Blog

Building A Direct Digital Synthesis Dual-Channel Signal Generator

shabaz

IntroductionThis blog post discusses some practical implementations of super-low-cost ($30 upward) direct digital synthesis (DDS) based signal generator for home use. To save effort and time, they can all be built around an off-the-shelf microcontrol...
- 11 Aug 2018
ODROID-GO Handheld Gaming Kit

shabaz

IntroductionThanks to Problemchild he advised me about a simple gaming kit called ODROID-GO, and it was fairly low cost (£38 including delivery to the UK) for such a device, so I was tempted to purchase it. (Note: that there will be duty of approx. £...
- 27 Jun 2018
NodeMCU enclosure & prototyping set

hwhardsoft

Hi, I want to introduce a new cap rail enlosure set for NodeMCU V2 Amica modules (ESP8266-E12). The heart is an additional pcb with integrated voltage regulator and breadboard. It fits together with the NodeMCU in a 3 module DIN rail enclosure:&...
- 9 Jan 2018
Experimenting with E-Paper Displays: Building a Clock!

shabaz

IntroductionI’d been curious to experiment with E-paper displays for a long time, and recently I finally got around to some basic experimentation. This short blog post documents some work with a compact 2.9 inch display, building it into a simple clo...
- 31 Dec 2017
My 2017 Projects/Activities

shabaz

2017 was a busy year, I had a lot of personal stuff to do, but there was lots of engineering related stuff going on too, and I enjoyed seeing what everyone was working on. This blog post lists the activities I worked on. Project/ActivityD...
- 22 Dec 2017
Building a Linear Power Supply Module

shabaz

Note: The project is experimental. The project is low power and low voltage, and requires a low voltage source which can be derived from a mains transformer.However there are significant risks with building mains powered projects. For that reason, it...
- 29 Oct 2017
Soldering Surface Mount Exposed Die Pads with an Iron

shabaz

IntroductionMany integrated circuits nowadays have a pad on the underside that needs to be soldered down. It can (for instance) serve as a ground connection or it might be needed to be soldered for better heat dissipation. Since the pad is not expose...
- 28 Oct 2017
Building a Low Cost Solder Fume Extractor – Part 1

shabaz

Note: This is part 1 of a two-part project.For the second part, see here: Building a Low Cost Solder Fume Extractor - Part 2 IntroductionI’m sure I’ve created some really stinky projects, but this isn’t one of them. After the last project that ...
- 27 Oct 2017
DMX Explained; DMX512 and RS-485 Protocol Detail for Lighting Applications

shabaz

Introduction The Digital Multiplex (DMX) protocol (not the rapper : ), also known as DMX512 or DMX512-A, is an industry-standard method of achieving lighting control, both manually (using a control panel) and for lighting automation (using a PC). It ...
- 24 Aug 2017
ESP8266 based car interior control

hwhardsoft

Hi, I want to introduce a new project of me. A friend asked me for help with his Lincoln stretch limousine car. The car has originally an interior control via capacitive sensor keys based on a Atmel controller. This solution have som...
- 1 Aug 2017
Building a USB Keypad: A Mini-Project

shabaz

IntroductionSometimes it gets tiresome remembering keyboard combinations for software applications on the PC. Examples include CAD software which are very feature-rich. One could place labels/stickers onto the keyboard but maybe the keyboard isn’t su...
- 16 Jul 2017
Fake and Re-used Electronic Parts and Components

shabaz

I thought it would be good to have a discussion about peoples experiences with fake and recycled components, and share photos so that others can be aware. As an introduction, it should be clear to most that if it a component deal seems too good ...
- 15 Jun 2017
Building a Software Defined Radio (SDR) with LimeSDR

shabaz

IntroductionThe LimeSDR board is a CrowdSupply project that I was curious to try out. It was priced extremely well for a very high bandwidth (60MHz) software defined radio board with a usable frequency range from around 30MHz (or lower with some mods...
- 30 May 2017
Low Cost PCBs - What Can They Look Like?

shabaz

IntroductionI recently had a PCB made overseas, just for a one-off prototype. I spent a few hours examining the boards so I thought I’d share my findings. This is not a review, I do not intend to name the manufacturer, because this is a one-off ...
- 16 Jan 2017
My 2016 Projects, Trips and Activities Summary

shabaz

In 2016 I got to explore a few things, here is a quick summary. Project/ActivityDescription Building and Testing Audio CablesThe year was kicked off with an investigation into audio cables and jack plug connectors and how to solder them and how ...
- 7 Dec 2016
Building a SMT Pick-and-Place Buddy

shabaz

IntroductionFor years I’ve used a normal pair of tweezers to pick up small parts. It works fine but in the quest for further improvements I looked to buy a vacuum pick-up (also known as vacuum tweezer) tool to assist in this process but I didn’t see ...
- 7 Nov 2016
The Engineer’s Multi-Tool - Project Hydra

shabaz

IntroductionHYDRA, named after the multi-headed monster, is a miniaturized general purpose electronic engineering tool with several bits of functionality. For instance an audio amplifier and an LED can allow for some quite extensive debugging fo...
- 24 Sep 2016
IBM Brings Quantum to the Cloud

Catwell

IBM made history this month for being the first company to deliver quantum computing to the Cloud. The tech company encourages researchers and science enthusiasts alike to test out its platform and provide feedback that could bring useful quantum pro...
- 17 May 2016
Design a romantic PCB using a free PCB design tool - EasyEDA

hadleywhite

Have you ever tried to design a romantic PCB for your lover or an interesting PCB for your children or friends on special day? Why not? PCB also could be an amazing gift which comes from your creativity. Here I’d like to share a romantic and practica...
- 5 May 2016
Zephyr Project brings a Real-Time Operating System to the IoT

Catwell

The Zephyr Project is an initiative to bring a real-time operating system to low-power IoT-connected devices and technologies. The platform is open-source and might be the buffer needed to address IoT security concerns. (images via Zephyr) The I...
- 4 Mar 2016
Implementing Non-FTDI USB-to-UART Serial Interfaces

shabaz

IntroductionIt looks like the FTDI USB-Serial saga continues. A USB-Serial (also known as USB-to-UART) interface is used to connect up PCs to hardware devices using the USB port. FTDI was traditionally a manufacturer of the interface chips for this p...
- 1 Feb 2016
New BeagleBone Blue Robotics…. something

Catwell

The mysterious BeagleBone Blue promo image (via BeagleBone)BeagleBoard.org just released a page on their site dedicated to something called the BeagleBone Blue (BBB). On the page is a picture of a PCB with the words “robotics cape” riding atop a Beag...
- 14 Jan 2016
2016 Year in Preview: The Future of Open Source

spannerspencer

Open SourceOf all our recent discussions about future tech predictions and how electronics platforms might evolve over the next 12 months., this is perhaps the most semantic.After all, a platform, board or piece of software is either open source, or ...
- 30 Dec 2015
Hugo

balearicdynamics

A project born around the LinkIt ONE board is an experiment of a full open hardware and open software untile to reach a product. HugoA dog-wearable device for dogs, that remain more than one day in standby mode. This IoT device is based on the O...
- 23 Dec 2015
Tapster Mobile Automation Robot

fustini

Jason Huggins (@hugs) presented his Tapsterbot project at Chicago node.js meetup this week:Video Game Playing Nodebots: A State of the Union http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Nodejs/events/225360165/My photos of the events:https://goo.gl/photos/LuAUsCoE15...
- 18 Dec 2015