Here’s an interesting fun project for the ATtiny45 which lets you wake up your PC by just knocking. Joonas Pihlajamaa posted the detailed project log at CodeAndLife. He describes, “Hardware-wise it’s a simple thing – ATtiny45 emulating a PS/2 device, sending a keypress when three knocks are detected in the attached piezoelectric sensor (or piezo buzzer as they are also called). But if your computer can boot on PS/2 keyboard input and you have your computer stowed somewhere hard to reach (or just want to impress your friends), it’s a pretty neat little gadget!”
Inductor saturation tester
In relation to the previously posted Power inductor checker, Lindsay refers us to Alan Yates’ article on inductor saturation tester:
As a result of recent work on switchmode power converters I needed the ability to measure the saturation properties of inductors. This simple instrument was built to allow visualisation of the current ramp as an inductor charges from a constant voltage, the current vrs time gradient being an indication of inductance (as the current through a perfect inductor rises linearly with time when charged from a constant voltage). When an inductor’s magnetic material saturates the inductor suffers a drop in inductance; essentially the matter in the core can no longer contribute to the magnetisation, only the vacuum in the field remains capable of further magnetisation. This rapid loss of inductance is visible as a steepening knee in the current curve; the instantaneous inductance drops and current rises more rapidly with time.
Via the comments.
Mouser free TI FRAM MCU webinar
Mouser is sponsoring a free webinar on MSP430 FRAM MCUs. This event will provide a technical introduction to embedded FRAM, and provide reference designs that can help with your next project. The sponsors state that attendees will be entered for a chance to win a TI FRAM MSP-EXP430 Experimenter Board Kit.
The webinar is set for November 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM PST. For more information or to register, visit the TI Fram webinar page at Mouser.
chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod winners
Today we announce the winners of the chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod! There were lots of great ideas, thanks for your submissions.
Congratulations to Wedecon Design , his idea for home automation system – Connected home networking scored him a chipKIT WF 32:
A home automation system to control motor controlled windows opening based on humidity and CO2 level in the whole house …
The project status will when started be published in detail on a weekly basis in the Linkedin group
“Connected Home Networking” – 13.000 members
Another winner is Ras B, and his idea for a CHipKit version of a Retro-Inspired Cynare Drum Synth scored him a chipKIT DP 32:
Id use the DP32 to make a CHipKit version of a Retro-Inspired Cynare Drum Synth( ADSR with variable exponential attack, LFO’s included) and some additional features ( Modulation related Like phaser, flanger and some basic reverb and delay- This through an additional memory chip to allow some leverage in the chips memory limitations).
Kevin won a chipKIt Motor shield for his idea:
I have been VERY slowly working on a telescope pointer for a while now. The motoSheild would be a great help.
Christophe also won a chipKit Cmod for his idea:
To measure exact heat circulated in a house by water pipes going out (and returning to) furnace, I would like to measure difference of heat but also the water flow within the pipes (without cutting them). I would like to use the method proposed by and a ChipKit DP32 or a ChipKit CMOD: their MCU has the Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) essential to this operation. Data would be made available to a Raspberry PI for display either through the USB cable or a Digi XBee.
Thank you to Microchip and Digilent for another free swag.
Thank you for participating, there were a bunch of great ideas. As always feel free to share your projects in the forum.
Ultra Librarian and Eagle tutorial
Luca Dentella writes:
Ultra Librarian is a tool by Accelerated Designs to manage libraries of eletronic components (CAD design, simulation, 3d-modelling…). Many IC manufacturers provide Ultra Librarian files (.bxl) for their products: this tutorial will show how to use those files in Eagle…
Via the contact form.
Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters
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. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday.
Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:
- Free PCB Sunday. The classic. Every week, get free PCBs right here on the blog comments
- Tweet-a-PCB Tuesday. Follow us and get boards in 144 characters or less
- Facebook PCB Friday. Free PCBs while you wait for the weekend
- Check out our video on how we mail PCBs worldwide.
Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters”
GIVEAWAY: chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod
Later today we will announce the winners of the chipKIT WF 32, chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod! Leave a comment on the original contest post with an idea for a cool project.
The chipKIt Motor shield is available for $29.99, chipKIT WF 32 for $69.00, chipKIT DP 32 for $23.99, and chipKit Cmod for $29.00 from Digilent.
First release of the Papilio schematic library – draw a custom processor
Drone informs us of Gadget Factory’s first release of the Papilio schematic library:
Hello everyone, we have some exciting news today, the first release of the Papilio Schematic Library is ready to go!
Ever find that you need just one more serial port, or SPI master, or PWM? Wouldn’t it be nice to add any peripheral you could imagine to your microcontroller? Sigma-Delta audio DAC’s, Stepper Controller’s, Commodore 64 audio chips? Well look no further, the power of the Papilio FPGA removes the limitations imposed by static hardware and the Papilio Schematic Library provides the building blocks you need to draw your custom microcontroller in a schematic editor! No more searching for a new board because you are one serial port shy of finishing your project, the Papilio can adjust to your needs, not the other way around.
Via the contact form.
TI samples MSP430F5259 ultra-low power MCU
TI has announced they’re accepting requests for samples of their MSP430F5259 Ultra-Low Power MCU. It features 1.8V split-rail I/O architecture without need for level shifters, 128Kb flash memory and 32Kb RAM for wireless protocol integration and eight serial interfaces for communication to sensors or peripheral devices. The component is available in 5mm X 5mm BGA and VQFN (RGC) 64 packages. The low power needs make them suited for always-on, battery-powered applications.
Design and construction of a 24 GHz low noise amplifier
Jeff of MightyOhm writes:
Tony Long and I designed and built a 24 GHz low noise amplifier for our ECE192 undergraduate independent study project at UCSD.
The amplifier was designed with an early version of Agilent ADS, PCBs were fabricated on Rogers 5880 (Duroid), and we hand built several prototypes on K-connector fixtures that Tony designed. Measured results were consistent with our simulations.
Reminder: chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod giveaway
Tomorrow we’ll give away a chipKIT WF 32, chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod! Leave a comment on yesterday’s post with a project idea, and one of these boards could be yours on Friday.
The chipKIt Motor shield is available for $29.99, chipKIT WF 32 for $69.00, chipKIT DP 32 for $23.99, and chipKit Cmod for $29.00 from Digilent.
PlingPlong – A portable synth
Another cool project by Mats the PlingPlong, a two octave touch keyboard with four channel polyphonic synth:
This is a small (10x20cm 4×8″) portable battery-operated synth with a two octave touch keyboard and four voice polyphonic digital sound. I’m using two microcontrollers on the board – a Microchip PIC18F44K22 for the user interface and a Atmel ATMEGA328 for the sound generation. The PIC18 is using the internal CMTU module for capacitively sensing the 24 touch keys. It is also in charge of scanning the 15 tactile buttons, refreshing the 15 status LEDs and the 7-segment displays, and polling the Rotary Encoder.
Files available at github.
GIVEAWAY: chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod
Microchip and Digilent handed over a chipKIT WF 32, chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod to give away this week. Leave a comment on this post with a project idea, and one of these boards could be yours on Friday.
The chipKIT WF32 is based on the popular Arduino™ open-source hardware prototyping platform and adds the performance of the Microchip PIC32 microcontroller.
The WF32 is the first board from Digilent to have a WiFi MRF24 and SD card on the board both with dedicated signals.
The chipKIt Motor shield is available for $29.99, chipKIT WF 32 for $69.00, chipKIT DP 32 for $23.99, and chipKit Cmod for $29.00 from Digilent. Continue reading “GIVEAWAY: chipKIt Motor shield, chipKIT WF 32, chipKIT DP 32, and chipKit Cmod”
Jack-O’-Launchpad
Tom shared his Jack-O’-Launchpad in the project log forum:
Perhaps not the most imaginative used of a Tiva Launchpad, but the default application makes for a serviceable Jack-O’-Lantern. Powered by a USB adapter from CUI, a freebie via @digikey on twitter. Nice!
Via the forum.
DIY R-Pi based haunted mansion portrait
Brandon Etto designed this changing portrait Halloween prop. The hardware consists of a Raspberry Pi (Model B) and a 19″ widescreen LCD Monitor. Construction details and code links can be found on MAKE.
#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs
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.
Blackhat Euro: cheap open source USB drive write blocker
At last year’s Blackhat Europe con, Philip A. Polstra, Sr. from the University of Dubuque gave a presentation detailing how to protect your USB security drive toolkit from auto erasure by the target machine. He describes the design of an open source USB flash drive write blocker based on the FTDI VNC2 MCU. His presentation covers the basics of flash drive operation as a theoretical base for the drive blocker design.
The 7-page PDF project description is available for download as is the 59-page PDF of the presentation slides.
Weather station
Xose Perez of Tinkerman has written an article detailing the build of his weather station:
Arduino FIO based weather station with a DHT22 temperature & humidity sensor and a BMP085 barometric preassure sensor. The whole sensor will be powered by a solar panel (doubling as irradiance sensor) and backed by a LiPo cell.
An AVR ATmega configurable production line counter
Here’s a production line counter project build on an ATmega 8 micro by Davide Gironi:
It has 4 digit seven segment display. It can count from 1 to 9999 pieces. User can program it to emit an alarm when a number of items is reached.
Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “An AVR ATmega configurable production line counter”
Inside an inexpensive Air Hogs RC helicopter
Inside an inexpensive Air Hogs RC helicopter:
There are a ton of these tiny RC Helicopters around, lots of them use IR light to send signals from the remote to the RC Helicopter. Arduino versus Evil took one apart to see what makes it tick. The helicopter doesn’t have much payload capability but it seems to be quite nimble. Since it is just IR it should be simple to reverse engineer the commands for various movements. Once the codes are in hand you would be able to use something like an Arduino to take control although without a complex vision system I am thinking you would just be giving a human another way of flying the toy.
Via Hacked Gadgets.