Ray writes, “When your project needs a real-time clock (RTC), don’t you hate that the popular DS1307 costs several dollars? I recently came across Microchip’s MCP7940N, which is an inexpensive alternative to DS1307. On the hardware side it is pretty much a drop-in replacement (although Microchip recommends adding several extra elements). The software requires a […]
Category Archives: code
GNU Radio demo: ultrasound data transmission via a laptop
Here the open source GNU Radio companion program is used to demonstrate the transmission of data from one laptop to another using frequency shift keying (FSK). They use an audio carrier frequency of 23 kHz. You can download the code for the GNU Radio companion flowgraph at Anfractuosity.com.
Convert optical mouse into Arduino web cam
Franci has written this tutorial describing the process used to convert a mouse into an Arduino web cam. In addition to the Arduino, all you need are an Ethernet shield, an optical mouse with ADNS-5020 sensor and a 10K ohm resistor. “An optical mouse uses a small camera that records the surface to calculate movements […]
MIT unveils Android App Inventor2
The App Inventor group at MIT have unveiled App Inventor2. You may be familiar with the App Inventor project when it was previously featured. (At that time it was known as Google App Inventor.) Essentially it helps you build Android apps using a graphical interface which is useful for quick coding and debugging, and is […]
Asterisk PBX on R-Pi
While you don’t hear quite as much as you did a few years ago about Asterisk, the free, open source framework for building communications applications, there’s still an active community developing and extending the code. The software essentially allows you to run your own VOIP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) on your home computer. The crew […]
Linux SteamOS beta available for download
SteamOS is the currently-in-beta Linux-based operating system that will power Valve’s new gaming-PCs-turned-consoles. While the Steam crew has been busy readying 300 beta Steam Machines, they’ve taken the time to release the code for download by Linux enthusiasts. As they describe it, SteamOS Beta is the first public release of our Linux-based operating system. The […]
Rtl_fm Guide: The long lost documentation
Kyle Keen has written up documentation on his Rtl_fm utility, which enhances RTL-SDR operation on older PCs. Rtl_fm is a little utility I wrote for the RTL-SDR project. The program was made to fill a gap in software defined radio: all the computers weaker than a Pentium 4. Basically, an Atom processor processor does not […]
RTCSetup – Real Time Clock setup tool
Secure Drop open source project
“SecureDrop is an open-source whistleblower submission system managed by Freedom of the Press Foundation that media organizations use to securely accept documents from anonymous sources. It was originally coded by the late Aaron Swartz.” SecureDrop is dependent on the Tor project, meaning sources who submit documents and journalists who download these documents must connect to […]
Realtime color tracking with Arduino and OpenMV
In a previous post we featured OpenMV, an inexpensive open-source tiny machine vision module based on an STM32F4 ARM Cortex-M4 micro and OV9650 sensor. Ibrahim has posted an update on this project, including links to the schematic and source code. The above video shows the module tracking a ball with an Arduino. Via the contact […]
gcmc – G-Code Meta Compiler
Bertho has been working on a gcmc – G-Code Meta Compiler, a front-end language for generating G-code for CNC mills: I have been improving the gcmc compiler for a while and I think it is very powerful now. The grammar is done and a very rich set of built-in functions support easy creation of very complex designs. Gcmc’s […]
Arduino Neurosky brain wave (EEG) library
Users of the Neurosky EEG brainwave sensor devices will be glad to learn that there’s an Arduino library for reading data. “Brain is an Arduino Library for parsing data from Neurosky-based EEG headsets. Tested units include the Star Wars Force Trainer and Mattel MindFlex. It’s designed to make it simple to send out an ASCII […]
Video: Reversing Tire Pressure Monitors with SDR
In this presentation from the recent Toorcon 15 in San Diego, CA, Jared Boone, co-developer of the HackRF SDR detailed his efforts in reversing tire pressure monitors found on most vehicles. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) are present on all US automobiles sold as of 2008. This talk, given at ToorCon 15 in San Diego, […]
ATtiny45 project adds sound activation to PC
Here’s an interesting fun project for the ATtiny45 which lets you wake up your PC by just knocking. Joonas Pihlajamaa posted the detailed project log at CodeAndLife. He describes, “Hardware-wise it’s a simple thing – ATtiny45 emulating a PS/2 device, sending a keypress when three knocks are detected in the attached piezoelectric sensor (or piezo […]
Simple Propeller GPS status display
If you’ve ever wanted to know how many GPS satellites are receivable at your location here’s a good beginneer’s Propller project that provides the answer. Its a GPS status display project Nick Ernst developed written in SPIN code and using a Propeller Mini Board, VPN11513 GPS Receiver, shift register and 7-Segment LED display. “The Propeller […]
libfitbit: open source Fitbit API
Today there are a number of wearable fitness monitoring products with the Fitbit family among the more popular choices. While Fitbit has made an API available for developers to interact with Fitbit data in their own applications, products and services, the product is not open source. There is an open source alternative API developed by […]
Propeller II: Emulation of the P2 on DE0-NANO & DE2-115 FPGA boards
The Propeller 2 is Parallax’s next gen release of the popular Propeller multi-core MCU. The Parallax Forum has a thread discussing emulation of the P2 on DE0-NANO & DE2-115 FPGA boards. The latest code (FPGA, pnut.exe, documents) are all in one zip with info on this post in the Parallax forum.
Hacking OTP/eTokens
Dmitry had a OTP/eToken in his gadget collection which he no longer needed. He decided to crack open the device to see what was inside and shares his findings in this blog post. He found a Microchip PIC16F913 and ICSP connect points, which allowed him to reprogram the device into a keychain-sized timer. Via the […]
App note: Propeller communication with a PC app
Abstract: Many embedded applications share information with external devices, and the preferred connection between devices is asynchronous serial communications. The multicore architecture of the P8X32A enables the designer to create and deploy device-to-device communications strategies with no impact on the primary application code. In this example a deployed communications support cog manages data between the […]
OpenXC automotive API for Android
“OpenXC is an API to your car – by installing a small hardware module to read and translate metrics from a car’s internal network, the data becomes accessible from most Android applications using the OpenXC library. You can start making vehicle-aware applications that have better interfaces based on context, can minimize distraction while driving, are […]