Fcobcn posted a picture of his free PICqueño PCB build. We love the look a tall quartz crystal gives to this build. 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.
Author Archives: DP
Box of new PCBs
A box of PCBs just arrived from Seeed Studio’s Fusion PCB service. This batch includes: Xtide v1b LPC development board v1 Bus Pirate demo board v1 SMD practice board v1 Xtide v1b, LPC development board v1, Bus Pirate demo board v1 and SMD practice board v1 are available now in the free PCB drawer.
Giveaway: Energy Micro EFM32 dev-boards
Tomorrow we’ll give away three EFM32 dev-boards. If you’d like one just leave a comment on yesterday’s post with a project idea. Two EFM32 Gecko starter kits with a 4×40 LCD and JTAG debugger (above) One EFM32 Gecko development kit with color LCD, user IO, and a debugger (shown below the fold)
Logic Sniffer hack improves signal integrity
Tarloth designed this cool hack to improve signal integrity of the Open Bench Logic Sniffer. Instead of using the standard 1×18 pinheader, he used a dual row 2×18 header. One row is connected to the board, while the other is connected to GND. Unused signal pins are jumpered to GND using the extra header row. […]
#twatch firmware v0f available for download
#twatch firmware v0f is now available for download. It updates the twatch to use new Twitter feeds and formats. The Twitter streaming #twatch stopped working because Twitter disabled the feed we used to grab the current trending topics. The new feed needs a Yahoo! Where On Earth region ID in the url. We wanted worldwide […]
Compile Bus Pirate GUI under Windows
Vincent wrote a guide to compiling the open source cross platform GUI for the Bus Pirate. There’s also a new Windows binary for the project that doesn’t require installation, you can download it here. Via the forum. Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors..
nedoCPU-32: Breakout board for PIC32s in DIP packages
Shaos is making a breakout board for PIC32 microcontrollers in DIP through hole packages. He based his design on his previous project the nedoCPU-16, a breakout for the PIC16F870 uCs. There is a 3.3v power supply onboard along with all the bypass capacitors required for the PIC32 to function properly. As an added feature he […]
#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 […]
UBW32 Arduino shield adaptor
TitanMKD wants to interface his UBW32 with a NFC Arduino shield. He decided to make a adapter board to easily connect and disconnect them together: I have just developped a first version of arduino adaptor for UBW32, this version is basic because only Power Supply and SPI are connected in order to have a working […]
Reflow soldering toaster oven
Frank wrote an instructable about a solder reflow oven made from a toaster: As I get more serious into my electronics hobby, I need to work with more SMD components. Some component packages are very difficult or impossible to solder with a traditional soldering iron. To solve this problem, I decided to hack a toaster […]
EagleUp v4.3 released
EagleUp is a combination of export/import scripts that export your Eagle PCB to a SketchUp 3D model. Here’s what you get in version V4.3: fixed curved board outlines (see below the note on outline curves) eagleUp now supports 1:1 scaling as well eagleUp also includes functions for scaling and measuring the final circuit automatic resizing […]
Carambola wiki page
Saulius tipped us to the Carambola, a Wi-Fi module that supports UART, SPI, I2C, and Ethernet interfaces. On their wiki page you will find how to setup and use this device, as well as a few demo projects. Via the contact form.
Desolder SMD ICs
Here is another tutorial for desoldering SMD ICs. You can remove an SMD IC without damaging it or the PCB using a bent piece of copper wire and a soldering iron. Via the contact form.
Hakko tip temperature readings
Arhi continues his quest for soldering iron driver perfection. In the latest development, he attached a temperature sensor to the tip of his Hakko soldering iron, and compared the temperature between the tip and the sensor inside the heater. The readings on the graph he posted are almost identical below 50C, but there is a […]
MSP430F5310 breakout board
Here’s a breakout board for the MSP430F5310 16bit 3.3volt microcontroller running at 25MHz, available in 48 pin QFP packages.It breaks out the pins of the MSP430F5310 uC and has all the bypass capacitors to make it work. Via the contact form.
High precision decade frequency generator
Jbeale designed a high precision decade frequency generator based on a 26Mhz ovenized oscillator with stability of +-1 part-per-billion, or +-0.0000001%. The generator is controlled with a PIC16f1823 microcontroller, which provides interface and frequency division. Firmware, PCB and schematic are uploaded on his site. He also provided a link to Tom V.B. impressive site that […]
XC95144XL breakout boards
Jason decided to make breakout boards for the XC95144XL CPLD. A voltage regulator along with bypass capacitors are placed on-board. He provided a oscillator, connected to a global clock pin as well. The board is built with a single row header so it can be used with a standard bread-board. There are two additional dual […]
App note: 1000VA Digital pure sine UPS
Here’s a reference design from Microchip for a 1000VA pure sine uninterpretable uninterruptible power supply. UPS usually use 3 circuits to function. A charger for battery, a inverter to convert DC battery power to mains AC, and a controller that switches from mains to battery when the power is interrupted. This design utilizes a single […]
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: Battery/charger load switch approximates ideal diode
Portable devices require a circuit that switches the power supply between battery and charger. This is usually done by using a diode on the battery line – when the charger is plugged in, the diode is reversely polarized and disconnects the battery from the rest of the circuit. This method however has drawbacks, namely power […]