Hands on with the Light Blue Bean
We took an initial look at Punch Through Design's Light Blue Bean when they opened for pre-orders. Now we have our hands on the hardware it's time to take a closer look.
Posts with «electronics» label
We took an initial look at Punch Through Design's Light Blue Bean when they opened for pre-orders. Now we have our hands on the hardware it's time to take a closer look.
The Bluetooth LE doc-a-thon at ITP Camp
Getting started using Bluetooth LE is much harder than it should be, and that a lot of great work people are doing is getting dropped on the floor, or worse yet done again. We decided to sit down and do something about that.
Make it Great: Bluetooth Multimedia Remote
I recently put an old laptop in my room as an XBMC computer. However, whenever I wanted to switch the content that was playing, I would have to drag myself out of my warm bed to change the content on the computer. I searched far and wide for a glitch […]
New Project: Model, Modify, and Make ModULO
When Evil Ninja Monster Ballerinas attack - ModULO can save the day! Build this 3D printed robot action figure for yourself.
New Project: Print your Dream Robot: CIRKO
Come and make this mean, green, robotic machine ... make it laugh and make it sing!
Solderless Noise-o-Tron Kit Makes Noise at Chicago Makerfaire
Anyone who’s manned a hackerspace booth at an event knows how difficult it can be to describe to people what a hackerspace is. No matter what words you use to describe it, nothing really seems to do it justice. You simply can’t use words to make someone feel that sense of accomplishment and fun that you get when you learn something new and build something that actually works.
[Derek] had this same problem and decided to do something about it. He realized that in order to really share the experience of a hackerspace, he would have to bring a piece of the hackerspace to the people. That meant getting people to build something simple, but fun. [Derek's] design had to be easy enough for anyone to put together, and inexpensive enough that it can be produced in moderate quantities without breaking the bank.
[Derek] ended up building a simple “optical theremin”. The heart of this simple circuit is an ATTiny45. Arduino libraries have already been ported to this chip, so all [Derek] had to do was write a few simple lines of code and he was up and running. The chip is connected to a photocell so the pitch will vary with the amount of light that reaches the cell. The user can then change the pitch by moving their hand closer or further away, achieving a similar effect to a theremin.
[Derek] designed a simple “pcb” out of acrylic, with laser cut holes for all of the components. If you don’t have access to a laser cutter to cut the acrylic sheets, you could always build your own. The electronic components are placed into the holes and the leads are simply twisted together. This allows even an inexperienced builder to complete the project in just five to ten minutes with no complicated tools. The end result of his hard work was a crowded booth at a lot of happy new makers. All of [Derek's] plans are available on github, and he hopes his project will find use at Makerfaires and hackerspace events all over the world.
Filed under: ATtiny Hacks, Hackerspaces
Monitor the Health & Vitality of Your Home Garden with Weekend Projects
Two Weekend Projects from our archives are ideal for challenging makers to hack their houseplants and collect data from their garden.
New Project: Near-Space Balloon Cam with Arduino and APRS Radio
Build this battle-tested rig to launch, track, and recover a high-altitude balloon that will carry your hacked Canon camera to the stratosphere. With this setup using APRS ham radio and the Trackuino — an Arduino-based communications board — any hobbyist or science class can photograph (and video) the Earth against the blackness of space, and bring these amazing images home to share.
