Raspbian-based SD card image released


Squonk points out Raspberry Pi’s announcement of the release of a Raspbian-based SD card image.

The Raspberry Pi crew says, “This release replaces the existing Debian squeeze image as our recommended install. Notably, it is the first official image to take full advantage of the Raspberry Pi’s floating point hardware for, amongst other things, much faster web browsing. Users who are still using Debian squeeze will definitely want to switch to this, as it contains numerous tweaks and performance improvements to the firmware, kernel and applications.”

Visit their download page to grab your copy.

Via the contact form.

Workshop Update for July 19th, 2012

Today we mainly worked on the Workshop Video.

Illustration for the Sick of Beige laser cutting tutorial is complete. As is the documentation for the recently released Bus Pirate LCD adapter v3.

We updated an early prototype of the Bus Blaster v4, and put together the BOM for that project so we can get a quote.

Hacking a tank toy

Wardy hacked a tank toy he got from eBay. Motors are driven through a L298N dual full-bridge driver, while the tank is currently controlled with an Arduino. Soon the Arduino will give way to a Propeller-based custom board.

That toy tank I snagged on Ebay has undergone some surgery to remove the hideously cheap and nasty motor drive circuitry – only to be replaced by some half-baked contrivance of my own doing.

NEW PROTOTYPE: Bus Pirate LCD adapter v3

HD44780 character LCDs can be controlled from as few as 6 pins, but the Bus Pirate v3 only has 5 IO pins. What to do? We grabbed a common 74HCT595 IO expander chip and made an LCD adapter board. A version of this breakout is in the EEVblog video this week. You can build the adapter with a few parts and a bread board, or you can buy it ready-made at Seeed Studio for $9.00.

The most recent batch of Bus Pirate LCD adapters is now v3. It has clearer labeling and prettier graphics. More significantly, it’s the third release using standard PCB sizes, this one is DP6037, just like the Bus Pirate v3.6. While we were in there we changed the version to 3. Now there should be less confusion about compatibility: the v3 LCD adapter works with Bus Pirate v3x, a forthcoming v4 LCD adapter works with Bus Pirate v4x.

Read about the design below.

You can get a Bus Pirate LCD adapter v3 for $9.

Continue reading “NEW PROTOTYPE: Bus Pirate LCD adapter v3”

WORKSHOP VIDEO #30: Bus Pirate LCD Adapter v3 overview and demo

EEVblog brought up the Bus Pirate LCD adapter this week, so we though it was a good time to talk about the latest v3 hardware revision and do a simple demo. This is a small board that has everything needed to control and test common HD44780 LCD character displays with the Bus Pirate.

The latest version of the LCD adapter was moved to an new standard size PCB, DP6037 (60mmx37mm). This is the same one used by the Bus Pirate v3.6. It also has clearer labeling and prettier graphics.

While we were in there we changed the version to 3. Hopefully there is less confusion about compatibility: the v3 LCD adapter works with Bus Pirate v3x, a forthcoming v4 LCD adapter works with Bus Pirate v4x.

In response to Dave’s suggestion the next batch of LCD adapters will have a 2×8 footprint so it covers both common types of LCDs.

Check out how much better the screen capture is this week. Unfortunately the audio is a bit crunchy, it’ll be fixed next week.

The Bus Pirate is available for $30 including world wide shipping. LCD adapters are available now for $9.00.

OpenWRT router interfaced to an Arduino

Yesterday we talked about the cheap OpenWRT supported TP-Link WR703N Wi-Fi router. This instructable describes how to interface it to an Arduino board, and compares it to other Linux boards like the Raspberry Pi.

So far the nicest solution I have found is one of the world’s smallest pocket routers TP Link WR703N.
Cheapest in price 25 USD, nice looking 5x5x2 cm plastic box, internal Wifi. Can be ordered on Ebay, shipping is free and it arrives from HongKong in a month.  This router has a 400 MHz CPU, 4 MB flash (quite small),  32 MB RAM, 1 Ethernet, Wifi, 1 USB, 0.5 W power consumption. Powered via USB cable. Included power supply can be plugged in 110V or 220V.

It must be reflashed with OpenWRT Linux, where most necessary program modules exist, however not everything is compatible with Debian Linux. Can add USB hub, USB stick, USB sound card, bluetooth, webcam, 3G modem, 1-wire USB or serial module, connect to Arduino, set up Wifi client, place home webserver on router.

Via the forum. Thanks Squonk!

Fixing cheap female pinheaders

Lindsay lets us know about a problem he ran into with cheap female pinheaders:

I once had problems with a 0.1″ pin header connector – the sockets inside the female connector made extremely poor contact. It was for an LCD display and only about half of the pins were connected! Swapped it for a different style of connector and it worked fine.

Via the comments.

Free webinar: FPGA programming in C code


Newark/element14 and David Pellerin, co-founder of Impulse Accelerated Technologies, have teamed up to offer a free webinar on programming in C code on an FPGA using the Altera Cyclone development platform. They promise, “In 45 minutes you will learn how you can leverage distributed processing for a C code algorithm across your entire embedded system – from the FPGA to the embedded processor.”

This program titled “Breakthrough Many-Core Processing Using the Altera Cyclone FPGA to Accelerate Your Embedded System” will be webcast on July 25, 2012, at 1:00 PM EDT. To register visit the element14 login/registration page. Five Webinar attendees are eligible to win a free copy of David Pellerin’s textbook, “Practical FPGA Programming in C” pictured above.

Workshop Update for July 18th, 2012

We submitted a new “emotional appeal” ad for alt.2600 magazine. This is the current ad. Thanks Machine Geek!

We started Open Hardware Summit presentation, and renewed our registered agent service.

Tutorial on customizing our Sick of Beige cases continues. Only proof reading, links, and pictures are left.

We started a Mouser order with standoffs, and some new microcontroller families to play with.

GPS packed in a mint tin case

Jeremy built a tiny GPS receiver into a “Altoids” case.

This unit is explained in the video above, but is basically a GPS receiver, 1 CR1220 battery for the RTC on the GPS breakout, one of my Square Inch of Goodness boards, one 128×32 OLED display, three 6mm buttons, and a 400mAh Li-Po Battery (from Sparkfun). It even has FTDI headers on it so I can update the firmware with ease (with my own FTDI adapter!). The awesome part is that all of those things fit in an Altoids Smalls tin, measuring 2.15″ (W), 1.35″ (L), and .56″ (H), or 55mm (W), 34mm (L), and 14mm (H).

Via Adafruit.

TP-Link WR703N lowest cost openWRT compatable Wi-Fi router

The TP-Link WR703N (machine translation) is a small Wi-Fi router that’s easy to hack, and flash with openWRT. The best feature about it is that it cost only $20 on eBay. It features a single host USB connector making it easy to connect USB devices to it. The processor runs at 400Mhz, with 4MB of flash memory, and 32MB of RAM.

Via the forum.

HOW-TO: Polygons and ground fills for PCBs in Eagle


In Eagle polygons are used to make big copper areas on a PCB that aren’t necessarily traces. We use them all the time to fill blank space on a PCB with copper connected to ground. Less frequently we use them to make large power traces such as with the ATX Breakout Board. Here’s some notes on how to use and customize polygons in Cadsoft Eagle.

Continue reading “HOW-TO: Polygons and ground fills for PCBs in Eagle”

Pads tearing off of PCBs

Voidptr got a board from eBay that may have used an exceptionally cheap PCB. He soldered some pinheaders to the board and with slight pressure the pins flew of the board:

I just got this ebay board and got a bad surprise, I soldered the header, did not overheat it I’m pretty sure. Connected few wires and plug them on a breadboard …  While moving the breadboard around all pads of the ebay board broke off …

What kind of hacking hazards do you encounter?

Via the forum.

Benchtop power supply based on ATX Breakout board

Software & Sawdust posted his new Benchtop power supply based on the ATX Breakout board. It features our breakout board, and an ATX power supply packed together into a custom wood case.

This is a project that’s been in the back of my mind for a long time but I just never seemed to find the time to build it.  When I saw the new ATX Breakout Board by Dangerous Prototypes, I was inspired to get the project started.

Via TweetDeck

The Woz’s backpack contents revealed!

Steve Wozniak (“The Woz”) has published this incredible list of the gear he carries in his travel backpack. Dozens of gadgets, cables, gizmos and accessories, only a portion of which are pictured above. Enough to fill seven bins at airport security. “You might think this is abnormal for me but, to the contrary, it’s customary.” We understand, Woz.

Via Gizmodo.

Workshop Update for July 17th, 2012

Today we arranged orders for our fantastic wholesaler Watterott in Germany, and two potential new resellers to be disclosed soon. Seeed Studio shipped Adafruit’s most recent wholesale order a few days earlier than scheduled – thanks to everyone there for all the great work!

We had a team workshop on a Dangerous Prototypes part kit. We aimed for a kit with the best parts and a couple reels that still keeps the cost in the starving student range.

Bios and summaries went out for Open Hardware Summit talks and posters. We also had two talks and a table accepted to the Singapore Maker Faire, we’re still trying to make it.

Quotes for a few recent projects went to Seeed, including that secret project.

A laser cutting tutorial is being prepped to show you how to make your own standard-sized cases.

Bus Pirate v3.6 back in stock

Bus Pirate v3.6 universal serial interface is back in stock at Seeed Studio. This is the updated v3.6 in a standard PCB footprint. You can get a simple laser-cut acrylic protector for this board for only 3 bucks.

Bus Pirate is a hacking multi-tool that has the capability to interface with most IC bus protocols used in the electronics industry today.

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

Controlling a camera with the Bus Pirate

Hacromatic posted a tutorial on interfacing an Arduino camera module with the Bus Pirate:

The Bus Pirate from Dangerous Prototypes is one of my favorite debugging tools. It’s a really handy gadget for probing and poking around on various communications buses to get an understanding of how to interface to new chips or devices. It has a large set of features but I want to zoom in a bit and talk about I2C and how to use the Bus Pirate to talk to the HacroCam.

Via the contact form.

Get an assembled Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.

Levitating LED combines wireless power transfer + magnetic levitation


Chris Rieger is an Electrical Engineering student from the University of Queensland Australia, and has been experimenting with wireless power transfer and magnetic levitation. After studying the work of Jeff Lieberman, Eric Taylor, and others, Chris fine tuned his design to combine these two technologies to achieve the results depicted in this video.

Visit Chris Rieger’s website for project details and photos. Fascinating stuff!