Author Archives: the machinegeek

OpenDuino hackerspace monitor

The Luxembourg based syn2cat hackerspace has a system in place to provide members with information on the open/closed status of the space online or via an Android app. They call it OpenDuino, and it is more than a web based status monitor. OpenDuino also operates as a security system, allowing members to open and secure […]

Maker Shed kit lets you connect iPhone to Arduino — no jailbreaking!

MAKE announces the availability of the Redpark Breakout Pack for Arduino and iOS. This kit includes the only Apple-approved serial interface cable having a DB9 serial connector on one end and the iPhone connector on the other. As MAKE describes it: Exclusively in the Maker Shed, the Redpark Breakout Pack for Arduino and iOS makes […]

App note: Microchip Ni-MH battery charger application library

Our app note for the day: The Battery Charger Application Library easily allows adding battery charging functionality to portable applications. Since it is very compact (uses less than 2k words of program space and less than 128 bytes of RAM) it fits on small, cost-effective parts like the 14-pin PIC16F616. The library is available in […]

Radare2 open source reverse engineering software

Radare2 is an open source tool to disassemble, debug, analyze and manipulate binary files. Edd at Canthack has posted a detailed example demonstrating use of Radare2 to reverse shellcode. You may also want to check out the Radare talks and docs pages for more information on this tool. They have a 152 page book covering […]

Cooking with Jeri: making chips at home – parts 1 and 2

Not content with making simple transistors at home, Jeri has moved up to making integrated circuits in her homelab. In Part 1 of this process she demonstrates how to cleave wafers, remove native oxide, test the dopant type with a hot probe test and loading the furnace. UPDATE: Part 2 of this video is now […]

Protopeller open source dev board

Adam Ward of Wardy’s Projects has developed his own Parallax Propeller dev board and is sharing the files under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license on Github. Protopeller is a small, simple PCB design that provides a Propeller chip with a regulated on-board power supply, an optional external crystal and breakout connections for all of it’s 32 […]

Altera’s BeInMotion FPGA motor control kit

In this video from Altera, they highlight the advantages of using FPGAs in motor control. The video is based on BeMicro’s BeInMotion SDK motor control kit from Arrow Electronics. Looks interesting, however the $79 hardware kit isn’t yet in stock, and the BeMicro SDK is sold separately for $79. A number of training workshops are […]

Arduino releasing new ADK, ethernet and sensor dev boards

According to the Arduino Blog they are in the process of releasing several new boards, including an Ethernet Board, Mega Sensor Board and Mega ADK. The Arduino Ethernet combines a regular Arduino board with the Ethernet Shield into a single board designed to power your internet of things projects. It has the ability (if fitted […]

Make It Challenge: Kinetis MCU

Freescale has announced a Make It Challenge for users of the Kinetis MCU. Participants will compete by developing an innovative embedded application design using one of the Freescale Kinetis product families. 32-bit Kinetis MCUs represent the most scalable portfolio of ARM® Cortex™-M4 MCUs in the industry. Participants must complete a short online training class and […]

Quick and easy wireless using R/C and PIC 18F452

Chris from PyroElectro writes to inform us of his new wireless project: It takes a standard hobby R/C radio transmitter/receiver system and interfaces it to a PIC microcontroller to control a Motor and LED brightness. Named the Quick and Easy Wireless system for it’s off-the-shelf style. Project details including schematic and C code can be […]

Digital camera hacked into near-infrared camera

The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science(PLOTS) provides this detailed tutorial on hacking a Canon Powershot A490 digital camera to allow it to record images in the infrared light spectrum. The mod involves opening the camera and removing the infrared light filter. To view only infrared light, replacing it with a piece of exposed […]

DigiKey offers free MCU ezine

DigiKey is offering several of their TechZone electronics magazines available free online. One publication which looks interesting is the Microcontroller Solutions Magazine. Its not a glorified advertisement or catalog, but contains articles on both basic and advanced MCU topics such as “Understanding Microcontroller Performance Analysis Techniques” and “Developing Next-Generation Human Interfaces Using Capacitive and Infrared […]

Free webcast: OpenStack, An Open Source Cloud Framework

O’Reilly is offering a free webcast on OpenStack, An Open Source Cloud Framework. The talk will be presented by Andrew Shafer, whose background is in high performance computing, computational science, embedded Linux development, web frameworks and Agile methods. OpenStack is a global collaboration of developers and cloud computing technologists producing the ubiquitous open source cloud […]

What do you want, Arduino to cook for you too?

Well, yes, if you’re Lower East Kitchen you do. For the past four months they’ve worked tirelessly on designing a DIY sous vide kit. And now they’ve built the prototype! The device uses an Arduino to control a heating element under the cook pot. The Arduino monitors a temperature sensor and uses a solid state […]