The driver module for the nixi pile is working great. Counting 0 to 9 using a Arrrrduino to clock out bits to a 74hct595. The 8 outputs of the 595 drive two k1551-whatever Russian Nixie driver chips. The Arrrrduino will be replaced with a higher speed chip so a string of modules is easy to […]
Author Archives: Ian
Nixie tube first light
Nixie tube supply is working great at 180 volts and 12k anode resistor.
WORKSHOP VIDEO #38: TFT display with USB control in Sjaak’s workshop
Today we visit Sjaak’s workshop and talk about a USB 1.8″ TFT Backpack he’s been working on, as well as some history behind the popular ATX Breakout Board. Sjaak describes the USB 1.8” TFT Backpack which features: 1.8” 160×128 pixel TFT, with 18bit color depth Micro SD card holder Small footprint designed to fit into […]
Nixies power supply up and running
Didn’t design our own. Used great open source SMPS from desmith.net. 180v from 12 volts out of the atx break board in handsome new case. Design uses max1771 from maxim. Sorry – posted from WordPress Android app. Fixed the picture.
Two tubes of K155ID1 Russian Nixie tube drivers arrive
More deliveries. Solder is slinging. Workshop video in a few.
Editing on workshop video nearly complete
Putting the final touches on the video from Sjaak’s workshop. Don’t miss the part where he sets a diode on fire.
Magnificent Nixie tube thing PCBs arrive
Look great. Socket hole is a little too short and needs to be filed down. Not bad though.
ATX breakout board case prototype
Some quick shots of the atx case test fit number 2. Looks great. A few spacing tweaks and it goes to production.
Medium box of parts
A Mouser order with parts for the atx breakout board case arrived. Also some odds and ends for the dp badges for NY. This is a test using a WordPress post instead of twitter. Let us know if it gets too petty.
Workshop Video #37: USB and Open Source presentation 2012 first run through
This workshop video is an absolute first run-through of our USB & Open Source presentation for the Open Hardware Summit 2012. All comments are off the cuff. The final presentation needs to be just under 10 minutes. Don’t worry, there will be many changes: Explain the USB Implementers Forum with a line (via Twitter) Slide […]
Workshop Video #36: Beers in Bunnie’s Workshop
Andrew ‘Bunnie’ Huang is a noted open source hardware designer, XBOX hacker, and architect behind the Chumby. He welcomed us into his personal workshop while we were in Singapore for a tour and a few cold Tiger Beers. First there’s a tour of Bunnie’s workshop that includes highlights like the pile of SMD part reels, […]
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 […]
GLOBAL GEEK #34: Singapore markets and hackerspace
Visit the major electronics shops in Singapore, and get a guided tour of the Singapore hackerspace. This weekend we were in Singapore for the Maker Faire, so we took a day to do a geek tour. This kicks off the second season of our Global Geek Tours. We’re super excited about this episode. Kelvin arranged […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #33: Singapore Koba Electronics preview
The Singapore Global Geek Tour video isn’t finished yet, but here’s the complete first cut of the Koba Electronics visit. This little shop in China Town is off the beaten path, but our guide Kelvin arranged a visit. We’ve been editing since landing 24 hours ago, but this trip was so epic the completed video […]
Global Geek Tour Singapore: Updates from Singapore
Today was our first day the Singapore Global Geek Tour. We visited some electronics shops, and had some chow. We’ll make a full report when we get back, but in the meantime we posted some pics from today on our Tweeter feed. First stop was the Koba electronics shop pictured above. Rest of the pics […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #32: Zoom H1 v2 sound test and Singapore Maker Faire
We got tired of using integrated cam mics for our videos so we bought a Zoom H1 v2 recorder ahead of our Singapore Maker Faire visit. This quick workshop video tests our new sound setup. In our previous Global Geek Tour videos we had to shout for anything to be heard by the integrated camera […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #31: Sick of Beige standard PCB templates and cases
Are you sick of beige project boxes that hide your cool board and hard work? Wouldn’t it be cool if your project was case ready from the first revision? Sick of Beige cases are simple protectors and enclosures for hobby electronics project. Design your project with our standard PCB templates and it’s ready for an […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #30: Bus Pirate LCD Adapter v3 overview and demo
EEVblog brought up the Bus Pirate LCD adapter this week, so we though it was a good time to talk about the latest v3 hardware revision and do a simple demo. This is a small board that has everything needed to control and test common HD44780 LCD character displays with the Bus Pirate. The latest […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #29: Favorite Bus Pirate features
Today’s video is about our favorite Bus Pirate features. Voltage measurements with the Bus Pirate ADC pin are easier than working with a separate multimeter on an analog project. We read a voltage from an MCP4725 I2C digital to analog converter in the demo using the d and D (continuous) voltage measurement commands. The up/down […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #28: Exploring the serial port
While USB is all around us, the humble (virtual) serial port is still everywhere. Today we explore the serial interface on the Infrared Toy, Bus Pirate, and Logic Sniffer. See a demonstration of the binary interfaces and commands normally used only by software utilities. Grab some terminal software like Tera Term, and Hercules and follow along. […]