Hardware hacking guru Joe Grand of GrandIdeastudio has posted this new, detailed introduction/demonstration of the JTAGulator, an open source hardware tool te hat assists in identifying on-chip debug (OCD) and/or programming connections from test points, vias, or component pads on a target device. (We note the Bus Pirate usage at 5:40.)
Category Archives: tools
Energia vE0013 release adds low power, CC3200 WiFi LP and CC3100 BP support
The Energia team announces the availability of version vE0013. We wrote about it previously: A new version of Energia has been released. Energia is an open-source electronics prototyping platform started by Robert Wessels in January of 2012 with the goal to bring the Wiring and Arduino framework to the Texas Instruments MSP430 based LaunchPad. It […]
Cheap laser cutter arrives pretty busted up
Like many others we have succumbed to the urge for a cheap laser cutter. What started as a $200 purchase quickly doubled, but that’s still a fraction of the cost of an expensive one. Why do we what it? That’s a not very well hit secret. The ubiquitous blue Chinese freight truck drops the crate […]
A DIY laser engraver build using DVD and CD-ROM/writer
Here’s a DIY 38mm x 38mm laser engraver build using CD-ROM/writer on ATmega328p by Davide Gironi: A laser engraving machine, is a tool that uses lasers to engrave an object. To build this tool I’ve used two old CD-ROM writer that lays around in my garage. The X/Y positioning system it is build using the CD-ROM motor […]
Analog AC line monitoring box
Dilshan Jayakody writes: This is a quick post about our newly constructed AC line monitoring unit. This unit consists with analog AC voltmeter, frequency meter and ammeter. Both voltmeter and frequency meter are 2.5 × 2.5 inch in size and ammeter is 3.5 × 3.5 inch in size. All these panel meters are commonly available in market. Ammeter in […]
Read serial data without PC on GLCD
Hemal Chevli wrote an article detailing his new tool the GLCDTerm that reads serial data without PC on GLCD: I’m calling it GLCDTerm(spin-off from GTKTerm), this handy tool reads TTL serial data and displays it on GLCD. This is the first time I’ve used a GLCD in any of my projects. It runs on m328 using arduino bootloaer and the […]
Stencil printer project
Supertronic posted pictures of his new stencil printer design in the forum: I did a new stencil printer design it will be avaliable before machine production starts. It can print 300x200mm stencils and is used for prototyping.
SMD soldering station for Weller soldering tips
Martin Kumm writes: This page provides documents about a cheap SMD solder station built as an Arduino shield (Arduino UNO). It supports active soldering tips from Weller (RT series) which contain the heating element as well as a sensor and provides a standard 3.5 mm jack. Together with the corresponding female connector you will get […]
Macgyver SMD soldering iron adaptor
Rupert Hirst of RunAwayBrainz writes: Surface mount component removal can often be tricky. With a little thought, and a piece of copper wire, small components can now be safely and cleanly removed, without damage to either the component or PCB tracks. In the following video I show you how to make an quick and simple […]
The Delta router + 4th axis
Barton Dring wrote a post on his blog detailing his Delta router build, he made it for ORD Camp: This year there happened to be a session on creativity with constraints. The question we debated for an hour was, do constraints help or hurt the creative process. Constraints can move you out of your comfort zone and maybe […]
SMT700 New vision based SMT machine
Supertronic writes, “I am designing a small vision based machine having 60x 8mm feeders exchangeable at a size of 800x700mm.” More pictures here. Via the forum.
Arduino based ‘Etch A Sketch’ laser cutter
Martin Raynsford writes about his latest Arduino based project: We switched out the standard controller with an Arduino (just in time for Arduino day) and connected two rotary dials to directly manipulate the X and Y axis. As long as the laser only cuts while the axis are moving then we should avoid fires. We’ll […]
New Energia version available
The Energia team announces the availability of version 0101E0012. We wrote about it previously: Energia is an open-source electronics prototyping platform started by Robert Wessels in January of 2012 with the goal to bring the Wiring and Arduino framework to the Texas Instruments MSP430 based LaunchPad. Energia uses the mspgcc compiler by Peter Bigot and […]
Soldering with a hot air rework station 858D
Charles Douvier writes: This is my first try at reflow soldering. It took four attempts to get it right… so you learn 3 ways not to do it ;) I just got this 858D station in the mail the other day, it cost me about $70 on eBay. In this video I referenced Jayson Tautic’s […]
EasyEDA web based design tool
Dillon He writes with an update on EasyEDA, a web based EDA tool for electronics engineers, educators, students, makers and enthusiasts. It is the work of a tiny hacker team over a period of three years and nine months. It can be used by all hardware and operating system, whether you are using Linux, Mac […]
Easy Stepper motor controller
Weiss has written up documentation on his Stepper motor controller: The reason for this project was my frustration over how much it takes to just test a simple stepper motor. To test a stepper motor you usually need some kind of MCU most likely a Arduino, your breadboard, cables, some kind of driver and other components. When […]
GPS for graphing calculators
Kerm Martian from Cemetech has documented a GPS for graphing calculators project build: Graphing calculators are nothing less than powerful pocket computers, capable of doing many of the same things as smartphones, desktops, and laptops. Given that they have reasonably fast processors, a display, memory, and ports to interface with the outside world, I set out […]
Latest ‘New Year’ release of AnalysIR with full support for USB IR Toy
The AnalysIR crew has announced the the latest ‘New Year’ release of AnalysIR with full support for USB IR Toy: A major highlight of this release is full AnalysIR support for USB IR Toy from Dangerous Prototypes (V1 & V2 hardware) for decoding and resending IR signals at all common modulation frequencies. In our opinion, AnalysIR is now […]
Sniffing and decoding NRF24L01+ and bluetooth LE packets for under $30
Omri writes: In this long post I am going to describe my journey to sniff and decode popular digital wireless protocols off the air for very cheap. So cheap practicality anyone can obtain the equipment quickly. I was able to decode NRF24L01+ and Bluetooth Low Energy protocols using RTL-SDR. As far as I can see, […]
Online tool and AT commands for M2M modules
Surya writes with this reference to a guide for a tool an Online AT Command Tester for use with an attached wireless/cellular module. This topic refers to Machine to Machine (M2M) device communications which take AT commands over serial connections. The tool was developed with the M10 Quectel Arduino GSM shield in mind. Via the […]