Posted October 17, 2008 by Chris

If you’re a linux guy and have always wanted an ‘in’ to the world of microcontrollers then this article/guide is for you. It’s not really a project so much as a very well written how-to develop for Atmel’s AVR using the linux gcc compiler. A great alternative from the Windowz world.

Posted October 15, 2008 by Chris

The spectrum analyzer is most useful for checking the range of frequencies from a given signal. This project is attempts to build a homebrew spectrum analyzer based off of various other designs from the internet. You’ll find many useful links in this project write-up.

Posted October 7, 2008 by Chris

“This is a very affordable and simple to build speed trap based on the PIC 16C84 microcontroller. The goal was to use as few parts as possible while adding as many useful features as possible.” The project write-up has the software & hardware schematic available for download.

Posted October 3, 2008 by Chris

This robot is perhaps the most off-the shelf I’ve ever seen. It even has a wifi-router on top that is uses to receive commands. A lot of love was put into this one and the project write-up reflects that quite well. Take a look at this one, software/hardware info is all there.

Posted October 1, 2008 by Chris

This project is the effort of a single DIYer who wanted to make his own transmitter/receiver pair to open a gate. This made it a lot easier for him to pull into his driveway. The project itself uses a lot of off-the-shelf components so it’d be easy to duplicate. The write-up is very straight forward and cuts to the chase.

Posted September 21, 2008 by Chris

Most microcontroller programmers are actually very simple devices that can be made by yourself. Being that programmers range from $50+, so it can be a good investment or backup programmer. The parts are very cheap and this project write-up is clean with step-by-step instructions. Give it a look see!

Posted September 19, 2008 by Chris

NiMH rechargeable batteries have been around for quite some time and have proven their worth. This type of rechargeable battery can be found inside things from electric cars to electric tooth-brushes. Today’s simple project makes use of a microcontroller for controlling the recharging of the battery and turning off when recharging has completed.

Posted September 13, 2008 by Chris

Snake robotics is a relatively new idea, however really cool. The implementation can be tricky but the overall design is actually not very mind-numbing. Each link in the snake acts as a single actuator (this project uses a servo) and helps to move the entire body of the snake. The project write-up has the purely analog electronic design and schematic.

Posted September 11, 2008 by Chris

This is a cool little robot with a very straight forward and simple design to be controlled remotely. It uses “off-the-shelf” circuitry and the project write-up has all the schematic and software info necessary for building your own. This project is light on the software, which makes it better for beginners, check this one out!

Posted September 9, 2008 by Chris

Unfortunately for today’s project, there were too many projects & only in pdf format! Even so, there’s a link to the index with 10 really good projects & write-ups. They use various electronic components and you can learn a lot by attempting to reproduce the projects. Take a look, give it a shot!