Bus Pirate v4 is alive!
Bus Pirate firmware v5.9 is running on the new Bus Pirate v4 hardware with direct PIC-based USB connection. It started out slow because USB support is hacked into replacements for the existing serial port functions, but the latest SVN version is working great.
BPv4 doesn’t pass the self-test yet, but we expect to work out the remaining bugs and new commands in the next few days. Stay tuned for more updates, and follow our progress in the forum.
This simple FM transmitter circuit is made from through-hole parts on a scrap of circuit board. A nice example of dead bug prototyping. Did you know NASA has dead bug standards?
Via Hack a Day.
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’s free PCB is a new version of the 3 EEPROM test board for the Bus Pirate. We tried to make it cheaper by using SMD footprints that Seeed will fill with parts, and through-hole footprints for working with your own chips. This board is still hung up by the 1-wire components. Maxim might give away lots of free samples, but purchasing 1-wire parts, SMD or through-hole, is really expensive.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Chuck shares his experience programming 1702 EPROMs for the 8008 with an Pro-Log M900 EPROM Programmer:
I thought I’d share a little known thing about [the 1702 EPROM]. When you erase most eproms they go to FF and the the process of programming discharges the bits that you want to be ’0′ The 1702 worked backwards. Erasing it set the internal bits to 0 then programming it consisted of charging the bits you wanted to be 1. I know this from the first company I worked at as a programmer. The processor we used was the 8008 and the eprom was 1720s. We used KSR33 teletypes with the paper tape punch to produce something that the prolog m900 programmer could read.
RoboProgrammer is a robotic microcontroller programmer. It’s an Arduino-heavy design – a GRoboduino is used to control the robot, and a Duemilanove is used to program the AVR chips.
Via Hack a Day.
This twittering coal burning stove tweets the room temperature every ten minutes. An update that measures the actual fire temperature with a thermocouple is planned.
We’ve been working on a new power supply in the forum, so this programmable power supply project was an interesting read. The PIC adjusts the output voltage using input from a keypad.
Via Hack a Day.
Adafruit has a new infrared sensor tutorial that uses an Arduino to clone an infrared remote control signal.
They use a time-based protocol decoder/cloner, similar to the infrared sampling mode used in the USB IR Toy. SB-Projects has more excellent infrared remote control protocol details.
Ril3y is developing a new laser-cut acrylic case for the Logic Sniffer. Check out the preview.
You can order the Logic Sniffer at Seeed Studio for $45, including worldwide shipping. Don’t forget that Seeed now has probe cables for $6 each.
Soldering and power up test for the Bus Blaster board complete. The FT2232H enumerated properly as a USB device with two virtual serial ports.
You asked about a Dangerous Prototypes t-shirt, and Seeed Studio said they’d make some.
The design is open to submissions, and you’ll be able to vote for your favorite. The creator of the most popular design will get a free t-shirt, a Bus Pirate LCD adapter, and a PIC programming adapter.
Post your designs in the forum. There’s high-resolution image and vector Dangerous Prototypes artwork here.
Continue reading “Dangerous Prototypes t-shirt design contest”
Here’s our first test of the USB to serial mode of the USB Infrared Toy. We used it with a UART-based RFID card reader.
Pictures and a sample Python script after the break.
The USB IR Toy is $20, including worldwide shipping. Every sale supports this open source project.
Continue reading “Infrared Toy serial bridge with an RFID reader”
YourITronics has a how-to on LM317 variable voltage regulators. Florin covers the project from start to finish – designing the circuit, etching the board, and stuffing the parts.
This is a STM32 ARM-based thin client that uses a TV as an output device.
SMD projects on home-etched boards are fun to made. Don’t fear SMD, it’s cheaper, readily available, and surprisingly easy to solder with a little flux.
Via Hack a Day.
The Logic Sniffer is showing up at SparkFun’s distributors. If you like Watterott (Germany) or NKC (US), grab a Logic Sniffer now. The Logic Sniffers that went to SparkFun were a promotion, availability is limited.
Via the forum.
Eric from allthingsgeek.com writes:
My friend and I work with a lot of different AVR microcontrollers. We love using the bus pirate to program them but find it inconvenient to setup a breadboard and look-up the datasheet for each one. We designed a ZIF socketed kit to make the process much easier and decided to sell them to anyone interested. You can find the kit in our store at ATG Robotics.
Via the contact form.
IPenguin bought the $10 STM32 development board that made headlines this summer. Read an extended review, with lots of pictures, in the forum.
Will Donnelly wrote a script to program the STM32 Discovery board with the Bus Pirate:
I wanted to program my new STM32 Discovery boards under Linux, and I had a Bus Pirate, so I just finished writing a SWD programmer for it using the raw 2-wire interface.
Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Kenneth’s low-power microcontroller experiment tests how long will an MSP430 microcontroller can run on 20F of charged capacitors.
Via Hack a Day.
Annoyed when your DIP chips get all bendy? You need the IC Squisher.
One commenter points out that some materials could cause a static electricity hazard. Still a very cool design for hobby use.
Via Adafruit.
