Arduino decision box BE (Attiny85)

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nqtronix wrote this instructable detailing the build of his Arduino Decision ‘Box’ BE (Breadboard edition):

Pleace notice: This project neither contains a box nor any Arduino* code.
I stuck with this name because this project is a modifictaion of Victor8o5’s “Arduino decision box 2.0 (Attiny85)” posted three days ago. I liked the way it looks and works, but I also knew there’s still room for improvements within the code, especially to reduce power consumption. I had some spare time so I thought I’d give it a go!
And this is the result, the “‘Ardiono’ Decision ‘Box’ BE (Breadboard Edition)”. It’s not nearly as fancy as the original version (or version 2.0), but it’s enough to get a platform to optimize the code. So if you’re serious about this project, head over to Victor8o5 for his version, my code is fully pin-compatible and thus exchangeable. This project took me no longer than three days from idea to finished instructable, so please be aware that minor bugs may still exist.

#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs

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Every Tuesday we give away two coupons for the free PCB drawer via Twitter. This post was announced on Twitter, and in 24 hours we’ll send coupon codes to two random retweeters. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a every week:

  • Hate Twitter and Facebook? Free PCB Sunday is the classic PCB giveaway. Catch it every Sunday, right here on the blog
  • Tweet-a-PCB Tuesday. Follow us and get boards in 144 characters or less
  • Facebook PCB Friday. Free PCBs will be your friend for the weekend

Some stuff:

  • Yes, we’ll mail it anywhere in the world!
  • Check out how we mail PCBs worldwide video.
  • We’ll contact you via Twitter with a coupon code for the PCB drawer.
  • Limit one PCB per address per month please.
  • Like everything else on this site, PCBs are offered without warranty.

We try to stagger free PCB posts so every time zone has a chance to participate, but the best way to see it first is to subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

Foobot, a robot table football game

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Steve of mooplog has been working on a robot table football game called Foobot:

My DIY robot table football game, using some super cheap 433mhz radio modules, some AVR microcontrollers (attiny2313 and attiny13) and classic Nintendo and Sega controllers to reignite the console wars…

Project info at mooplog site.

Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “Foobot, a robot table football game”

Soldering robot – Head assembly

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Brian Dorey published a new build, a soldering robot project:

We have finished the soldering iron element slider system and stepper mount for the new soldering robot project.
The soldering iron element slides on a pair or 6mm rails, drylin® accessories, precision aluminium shaft 100mm length (part no: AWMP-06) with drylin® R – Bearings (part no: RJZM-01-06) from www.igus.co.uk which are mounted into milled 6mm aluminium plates. These are bolted to a 4mm aluminium base which has slots milled to allow it to be mounted onto a horizontal frame above the board to be soldered. The design files for the head assembly can be download in PDF format Download PDF

For more details visit Brian Dorey’s site.

Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “Soldering robot – Head assembly”

Custom DIY RFID smart lock

In this video Craig demonstrates his custom DIY RFID smart lock project:

The goal of this project was to design an inexpensive rfid door lock which could be opened via smart phone, and have all activity logged w/o utilizing any 3rd party servers or cloud hosting.

Via Hacked Gadgets. Continue reading “Custom DIY RFID smart lock”

LED logger v3

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Bogdan of Electro Bob built a LED logger v3, that is available on github:

In short:  16 LED channels are measured, one is kept for control of the sensor. For each LED the power supply and current are measured. The temperature of the aluminium plate is measured as well. In total there are 16 light channels, 15 current channels***, 4 voltage channels and one temperature channel.

App note: Three-channel power sequencer

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C8051F330 controlling power sequencing app note(PDF!) from Silicon Labs.

An increasing number of devices such as FPGAs, DSPs, RISC-CPUs, and communications ICs operate at two or more supply voltages. The core logic commonly operates from 1.3 to 2.5 V in order to save power while the I/O supply operates from 3.3 to 5 V to interface with other devices.

A common requirement for these ICs is that supply rails should track while ramping and stabilize at their target voltages 100 ms or more before the device is brought out of reset. Also,  these devices often require large decoupling capacitors. Controlling in-rush current by limiting the slew rate on power up can prevent damage to the decoupling capacitors.

Many systems with multiple supplies require system health monitoring and protection. The health monitor checks for overvoltage, undervoltage, or overcurrent on any of the supply rails. It provides protection by putting the system into reset and shutting down all supply rails if abnormal conditions are detected on any of the supply rails.

The C8051F330 can provide low-cost power sequencing and supervision in systems with up to three power supply rails. During power ramp up, it controls in-rush current by limiting the output  slew rate and performs real-time tracking to minimize the voltage difference between supplyrails. Once ramping is complete, it monitors the outputs and shuts down all supply rails if an over-voltage, under-voltage, over-current, or single-rail failure condition is detected.

Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB

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We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service. This week two random commenters will get a coupon code for the free PCB drawer tomorrow morning. Pick your own PCB. You get unlimited free PCBs now – finish one and we’ll send you another! Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB”

App note: Lithium ion battery charger using C8051F300

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Lithium ion battery charger implementation using C8051F300 app note(PDF!) from Silicon Labs.

Driven by the need for untethered mobility  and ease of use, many systems rely on rechargable batteries as their primary power source. The battery charging circuitry for these systems is  typically implemented using a fixed-function IC to control the charging current/voltage profile.

The C8051F30x family provides a flexible alternative to fixed-function battery chargers. This application note discusses how to use the C8051F30x family in Li-Ion battery charger applications. The Li-Ion charging algorithms can be easily adapted to other battery chemistries, but an understanding of other battery chemistries is required to ensure proper charging for those chemistries.

App note: Linear speed control of stepper motor

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An app note (PDF!) from Atmel on Linear speed control of stepper motor:

This application note describes how to implement an exact linear speed controller for stepper motors. The stepper motor is an electromagnetic device that converts digital pulses into mechanical shaft rotation. Many advantages are achieved using
this kind of motors, such as higher simplicity, since no brushes or contacts are present, low cost, high reliability, high torque at low speeds, and high accuracy of motion. Many systems with stepper motors need to control the acceleration/deceleration when changing the speed. This application note presents a driver with a demo application, capable of controlling acceleration as well as position and speed.

Bus Pirate v3.8 free PCB build

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@kennethlimcp tweeted picture of his free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB build.  The Bus Pirate is an open source hacker multi-tool that talks to electronic stuff.

If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a picture on Flicker, whatever – we’ll send you a coupon code for the free PCB drawer.

Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.

 

Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters

buspiratev383 Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. This post was announced on Facebook, and on Monday we’ll send coupon codes to two random commenters.  The coupon code usually go to Facebook ‘Other’ Messages Folder .  More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters”

Systematic PCB verification approach

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From the comments on our previous PCB Checklist post, George Hadley shared this helpful checklist for submitting a PCB to a fab house:

Systematic PCB Verification Approach (PDF!):

1. Parts completion check:
1. All major components included?

  1. Microcontroller/FPGA/SoC/Microprocessor/CPLD?
  2. Power supply/regulation?
  3. Sensors?
  4. User interface elements? (LCDs, buttons, switches, etc.)
  5. Actuator drivers and control? (Motor control? LED constant current drivers? Audio
    filters and amplifiers? Etc. etc. etc.)

2. All support components included?

  1. Microcontroller system guidelines or minimum connection requirements followed?
  2. Application circuits and/or app notes for all major components followed?
  3. Support components proper package as well as value? (Power circuit support
    components designed to handle provided voltages and currents?)

Continue reading “Systematic PCB verification approach”

The Bipolar ORD Bot

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The Bipolar ORD Bot at Buildlog.Net by Barton Dring:

This was built and programmed gonzo style in about 2 evenings. The sole purpose is to spark conversation at ORD Camp 2015. The machine uses two polar axes to create the motion. It is running off stock grbl 0.9g on an Arduino. It runs standard gcode that is mapped to the polar coordinates by a post-post processor

Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “The Bipolar ORD Bot”

Portable battery harness

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Jon has written an article detailing his portable battery harness project:

This year, I’m building a new version of the battery harness, one that is portable. The idea is, you attach it to your phone, and spend the day wandering around, doing whatever it is that you do, and all the while the battery harness is logging power usage data to a micro SD card.
I assume the people reading this are more interested in how it all works, so I’ll dive down into the details now.

The battery harness basically pulls the battery out of the phone, and provides a secure mechanical adapter to power the phone from the battery, while allowing the positive line to be intercepted, between the battery and the phone. This shunt goes to the ammeter (a custom board that I designed and built), and the ammeter measures voltage drop across a resistor to get instantaneous current.

Project info at Jon’s blog.

Tektronix RSA 306 – GPS receiver and clock reference

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KF5OBS writes, “The Tektronix RSA 306 is a great low-cost USB 3.0 spectrum analyzer for up to 6 GHz in an ultra low-profile format. If paired with the RSA Map function of SignalVu-PC and a GPS receiver, it becomes an extremely powerful tool for interference hunting and signal strength mapping. This article shows a possible way to supply position and timing information to the SignalVu / RSA 306 set-up from an external source.”

Details at Jaunty-Electronics blog.

 

A database of SMS cards: The technology inside IBM’s 1960s mainframes

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Ken Shirriff writes:

Although the original idea of SMS cards was to standardize on a few types, the number of different cards exploded as time went one, resulting in thousands of different SMS card types. As well as logic gates, SMS cards can have an amazing variety of functions such as an oscillator, voltage regulator, core memory, fuses, printer hammer driver, disk speed detector or temperature switch. The 1401 computer alone uses 162 different types of SMS cards.

Information on particular SMS cards is surprisingly hard to find, so I made a database of SMS cards, collecting information on 900 different cards. Given the historical importance of SMS cards, I think information on this technology should be preserved. I pulled together information from scans of old IBM documents and a bunch of other sources (which was more work than I expected). You can access the database at righto.com/sms and see the wide variety of cards along with photos, descriptions, schematics, and the devices that use them.

More details at Ken Shirriff’s blog.

How digital light processing (DLP) works

Ben Krasnow writes:

Digital Light Processing projectors use a chip that is covered with tiny mirrors that tilt back and forth. When the mirror is tilted one way, it reflects light out through the front of the projector, creating a bright pixel. When the mirror is tilted the other way, the pixel is dark. In this video, I explain how DLP works and show a macro-scale model.

Hacker Camp Shenzhen vol 5: Componatopia open for registration!

Hacker Camp Shenzhen volume 5: “Componatopia” is on! Join us from Tuesday June 16 to Saturday June 18, 2015 for fun, food and 3 solid days of electronics tours in Shenzhen China and beyond. Tickets are available now.

Come to the world’s electronics capital and experience Shenzhen like a local hacker. Tour the famous Huaqiangbei electronics markets with people who live in the neighborhood, figure out what to eat and how to get around.

This camp we’re doing the oft-requested factory tour! We’ll take our own party bus to a few factories around Shenzhen — and the destination list is already shaping up to be a wide one: last year’s attendees have been lobbying for a mobile gaming studio ever since they found out some of the best casino apps on the market are coded and stress-tested in facilities just blocks from the hardware manufacturers supplying their servers. Exact factory visits will be determined by you! We’ll take requests and try to include something for everyone.

We’ll also explore electronics and tools markets most foreigners could never find: Yihua and the massive Shajing markets.

Schedule

The schedule is offset a few days to accommodate Maker Faire Shenzhen, which is scheduled from Friday to Sunday this year.

  • Optional: Sunday June 14th – Welcome dinner at 7:00pm
  • Optional: Monday June 15 – Tour of Dongmen market & sign street, copy mall, early arrival dinner at Japanese Secret Location
  • Tuesday June 16 -How to survive Shenzhen, Huaqianbei tour, hot pot dinner
  • Wednesday June 17th – Tour of Yihua and Depu markets, Hacker shaokao
  • Thursday June 18th – Factory tours, BBQ dinner
  • Friday June 19th – Sunday June 21st – Maker Faire Shenzhen

That’s just an overview. You can expect nightly dinners and parties all week. Be sure to give yourself a few days to explore the market on your own after the camp!

Tickets

Tickets for the camp cover bus rental, materials, meeting room, a translator, a set of PCBs, and 3 bottles of Tsing Tao (Ching Dao) per dinner. There’s only 20 tickets available and we expect they will sell out fast. Or maybe it’ll be a small intimate group. Who knows! We’re excited to see you there!

  • Student/Starving Artist ticket – $250
  • Normal ticket – $300
  • Supporter ticket – $400 (your name on the site and schedule of every future camp)

We also include allowance for Paypal fees, wire transfer fees, and currency conversion. Hacker Camp Shenzhen is a “no profit” event, meaning we’re lucky to break even.

Where to stay, visas, how to get there

City Inn is the recommended hotel, but be prepared for really bad internet and no WIFI. Check out the Hacker Camp mini-site and our Shenzhen survival guide. Be sure to get WeChat and join the Shenzhen Hacker group chat after you buy a ticket!

SIM card provided

We’re traveling to places an hour or so north of Shenzhen, there are no taxis and nobody speaks English. Everyone must have a working SIM card with data, and this camp we’ll provide them!

Can’t make this one?

Hacker Camp Shenzhen volume 6: “Pun TBD” will be in September or October 2015.

Hacker Camp Shenzhen mailing list!

Don’t miss out, signup to be notified about upcoming hacker camps in Shenzhen!