Nabil wrote to say, “I’ve had success programming and debugging using the Bus Blaster. In this post I will show you how to program and debug the Discovery board using open source hardware and software.” Via the contact form.
Category Archives: open source
Light sequencing and decoding DMX with Arduino
Akiba of Freaklabs and the Tokyo Hackerspace has written an excellent tutorial on using the Arduino to decode the DMX protocol, a standard protocol for stage lighting displays. It includes a three-part video presentation (Part I, above) and a link to the source code. As Akiba notes, these techniques could be used in developing some […]
Open Hardware Journal
Kelvin writes: Just to highlight that there is an Open Hardware Journal. Do check it out. Via the contact form.
propgcc: GCC for the Parallax Propeller microcontroller
Here’s an interesting code project in the development stage. Propgcc is an open source GCC port for the Parallax Propeller P8x32a Microcontroller. The project is currently in the Alpha Test Phase, and its developers note that it’s not yet ready for general use. Testing and documentation are still in progress. They report that the compiler […]
7400 Competition: An ‘open source’ open source competition
The open 7400 logic competition is a collaborative, crowd sourced, open source competition. We started with a few prizes, but we crowd sourced our way to 20 sponsors and $1000s of dollars of swag. Judging guidelines, categories, and artwork were contributed by the community. Rules and materials are all open source, use then to get […]
PixelController: Universal OpenSource light control solution
PixelController is a real time video/VJ generator and mixer with open source software developed by Michael. It generates images on a color matrix, as seen above on his PixelInvader panels. It supports many standards like Art-Net, Mini-DMX, LPD6803, and Seeedstudio’s Rainbowduino. Via the contact form.
Arduino based talking breathalyzer
The Hoz sent in a link to this Instructables by alinke detailing the build of a talking breathalyzer. The main components are a Seeeduino and the Seeed Music Shield, Twig Alcohol Sensor, and Twig Serial LCD all available from Seeedstudio. The open source code and other details can be downloaded from The Talking Breathalyzer site. […]
Parallax introduces laser range finder
Parallax has introduced the Laser Range Finder. “Designed in conjunction with Grand Idea Studio, the Parallax Laser Range Finder (LRF) Module is a distance-measuring instrument that uses laser technology to calculate the distance to a targeted object. The design uses a Propeller processor, CMOS camera, and laser diode to create a low-cost laser range finder. […]
Hackerspaces – the beginning (the book)
Bre and Astera over at Hackerspace blog have assembled a detailed history of the hackerspace movement. Covering from their inception in 2008 to date, what they initially believed would be a 25 page booklet has turned into a 182 MB zip file containing a comprehensive, richly illustrated, community generated account of every aspect of hackerspace […]
Improving open source hardware: Visual diffs
Sebastian send us a link to an article that explains how visual diffs can improve open source hardware. Doing change logs and version control with source code is easy to implement, since it comes down to comparing two text files. While trying to find differences between two revisions of the same hardware is a bit […]
CheapStat open source DIY potentiostat
A potentiostat is an electronic instrument that controls the voltage difference between a Working Electrode and a Reference Electrode contained in an electrochemical cell. Control is achieved by injecting current into the cell through an Auxiliary, or Counter, electrode. Commercial units sell for up to $10,000, but the researchers at University of California (Santa Barbara) […]
Doing it right: webtronics open source web-based schematic entry
logical tipped us to Webtronics, an open source online schematic editor project Unlike Upverter, this project is MIT licensed and anyone can use it. Word.
Editorial: Upverter, another closed source vampire exploits open hardware for ventrue capital, PR, and profit
Upverter is an online schematic layout program. Among several features, it allows a group to work on a project collaboratively. They were a big presence at the Open Hardware Summit, and have been marketing themselves as the ideal solution for open hardware collaboration. That sucks, here’s why: This is a new class of project we’re […]
Free webinar: OpenStack open source cloud framework
Oreilly is offering a free webinar on the topic of the OpenStack open source cloud framework. Open Source, Devops and Cloudcomputing, none exists without the other. Join Andrew Clay Shafer for a guided tour of the OpenStack projects and ecosystems. He’ll start with the history and context of the project, then walk through the architecture […]
Ford and Bug Labs develop open-source R&D platform
According to Ford Motor Company’s press release, they are partnering with Bug Labs * Ford and Bug Labs, an open-source hardware and software provider, announce a joint development project to research, develop and distribute open-source developer tools to advance in-car connectivity innovation. * Known as “OpenXC,” the research platform is based on Bug Labs’ open-source […]
Open source temperature controller
Michael writes: I found this website that I think you may like. A guy named Karel created an open source temperature controller that he used to modify a laminator to make it better at transferring ink to a PCB for traces. It looks like it worked very well and he used the temperature controller to […]
Microchip open source USB/TCPIP stack competition with $1100+ bounty
Microchip launched the open source USB/TCPIP stack competition. The developer who writes, or ports, open source USB and TCPIP drivers to the chipKIT will receive a $1000 bounty (now $1100 and growing): Prizes look like they’ll be around $1000 for each stack developed/ported and that’s in your pocket. We’ll gross up the amount to cover […]
Microchip responds: A bounty for open source chipKIT support!
A few weeks ago we posted an editorial about the lack of complete open source support for Microchip’s chipKIT Arduino-compatible hardware. Marc from Microchip writes: We’ve been reading the blogs and comments, and do agree with you. Though we are a corporation, with a lot of suits (not really, actually I think we have a […]
InkShield: open Open source inkjet shield for Arduino
Nicholas C. Lewis is developing an interesting Kickstarter project known as the InkShield. This shield allows you to connect a HP C6602 inkjet cartridge to your Arduino turning it into a 96dpi print platform. It only uses 5 pins which can be jumper selected to avoid other shields. It is designed with a Arduino Mega […]
SDR Sunday – monitor web SDRs and decode digital data
Want to try out software defined radio (SDR) before you buy or build a rig? Or do you just want to see what all the ham radio chatters about? Then check out the online SDRs available for your listening pleasure at WebSDR. This unique website lists dozens of online radios which you can click on […]