Sjaak has published a new build: When you get started on ARM microcontrollers things are very overwhelming at first… After coping with the first few hurdles like installing a toolchain and IDE, the next part should be getting a tool to program the chip. Many vendors have some kind of bootloader burned in the chip, […]
Author Archives: DP
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: Charging batteries using USB power
Fairly old application note from MAXIM Integrated about getting out power from USB ports. Link here (PDF) Many devices with rechargeable batteries use USB power to recharge the batteries while they are connected. This application note describes the power available from USB and how it can be used to charge batteries, including circuits and some […]
App note: Improve flicker performance of direct AC driven LED fixtures with self valley fill
Application note from ON Semiconductors on LED lighting flicker caused by its own AC supply by adding an improved self valley fill circuit. Link here (PDF) To provide power to LED loads from AC input, SwitchMode Power Supplies (SMPS) are generally used since LED need to be driven by regulated current. Consequently, LED lighting solution […]
Programming an 8 digit 7-segment display, the easy way, using a Max7219
Allan Schwartz shows off the easy way to interface 7-segment displays using the MAX7219: Previously, in part 1 of my blog posting Programming a 7-segment Display, using just Arduino digital pins (the hard way) we had demonstrated how to hook up a pair of 7-segment displays to an Arduino, treating each individual segment as a […]
Cheap plant watering sensor
A detailed instructions of how to design a cheap plant watering sensor from LuckyResistor: I have a couple of plants in flowerpots and this plants not only like some light, they also need water from time to time. Watering this plants is something I often forget, with sad results. There are ready made solutions for this, but […]
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. The coupon code usually go to Facebook ‘Other’ Messages Folder . More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three […]
Tiva and Stellaris Launchpad RTC usage in Energia
Vadim has posted a tutorial on how to use internal RTC of Stellaris and Tiva Launchpad boards in Energia IDE: For those of you who still have one of those old Stellaris Launchpads, I’m going to show how to utilize one of its most useful features – real time clock – in a simple way. Actually, the […]
Logging I2C Data with Bus Pirate and Python
Scott Harden writes, “I’m working on a project which requires I measure temperature via a computer, and I accomplished this with minimal complexity using a Bus Pirate and LM75A I2C temperature sensor.” More details at SWHarden.com. Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.
#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 […]
MeArm Pi – Build your own Raspberry Pi powered robot arm!
Here’s an interesting open source project on Kickstarter the world’s first robot arm kit for the Raspberry Pi, the MeArm Pi: We believe in helping people understand how the world works. With so much development going on in robotics at the moment, now is the perfect time to get to know what it takes to build […]
A Line-us clone
Barton Dring has a nice build log on his Line-us clone project: I have been going to the monthly Amp Hour, Hardware Happy Hour meetup. A lot of people bring something to show. My projects are too big. Also, you need to bring your own power. The meetup standard seems to be running off a USB cord. I […]
App note: Using touch interface in harsh environments
Tough design and software reference from NXP of touch interface. Link here (PDF) The touch-sensing method is used to replace most of traditional tact switch inputs as a new type of human-machine interface used in home-appliance applications. However, using such kind of detection method in harsh environment is still a challenge for most of product […]
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: Water level monitoring
A reference design from NXP about water level detection using pressure sensor. Link here (PDF) Many washing machines, even the ones using the best cleaner for washing machine, that are currently in production, use a mechanical sensor for water level detection. Mechanical sensors work with discrete trip points enabling water level detection only at those […]
A FPGA controlled RGB LED MATRIX for Incredible Effects – the Hardware
Boris Landoni from Open Electronics writes: In this post you will find the description of a graphic display that uses a modular solution based on dot matrix blocks (in which each dot is a RGB LED), that are driven – via a specific bus – by a very powerful control board, that is entirely programmable […]
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. The coupon code usually go to Facebook ‘Other’ Messages Folder . More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three […]
Reverse-engineering the surprisingly advanced ALU of the 8008 microprocessor
Ken Shirriff has written an article on reverse engineering the ALU of the 8008 microprocessor: A computer’s arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) is the heart of the processor, performing arithmetic and logic operations on data. If you’ve studied digital logic, you’ve probably learned how to combine simple binary adder circuits to build an ALU. However, the 8008’s […]
ESP8266 LED lighting: QuinLED v2.6 PCB
Quindor designed and built an ESP8266 LED lighting QuinLED project with Dirty Board PCBs: It’s been a long time in the making but I’ve finally put the final touches on my newest revision of QuinLED! This makes it version 2.6 rev 1.00. Let’s check it out! This post is part of a series – The index for […]
#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 […]