Category Archives: how-to

Graphing TI ez430 Chronos watch data in Processing

Chemicaloliver has written a short post describing how to graph ez430 Chronos watch data in Processing. His post includes links to the source code, which is an extension of the earlier Processing code by Sean Brewer. Originally written in 2010, this info remains relevant for newly minted Chronos hackers who’ve just received their TI packages […]

RTL-SDR APCO Project 25 (P25) receiver

Balint Seeber has done it again! In this video he shows how to take the RTL-SDR dongle and use it in conjunction with the open source OP25 project to successfully demodulate APCO Project 25 (P25) digital radio voice communications. P25 is a term used to refer to a modulation system used by many public safety […]

Programing CoolRunner II CPLDs from Windows 7

Kiran wrote a short tutorial on how to program the Xilinx CoolRunner II CPLD development board with a computer running Windows 7.  The board features an onboard USB programmer but the drivers for it are not supported by Windows 7. The only way to program the device, without buying an external programmer, is to run […]

14 ways to contribute to open source

If you’re not a world-class coder, can you still make a meaningful contribution to the open source community? Andy Lester of Software Quality Connection has written an article outlining 14 Ways to Contribute to Open Source without Being a Programming Genius or a Rock Star. He points out various ways — some obvious, some not […]

HOW-TO: Use the Bus Pirate v3 as a PIC development board

The Bus Pirate is a handy debugging tool, but it’s also a 16 bit PIC 24FJ64GA002 development board. You don’t need a programmer to play, just upload the firmware over USB using the Bus Pirate’s nearly-impossible-to-brick bootloader. It’s easy to go back to the original Bus Pirate firmware at any time. This demo is step […]

MSP430: using ACLK and the 32kHz crystal

NJC was designing a home automation system, to control lights at preset intervals. He wanted to use the MSP430 Launchpad but found the high frequency clock source of the valueline MCU to be insufficiently accurate. He wrote this post on the MSP430 Launchpad Blog detailing how to install the 32.768kHz crystal and run an ACLK […]

MAKE How-To: Get Started with the BeagleBone

Matt Richardson from MAKE provides this introduction to the BeagleBone dev board. BeagleBone is an TI AM3358 ARM Cortex-A8-based microprocessor board that ships with a 2GB microSD card with the Angstrom Linux Distribution with node.js and Cloud9 IDE. It retails for $89 from MAKE and Adafruit.

HOW-TO: Make realistic 3D renderings of PCB designs

3D models in Google SketchUp look great, but with a few extra plugins the results can look photo-realistic. In this tutorial we’ll cover our experience with the Maxwell for Google Sketchup rendering plugin. The Maxwell Fire engine is easy to use. It’s integrated directly into SketchUp so you don’t need to open any other application […]

HOW-TO: Make parts in Cadsoft Eagle

Eagle’s popularity is partly due to the sheer number of parts and footprint libraries available for it. Sometimes you can’t find the part you need in an existing library though, and it’s time to make your own. Making a new part in Cadsoft Eagle can be intimidating for new users, but the guide below shows […]

How (not) to sell PCBs: PCB drawer first year sales breakdown

A while back we started selling Bus Pirate v3.5a-SOIC “DIY Edition” PCBs from the free PCB drawer for $3.95. Our informal survey and found that $5, including shipping, is a sweet spot for one board. So we hacked Zen Cart to accept PayPal for only one item, and started taking orders. With shipping, two boards […]

28C3: The Atari 2600 video computer system ultimate talk

Here’s something for retro video game enthusiasts. This talk by Sven Oliver (‘SvOlli’) Moll from the recent 28C3 conference in Berlin covers the history, the hardware and how to write programs for the Atari 2600 gaming console. The Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS for short) was one of the first popular gaming consoles back […]

Kicad libgen tool

Boseji informs us of the new libgen tool for creating Kicad schematics symbols. This tool is based on Python and can generate one Component from a XML file.This tool in multiple ways emulates the Quick KICAD Library Component Builder online tool for generating the symbols. However since it’s standalone it becomes easier to edit and […]

How-to assemble the Strip­In­vaders LED sys­tem

Michu made instructions on how to assemble  StripInvaders. All that is needed is a few wire splices, other then the already required Arduino Ethernet, and the Grove – Base Shield. This video shows you how to assemble the StripInvaders LED System. It’s really easy, take a look! Via the forum.

LiPo USB charger using the MCP73831

Paul Asselin has written a description of his design of a USB Lithium Polymer battery charger. I wanted to build a cheap USB LiPo charger and didn’t like the unavailability nor the price of the Maxim’s MAX1555. Searching for something better, I stumbled upon the Microchip MCP73831. It is still way too expensive in single […]

How to read several infrared sensors using one MCU pin

Oscar has written an article describing a technique he’s used for reading multiple analog sensors with one MCU ADC pin. He was designing a line-following robot and wanted to read several infrared sensors without having to dedicate an analog read pin for each. His solution uses “a Schmitt trigger inverter whose output has resistors connected […]