High-power LEDs over 1W are now quite inexpensive. I’m sure many of you are incorporating LEDs as light sources in your projects. However I realize that the finding and configuring the power supply is still not as simple as it can be; commercially available LED drivers are convenient, but often overkill or not flexible. Even […]
Projects
Breadboard and LEDs (lesson 3)
Introduction You’ve started modifying sketches, and played a bit with the onboard LED (or if you have an NG, an LED you added). The next step is to start adding onto the hardware component of the Arduino. We will do this by adding a solderless breadboard to our setup, connecting up new parts with wire. Say […]
The Talking Breathalyzer using an Arduino
*** Additional info at http://droidalyzer.com/talkingbreathalyzer/index.html *** A customizable Breathalyzer that talks and tells you how much you’ve had to drink. It’s also open source and can easily be modified with your own text on the LCD screen and audio MP3 files. When tethered to a PC with a USB cable, it has additional features including character animations, […]
FaceBooth – One button to facebook photobooth
I wanted to make a photbooth for a Christmas party. I wanted it to be simple to operate and only be one click easy so that even a guest who was chemically uncoordinated could even operate it.I wanted a solution that would take a photo and post it on facebook. Guests could later tag themselves […]
Arduino-controlled, Aluminum Archangel Costume Wings
I have always loved the Marvel character Archangel. When my brother, (Shameless plug alert) budding comic book artist David Fernandez, showed me pics of a cosplay convention he went to I thought “wouldn’t it be awesome if someone made life-size archangel wings?”. The idea sank into the depths of my mind and had a death grip on […]
Add a real-time clock to the Freetronics TwentyTen using Arduino
Let’s add a DS1307 real-time clock to our Freetronics Arduino-compatible board. Updated 18/03/2013 Now and again I find myself making another kind of clock or timing device using the Arduino system, and each one has been making use of the Maxim DS1307 real-time clock IC. However every time another clock is being worked on, my DS1307 real-time […]
Arduino Masterclass Part 1: Make your own hardware
The world is going nuts over the Raspberry Pi single-board computer (SBC) for being a whole system under $50. In reality though the Pi isn’t actually the cheapest computing device available. If you want really cheap how does $13.50 sound for a mini computer that can plug into your PC’s USB port be programmed in […]
Turn a pencil drawing into a capacitive sensor for Arduino
Did you know? You can make pencil drawings reactive to touch for use with your projects! It’s really easy, and gives you a lot of flexibility in making interfaces for whatever microcontroller project you’re making. I put this together as part of my UnoJoy project, where we’re using the Arduino as a platform from which […]
The Arduino Synthesizer
The Arduino is able to output sound through a library that has been developed called the Tone Library. By creating an interface and a program that can call certain values to be output to an audio out, the Arduino Synthesizer is a robust tool for making a rudimentary noise machine. It uses granular synthesis techniques […]
Arduino Breathalyzer: Calibrating the MQ-3 Alcohol Sensor
The MQ-3 is an alcohol gas sensor that is available for about $5 from Sparkfun, Seeed Studio, and others. It’s easy to use and has sparked the imagination of anyone who has dreamed of building their own breathalyzer device for measuring the amount of alcohol in the human body. I got an MQ-3 sensor a […]