Posted April 5, 2011 by Chris

Infrared Cameras are great tools for working with electronics. They display heat graphically which gives away short circuits in mili-seconds and can telling you who is blushing. This project shows you how to build your own DIY thermocam for around $100. Given that IR cams cost $1000’s, this is worth a look.

Posted March 29, 2011 by Chris

For applications where you need to be able to check for movement and alignment, long range IR can be the answer. Whether you need to set a home location on a moving device, or track movement on a machine, a beam break detector can be your low-cost solution. This project write-up shows you how easy it is to make one, and how well it works.

Posted March 18, 2011 by Chris

Today’s project shows you how to make a simple and low cost heartbeat sensor with the added bonus that it’s hooked up to the internet through an ethernet shield. The project write-up has all the details for building your own, plus explanations of the software.

Posted March 11, 2011 by Chris

Today’s project write-up introduces you to the rotary encoder. This is a very simple type of encoder that counts rotational movement and gives signal feedback so that you can track the rotational movement. The project uses a PIC and an LED driver to demonstrate how well the sensor works with the PIC.

Posted March 9, 2011 by Chris

This project builds a pretty decent volt/ampmeter using an ATmega8 microcontroller. He designs his own PC board for the project and explains out all of the details in the project write-up. Hardware schematics and lots of pictures guide you through building this project.

Posted March 7, 2011 by Chris

Another great arduino project builds an electric Ethch a Sketch. The mechanics are drop dead simple along with the electronics so this is a great project for anyone just starting with the arduino. The project write-up has all the details you’d need to build your own, schematics and software included.

Posted March 4, 2011 by Chris

If motor and motion control is what you do, then you’ll want to take a look at this write-up. It goes through how to implement PID control using a PIC which is a much more robust method of controlling motors where error and stability issues seem to virtually disappear from servo systems.

Posted February 27, 2011 by Chris

Today’s project shows you how to go about building your very own wireless Wii Sensor Bar. The project write-up is a little light on details, but the included video explains things quite well. All you avid Wii fans out there, don’t miss this one!

Posted February 25, 2011 by Chris

This formal project shows you how to make your very own oscilloscope using an ARM processor. The write up is in the form of a documented contest entry pdf, along with the abstract description. The software, hardware schematics and everything you’d need is there!

Posted February 22, 2011 by Chris

This NXT robot uses the infrared color sensor to detect the distance from the ground to keep the system stable just like the real Segway! The project write-up includes lego-style build instructions and an action video.