Chris from PyroElectro has written a multi-part tutorial on building motor control firmware for a microcontroller, a PIC 18F252. This tutorial is based on his earlier robot chassis, but the principles relating to the use of a motor controller IC … Read more
Macdweller wrote a step by step tutorial on making Cadsoft Eagle footprints for any Microchip device, like PIC microcontrollers, using the Ultra Librarian app to generate footprints automatically. Via the forum.
The Bus Pirate is a handy debugging tool, but it’s also a 16 bit PIC 24FJ64GA002 development board. You don’t need a programmer to play, just upload the firmware over USB using the Bus Pirate’s nearly-impossible-to-brick bootloader. It’s easy to … Read more
Raj wrote a tutorial on how-to implement servo control on PIC16F microcontrollers. The article starts off with some servo theory, and is followed with an open source practical example. A servo motor is a special geared DC motor equipped with … Read more
The Bus Pirate is a handy debugging tool, but it’s also a 16 bit PIC 24FJ64GA002 development board. You don’t need a programmer to play, just upload the firmware over USB using the Bus Pirate’s nearly-impossible-to-brick bootloader. It’s easy to … Read more
Overview Over the last few weeks we’ve been building 3D models of our projects in Google SketchUp using the EagleUp script. This script makes a 3D model of the board from Cadsoft Eagle board (.brd) files, and populates it with … Read more
Eagle’s popularity is partly due to the sheer number of parts and footprint libraries available for it. Sometimes you can’t find the part you need in an existing library though, and it’s time to make your own. Making a new … Read more
Learn about the basics of liquid lenses in this video. Ben explains how you can use a high-voltage power supply and some Teflon tape to alter the focal point of a liquid lens. Liquid lenses are basically a drop of … Read more
Robert let us know about another video tutorial on Phase Lock Loops in the comments of our previous post. PLLs generate an output signal that is phase-synchronized to an input signal. They are widely used in telecommunication, radio, and computer … Read more
Luca shows how to turn your Arduino with an Ethernet shield into a server. He goes over how to code your Arduino to handle HTML and HTTP protocols using strings. I’m going to show you a simple program that prints … Read more
Luca explains how to boot your PC with a Wake on Lan command sent from an Arduino. Setup the WOL feature on your PC, then use the sendWOL() command to send a magic packet via and ENC28J60 ethernet chip: The … Read more
Blondihacks wrote an in-depth tutorial on how to make PCBs made at home using pre-sensatived photo-PCBs. We especially liked the board design optimization for home etching tips. Wide traces, big vias, and using a ground plane are all strategies we … Read more
SignalTap II is a tool that embeds a logic analyzer into your FPGA project so you can see what is happening in the design. Kiran made a video tutorial on the basics using Altera’s Quartus II IDE. The advantage is that, … Read more
Kenneth was curious about Phase Locked Loops so he decided to dive into them. PLLs generate an output signal that is phase-synchronized to an input signal. They are widely used in telecommunication, radio, and computer systems. One place we commonly … Read more
The latest version of this tutorial is available on the documentation wiki. In the last few years many inexpensive PCB services have popped up. It used to be that buying PCBs in hobby quantities was expensive and filled with gotchas. … Read more
Tronixstuff has posted a tutorial explaining how to use the Parallax Ping sensor with Arduino. The Ping is an ultrasonic distance sensor from Parallax which retails or about $30. This segment is the latest in a series of Arduino tutorials … Read more
SparkysWidgets posted this drag soldering video in the comments of yesterday’s flux-off solder flux trials. He solders an FT232 IC with a Weller NTGW tipped soldering iron. These GullWing tips have a dimple in the tip that suck up excess … Read more
For future projects we recently updated our best practices for designing schematics and PCBs. We compiled them to a wiki page, as well as some tips for using Cadsoft Eagle. Check them out below. Feedback and suggestions are welcome.
Raj made a two part tutorial on how to interface a PIC microcontroller with the ACS712 hall-effect current sensor. The first part covers hall-effect theory and basic operation of the ACS712. The second part covers the actual PIC interface, which … Read more
Pete made an in depth tutorial on how to get started with ATmega microcontrollers. He covers how to read the datasheets and use them to write your firmware. Also covered are the initial stages of creating and programing a simple … Read more
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