jbeale made a custom case for Gravitech’s microSD boards:
That is a real, custom SLA (stereo-lithography) case that was fabricated for a prototype at work- they had the budget for it. It is like the 3D printed things made by a “reprap” type printer, except with finer resolution (I think the layers are each only a few thousandths of an inch).
Via the forum.
pietja built a free ENC424J600 breakout board.
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.
ezflyr posted his GLCD clock with large graphical LCD in the project log forum:
I’ve made quite a bit of progress on my GLCD clock project in the last week or so. I’ve now got the time keeping routines, and the GPS ‘sync’ routines working flawlessly. When connected to a GPS receiver, the clock will sync to GPS time once every 24 hours, or immediately if 24 hours has passed without an update. Frankly, the DS3231 RTC seems to be accurate enough to set initially, and then correct with GPS every few months, so I’ll probably only connect the GPS on occasion. This RTC has very low drift!
New version of flashrom available. This app can program flash and bios chips using the Bus Pirate:
Latest flashrom binary for Windows (32bit)
This version also has support for plain ft2232-based flashers and thus it needs libusb and libftdi on your Windows machine.
Via the forum.
Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.
Parker Dillmann of Longhorn Engineer writes to inform us that:
I just finished V1.1 of the Propeller Development Stick. Link to all the info here.
The stick is a miniature Propeller dev board which can plug directly into your computer’s USB port and was designed with goals of minimal cost and size.
You can check out the schmatic, PCB files and BOM at Parker’s Longhorn Engineer site. He also has PCBs (produced by Seeed Studio) available at a very reasonable price.
An introduction to the MOSFET:
If you need to switch high current and or high voltage loads with a micro controller you’ll need to use some type of transistor. I’m going to be covering how to use a MOSFET since it’s a better option for high power loads. This guide will be just a brief introduction that will discuss how to drive a mosfet in a simple manner with the ultimate goal of making it act like an ideal switch.
Via ReiBot.
A DIY version of Bus Pirate 3.5-SOIC is now on sale in the free PCB drawer. This is our first attempt at selling something directly. The PCBs were made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion PCB service. They’re red and 100% e-tested for errors.
Unfortunately, this PCB has a minor bug, but it is easily corrected with a solder bridge between two adjacent pins on the 4066 chip. More in the forum.
PCBs are available for $3.95 each, with shipping starting at $2 ($2.50 international). That’s 2 PCBs for $5, the most-requested price point in our survey. We couldn’t get it to $5/flat because there’s a fixed cost for each order that a single PCB doesn’t cover. Payment is handled by PayPal, but you can use any credit card to checkout. We’ll have a full, public analysis of the cost for this experiment once the dust settles.
Here’s the parts in a shopping cart at Mouser, it should be everything you need to build the PCB. It is completely untested, so double check the parts before placing your order. This is a new thing for us, let us know if you use it and how it works.
Yet another GUI for the Bus Pirate:
Here is a little gui I’m writing for my Bus Pirate and as an exercise in Qt. It is far from finish but I thought some of you might find it useful. At the moment, It’s nothing more than a modified console with support for the firmware upgrade (which might work on a v4 but I can’t test it yet). I use Qt and QSerialDevice so, in theory, it should work under Linux, Windows and Mac but I only work under Linux. Compiling it should be as easy as opening the all.pro file in QtCreator and clicking run or the usual (if you know Qt) qmake/make.
Via the forum.
an inter mcu/avr hardware mutex. Up to 4 cores, build with 74xxx.
This article is about building an inter MCU/PIC/microcontroller mutex/lock, allowing to have several disctinct cores (of any kind) working together and using a single resource without conflict.
Via the contact form.
Here’s an entry in the Open 7400 Logic competition: Homebrew minicomputer
Parallax is introducing a new robotics platform based on the Propeller microcontroller. Known as Eddie, which stands for Expandable Development Discs for Innovation and Experimentation, the platform consists of dual 18 inch round bases positioned one above the other. The upper is designed with mounts for a Kinect and a laptop (used for what Parallax terms “on the go programming.”) The lower level is outfitted with the Propeller board, three infrared and two ultrasonic sensors, a 12V 14.4Ah battery and two 12V motors powering 6 inch pneumatic tires. It will have an open source command interface.
Eddie is a new type of robot from Parallax Inc. designed to foster creativity, innovation and experimentation. Compatible with Microsoft’s Robotics Developer Studio, Eddie can roam autonomously, see in 3D using the Microsoft Kinect, and be driven remotely using a wireless controller.
Note: Laptop, Microsoft Kinect, and wireless remote not included.
This pricey platform sells for $1199 assembled and $999 in kit form. Projected availability is set for October 7, 2011.
Further information on this product can be found on the Parallax site. We’ll be interested to see the docs on the hardware and the open source command interface when they are released.
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:
Get the CoolRunner-II development board for $15 and XC9572XL dev-board for $15.
phirephly posted a debounced breadboard keypad in the project log forum:
I’ve been getting tired of having to wire up buttons and paste in debounce code (or wire up debouncers for TTL projects) every time I want any kind of user input.
I was browsing around Maxim’s site, when I stumbled upon the MAX6816-6818 series of button debouncers. These are single, dual, and octal channel debouncers. Attached is the design files for a simple eight-button breakout board for the MAX6818 designed to be plugged into a breadboard. In addition to the eight active-low debounced outputs, the edge connector includes an active-low button-change interrupt, and an active low enable input, which can be optionally solder-jumpered on, if the button outputs don’t need to be tri-stated.
rsdio writes: Hmm, maybe this would work as an EL Wire (electroluminescent wire) driver:MAX14811 Highly Integrated, Dual Digital Pulser.
Flyback transformers are used to drive the large odd shaped coils surround the neck of CRTs in TVs and computer monitors. They operate in the 15 to 150 kHz range, and can be used to generate high voltages!
Uzzors2k decided to experiment with generating voltages high enough to produce arcs, driving the the transformers with a simple 555 timer. He tried several different circuits using the 555 first to drive the transformer in flyback mode, then later as a push-pull driver. Various input voltages were tried, starting as low as 5 volts and moving up to a direct mains powered flyback driver. He even experimented with coloring the arcs with salts and making magnet vortexes!
You can read more about flyback transformers and find all the details on this project at the Uzzors2k website.
Definitely a dangerous looking (and cool) prototype!
Via PyroElectro.
An app note on a low-power digital ambient light sensor with an I2C interface:
- Optimized for black glass operations
- Consumes less power with ultra-low 1µA operating current
- Eliminates the need for different supply rails which saves cost and board area by using 1.7V to 3.6V VCC operation
- Delivers 0.025 lux to 104,444 lux sense range and adaptive gain control, which facilitate use for a wide range of applications
Thanks rsdio!
apoco76 built a free Bus Pirate Arduino Shield PCB.
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.
From the comments on our Dangerous Prototypes hackerspace passport stamp post:
I’ve got a stamp ready for BarCampMilwaukee6 which is happening in a few weeks
I just hope someone (besides me) brings their passport. ;)
dps writes:
Check out the ADuC702x series from Analog Devices. I’ve used them before, and they work well (but note the errata when you start using the A/D, as there is a “gotcha” in starting the conversion). They’re based on the ARM7TDMI processor and have several sleep modes for decreased power consumption.
Via the forum.
Greeeg posted his small AVR matrix toy in the project log forum.
