Hak8or writes regarding his experiences with pic32prog, a flash programming utility for Microchip PIC32 microcontrollers. For everyone who is still stuck with a PICKIT2, like me, instead of buying a pickit3 we can all use this with a PICKIT2 to program the more high end PIC32’s. I am not exactly sure at the current state […]
Author Archives: the machinegeek
28C3: Reverse engineering a Qualcomm baseband
At the recently concluded Chaos Communication Congress 28C3 “behind enemy lines” conference in Berlin, Germany, Guillaume Delugré presented this talk on reverse-engineering a Qualcomm baseband. Despite their wide presence in our lives, baseband chips are still nowadays poorly known and understood from a system point of view. Some presentations have highlighted vulnerabilities in GSM stacks […]
TI India design contest
Update from the comments: I’d think twice before entering. From the terms and conditions point 2: By making a submission as part of the TIIMDC, you expressly agree to irrevocably, perpetually and exclusively grant and assign in favour of Texas Instruments (India) Private Limited (TI), without any geographical restriction and on a royalty free basis, […]
TI analog design contest
For all our European readers who lament contests limited to USA residents only, here’s one for you. TI is hosting the Analog Design Contest (ADC) and its limited to entrants in the EU and other specified nations (not including the Americas). Its purpose is to encourage system-level design within Universities by providing the opportunity for […]
DuinoMite: MaxiMite-compatible BASIC computer
Olimex has introduced the Duinomite line of dev boards. DuinoMite is a MaxiMite Compatible Basic computer, originally designed by Geoff Graham, with additional features and Arduino shield-like layout. DuinoMite allows you to program in the BASIC language and have VGA and Keyboard interface, so you can develop and write your code in Basic without the […]
Nomis: Simon game clone on ATTiny85
Christopher Woodall from HappyRobotLabs wrote in about his recent project, Nomis, a Simon clone made using an ATTiny85. It uses up 4 pins, 3 for LEDs and 1 for buttons (ADC input). The write up can be found here. Everything is completely open source (except for the EAGLE CAD limitations of course, which kind of […]
MakerBot announces The Replicator
Bre Pettis from MakerBot Industries reveals their latest product offering, The Replicator! The MakerBot Replicator is the ultimate personal 3D printer, with dual extrusion (2-color printing)–and a bigger printing footprint, giving you the superpower to print things BIG! Assembled in Brooklyn by skilled technicians, the MakerBot Replicator™ is ready within minutes to start printing right […]
Apps for Arduino
Apps For Arduino is a website that specializes in creating software applications that work specifically with your hardware projects. You download and install the app on your Mac or iOS device and it communicates with the Arduino via a serial connection. While not all the apps are free, those which aren’t can be “purchased” as […]
GreenPAK mixed signal array
Knowing of our interest in programmable logic, Mike writes to inform us of a PLD by Silego: Silego programmable mixed-signal arrays are a combination of a very small programmable logic device (10 LUTs) plus some common functional blocks (flops, SPI, counters, PWMs), an ADC and couple of comparators. From the Maker perspective, the packages are […]
TiDiGino, the Arduino-based GSM remote control
Boris writes about a new open source Arduino-based GSM remote control module, the TiDiGino: Using an ATmega 2560 and therefore the heart of Arduino, we have developed a universal remote control with GSM. This allows to control 2IN/2OUT, DTMF key, gate control and GSM thermostat activated remotely. The remote control very simple to use, thanks […]
The impact of high pulse drain on CR2032 coin-cell battery capacity
If you design circuits powered by CR2032 batteries here’s an article located by Joe Desbonnet which you should consider: This is an interesting article on how the performance of a cell/battery under pulsed loads can vary dramatically depending on period, peak current, duty cycle and other factors. The article discusses the performance of a CR2032 […]
Rhodes: open source HTML5 mobile app developer
Rhodes is a Ruby based open source cross-platform mobile app development tool and is part of the Rhomobile project. It allows you to develop HTML5 mobile applications on your computer with Rhostudio or in the cloud. If you’re new to mobile app development, the Rhomobile docs page is a good place to start. The tutorial […]
Atmega8 based thermometer build
Andrianakis Haris writes: This is a thermometer I designed for my room, built in a small pack and easy to control. Some basic components used: Atmega8, LM35 for inside temp sensing and DHT-11 for outside temp & humidity sensing. The hardware is designed on a way so that the PCB can be wall mounted. At […]
VHDL communication with a PS/ 2 keyboard
Hamster has written VHDL code for interpreting data from a PS2 keyboard. It’s currently a work in progress and is designed to work with his Papilio S6 (the Spartan 6-based Papilio board paired with the Megawing board, both available from Seeedstudio.) The code receives the scancode from a PS2 keyboard attached to Port A of […]
AVR transistor tester build
Alan Garfield at fromorbit writes: Hey guys, I built up that AVR Transistor Tester that’s been bouncing around on your site for a few weeks. Thought you might like to see it. I’ve done this short video showing it in operation and also written up a few of the misadventures I had while building it. […]
Lower Webduino server overhead with a favicon.ico
Martin Lormes recently acquired an Arduino and Ethernet shield. Once he got the setup running on the web using the Webduino Arduino web server library, he checked the traffic using Wireshark and noticed that if the embedded server didn’t offer up a favicon.ico file when initially requested the browser would keep requesting the file. This […]
30-Meter Amateur Radio beacon using Parallax Propeller
Eldon Brown, WA0UWH, has been experimenting with a Parallax Propeller he received for Christmas. Being an avid amateur radio operator, Eldon decided to code up a low power radio beacon on the 30-Meter amateur radio band (10.10 to 10.15 MHz.) He wrote this simple program to generate very slow speed CW (Morse code) radio transmissions […]
Dot-dash-diss: The gentleman hacker’s 1903 lulz
Fans of tech history may want to read Dot-dash-diss: The gentleman hacker’s 1903 lulz. This article appears on the NewScientist website and reveals that wireless hacking dates back to the time of Marconi! Any you thought you were onto something new with a walkie talkie on the frequency of the drive-thru order window…
DIY iPhone remote automotive ignition
Will O’Brien developed this project allowing him to remotely start his car via an SMS sent to a jailbroken iPhone. The additional hardware involved is an Arduino, iPhone breakout board such as the PodBreakout Mini, 4x 10k resistors, 1x TIP120 and a 5 volt switching supply cell charger. All the details, including source code and […]
Em:Blocks PIC24 and PIC32 plugin for Code::Blocks IDE
Code::Blocks is an open source IDE designed around a plugin framework to make it easy for users to extend/improve it without having to touch one line of Code::Blocks’ source code. Em::Blocks is one such plugin which adds PIC24 and PIC32 development functionality to the Code::Blocks IDE. Jim via the contact form.