301 Moved Permanently

Posted May 31, 2011 by Chris

This article explains how to make your own Stamp based RS232 stepper motor driver. It is similar to my stepper motor controller, except RS232 communication is used to control speed and direction. The article has great documentation for how the driver works and what is needed to build it.

Posted May 30, 2011 by Chris

Today’s article takes a look at an Avatar toy from a happy meal at McDonald’s. The “Jake Sully Avatar” toy lights up whenever motion or vibration is felt through an old school cheap sensor. The article presents a very ‘get in and get your hands dirty’ approach to learning how something works….which I like.

Posted May 29, 2011 by Chris

The documentation of this home made ARM based game console is pretty wicked. The article describes in a fast-paced mode his method of creating his own game console. There are pictures, descriptions, schematics and videos of the project. So if you’ve ever wanted to build your very own game console system, check out this article!

Posted May 28, 2011 by Chris

It’s hard to really understand what problem this project solves, but the cool factor is definitely off the charts. This article shows you how to build up a display of Fire that grooves along with your guitar hero key presses. All the details are there…make your own if you dare.

Posted May 27, 2011 by Chris

Making your first robot should be a moment you remember as you progress in the electronics and robotics field. Whether it is a line follower or a wall dodger, it brings you to the first step into a larger world. Today’s article gives you a great starting point for how to build your first robot. Similar to my line follower, except with more digital circuity.

Posted May 26, 2011 by Chris

Automating an etch a sketch is probably one of the funner intro to robotics projects that you can make. The basic idea is you take two motors, attach them to the knobs of an etch-a-sketch and then build up some control commands for drawing. This article details out this process with a great working example. Their schematics and software are available for download to make your very own!

Posted May 25, 2011 by Chris

This short but sweet article details out the circuit and parts needed to build a basic IR transmitter and receiver circuit all on a breadboard. The circuit is built to transmit at the standard 38 KHz carrier frequency used in most IR systems. The design does only a simple thing, that is it blinks an led when a button is pressed. A simple yet good project for entry into the wireless world.

Posted May 24, 2011 by Chris

Even though it may not rival a wristwatch for james bond, the Biojoy wristwatch offers many cool features like measuring blood pressure or heart rate. The fairly complicated design is documented in a project pdf available for download in the article. A fun concept to look at and even funner to have something like this in DIY form.

Posted May 23, 2011 by Chris

Bipedal movement in robots is pretty rare because of the inherit difficulty of balance. IMU technology has slowly been advancing enough to bring us more humanoid type robots. The HWM is a fun look at what can be done with a little ingenuity and off-the-shelf parts. The article has great documentation for how this robot was built and a few action videos.

Posted May 22, 2011 by Chris

Using the widely available micro LPC2132, this project and abstract explain how to build a very hi-tech baby monitor. Built as an entry for a philips design contest, the design features integrated encryption, two way communication, night light control and music playback. The article has the software source code and hardware design schematics for download.