It’s fair to say that building electronic gadgets is easier now than it ever has been in the past. With low-cost modular components, there’s often just a couple dozen lines of code and a few jumper wires standing between your idea and a functioning prototype. Driving stepper motors is a perfect example: you can grab […]
ARDUINO DRIVES SEVENTEEN STEPPER MOTORS, CAREFULLY Continue Reading
For every project that uses an Arduino to make soup or an ESP8266 to hash bitcoin, there’s always someone out there uttering the same old refrain. I could have done it with a 555. More often than not, this is true, even if it is tangential to the discussion being had. In this case however, such a
FIZZLE LOOP SYNTH DOES IT WITH 555 TIMERS Continue Reading
While even the mention of a shark swimming close to shore is enough to send residents scurrying for cover, the “WasteShark” is being welcomed with open arms. The brainchild of South African entrepreneur Richard Hardiman, the aquatic drone is designed to devour all floating debris, including plastic and other non-biodegradable trash, that has accumulatedalong coastal waters, before it drifts out
Trash-Eating “Sharks” Are Taking Over Harbors Worldwide Continue Reading
Graphing calculators are an interesting niche market these days. They’re relatively underpowered, and usually come with cheap, low resolution screens to boot. They remain viable almost solely due to their use in education and the fact that their limited connectivity makes them suitable for use in exams. The market is starting to hot up, though
TI-83 GETS CIRCUITPYTHON UPGRADE Continue Reading
As a preview of his latest book, Arduino Project Handbook: 25 Practical Projects to Get You Started, Mark Geddes takes us through the project to create a simple plant monitor. In this project I’ll introduce a new type of analog sensor that detects moisture levels. You’ll set up a light and sound alarm system (an
How to build a plant monitor with Arduino Continue Reading
Vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs) are one of those beautiful pieces of bygone technology that you just don’t see much of anymore. At one time they were a mainstay of consumer electronics, but today they’ve largely been replaced with cheaper and more energy efficient displays such as LEDs and LCDs. While they might be objectively better
A SCRATCH BUILT VFD CLOCK WITH INNER BEAUTY Continue Reading
After a youth spent playing with Amigas and getting into all sorts of trouble on the school computer network, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for hardware from the 80s and 90s. This extends beyond computers themselves, and goes so far as to include modems, photocopiers, and even the much-maligned dot matrix
ARDUINO CONVERTS SERIAL TO PARALLEL: THE PARALLELOSLAM Continue Reading
Coffee machine manufacture Victoria Arduino is opening its new showroom in London on 28 March in collaboration with its local importer VA Machinery. Victoria Arduino’s showroom will introduce the company’s products to its United Kingdom partners at the River Thames near the London Bridge. The showcase will provide a space for roasters, baristas, technicians and
Victoria Arduino opens showroom in London Continue Reading
The $120 to $165 “SparkFun Autonomous Kit for Sphero RVR” extends the $250 Sphero RVR robot with an Raspberry Pi Zero W, a pan-tilt camera, GPS, and an optional ToF distance sensor. SparkFun Electronics recently completed a successful Kickstarter project for its Sphero RVR, a four-wheeled tank-treaded robot that offers optional programming via a Raspberry Pi,
RPi Zero W based robot kits offer pan-tilt cam, GPS, and ToF sensing Continue Reading
A feline’s appetite is rarely sated, and cat owners around the world are routinely treated to an early morning wake up call to remind them of this fact. To solve this problem, many turn to automated feeders. However, such devices usually handle only dry foods, with a simple hopper system. [Vikram Hao] instead went above
AUTOMATED CAT FEEDER HANDLES WET FOOD WITH APLOMB Continue Reading
