spanner888 writes:
Finally got prototype working and have captured over 90,000 frames with promising results.
Noticed along the way that SMD component tapes fit the 16mm film sprocket really well, so there is food for thought!Documenting an outline of build and all the useful stuff from around the web that helped me out on my blog, see www.usabledevices movie and photos and all telecine posts (3 so far). Code is in github.
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.)
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 is actively supported on all three major platforms – Windows, Mac and Linux.
Via 43oh.
JohnLittle writes:
I finally got round playing with my AVRASP v2.0 boards. The ones Sleepwalker3 mentioned. Thanks mate!
I bought three USBASP v2.0 on ebay for under £1.50 each. They each came with a short cable (5×2 sockets at each end). However, they do not come with the JP2 header soldered on. Solder it or you won’t be able to re-flash the on-board ATmega8 chip. JP3 on the other hand has been deprecated. It may still have some use in your own projects. You decide!Then download some software (this is for Windows): To use the USBASP programmer with the Arduino IDE, you will need to download the driver, latest firmware and WinAVR-20100110-install.
Via the forum.
AronFeher built a free Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB. 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.
Niels Kjøller Lab writes:
HandyStick is yet another small development board with an AtmegaX8 (Atmega88, Atmega168, Atmega328). The board is targeted towards use with vUSB, a software implemented USB stack.
My first project is a DIY game pad.
It is cheap to manufacture, fitting two on a cheap 5x5cm 2-layer pcb, and using easy-to-source parts. As you can see below, I have more PCBs than I would need, so if you would like one (FREE), just get in touch.Possible uses:
-Using projects like USBAspLoader, you can get a USB programmable AVR board for less than $3 in parts.
-You can use this for USB HID-devices, such as joysticks, gamepads or even a full-featured MAME cabinet
-For more ideas, see the vUSB project list.
Project files are available on GitHub.
KF5OBS did a teardown of a former FBI radio a Motorola Spectra:
Tearing down a former FBI Radio, a 110 Watt FM / APCO25 (P25) VHF Motorola Spectra T99DX with DES hardware encryption module.
ACVoltage wrote this instructable detailing his DIY POV clock using hard disk drive and Arduino Uno:
This is a fun project that can be done easily and also cheaply. In this instructable we will explain step by step how to make this beautiful POV clock.
Used material:
-Arduino Uno,
-Tiny RTC modul,
-ULN 2003,
-IR diode and IR transistor (used like a sensor, more details in next steps)
-4 pushbuttons (for controling the clock)
-TSOP4838 (allows us to control the clock with remote controler)
-Temperature sensor (DS18B20)
-RGB led strip
-Connectors,
-Paper,
-And of course and old hard disk with working motor.
Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “Hard disk drive clock with Arduino Uno”
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:
Some stuff:
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.
An Arduino rangefinder with an ultrasonic sensor and an I²C interface display by Jan Henrik. He wrote an instructables here:
The maximum rated range is 500 cm, the range is measured 20 times per seccond. It is Displayed on a lcd screen which is 20×4 chars big, it has a custom start message, and it can have a custom design while measuring. It will have a backlight LED and can run on every arduino, which has I²C communication. That mean you can run it on an Arduino nano, which is very small. It also requires 5V so it has to be a 5V version of an Arduino.
Diego shares his latest project a WP8 bluetooth RGB LED controller with pic12f1572 16bit pwm in the forum:
I made a Bluetooth board card with a pic12f1572, this pic can drive 3 output pwm at 16bit.
Project files are available at Github.
Via the forum.
The next hackercamp Shenzhen group gets a customized Shenzhen metro card. Its always a pain to get everyone in the group a card, get it charged, or buy tokens. This time we’re just going to hand them out. These customized cards were the same price as a normal metro card.
V-TechDesign published a Doduino build:
This project was an exercise in building an Arduino like ATMEGA328P board from scratch using a 3×4 inch Veroboard. The main objective was to provide better build-in I/O capability out of the box, so most projects will not need an I/O shield to perform common tasks. This makes the whole setup cheaper than trying to do this with an Arduino and I/O shield as well as a good Arduino learning exercise for new users.
Elmars Ositis has been working on a simple constant current driver:
In my previous post, I slapped together a quick LED lighting solution for my workbench… but it is truly a hack. What I really want to do is make a simple constant current driver, so the power LEDs can be used in other projects. One of those projects is an LED swimming pool light. It needs to be running at maximum brightness and low cost.
After much digging and testing, I found a simple circuit using a power FET, an OP Amp and 0.5 ohm resistor.
This simple circuit accepts a VCC up to 32v (limited by the Op-Amp). The 78L05 regulator provides a stable 5v reference and R1 is a potentiometer serving as a voltage divider, with the output on pin 2 serving as a reference voltage for the basic LM358 Op-Amp.
Kathy Yang over at Elecfreaks writes:
We could often feel frustrated when programming using the Arduino IDE. Why? Not because of how many errors we encounter in the program, but it is so difficult to find out the errors in source code, which is really something freaking out. For example Arduino IDE does not seem to display the number of rows, the prompt window can show us in which line the error occurs, but we just have no ideas where the line it is. If you can double click to find exact position of that line, then we will not care about which line it is: line 1 or line 10. But that just hasn’t happened. What’s worse, it cannot change the display font, which reads clumsy or neither too small or unclear enough, as a consequence, seriously affecting the efficiency of our programming. So I wanted to transfer to another editor and the new editor had better be able to take the place of the Arduino IDE completely. Then I found the Sublime Text 2. Here take a look at the overall interface of it.
Note: The language of the Arduino depends on your operating system language. But you can certainly set your own language.
An instructables on adding bluetooth to an EEG headset for mind-controlled projects by AndreLe:
I had serial bluetooth module HC-06 lying around and decided to see if I could integrate the two and skip the Arduino altogether. Turns out, it works almost as good as the commercially available NeuroSky MyndWave for a quarter of the cost, and looks completely unmodified!
Finally, I came across a wonderful open source application by Trent Brooks that forwards your EEG signals on via OSC so you can use it in your MAX/MSP, Processing, or other projects.
Via Instructables.
Temperature dependence, Sensor bias, Ratiometric error due to supply voltage variation and etc. These are some of the errors made by accelerometers, here’s an app note from Kionix to help you deal with it.
Although everyone would like them to be, sensors are not perfect. Understanding the accelerometer’s errors is just as important as understanding how the accelerometer works in an application. Errors can and will affect the application’s performance.
This application note explains the sources of error in Kionix MEMS tri-axis accelerometers. Suggestions are made on how to reduce or eliminate the error in the measurements. In this way, applications can be made more accurate and precise.
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:
Shock and vibration detection as part of product warranty protection, these sensors can be part of any drop sensitive devices i.e. Hard disk drives to record shock instances for warranty claims. Here’s an interesting app note (PDF) from Kionix.
This application note describes how to use a Kionix MEMS tri-axis accelerometer as part of a warranty protection system. The system will record free-fall events or high-g events which might void warranty agreements. It can be integrated into a hand-held or portable electronic device or be used as an external module (in a shipping container, for example).
