Dangerous t-shirt prototype v1

Fan @ Seeed Studio holds up dangerous t-shirt prototype v1, size large.

We’ve been talking about t-shirts for a while, and it’s finally happening. There was some initial concern that Chinese shirts run 1 or 2 sizes smaller than US shirts. Fan talked to a few printers about US-sized shirts and got this sample today. We’re not sure what this shirt manufacturer has heard about Americans, but this large is at least an US XXXL.

The t-shirts will be sold at cost or given away. Once we find a good supplier we’ll make 20 each S/M/L in an initial test batch, and see if there’s enough interest to make more. Color will be black, and the fabric will be at least 220gram so it doesn’t fall apart on the first wash.

Chronoduino an expandable Arduino watch

orcinus posted pictures of the Chronoduino expandable Arduino watch in the project log forum:

So i’ve set out to design the ultimate Arduino watch platform that’s also usable as an ultra-miniature sensor node and dubbed it (quite unimaginatively) – Chronoduino. Some parts are based off of Bazile Romaine’s rev 3 MakerBot Watch, some are completely new. The board itself was routed by hand, from scratch.

 

Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB

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 we’re giving away two coupon codes for the fee PCB drawer to the first two commenters. Pick your own PCB.

Remember 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:

  • 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
  • Free PCB Sunday, right here on the blog

Continue reading “Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB”

Pong on an Atmel 8535


Eric Milkie and Jomar Ochoco from Cornell present their EE course’s final project, Pong on an Atmel 8535.

For our EE 476 final project, we wanted to make something that would be fun and also allow us to use many of the different embedded control techniques we have learned throughout the semester. We thought a game would be a perfect example. After considering some other games, we chose Pong. We felt that there would be enough graphics to make an interesting looking game, but still does not require complicated graphics algorithms, which would be difficult to implement on an LCD and relatively slow processor.

Read the details and download the source code (.asm) from their Cornell project page.

Via PyroElectro.

Digital thermometer with SPI interface

An app note on a digital thermometers and thermostats with an SPI interface:

Industry’s First Low-Voltage 3-Wire/SPI Temperature Sensors Enable Easy Implementation Into Low-Power Systems

  • Aids designers in meeting error and power budgets
  • Independent operation alleviates system resource drain
  • Increases system reliability

Thanks rsdio!

The ultimate Nerd Apparel: iCufflinks

Adafruit has a knack for great publicity. Here’s their iCufflinks project at NYTimes.com:

Nerdy cufflinks have been around quiet for a while: There’s the black 20-sided dice cufflinks that are based on the game Dungeons and Dragons, Microsoft Xbox branded cufflinks for videogame fans and cufflinks made from computer keyboards.

But none of these can compare to the iCufflinks which are made by Adafruit, a New York-based electronics company. The iCufflinks are designed to look just like an Apple computer power button and come with a built-in LED light and actually glows on and off, just like the Apple computer.

Via Adafruit.

PIC power meter


Here’s an example of PyroFer’s DIY workaround to a problem:

So, after Google killed the Google PowerMeter api I got the incentive to finish my own project using it. Odd huh.
I wrote loads of code to hook into the Google API ages ago, but never got the hardware setup. Now After Google announce the death of the API I finally cracked the last part of my hardware issues and have live power monitoring of my electricity meter.

The key difference to most here is that its NOT a clamp type sensor. It counts rotations of the meter disc itself. It is therefor accurate and matches exactly what I will be charged for.

PyroFer uses a PIC UBW board as the brains of this project. Read all the details at PyroFer’s Projects.

Via HackedGadgets.

Radio Shack announces “The Great Create”

Radio Shack continues to pursue the DIY market:

Welcome to The Great Create. We want to know what great creations you’ve come up with using RadioShack parts. Our goal is to gather the coolest projects from our most creative customers and share them here. So, show us what you’ve got and submit your project now. Let the making begin!

This is a joint venture with Make, Instructables, PopSci and Popular Mechanics.
Check in on the RS DIY webpage for details and how to post your project.

CircuitBee schematic-tube


Ben Delarre writes to inform us of his new online library/archiving service for schematics:

I’ve recently released CircuitBee which is a bit like YouTube, only for electronic schematics.

It lets you upload KiCAD (or Eagle with the help of an export script) format schematics to our service, which then creates a web-embeddable version of them for you to add to your forum/blog/website.

Lots more info at the CircuitBee website.

We hope to make it easier than ever to talk about schematics, show designs, annotate them for modifications etc. Hopefully this can make the electronics community even better.

Via the contact form.

EagleUP brings PCBs to Google Sketchup

EagleUp is a new way to render Eagle PCBs in 3D. It integrates with Google Sketchup so it’s possible to design cases around the PCB model:

version 4 has been released. Most of the import and export procedures have been automatized to simplify the process, so that you can focus in design, and not in the conversion 2D/3D.

With the version 4, you export from Eagle in 2 clicks, and import into sketchup in 3 clicks. No more tiring image creation and manual import necessary. Give it a try !

Eagle 3D is another way to make 3D board renderings, and it works for non-Windows users too.

Thanks octal. Via the forum.

PIC microcontrollers with configurable logic cells

Microchip has a new configurable logic cell (CLC) unit in Microchip PIC10F32x. It’s not quite a FPGA, more like a multi-function 7400 series logic chip stuck to a PIC. Also available in the 20 pin PIC 16F150X:

…new features include a new Configurable Logic Cell (CLC) which allows the user to do simple Boolean functions – such as AND/OR/XOR logic functions and D/JK/SR state functions, a new Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) module which is basically a PWM with a fixed 50% duty cycle and increased frequency resolution and lends itself well to applications such as ballast control, a Complimentary Waveform Generator (CWG) which provides a compliment waveform to various inputs sources including the PWM, the CLC, or DDS, and finally an integrated temperature indicator for low cost temperature measurements.

Sounds cool. Do you have any project ideas?

Via the forum.

Free PCB coupon via Facebook comments #7 and #11

Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. The #7 and #11 people who comment on this post at Facebook get a free PCB. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday.

This week we’re giving away two PCB codes. Pick your own PCB from the free PCB drawer.

Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a 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

Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook comments #7 and #11”

Week in (p)review: July 22, 2011

Facebook free PCB Friday is on the way. Don’t forget to share your current project in the comments or the forum.

Here’s a summary of major developments over the last week:

Coming this week:

  • Another swag giveaway
  • Free PCB Sunday
  • Free PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday
  • A new partlist post on Wednesday
  • Free PCBs via Facebook on Friday
  • Weekly roundup and preview every Friday

What are you hacking this week?

USRP 101: unlocking wireless PC locks (and freeing dolphins)

We’ve been interested in the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) SDR and the associated open source GNU Radio software for some time, but the $1500+ cost has kept the project on the back burner. Nevertheless, we always like a good story about RF hacking with the USRP.

Corey and Max saw a wireless USB Proximity Lock in use in their office and wondered how difficult it would be to hack it open using the USRP. The principle behind these locks is simple: when the associated fob is within range, the USB attached dongle sends a message to the PC locking software which then permits access to the PC (and also frees you from the “dolphin” lockscreen.)

In this tutorial they describe the steps they took to using a USRP to conduct a record and replay attack on the fob-dongle wireless link. While you may think it’s overkill to use this type of expensive RF equipment to hack a $20 lock, the point is to demonstrate the steps involved in coding in GNU Radio to use the USRP to analyze and attack wireless protocols.

Via Intrepidus Group.

USB Infrared Toy as a JTAG programmer

electronicia4u used a USB Infrared Toy as a JTAG programmer:

After seeing circuit details I discovered it used some pic18F2550 as was almost compatible with  dangerousprotypes IR Infrared Toy (also they used same xtal frequency), so I downloaded firmware and programmed succesfully this device easily without modifiying firmware source code.

You can get IR Toy v2 for $22.05, including world wide shipping.

Resistor divider calculator

Ultrasounder shared a resistor divider calculator spreadsheet:

Don’t we all have had frustrations galore when we were trying to fine tune the resistor divider for our voltage feedback on PS and LODs? Well, my good friend Art Nace came up with this wonderful tool to calculate the best fit values for the resistors for dividers. It even lets you specify voltage tolerances over temp. give it a try and let me know what you think?

Thanks Ultrasounder! Via the forum.

Bus Pirate MCP9800 temperature sensor tutorial

Nexus used the Bus Pirate with an MCP9800 temperature sensor and documented it on the wiki:

The MCP9800 is an inexpensive, high-accuracy, 2-wire (I2C) temperature sensor. It features selectable 9/10/11/12 bit resolution with a typical accuracy of ±0.5°c at 25°c, programmable alarms, and low power consumption.

We sent a free PCB code to say thanks!

Via the contact form.