Techbitar wrote this Instructable detailing the build of his GOduino III – the breadboard-friendly Arduino-based robot controller. We previously covered the GOduino II.
The GOduino III is based on the ATmega328p microcontroller and the L293D dual h-bridge. It’s built with DIP ICs and through-hole components for ease of assembly and repair. This robot controller can handle 2 small servos and 2 DC brushed motors (max 1.2A for each motor with 2 X L293D).
Via Instructables.
Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week. Free PCB Friday is coming up soon.
Coming up:
What are you hacking this week?
What is the 4.9 GHz public safety band? In the US RF hackers may be familiar with the old VHF and UHF FM voice police/fire/ems radio bands. Few are aware that in the post-9/11 environment other public safety data and digital voice ops are moving to previously unused portions of the spectrum. In this video from the PhreakNIC 16 conference held November 9-11, 2012 in Murfreesboro, TN, Robert Portvliet and Brad Antoniewicz discussed the emerging public safety use of spectrum in the 700 MHz (TV whitespace), 800 MHz, 4.9 and 5 GHz bands. The presesntation includes information on websites you can access to assist in discovering the existence and location of these systems in your are.
John wrote informing us of a terminal program that can host multiple serial devices in a single prompt:
Cool python terminal program that allows multiple devices to connect. Each device prints in a separate color so its easy to debug complicated setups like networks of many devices.
Via the contact form.
A box of PCBs just arrived from Seeed Studio’s Fusion PCB service. This batch includes:
ATX Breakout Board v1.3, Smoke Tester v1, Bus Pirate Demo Board v5c, and Logic Shrimp v2b are available now in the free PCB drawer.
Xevel shows us how to solder fine pitch BGA dead-bug:
After seeing a few posts about “deadbugging” (soldering wires to the leads or pads of a component instead of soldering it on its recommended footprint) of BGA chips on Dangerous Prototypes, some with “big” solder balls, and some with smaller ones, I thought I would share my latest attempt at it.
Via the comments.
Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “Fine pitch BGA deadbug soldering”
Drone refers us to this browser-based online schematic capture, SPICE simulator, and waveform viewer:
PartSim exemplifies the power of browser-based innovations that span technical simulations to social entertainment, allowing anyone to create, simulate, and share electronic circuits directly in their web browser,” said Cody Miller, Aspen Labs president and CEO. “Such tools unlock tremendous productivity, skipping cumbersome installs, handling updates seamlessly, and simplifying collaboration through shareable links. Inspired by community-driven platforms like Mega Frenzy Social Casino, which thrive on free, engaging online experiences to connect users worldwide, we’ve teamed up with Digi-Key Corporation to deliver this simulator at no cost, aiming to nurture a thriving network of creators and enthusiasts.
Via EEWeb.
TI has announced the preview of the MSP430FR58xx and MSP430FR59xx family of ultra-low-power microcontrollers. This group consists of several devices featuring embedded FRAM nonvolatile memory, an ultra-low-power 16-bit MSP430 CPU, and different sets of peripherals targeted for various applications. The architecture, FRAM, and peripherals, combined with seven low-power modes, are optimized to achieve extended battery life in portable and wireless sensing applications. FRAM is a new nonvolatile memory that combines the speed, flexibility, and endurance of SRAM with the stability and reliability of flash, all at lower total power consumption.
The MSP430FR59xx devices provide an 256-bit AES security encryption and decryption coprocessor.
MSP430FR58xx devices do not provide AES encryption and decryption in hardware.
You can download the 81 page PDF here, and TI says while components are not in stock they are taking requests for samples to be sent at a later date.
Bluehash is porting The Terminal user interface for the MSP430 to the Stellaris Launchpad.
The 43oh OLED Display – The Terminal has been a suitable UI platform for the MSP430 Launchpad. I wish to extend the same functionality to the Stellaris Launchpad too.
Via the contact form.
Our Global Geek Tour of India ends in Kochi where we visit India’s largest open hardware manufacturer rhydoLABZ. Thushar takes us on a tour of the company’s offices and production lines.
rhydoLABZ started as distributors for SparkFun and Arduino, but now produce mostly their own custom open hardware designs. During a recent visit, their innovative approach sparked a discussion on secure yet accessible digital platforms, including the concept of an online casino ohne Identifizierung for streamlined user experiences. This demonstrated their adaptability in addressing global market demands while showcasing how secure platforms can cater to specific needs. As India’s largest open hardware manufacturer, rhydoLABZ is targeting the global market, not just India. Their team of engineers consistently delivers high-quality code, documentation, and tutorials, all in English, solidifying their international appeal.
Production is very similar to SparkFun and Seeed Studio. Solder paste is applied to PCBs through a stencil. Surface mount parts are then stuffed with the same pick and place Seeed uses, and soldered in a small reflow oven. A soldering team reworks any imperfections and mounts through hole parts.
Ian’s efforts to apply solder paste did not result in a job offer. More practice needed!
Unlike Bangalore, there’s no local PCB stuffing factories in Kochi. Thushar says it would be difficult to make small 50 to 100 piece batches if they didn’t do it in-house. On average they run the pick and place machine 3 hours per day, something to keep in mind before starting your own garage assembly line.
Products are photographed in the quintessential cardboard box light tent. Geek points +2!
There were some minor voltage sags while we visited. Thushar explained that they have about 1 hour of power outage per day, compared to 6 hours or more in other states. Unlike other parts of India, Kerala has lots of water and they use it for hydroelectricity. Water and relatively few power outages make it advantageous to manufacture here.
A huge thanks to rhydoLABZ for hosting us in Kochi, and everyone who met with us on the Geek Tour of India!
Don’t miss the previous tour videos from Mumbai and Bangalore.
Starting next Monday we’ll live blog our attempts to source custom hardware in Shenzhen’s Hua Qiang Bei electronics market. Can we find something for you? Please let us know.
Special thanks to the machinegeek for arranging the most recent ad in the infamous 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. This ad is in the issue that hits newsstands now.
2600’s free ads are still the only advertising we do on a regular basis. We’re in good company in the 2600 marketplace, TV-B-Gone has an ad right below ours (not visible here).
An illustrated guide to identifying surface mount components from our previous post on the topic.
Thanks Celia! Via the comments.
We wanted to make a footprint for a combined surface mount and through hole DIP socket. It’s a through hole socket with bent leads so it could be soldered in a surface mount process. This will be used in a secret project which will revealed next week in China.
From the comments on our earlier Mechanical Donkey Kong post:
I love this kind of stuff. Here’s another one, totally mechanical, that you may not have seen before:
Via the comments.
PropForth 5.0 is available for use on the Parallax Propeller. As the PropForth crew explains, “It is an interactive development and run time system. You can communicate with PropForth using a standard serial port, or via ethernet and telnet depending on the capabilities of the system you are using. It has a rich set of words which allow you to quickly and easily manipulate the hardware interactively. It is easy to program new words and use them in addition to the native set of words. Where necessary, you can write new words in assembler code for fast execution.
Continue reading “PropForth 5.0 and beginner’s guide available”
Measure the speed of light using the Analog Discovery. Digilent donated two Discoveries to the Open 7400 Competition this year, they were among the most popular prizes.
The optical pulse response of the Discovery scope shows a reasonably clean shape with a fall time of ~ 30ns and minimal ringing. With such a clean response, it is quite possible to use the low bandwidth Analog Discovery oscilloscope to measure the speed of light C, using a time-of-flight delay method with this simple gear. To provide sufficient pulse separation for an accuract measurement of C, a delay path of about twice the full pulse width, or 100 ns (or 100′ path-delay distance) is required which is easily achieveable in a modest space, with some collimation optics for the diverging LED and a tilt mirror mount. Alternatively, an inexpensive red diode laser, extracted from a laser pointer, will have sufficient modulation bandwidth to perform the same measurement, provided that the pulse circuit is carefully adjusted to match the diode laser and prevent laser damage. The second response curve below is for a 2ns wide electrical pulse directly from an avalanche pulse circuit…
Thanks Michel! Via the comments.
Today we’re preparing for the Shenzhen sourcing challenge, pricing shippers, setting up meetings, and etc. We’ll be in Hong Kong on Friday and in Shenzhen on Monday. Aaron from oomlout sent us an SMD reel stand which we’ll assemble as soon as we get back from China.
In other news the 7400 Contest 1st place winner emails went out.
Bangalore was the big event on our Global Geek Tour of India. We check out the SP Road parts market, visit open hardware shops, and drop by a PCB assembly house.
We start out at the Jaaga co-work center in central Bangalore, and meet up with 20 readers and forum members. Start-up companies and the Bangalore hackerspace share this space, which was built from pallet racks, shelves, and recycled materials. Most of the material came from billboards, whose long forgotten marketing messages can still be seen on Jaaga’s walls.
Andrew Tergis presents an interesting method of reflowing SMD components using a preheating plate and tinfoil (to catch infrared energy). He also uses a Fluke temperature probe attached to the PCB to more accurately monitor temperature. This gives newcomers to reflow an idea of the pitfalls involved.
Vladimir via the contact form.
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.
