The Gadget Factory has a new Arduino library that lets you take Arduino code written for LCD displays, change 3 lines of code, and convert it to VGA output:
The VGALiquidCrystal library converts sketches that will run on an HD44780 LCD display to sketches that will run on a VGA moniter. This library is derived from the Arduino LiquidCrystal library and aims to provide maximum compatibility.
Via the contact form.
Flux helps solder flow better, and keeps it out of places you don’t want it. Don’t even try to solder without copious amounts of this magic goo.
For the past few weeks used a freebie EDSYN FL-22 flux syringe from Farnell. 5ml is about $15 in Europe, US availability is limited. The flux showed up in two prototype soldering videos: PICqueno32 build, and PICqueno32 repair. It’s easy to judge flux because we use it every day. We used the FL-22 on a dozen surface-mount prototypes prior to this review.
Long time readers know we use a syringe of flux from a surplus store that expired in 1991. Nothing else seems to compare. It still works great, but the tip started to crust shut. The alternatives we’ve tried were disappointing.
FL-22 worked great, a welcome surprise. It will even replace our old flux in the workshop. The viscosity is nice, it’s easy to control the flow and spread it around. It worked fine for hand soldering a dozen SMD prototypes.
Continue reading “Tool update: Flux and a soldering tip dry cleaner”
Last December we noted the announcement of the Android App Inventor from Google. Now Google has announced the discontinuance of the project and states that they will open source the code.
With the winding down of Google Labs, Google will discontinue App Inventor as a Google product and will open source the code. Additionally, because of App Inventor’s success in the education space, we are exploring opportunities to support the educational use of App Inventor on an open source platform.
As a result of these changes App Inventor will be available through the end of the year but users should expect the current App Inventor URL
[appinventor.googlelabs.com] to change sometime in the next 90 days.Please stay tuned to as we’ll make future updates on our efforts via [the Google App Inventor Announcement forum.]
Karen Parker
App Inventor Program Manager
TitanMKD posted an EvalBot driver for Android Open Accessory (ADK):
I have just finished to develop an USB Host Driver for Android Open Accessory on EvalBot (it should work also with any other Stellaris ARM chipset supporting USB OTG).
The video demo show how it’s easy and fun to communicate with EvalBot with a modern Android Phone (with Android version 2.3.4 or more) like my Samsung Google Nexus S.
Seeed Studio has a new Bus Pirate probe cable in stock. It has female pins instead of clips, and the wire is thicker and higher-quality.
We prefer the female pins for plugging into pin headers on dev-boards. To interface another female header, like the Arduino, just pop a male header in between. Best of all, there’s a variety of high quality test hooks that you can add to the cable.
The new probe cable is available for $5,95.
Web platform v1.1 is back in stock at Seeed Studio.
This is the board that powered the Thermal Tweeter Twitter printer. See the Thermal Tweeter live at the Open Hardware Summit and the Maker Faire New York.
Get an assembled web platform for $40, including worldwide shipping.
pietja built a free Bus Pirate v4 PCB. There should be a few dozen of these out there. If you have the Bus Pirate v4 please help us develop and test the new firmware.
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.
If you want to add a geek angle to a romantic dinner, what better way than Arduino generated music? Michele Spagnuolo has coded this project for a simple, minimalistic piano-theremin generated by Arduino and Processing. The hardware consists of a SRF05 ultrasonic sensor with Echo connected to digital pin 2 and Trigger/Init connected to pin 3. Michele’s project was based on the previous work by LuckyLarry.
You can download the Arduino and Processing code from Github page. For more project information visit Michele’s website.
Via Arduino blog.
Altera has available a free online course covering the Basics of Programmable Logic.
This training will give you a basic introduction to programmable logic devices, focusing on FPGAs. By exploring the history of programmable logic technologies, you’ll learn about the architectural features that make up an FPGA device. You will see the advantages of using FPGAs for digital logic design. Finally, you’ll understand how design software, such as the Altera Quartus® II software v. 10.0, makes it easy to create and implement digital logic designs.
This course is just part of a whole lineup of free courses on CPLD and FPGA design from Altera.
Eastern Star Geek posted a complete electromechanical clock design for the Vane clock digits we covered earlier:
The displays in question are of a 7 segment electromechanical design. These are not light-up displays, but rather, reflective. Each segment is a “vane” that has been painted a bright contrasting color, and mounted on a hinge, such that it can be swung into, or hidden from view. This is accomplished with two solenoid coils sharing a common pin. In order to show a segment, the Show coil must be pulsed for about 50mS, which will flip the vane into view. A permanent magnet keeps it there, even after the coil is switched off. To hide the segment, just pop the Hide coil for 50mS. Pretty simple, no?
Via the forum.
startracer built a free USB IR Toy v2 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 an IR Toy v2 for $22.05, including world wide shipping.
TIDeals has the MSP-EXP430F5529 USB Experimenter’s Board on sale for $74.50 (including free International shipping) while supplies last.
The board includes the USB-enabled MSP430F5529 device, a five-button capacitive touch pad, a MicroSD slot with a 1GB card included, a 102 X 64 dot matrix LCD, four push buttons, three LEDs, and a scroll wheel/potentiometer.
This is a fun hack on arhi’s DIY HAKKO (and SOLOMON) soldering pencil driver:
240 gain requires 24K resistors there, not really available easy … I soldered 22k + 1k + 1k (look at picture attached, it is 2×1206+0804 on top :D it works but .. )
Via the project log forum.
Tektronix has released thier new MDO4000, mixed domain oscilloscope, combining the standard digital storage oscilloscope, logic analyzer, and RF spectrum analyzer. this appears to do more than just save space on the workbench.
We do not have access to one for testing, but lets look at some the specs.
The MDO4000 series has 2-4 analog channels capable of 500MHz or 1GHz bandwidth, and sampling speeds of up to 5G samples second. 16 digital channels capable measuring 500M samples per second, and an RF section that has an range from 50KHz to 3 or 6GHz.
Modules are available for USB, RS232, SPI, I2C CAN, Ethernet, ETC.
There is a live demo and Webinars at the Tektronix web site.(registration required)
We would love to know what you would use one of these new scopes for?
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:
You can get IR Toy v2 for $22.05, including world wide shipping.
Rob, a member over at 43Oh, wanted a quick way to add a digital display to his MPS430 Launchpad projects. So he devised a shield which he describes:
Here is a little LED Display Shield I have created for LaunchPad. It has 2 595′s, uses 3 wires to communicate with LP, and supports both, common anode and common anode displays. All LP’s pins are accessible on the shield, any pin can be used to drive the display. Four unused 595 outputs are also accessible. Transistors are MMBT3904 NPN for CC (R14 0ohm and R13 empty) or MMBT3906 PNP for CA (R13 0ohm and R14 empty.)
You can view more photos of this project and view the schematic by visiting the 43Oh forum page. (Forum registration required to view the schematic.) They also have the PCB and completed shield available for purchase.
Bus Pirate v3.5 is back in stock at Seeed Studio.
Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.
Microchip jumped into open source last spring with the chipKIT Arduino-compatible development boards and open compiler/IDE. They wanted to tap the existing tutorials, enthusiasm, and customer base of Arduino community, and they were going to play nice with open source. A review of the chipKIT situation today is disappointing. The compiler still replies on closed source, and there won’t be open drivers for key advertised features like Ethernet and USB.
Microchip parts are used in most of our projects. We think they make great chips, and PIC debugging tools are cheap and plentiful. We use Microchip stuff in open source, but Microchip isn’t always open source friendly.
When Microchip dropped the chipKIT we were optimistic. Microchip invested in the Arduino IDE and released an open source compiler for PIC32. Ethernet and USB shields were in discussion at the time (now available), and we speculated that there would be an open source USB and TCPIP stack.
Four months after the fanfare of the chipKIT launch, things aren’t quite as rosy.
Continue reading “Editorial: Our friend Microchip and open source”
ITead may be locked in competition with Seeed Studio to sell the cheapest prototype PCBs. After a round of price cuts at Seeed earlier this year, ITead has responded with a new ultra-low cost “no frills” service starting at $5. Fewer PCBs with no e-test, lower tolerance, and longer lead times:
It seems like they want to offer a 5USD prototyping service for 5 PCB (5×5 cm), with slightly reduced specs (8mils, no e-test, longer lead time). They are also introducing 10×10 at 15USD and 10×5 at 10USD. Awesome! I really didn’t needed 10 copies most of times.
We work with Seeed, so take our recommendation with a grain of salt. We understand that Seeed and ITead use the same major prototype PCB fab in China, so the boards you get are the same.
Seeed offers 10 5x5PCBs for $9.90. That’s the same $1 per board as ITead with a higher minimum purchase, but it’s faster and five boards are e-tested for problems. Five bucks extra is a small price to ensure a strange PCB defect isn’t causing debugging nightmares on an SMD design. However, it might be a great option for simple through-hole designs you don’t want to fab at home.
Via the forum.
