a SOIC PCB build. These boards were designed with the larger SOIC PIC microcontrollers to be easier to solder for beginners. You can get your own DIY Edition Bus Pirate in the free PCB drawer for $3.95. Via the forum. Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. […]
Emulating pointers when the real thing is not allowed
Pete is porting Frodo, a free Commodore 64 emulator, to Microsoft’s Flash-imitator Silverlight. Frodo is originally written in C and uses pointers extensively. Silverlight doesn’t allow pointers, so Pete demonstrates how to emulate them. Simulating pointers in pointer-free sandboxed platforms is a bit unorthodox, but can make translating code easier…This isn’t something you’re likely to […]
Open Hardware Journal second issue
Open Hardware Journal is a quarterly online magazine dedicated to open hardware. So far the second issue is out now, and a third is expected in May. Issues are about 30 pages long and feature various open source hardware projects in detail. The Journal and the project articles are, of course, open source licensed. Via […]
Bus Pirate v4 back in stock
Bus Pirate v4 is back in stock at Seeed Studio. Compare it to v3: Four times more memory space Integrated, on-board USB (faster) Data storage EEPROM to hold settings Pull-up voltage selections: 3.3volt, 5volt, or external supply 2 extra I/O pins Multipurpose button Bus Pirate v4 is new and shiny, but it will lag behind […]
Bus Pirate Arduino Shield free PCB build
Jay built a Bus Pirate Arduino Shield from a free PCB. This board gives the Arduino the same front-end circuity as the Bus Pirate. If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a picture on Flicker, whatever – we’ll send you a coupon code for the free PCB […]
Raspberry Pi first batch will be manufactured by February 20th
Raspberry Pi’s first batch will be manufactured by the 20th of February and should be on sale by the end of the month. These credit card sized boards support a full Linux operating system. A nice addition is that Broadcom released some documentation related to the BCM2835 system on chip used on the Pi. Previously […]
Using Bus Blaster v2 to debug STM32s from CooCox
Arhi needed to do some debugging on an ET-STM32F103 board. He whipped out his Bus Blaster v2 and got it working with the CooCox IDE, a free tool for working with ARM Cortex M0 and M3 32bit microcontrollers. To summarize, if you want to program Cortex M0 or Cortex M3 on windows CooCox works perfectly […]
OpenCurrent helps accurately measure low current
Most multimeters, even the high priced ones, measure low current poorly. The OpenCurrent is a multimeter adapter that increases the precision of low level current measurement. Update: Based on the uCurrent by Dave Jones of EEVblog. Read more here [PDF].
PROTOTYPE PREVIEW: Part Ninja v1
Part Ninja V1 is a electronic component testing tool. It identifies electronic components like transistors and FETs, determines the pinout, and measures basic specifications. Several SMD footprints are included so surface mount parts can be tested too. Only a few pins and resistors are needed for the transistor tester, so we used the extra PIC […]