tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23320624743985677722024-02-06T20:04:19.453-06:00Hardware HackingA compilation of my favorite hacks from across the BlogsBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.comBlogger588125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-78206533272048950922012-10-04T19:49:00.001-05:002012-10-04T19:49:53.191-05:00Another great backyard observatory build<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/i2Q3wh_5_84/">Another great backyard observatory build</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="350" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/another-great-backyard-observatory.jpg?w=470&h=350" title="another-great-backyard-observatory" width="470" /><br />
With a little help from their friends [Jeff Fisher] and his dad <a href="http://imgur.com/a/Clxem">built this observatory in their back yard</a>. Their use of simple building materials and techniques show that you can create a respectable home observatory without breaking the bank.<br />
It starts with a footing for the telescope mount. This is completely separated from the building that surrounds it so there will be no issue with vibrations affecting the images it is capturing. From there a foundation made of cinder blocks was laid before placing joists and installing a sub floor. It was during this process that they trenched and placed conduit to run power to the building. With the floor in place the walls were stick built and a carefully crafted dome was assembled and hefted in place by this septet of gentlemen.<br />
Four months was all it took to get to this point, but [Jeff] and his dad are still working on a deck to go around the observatory. They’re using a very nice telescope that they purchased, but it is also possible to <a href="http://hackaday.com/2010/05/17/building-an-oak-telescope/">build one of those yourself</a>.<br />
[via Reddit]<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/home-hacks/">home hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/86132/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/86132/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=86132&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/i2Q3wh_5_84" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-15412635202556833122012-09-09T21:52:00.001-05:002012-09-09T21:52:04.970-05:00ProtoSynth, the prototyping synthesizer<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/y0YITP7kyQo/">ProtoSynth, the prototyping synthesizer</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="300" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/prototyping-synthesizer.png" title="prototyping-synthesizer" width="470" /><br />
This project isn’t really a prototype, but a tool for prototyping. [Tymkrs] came up with a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma1m228P9kc">unique way to build this synthesizer prototyping tool</a>. They actually patched into the underside of the breadboards in order to keep all of the permanent bits nice and tidy.<br />
In the clip after the break you’ll see all of the build photos that lead up to this point. After cutting out and assembling the wooden pieces for the case they grab a soldering iron and get to work. Two octaves worth of keys were pulled out of an electric keyboard. Ribbon cable is soldered onto each key’s electrical connection, with an SIL pin header as a connector. This mates with another ribbon cable with a SIL socket on one end, and an IDC connector on the other. The real trick is getting that IDC connected to the breadboard. They cut back the adhesive tape on the underside of the board and soldered a surface mount pin header onto it. This way the inputs from the keys, as well as a few 1/4″ jacks from the back of the case are always available in a tidy way on the breadboards. The video goes on to show preliminary synthesizer work on the device.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ma1m228P9kc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/musical-hacks/">musical hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84422/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84422/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84422&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/y0YITP7kyQo" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-91148181058458446602012-09-09T21:41:00.001-05:002012-09-09T21:41:02.765-05:00Electronic beer pong removes beer from the equation<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/DQidH2Pl5cI/">Electronic beer pong removes beer from the equation</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="351" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/electronic-beer-pong-e1346947426288.jpg" title="electronic-beer-pong" width="470" /><br />
You can take the guy out of the frat house, but you can’t take the frat house out of the guy. [Evan Flint] proves this with his incessant need to have a beer pong game at all of his parties. But now that he’s growing up, and living in nicer places, he doesn’t necessarily want to have the oft-messy game in his home. So he found an electronic solution to his problem. Electropong is like <a href="http://battlesnake.blogspot.com/2012/09/electropong-is-going-to-change.html">an electronic dart board for playing beer pong</a>. You won’t find beer in the cups, but you’ll still find plenty of fun.<br />
The game includes the triangle of cups that makes up <a href="http://hackaday.com/2009/12/15/interactive-beer-pong-table/">a traditional playing area</a>. In the bottom of each cup is an RGB LED that will keep track of each player’s hits by lighting the cup in that team’s color. Illuminated buttons provide a way to control the game, with an LED marquee to read out the score.<br />
[Evan] mentions some difficulty in recreating the physics of a cup full of beer. He says he overcame the challenge, but alas, there are no details on how. We’ve asked him to update his post so check back for more info.<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/beer-hacks/">beer hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84425/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84425/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84425&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/DQidH2Pl5cI" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-82979919214424162382012-09-09T21:28:00.001-05:002012-09-09T21:28:34.423-05:00Cheetah robot can run down even the fastest of us<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/QLT_RXGlE24/">Cheetah robot can run down even the fastest of us</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="263" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/world-record-robot-speed.jpg" title="world-record-robot-speed" width="470" /><br />
It’s a blur, but you really don’t want to seen this thing coming for you anyway. It’s the latest look at what the folks at Boston Dynamics have been working on under a DARPA contract. They call it the Cheetah robot as <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/09/05.aspx">it’s the fastest four-legged bot ever developed</a>. The clip after the break shows it breaking the world record over 100 meters… for a human. This isn’t really legitimate since the run is done on a treadmill and the robot is tethered. But it’s still <del>impressive</del> scary.<br />
The Cheetah is <a href="http://hackaday.com/2011/09/30/new-bigdog-video-doesnt-fail-to-impress/">a relative of BigDog</a>, another Boston Dynamics robot which we’ve seen several times in the past. BigDog specializes in lifting heavy loads and traversing rough terrain. We don’t think it will be too long before both traits can be “bred” into one device. A lot of times when we feature these robots there are comments about how they invoke images from <em>The Terminator </em>movies. For us this is more along [Michael Bay's] vision of robots from the <em>Transformers</em> series. It certainly not small enough or fast enough to be seen as an early version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash#Rat_Things">the Rat Thing</a>.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YqpO58x7vuE?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
[Thanks Ferdinand via <a href="http://www.endandit.nl/science/060921667/robot-cheetah-loopt-harder-dan-usain-bolt">EnDanDit</a>]<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/robots-hacks/">robots hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84532/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84532/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84532&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/QLT_RXGlE24" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-71121317436265866232012-09-09T21:20:00.003-05:002012-09-09T21:20:37.807-05:00Building a watch for Curiosity’s drivers<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/_X9OD9xjjbk/">Building a watch for Curiosity’s drivers</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="156" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/rover.jpg" title="rover" width="470" /><br />
Eight long years ago, when the Martian rovers <em>Spirit</em> and <em>Opportunity</em> were steaming towards our dusty neighbor, JPL systems engineers [Julie Townsend] and [Scott Doudrick] were stuck trying to solve a very strange problem. After the twin rovers landed, the rover drivers would have to live on Mars time. Because a Martian day lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes, rover team members would have to report to work 39 minutes later than the previous day. After much cajoling, a watchmaker by the name of [Garo Anserlian] <a href="http://marsrover.nasa.gov/spotlight/spirit/a3_20040108.html">was convinced to create a mechanical watch that lost 39 minutes per day</a>, giving the team responsible for driving <em>Spirit </em>and <em>Opportunity</em> across the Martian desert these last eight years a temporal connection to the task at hand.<br />
Of course, a lot happens in eight years. Now we have incredibly inexpensive, fully programmable TI Chronos watch, used by [Arko] to <a href="http://arkorobotics.com/blog/?p=93">make a wristwatch set to Martian solar time</a>. Instead of a master watchmaker selling the slowest wristwatch ever for hundreds of dollars, staying on <em>Curiosity</em> time is a simple matter of reprogramming a $50 wrist-mounted computer.<br />
The build began by taking the default firmware for the Texas Instruments EZ430 Chronos wristwatch. In its stock configuration, the Chronos takes a 32.768khz clock signal, counts out clock pulses, and increments the number of seconds every time a counter reaches 32,768.<br />
Because a Martian Sol is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds of Earth time, [Arko] needed to program the seconds display to change every 1.027 Earth seconds. This meant changing the seconds every 33,668.833 clock cycles, instead of the Earth-oriented 32,768 clock cycles.<br />
There’s one small glitch with that plan: the timer in the Chronos wristwatch can’t deal with floating point numbers, meaning [Arko] had to settle for incrementing the number of seconds ever 33,668 or 33,669 clock cycles. After a bit of math, [Arko] found using a value of 33,669 would mean his Martian time watch would only lose about 2 seconds a day, a minute after 78 Martian Sols, or 8.57 Martian minutes after one Martian year.<br />
The build only took [Arko] five hours in front of his computer, and he doesn’t consider this to be a finished product. He plans on adding a few bells and whistles such as being able to display both Earth and Mars time. Still, an awesome build if your job description includes driving a rover across the Martian plains.<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/clock-hacks/">clock hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84693/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84693/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84693&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/92SnaZpKKOgPWwomd0RXd2f9FTY/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="ismap" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/92SnaZpKKOgPWwomd0RXd2f9FTY/0/di" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/92SnaZpKKOgPWwomd0RXd2f9FTY/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="ismap" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/92SnaZpKKOgPWwomd0RXd2f9FTY/1/di" /></a><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/_X9OD9xjjbk" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-53041003159121017672012-09-09T21:20:00.001-05:002012-09-09T21:20:04.209-05:00Eventorbot 3D Printer<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/eYwpUz1XVqs/">Eventorbot 3D Printer</a>: <br />
<a href="http://hackaday.com/?attachment_id=84629" rel="attachment wp-att-84629"><img alt="" height="300" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/eventorbot_reprap_3.jpg?w=450&h=300" title="The Eventorbot" width="450" /></a><br />
Tired of 3D printers that use t-slot construction? The <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Eventorbot" title="Eventorbot">Eventorbot</a> is yet another open source 3D printer, but it’s built out of steel and 3D printable parts. The design also aims to minimize the effect of vibrations by using a single solid frame. All of the wiring runs through the steel frame, which gives the printer a professional look.<br />
The Eventorbot page on the RepRap wiki provides details on how to build your own, along with STL files for all the printable parts. If you want to see renders of the parts, they’re all available on <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28915#" title="Eventorbot on Thingiverse">Thingiverse</a>. The material cost is $300-$500, and the assembled cost is quoted at $799.<br />
Like many of the open source printers we’ve seen, this one uses the <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Arduino_Mega_Pololu_Shield" title="RAMPS">RepRap Mega Pololu Shield</a> (RAMPS) to control the actuators. This is attached to a <a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Sanguinololu" title="Sanguinololu">Sanguinololu</a> motherboard, which runs the RepRap firmware.<br />
The Eventorbot <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/eventorbot" title="Eventorbot on Youtube">Youtube channel</a> has a collection of videos detailing the assembly of the robot. Check out a video of a test print after the break.<br />
Via <a href="http://blog.makezine.com/2012/08/29/eventorbot-open-source-3d-printer/" title="Make">Make</a><br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AUZKqjrOeSU?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/cnc-hacks/">cnc hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84627/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84627/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84627&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/HAFLERzYhVveoNSG8pT-5hzjHzg/0/da"><img border="0" ismap="ismap" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/HAFLERzYhVveoNSG8pT-5hzjHzg/0/di" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/HAFLERzYhVveoNSG8pT-5hzjHzg/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="ismap" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/HAFLERzYhVveoNSG8pT-5hzjHzg/1/di" /></a><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/eYwpUz1XVqs" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-1443604195591641602012-09-03T10:45:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:45:49.457-05:00App note: Switch mode regulators for battery powered systems<a href="http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/09/01/app-note-9/">App note: Switch mode regulators for battery powered systems</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="250" src="http://dangerousprototypes.com/wp-content/media/2012/09/maxap.jpg" title="maxap" width="600" /><br />
Maxim describes various <a href="http://www.maxim-ic.com/app-notes/index.mvp/id/660">SMPS regulator topologies for battery powered systems</a>. Isolated and non-isolated topologies are covered:<br />
<blockquote>This tutorial presents an overview of regulator topologies for battery-powered equipment. The discussion covers linear regulators, charge pumps, buck and boost regulators, inverters, and flyback designs. The importance of peak current is explained, and schematics of each topology are shown.</blockquote>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-64813001381400106742012-09-03T10:42:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:42:50.376-05:00Moog Etherwave Standard Theremin Kit<a href="http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/08/30/moog-etherwave-standard-theremin-kit/">Moog Etherwave Standard Theremin Kit</a>: <br />
<img alt="29492805587" border="0" height="760" hspace="4" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/29492805587.jpg" vspace="4" width="600" /><br />
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<a href="http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/post/29492805587/moog-etherwave-standard-theremin-kit-we-only-got">Moog Etherwave Standard Theremin Kit</a>.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-75243332425292258142012-09-03T10:26:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:26:42.017-05:00Mathigon | The Mathematics Education Project<a href="http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/09/03/mathigon-the-mathematics-education-project/">Mathigon | The Mathematics Education Project</a>: <br />
<img alt="Adafruit 415" border="0" height="545" hspace="4" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/adafruit_415.jpg" vspace="4" width="600" /><br />
<a href="http://www.mathigon.org/">Mathigon | The Mathematics Education Project</a>.<br />
<blockquote>The mathematics curriculum in schools often focuses on topics like arithmetic or algebra – they are important, but can be very dry and boring. And they are the reason why so many people ‘hate’ maths.<br />
But mathematics is much more than counting and solving equations, and everybody should know ideas like Prime Numbers, Graph Theory or Differential Equations. Because they are exciting and beautiful, because they are of fundamental importance in our world, and because they are part of our culture – as much as Mozart and Shakespeare.<br />
Mathigon is a website with educational resources for children, teachers as well as the general public – ranging from videos and animations to classroom activities or interactive eBooks for PC and iPad. Mathigon tries to redefine what mathematics education should look like in a digital age, and uses the latest technologies to explain advanced mathematics in a fun, entertaining and engaging way.<br />
</blockquote>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-58644597933091732612012-09-03T10:25:00.003-05:002012-09-03T10:25:59.319-05:00Etching your own PCBs at home<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/DG3U_HGi6CA/">Etching your own PCBs at home</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="101" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/pcb.jpg" title="pcb" width="470" /><br />
Etching your own PCBs from copper clad board is nothing new, but the ability to make your own circuit boards at home is so useful it should be part of every maker’s repertoire of skills. The folks over at Hub City Labs in Moncton, NB, Canada put together <a href="http://hubcitylabs.org/diy-pcb-etching-at-hubcitylabs/">a workshop covering the basics of home PCB manufacturing</a>, allowing any maker to put a circuit board in their hands in under an hour.<br />
The process starts just like any PCB design – laying out traces, parts, and vias in a PCB designer such as Eagle. When making your own boards, it’s a good idea to make the traces and pads extra large; the folks at Hub City Labs follow the 50-50 rule: 50 mil wide traces with 50 mils of seperation.<br />
The PCB design is printed out with a laser printer (in mirror mode) onto a piece of paper from a glossy magazine or inkjet photo paper. After the copper board is scrubbed to remove any oxidation or oils present, the design is laid face down on the copper and heated with a clothes iron or sent through a laminator.<br />
After the laser printer toner is transferred to the copper, the recipe calls for etching the board with a solution consisting of a half cup of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and a quarter cup of muriatic acid.<br />
The folks at Hub City Labs put together a great tutorial for one of the most useful skills the home electronics wizard can have, but etching your own PCBs is an art unto itself. There’s a lot of ways this process can be improved, from using Kapton tape to secure the printed art to the copper board, to getting high-strength peroxide from a beauty supply store.<br />
If you’ve got any tips on making your own PCBs at home, drop a line in the comments below.<br />
EDIT: Good job killing Hub City Lab’s web server, everybody. They’re working on getting something up.<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/tool-hacks/">tool hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83831/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83831/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83831&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/5EqMQNWOYnLRCuKmTUHDWx89d0c/1/da"><img border="0" ismap="ismap" src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/5EqMQNWOYnLRCuKmTUHDWx89d0c/1/di" /></a><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/DG3U_HGi6CA" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-86713229592236830792012-09-03T10:25:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:25:05.884-05:00Building a driver for absurdly high power LEDs<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/-25ULQwCp0A/">Building a driver for absurdly high power LEDs</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="145" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/led.jpg" title="LED" width="470" /><br />
A few years ago, the highest power LEDs you could buy capped out around three watts. Now, LED manufacturers are taking things to ridiculous power ratings with 30, 40, and even 90 watt LEDs. Getting these high-power LEDs are no longer a problem, but powering them certainly is. [Thomas] <a href="http://www.tbideas.com/blog/design-of-the-led-driver/">built a LED driver</a> capable of powering these gigantic LEDs and creating a light show that is probably bright enough to cause bit of eye damage.<br />
[Thomas]‘ LED driver is based on Linear Technology’s <a href="http://www.linear.com/product/LT3518">LT3518 LED driver</a>. This driver is part of a project to build a huge WiFi controlled RGB LED, so the driver has outputs for three separate LEDs capable of sourcing 700 mA each.<br />
Because [Thomas] is dealing with crazy amounts of heat and power required to light up these huge LEDs, the driver board features a temperature sensor next to each LED driver. When the board gets too hot, the driver automatically shuts down, preventing <em>bad things</em> from happening.<br />
You can check out a few pictures of [Thomas]‘ LED driver over on <a href="http://www.tbideas.com/blog/some-pictures-of-our-latest-prototype/">the build page for his WiFi LED project</a>. A truly awesome amount of lighting power here, that also makes it impossible to get a good picture of the board in operation.<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/led-hacks/">led hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83826/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83826/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83826&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/-25ULQwCp0A" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-12047911442521007112012-09-03T10:24:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:24:07.700-05:00Can a Kickstarter project actually build a space elevator?<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/CyxxPqvLBSs/">Can a Kickstarter project actually build a space elevator?</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="135" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/niac_proposal_top-e1346342071231.png" title="niac_proposal_top" width="470" /><br />
It’s the stuff that Science Fiction is made of: an elevator that climbs its way into space rather than needing a rocket to get there. Can it be done? No. But this Kickstarter project aims to <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaellaine/space-elevator-science-climb-to-the-sky-a-tethered">fund research that will eventually make a space elevator possible</a>. They’re already way over their goal, and plan to use the extra funds to extend the reach of the experiments.<br />
A complete success would be <a href="http://hackaday.com/2008/10/07/space-elevator-a-real-possibility/">a tether that reaches into space</a>, held taught by a weight which is pulled away from earth by centrifugal force. That’s not really on the radar yet (last we heard humans weren’t capable of producing a substance strong enough to keep the tether from snapping). What is in the works is a weather balloon supporting a ribbon which a robot can climb. The team isn’t new to this, having built and tested several models at University and then in a start-up company that closed its doors a few years ago. Now they’re hoping to get a 3-5 kilometer ribbon in the air and to build a new robot to climb it.<br />
For now we’ll have to be satisfied with the 1000 ft. climb video after the break. But we hope to see an Earth-Moon freight system like the one shown in the diagram above before the end of our lifetimes.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QjcaQT_ssE4?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
[Thanks uMinded]<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/robots-hacks/">robots hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83872/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83872/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83872&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
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<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/CyxxPqvLBSs" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-40695740884954009652012-09-03T10:21:00.003-05:002012-09-03T10:21:44.835-05:00Arduino Tachometer tutorial<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/TBxjEt_9AIY/">Arduino Tachometer tutorial</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="264" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/arduino_tachometer_small-e1346347358232.jpg" title="arduino_tachometer_small" width="470" /><br />
This tutorial will guide you through the process of <a href="http://www.pyroelectro.com/tutorials/tachometer_rpm_arduino/">building a tachometer around an Arduino</a>. Tachometers are used to measure rotation rate in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). You don’t need much in the way of hardware, this version uses an Infrared beam to measure fan speed. As with <a href="http://hackaday.com/2011/01/28/simple-sensors-to-calculate-rpm/">last year’s PIC-based tutorial</a>, [Chris] is using a character LCD to output the reading. Wiring and driving the LCD ends up being the hardest part.<br />
An IR transmitter/receiver pair are positioned on either side of the fan. When the blade passes in between then, the receiver shuts off a transistor connected to one of the Arduino’s external interrupt pins. He shows how to use this interrupt to measure the amount of time between the passing of each fan blade. If you divide for the number of blades, and average the reading for greater accuracy, you can easily calculate RPM.<br />
Another alternative would have been to <a href="http://hackaday.com/2011/04/22/simple-ir-bounce-tachometer/">use a reflectance sensor</a> which allows to for the transmitter and receiver to both be on the same side of the fan.<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/arduino-hacks/">arduino hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83893/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83893/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83893&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/TBxjEt_9AIY" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-28881971706017304412012-09-03T10:21:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:21:09.982-05:00Raspberry Pi synth gives a softsynth dedicated hardware<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/msUBqiR-SeE/">Raspberry Pi synth gives a softsynth dedicated hardware</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="108" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/rasynth.jpg" title="rasynth" width="470" /><br />
For all the musicians out there, <a href="http://raspberrypisynthesizer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/most-complex-modulation-equation-yet.html">here’s a great use</a> for your Raspberry Pi. All the features you would expect from a nice analog synth are implemented in a Raspberry Pi-based polysynth – dual oscillators, LFOs, and phasers – and it looks like there will be a few more features added before the Raspi synth is released.<br />
Even though the ‘synthesis’ part of the Raspi synth already sounds wonderful, getting MIDI on the Rasberry Pi leaves much to be desired. The creator of the Raspi synth thought about <a href="http://raspberrypisynthesizer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/thoughts-on-gpio-midi.html">using the GPIO pins as a MIDI interface</a>, but because the GPIO pins cannot run natively at 31250 bps (the MIDI spec), the Raspberry Pi has to waste most of its CPU cycles just listening for MIDI traffic.<br />
Right now the Raspberry Pi synth is controlled by a USB-connected MIDI interface, and as you can hear after the break, sounds wonderful. We can’t wait to hear what this synth will be able to do in a few months’ time.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qyU7TAi_b04?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4YNUHoek6Zk?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/musical-hacks/">musical hacks</a>, <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/rasberry-pi/">Rasberry pi</a>, <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/raspberry-pi-2/">Raspberry Pi</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83917/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83917/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83917&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/msUBqiR-SeE" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-4208477029405144082012-09-03T10:16:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:16:25.041-05:00DIY laser cutter from non-DIY parts<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/8mfnDDFZc_M/">DIY laser cutter from non-DIY parts</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="400" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/diy-laser-cutter-from-non-diy-parts.jpg" title="diy-laser-cutter-from-non-diy-parts" width="470" /><br />
[Jerry] missed the laser cutters he had been using at the local TechShop. It closed down and after seeing some hardware in a surplus store <a href="http://www.coultersmithing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=78&start=50">he decided to build a laser cutter to call his own</a>. You won’t be disappointed by his build log. It’s got a ton of hi-res images and plenty of explanation.<br />
Often, cost is the key consideration in these types of builds. [Jerry] spent a little more than average, but look what he got back out of it. This started as a CNC machine aimed at loading silicon wafers for a company making electron microscopes. It’s barely been used, and the light-duty specs will work just fine with a laser cutter as the gantry won’t be moving much weight or fighting the rotational force of a mill motor. He tore out the stock controllers and built his own, adding a q-switched 355nm Frequency Tripled DPSS laser along the way. We’re not quite sure what that means… but in laymen’s terms it’s an ultraviolet laser source. See the finished unit cutting out some Kapton in the clip after the break.<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA4cvwn1U_A<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/cnc-hacks/">cnc hacks</a>, <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/laser-hacks/">laser hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83969/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83969/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83969&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/8mfnDDFZc_M" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-68038325352266887372012-09-03T10:15:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:15:44.048-05:00RC plane made specifically for UAVs<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/9_Bb1ZC4c1g/">RC plane made specifically for UAVs</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="149" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/uav.jpg" title="UAV" width="470" /><br />
We’ve seen our fair share of remote-controlled planes turned into UAVs and FPV platforms, but <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/841500112/techpod-the-hobby-uav">the Techpod</a> is the first airplane we’ve seen specifically designed to be used as a camera-equipped robotic airplane.<br />
The Techpod is the brainchild of [Wayne Garris]. He has been flying camera-equipped FPV airplanes for a while now, but recently realized the current offerings of remote control planes didn’t match his needs. [Wayne] decided to design his own plane specifically designed with a pan/tilt camera mount in the nose.<br />
[Wayne]‘s prototype was designed with some very fancy aeronautical design software packages and milled out of foam. From the videos after the break, we can see the Techpod flies beautifully, but needs the Kickstarter community to bring his model to the masses.<br />
The specs for the Techpod put it up there with other high-performances FPV and UAV models; with its 102 inch (2590 mm) wingspan and a pair of batteries wired in parallel, the Techpod can stay aloft transmitting video for up to one hour.<br />
Video of the plane in action after the break.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y3hghWV7WeY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KhOhR7FOJT4?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/kickstarter/">kickstarter</a>, <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/robots-hacks/">robots hacks</a>, <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/toy-hacks/">toy hacks</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83992/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/83992/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=83992&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/9_Bb1ZC4c1g" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-80912059780233039772012-09-03T10:13:00.001-05:002012-09-03T10:13:34.700-05:00Lazy Labor day educational time. Watch Cornell’s microcontroller courses.<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/bJdK7FIG9x8/">Lazy Labor day educational time. Watch Cornell’s microcontroller courses.</a>: <br />
<a href="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ece4760-microcontroller-lectures-posted-online.jpg"><img alt="" height="311" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ece4760-microcontroller-lectures-posted-online.jpg?w=450&h=311" title="ECE4760-Microcontroller-Lectures-Posted-Online" width="450" /></a><br />
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C’mon, you know you’re not really going to do much today. You might as well spend that time learning some skills instead of watching funny cats. The Cornell ECE lectures on microcontrollers (ECE 4760 and ECE5760), taught by [Bruce Land], are available online for free.<br />
Not only do you get to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ece4760/videos?flow=grid&view=1">enjoy these two courses, but there are videos available showing off several different categories of student projects as well</a>.<br />
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<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yvqkg44_DQA?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
[via <a href="http://hackedgadgets.com/2012/08/30/ece4760-microcontroller-lectures-posted-online/">hackedgadgets</a>]<br />
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Filed under: <a href="http://hackaday.com/category/hackaday-links/">Hackaday links</a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84039/" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/hackadaycom.wordpress.com/84039/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=hackaday.com&blog=4779443&post=84039&subd=hackadaycom&ref=&feed=1" width="1" /><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/bJdK7FIG9x8" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-55526290418463276252012-08-29T22:55:00.001-05:002012-08-29T22:55:05.485-05:00Resistors and power ratings<a href="http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/08/28/various-sizes-of-resistors/">Resistors and power ratings</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="450" src="http://dangerousprototypes.com/wp-content/media/2012/08/DSCF7226-Copy-W600.jpg" title="DSCF7226 - Copy-W600" width="600" /><br />
Kenneth discusses <a href="http://blog.thelifeofkenneth.com/2012/08/various-sizes-of-resistors.html">resistors and power ratings</a>:<br />
<blockquote>Resistors are possibly the most basic component of electronics; given an input voltage, they allow a current to flow, and given an input current to flow, they produce a voltage. The relationship between the voltage and current is linear (a straight line), (mostly) frequency independent (unlike capacitors or inductors), and only dependent on its resistance (expressed in ohms).</blockquote>Via <a href="https://twitter.com/KWF/status/238178410273337345">TweetDeck</a>.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-7675766554488821402012-08-29T22:45:00.001-05:002012-08-29T22:45:31.152-05:00What does the government think about that drone in your home?<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/RYNyBPArbwU/">What does the government think about that drone in your home?</a>: <br />
<a href="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/policedrone.jpg"><img alt="" height="297" src="http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/policedrone.jpg?w=450&h=297" title="policedrone" width="450" /></a><br />
The world is buzzing about drones right now. Even we’re joining in the fun with some antics of our own. Right now, it is basically a legal free-for all since no one is enforcing regulation, but is that about to change? Should it?<br />
Lets start off by establishing the definition of a “drone”. For this article, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle">we’ll settle for</a> any “unmanned aerial vehicle”, though we can all agree that that limiting this to airspace is fairly restrictive. This is the specific type that are making the news right now and quite possibly catching the eye of people who make the rules.<br />
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During my fun exploring the different ways to cause a little mischief by hacking a fairly limited Parrot AR Drone, I met some resistance on user forums from people concerned that I would usher in a new set of legislation restricting the use of drones by weaponizing them. While we all can agree that irresponsible use of dangerous things is bad, the idea that <a href="http://hackaday.com/2012/08/27/the-taserdrone-a-shocking-mod-for-the-ar-drone/">my little taserDrone</a> would garner government attention was laughable.<br />
However, I felt that a little research was necessary into how the FAA feels about drones, since it seems that everyone is putting them in the air. I found some interesting things. Most notably, the modifications of adding further flight distance and better cameras seems to be the biggest concern for people, and is likely to be the cause of legislation due to privacy issues.<br />
At present, the <a href="http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/">FAA already has regulation in place for drones</a> and has for some time. To use one above 400 feet, you must be registered with the FAA and issued a certificate, of which they’ve only issued a few hundred. The law also states that you can not use the drone for commercial purposes. This has actually become an issue as one real estate company <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/lapd-cracks-down-on-drone-aircraft-use-by-real-estate-">found out when they started hiring drones</a> to photograph the properties they were listing.<br />
With the swarm on the horizon, the FAA realizes they have to approach this. They’ve created an entire office dedicated to integrating drones into airspace an are actually attempting to <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/the_drone_next_door_new_faa_rules_will_increase_ua.php">loosen up the restrictions for drone use</a>. Keep in mind, however, that this doesn’t just mean [Joe] next door with his hacked AR Drone, but <a href="http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/mcso-waiting-for-right-moment-to-deploy-drone/article_12c6dc67-e005-5e76-820c-043c755690d7.html">also the police</a>. This is a big deal to <a href="http://epic.org/privacy/drones/">many who already feel like they live in a current state surveillance</a>. This year the FAA actually <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-auvsi-faa-drone-huerta-20120807,0,7879345.story">had a presence and spoke at the Unmanned Vehicle Systems International trade show</a> in Los Vegas, for the first time in its 39 year run.<br />
So it seems that the prime concerns surrounding drones right now are air safety and privacy. We all know they can be weaponized. We’ve all seen the military drones. Apparently, a gun mounted on a drone is no more scary than a gun on a hip or on a car. What people are more concerned about are prying eyes. So when I attempt to strap a bottle rocket to my drone, maybe people shouldn’t freak out. Maybe they should actually reconsider strapping <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dee6PLPVhtw">that high definition camera to their drone and flying it over their neighborhood</a>.<br />
Then again, this is hackaday. All we ask is that you don’t hurt anyone and try to show a little respect to eachother while you do whatever you want to that thing you OWN.<br />
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<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/RYNyBPArbwU" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-66845333368425993052012-08-27T22:41:00.001-05:002012-08-27T22:41:13.193-05:00The Basics of Thermocouples<a href="http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/08/26/the-basics-of-thermocouples/">The Basics of Thermocouples</a>: <br />
<img alt="" height="177" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/circell_thermocouples.jpg" width="350" /><br />
Curious about thermocouples and how they work? <a href="http://circuitcellar.com/featured/the-basics-of-thermocouples/">The Basics of Thermocouples</a> from Circuit Cellar does a good job of answering a lot of questions about how they function, and how to use them.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-4623145795918093652012-08-27T22:34:00.001-05:002012-08-27T22:34:18.963-05:00Hubble’s Hidden Treasures<a href="http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/08/27/hubbles-hidden-treasures/">Hubble’s Hidden Treasures</a>: <br />
<img alt="Ann1211A" border="0" height="239" hspace="4" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ann1211a.jpg" vspace="4" width="600" /><br />
<img alt="100358" border="0" height="423" hspace="4" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/100358.jpg" vspace="4" width="600" /><br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/08/hubbles-hidden-treasures/100358/">Hubble’s Hidden Treasures</a>.<br />
<blockquote>Last March, the operators of the Hubble Space Telescope launched a competition, inviting amateur astronomers to dig into hundreds of thousands of images of outer space, helping discover hidden treasures and bring them to light. Yesterday, NASA and the European Space Agency announced the winners in both categories: image processing, where entrants composed their own images based on Hubble data, and image search, where entrants simply uncovered amazing images not previously released. Collected here are 16 of the winning images. Be sure to visit the <a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/announcements/ann1211/">Hubble site</a> to see them all.<br />
</blockquote>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-12083599208338859302012-08-26T15:49:00.001-05:002012-08-26T15:49:32.491-05:00“I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer”<a href="http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/08/26/i-am-and-ever-will-be-a-white-socks-pocket-protector-nerdy-engineer/">“I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer”</a>: <br />
<img alt="Neil" border="0" height="610" hspace="4" src="http://www.adafruit.com/adablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/neil.jpg" vspace="4" width="600" /><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/science/space/neil-armstrong-dies-first-man-on-moon.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all">Neil Armstrong, First Man on Moon, Dies at 82 @ NYTimes.com</a>.<br />
<blockquote>Although he had been a Navy fighter pilot, a test pilot for NASA’s forerunner and an astronaut, Mr. Armstrong never allowed himself to be caught up in the celebrity and glamour of the space program.<br />
“I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer,” he said in February 2000 in one a rare public appearance. “And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession.”<br />
</blockquote><strong>Full quote:</strong> “<em>“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer, born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace and propelled by compressible flow.”</em>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-63583494394896103632012-08-26T15:48:00.001-05:002012-08-26T15:48:58.110-05:00The $100 tri-copter<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~3/5mAtPWaqEdc/">The $100 tri-copter</a>: <br />
<span style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tqHwqWaw1o4?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" width="470"></iframe></span><br />
We’ve seen lots of budget tri-copters, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqHwqWaw1o4&feature=plcp">but $100 seems like a heck of a deal to us</a>! Watching this video, you can see this home made tri-copter is incredibly agile and seems to handle quite well. Whats amazing is that [hallstudio] claims that it cost roughly $100. That price is really good compared to even the cheapest multi copters out there.<br />
Much of the manufacturing cost associated with this kind of thing has been removed as the body is just cheap wood from the local hardware store. He even did an admittedly sloppy rig for his tail rotor, not that it looks like it has hurt his performance. One cool feature is the fact that you can fold the front arms backward, allowing for the tri-copter to be shoved into a bag for easy transportation.<br />
You can find a complete parts list on his video, but it looks like maybe his cost doesn’t figure in the cost of the radio controller. There are no build instructions, but a quick google search leads us to the <a href="http://rcexplorer.se/projects/tricopterv25/tricopterv25.html">rcexplorer tricopter</a> which seems to be the template he used. There are full build details there.<br />
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[via <a href="http://hackedgadgets.com/2012/08/20/cheap-tricopter-build-and-stunt-demonstration/">Hackedgadgets</a>]<br />
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<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/hackaday/LgoM/~4/5mAtPWaqEdc" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-31998675070482117472012-08-23T21:08:00.001-05:002012-08-23T21:08:06.666-05:00Procyon – 80 MHz ARM Cortex M3 with SDRAM, Ethernet, SD, USB<a href="http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/?p=19588">Procyon – 80 MHz ARM Cortex M3 with SDRAM, Ethernet, SD, USB</a>: <br />
<a href="http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/a1f2979d6a63054d4e96cd1c93d453a2.media_.600x543.png"><img alt="" height="543" src="http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/a1f2979d6a63054d4e96cd1c93d453a2.media_.600x543.png" title="a1f2979d6a63054d4e96cd1c93d453a2.media.600x543" width="600" /></a><br />
Procyon is a general purpose development board with special features for Ethernet, USB, and audio applications. It is based on Luminary Micro/Texas Instruments LM3S9x9x series of parts. The initial MCU is <a href="http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/lm3s9b90.html" rel="nofollow" title="http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/lm3s9b90.html">LM3S9B90</a>.<br />
The board contains the following features:<br />
<ul><li>80 MHz, 100 Pin Cortex M3 Processor</li>
<li>16 MB SDRAM accessed on a 50 MHz EPI bus</li>
<li>USB Host/Device/OTG port</li>
<li>microSD card slot (Attached to SSI1/SPI1)</li>
<li>10/100 Ethernet</li>
<li>I2S header for DAC output interface</li>
<li>Up to 24 GPIOs available</li>
<li>3 UART, 2 I2C, 1 CAN, 2 SPI/SSI (one shared with microSD card)</li>
<li>10-bit ADCs</li>
<li>General purpose timers: four 32-bit or eight 16-bit</li>
<li>FTDI/Basic UART debug/program interface, on 16 pin GPIO/configuration header</li>
<li>Three 10 pin headers for daughter boards</li>
<li>20 Pin JTAG Header</li>
<li>User LED and User switch</li>
</ul><strong>Procyon – 80 MHz ARM Cortex M3 with SDRAM, Ethernet, SD, USB -</strong> [<a href="http://teholabs.com/docs/procyon:overview">Link</a>]Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332062474398567772.post-48715126697978279992012-08-23T21:05:00.001-05:002012-08-23T21:05:32.252-05:00EEVblog #335 – Carbon Printed Resistors<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ElectronicsEngineeringVideoBlog/~3/UgAyFwXeFNo/">EEVblog #335 – Carbon Printed Resistors</a>: <br />
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<div style="display: block; float: right; margin: 20px 20px 20px 20px;"><br />
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Forum Topic <a href="http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog-specific/eevblog-335-carbon-printed-resistors/">HERE</a><br />
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SMD Assembly Line: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNpayYhBvM">www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNpayYhBvM</a><br />
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Dave looks at some carbon printed PCB resistors in the 1980′s vintage Psion II PDA Organiser.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zao8upe4phs" width="640"></iframe><br />
<img height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ElectronicsEngineeringVideoBlog/~4/UgAyFwXeFNo" width="1" />Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15369775076271678330noreply@blogger.com0