Isonno writes, “One of the hit discoveries of Hacker Camp 5 were these little USB lights. Plugs in either way, and you turn on/off/dim by touching the back. Turns out the show is run by a chip called the Sigma SGL8022W. The datasheet has the schematic.” Via the forum.
Tag Archives: USB
DirtyPCBs based project: Isolated USB Serial Interface
Steve Rodgers just completed another project using a DirtyPCB order, an isolated USB serial interface, that is available at Github: Here is another project I just completed using a Dirty PCB order. It’s an isolated serial port using the CH340G chip and 4 Silicon Labs Si8410 digital isolators. Isolating the serial port ground from your […]
App note: Introduction to USB Type-C
Microchip’s App note on USB Type-C cable. PDF is here The USB-IF has secured the ubiquitous nature of USB for years to come with the radically updated USB Type-C connector. While the sleek new reversible form factor has been significant for generating buzz and excitement from the general consumer market, the significantly expanded feature-set is […]
The CANable: a small USB to CAN adapter
Ethan of Protofusion writes: The CANable is a hardware clone of Eric Evenchick’s CANtact project, an open-hardware USB to CAN adapter compatible with socketcan. I took his design and reworked the hardware to be a bit more suitable for my personal needs, with a screw terminal instead of a DB9 connector and a much smaller PCB. […]
App note: USB device design checklist
Application note(PDF) on the design of various USB controllers from Microchip. The purpose of this application note is to provide a list of items that need to be considered when designing systems that incorporate the following categories of Microchip USB products: -USB 2.0 Hubs -USB 3.0 Hubs -Flash Media Controllers -Flash Media Controller Hub Combo […]
OneRNG – an open source entropy generator
Moonbase Otago is pleased to announce its Kickstarter campaign for OneRNG – an open source hardware entropy generator: OneRNG is a USB key in the same form factor as a USB flash drive, it’s an entropy generator, it makes random bitstreams suitable for feeding to your computer’s encryption systems to make better and faster keys […]
DIY USB-Oscilloscope in a matchbox
ajoyraman posted a tutorial on how to make a DIY USB-matchbox oscilloscope, an instructable here: In order to economize on the cost of an enclosure while still providing an aesthetic unit the Aj_Scope2 is enclosed in a large size cardboard matchbox enclosure. The USB connection to the PC is on one end while the Audio-Jack […]
GPIBUSB Adapter update
Another update on Scasagrande’s project, GPIBUSB Adapter rev4: After working closely with a few individuals it was discovered that some of the pre-existing GPIB software (such as KE5FX’s tools) has some hardcoded serial port settings, one of which being the use of hardware flow control. After getting builds of the software tools with these disabled, some […]
Digispark Pro – tiny, Arduino ready, USB and mobile dev board
Ihsan informs us of Digitstump’s inexpensive, tiny Arduino IDE ready, USB and mobile dev board, the Digispark Pro: Serial over USB debugging, USB programmable, 14 i/o, SPI, I2C, UART, USB Device Emulation, Mobile Development Ready, Optional BT, BLE, Mesh, and Wi-Fi. The super small, dirt cheap, always open source, Arduino compatible, USB (and Mobile and Wireless!) development […]
Tear down of a cheap external USB battery
cpldcpu did a teardown of an external USB battery: The device has a USB micro-b socket which is used as 5V input for charging, and a normal USB-A socket as 5V output. The output power can be turned off and on by a toggle button. There are LEDs to indicate active power out (blue) and charging (red) […]
Open source hardware GPIB USB adapter update
Steven Casagrande posted an update on his open source hardware GPIB USB adapter: After many days, I just finished off firmware version 5 for my adapter. This is probably my biggest update yet. A lot of people asked for compatibility with the Prologix commands so that’s what I focused on. Here is an overview of the […]
USB Wrapper project
scasagrande has designed this USB wrapper project, that is available at Github: Have you ever wanted to charge your smartphone by using your computer, but you didn’t want all of your sync software to load? Maybe you want to use a friend’s computer but you don’t really want Windows to start trying to install drivers and for your […]
App note: Guidelines for full-speed USB on NXP’s LPC microcontrollers
Hook up your LPC microcontrollers using USB full-speed connectivity using these guidelines from NXP app note Full-speed USB operates at 12 Mb/s, and although this is not a high data rate, observing some basic rules or guidelines will usually guarantee successful operation. This application note highlights some of the more important issues that you need […]
Minimal PIC 18F2550 USB board V2.0
cmardone made this 18f2550 minimal board v2.0: It was made to simplify breadboard connections for a 18f2550 pic micro. Features: improved Silkscreen ART including a polinesian MOAI :) smd 1206 components , more simple to solder 1 smd led mini usb conector reset pads mclr resistor Via the forum.
How to use GPIBUSB adapter
A followup to the GPIB USB Adapter. Steven demonstrates how to use his adapter in two different software environments the Ubuntu 13.10 + Python + InstrumentKit and the Win7 + Terminite. Via the forum.
App note: USB current meter using the SPI Interface
Here’s a Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine (MPSSE) implementation from FTDI. This application note gives an example of using the Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine (MPSSE) on the FT232H device. It uses D2xx commands to configure the MPSSE to interface with two Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs) using the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). It is controlled by […]
App note: USB hardware design guidelines for FTDI ICs
Check out hardware design guidelines from FTDI when using their ICs. While use of FTDI ICs makes USB easy to implement, care must be taken during the hardware design phase of a project to ensure certain practices are followed. This application note provides design guidelines for several common questions that have been asked of the […]
Open source hardware GPIB USB Adapter
scasagrande shared his GPIBUSB Adapter rev3 in the project log forum: This past weekend I finally finished up the third major revision of my GPIBUSB adapter board. Major hardware changes include swapping the pull-up resistors for the proper GPIB line drivers, as well as swapping the FT232RL for the newer FT230X. There is a number of software […]
App note: Universal serial bus power management
See this app note from Micrel on USB power requirements and distribution. Power management and distribution is a major factor in correctly designing USB (Universal Serial Bus) peripherals. Proper methods of designing USB peripheral power distribu- tion are crucial to ensure full compliance with the USB specification, including compliance with electromagnetic in- terference (EMI) and […]
A PIC16F145x based PIC16F145x USB programmer
From the comments on our PIC16F145X: Full-Speed USB with no external crystal post, Maurice Bos writes: I wrote software to turn a PIC16F145x into a PIC16F145x programmer (over USB). It’s free and open source (GPL3), and it might be useful. Add any feature requests (or bugs) on Github, or just e-mail me. :) Via the comments.