301 Moved Permanently

Posted July 10, 2011 by Chris

Here’s a quick article comparing 3 popular, low cost, easy-to-use and low power LCD’s. The article gives you comparisons between them all along with example code and resources for getting started with them. So if you’re looking for an LCD for your project, or just need some reference material, take a look at this one.

Posted July 9, 2011 by Chris

This article shows a simple method for using a USB-to-SPI converter to interface USB with any SPI capable device, which is pretty much anything digital. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking this makes the software side of USB any easier, but it does make the hardware connection to any digital processor miles easier by acting as a buffer.

Posted July 8, 2011 by Chris

It’s a great time when DIYers around the world can easily build their own replica of an early commodore 64 or apple IIe. This wooden laptop uses a Picaxe processor, some flash memory and a host of I/O (including a keyboard of course) to make a DIY laptop (version 2). The article has all the details you want to see, including the guts of the computer and it’s assembly instruction set.

Posted July 7, 2011 by Chris

If you’re a music lover, this Pyro Electro project is for you. Today I show you how to build your own IR Theremin. This style of theremin uses an infrared proximity sensor, a headphone speaker and a PIC micro to create an off-the-shelf style of instrument. The article includes demo vids of me playing simple songs on the theremin.

Posted July 6, 2011 by Chris

Straight from an MSP430 design contest, here is an article that describes how a blood pressure meter was created. A block diagram is included in the article which gives great insight into how the system was put together and how it works. If you’re interested in Bio-Med, this one is for you!

Posted July 5, 2011 by Chris

This robot, while still a seemingly perpetual work in progress, is a real throw back. Started in 2002, it’s basically a desktop computer on wheels with some wicked control circuitry. The author spits out everything about the design and software used to make the robot go. It’s a fun read, but I wouldn’t entrust my life to this two wheeled robot, no offense Ralph!

Posted July 4, 2011 by Chris

Encoders are a form of sensor feedback that tell you how far something has moved. As seen in my tutorial: The Digital Tachometer encoders can be based on line-of-sight, reflect off black and white encoder wheels or they can even detect magnetic field changes as a form of movement tracking. This article goes through these types of encoders and explains how you can use them in your robotics projects.

Posted July 3, 2011 by Chris

The Time Fountain is an attempt at high speed trickery to make it look like time is flowing backwards through flashing light at water drops with LEDs. The article explains the process of how the time fountain was built, with a detailed parts list and progressive pictures. If you want to amaze your friends at your time controlling powers with electronics, build one of these!

Posted July 2, 2011 by Chris

FabISP, is a system for using some custom work of an ATTiny to do in-system programming. The article shows you this process, from design in schematic, to board layout and firmware. All the project files are there for download along with a parts list. This is a well documented design of a programmer, so if you’re looking to learn more on PCB and AVR, take a look.

Posted July 1, 2011 by Chris

If you’re looking to figure how phone lines work and how to interface with them, this article should help you on your way. The article explains how to make a device that you can ‘call into’ and control using normal telephone lines. No hardware schematic is included but you can get a general feeling for the design and what is going on by the details included in the article.