Page 896 – Electronics-Lab.com

ESP8266 Breadboard Adapter

Posted on 24 February, 201624 February, 2016 by mixos

Markus has designed a single-sided ESP-12/ ESP-07 breadboard adapter that uses easy to find SMD parts and has on-board voltage regulator.

Features:

* Fits ESP-12 and ESP-07 module
* Single-sided self-etchable design
* Few, cheap parts in SMD
* Breadboard-style – one row on each side accessible
* Vin >4.5V (max. 7V) input possible with 3V3 onboard voltage regulator (with two capacitors 10µF)
* Power-indicator LED
* (Schottky-) Diode as reverse polarity input protection possible (solder 0 Ohm resistor or just connect the two pads for no protection)
* RST, CH_PD, GPIO0 with 4k7 pull-up resistors on board (resistors can be omitted if remote access of those GPIOs is needed)
* GPIO15 with 4k7 pull-down (see above)
* Tactile switch connected to GPIO0 to get into flash mode
* Single post for 3.3V output near voltage regulator

ESP8266 Breadboard Adapter – [Link]

Six boards for rapid IoT development

Posted on 23 February, 2016 by mixos

Robert Thompson @ nxp.com blog discuss about six IoT developement boards that are good start points on the field.

Established companies and emerging start-ups are putting a stake in the Internet of Things ground, an opportunity with estimates of 50 billion devices connected by 2020.

Standing in the way for many companies is the increasing complexity of technology inside connected devices. Shortened design cycles further fuel pressure felt by designers — the shelf-life of an IoT device is similar to a smart phone, from 12 to 18 months. If your new or updated product isn’t first out the door, another product will take its place.

Six boards for rapid IoT development – [Link]

200 chip definitions everyone should know

Posted on 23 February, 2016 by mixos

Andreas Olofsson @ parallella.org has compiled a long list of acronyms used in the chip industry. If you would like to be an expert on IC field, take your time and check it out.

Given how important chips are to modern society EVERYONE should understand and appreciate how they are made. Every field has its own set of terms, jargon, and acronyms (engineers love acronyms!). As you would expect, chip design is no different. If you are new to chip design, it might take you a few days to read through the Wikipedia entries for each one of these 200 topics.

200 chip definitions everyone should know – [Link]

An S/PDIF Sound Card Using PCM2906

Posted on 22 February, 201622 February, 2016 by mixos

joesugar @ ceworkbench.wordpress.com has designed a S/PDIF Sound Card using the PCM2906 IC.

In the belief that I’d rather build than buy I decided to update one of my previous projects, a PCM2904 based sound card, to include an S/PDIF interface. The update was a cinch because TI has a pin-for-pin replacement for the PCM2904 (the PCM2906) with an S/PDIF interface. All I had to do was replace the audio jacks with fiber-optic transmitter/receivers connected to the appropriate pins.

An S/PDIF Sound Card Using PCM2906 – [Link]

OpenDrop – Digital Microfludics Plattform

Posted on 22 February, 201622 February, 2016 by mixos

An open source digital microfludics platform from GaudiLabs, that is also available on github:

OpenDrop is a new design for an open source digital microfludics platform for research purposes. The device uses recent electro-wetting technology to control small droplets of liquids. Potential applications are lab on a chip devices for automating processes of digital biology. How ever the present design should also open the technology to other field and allow experimentation to find new applications. Including the field of art, music, games and education.

OpenDrop – Digital Microfludics Plattform – [Link]

PWM dimmer for LED lighting

Posted on 22 February, 201619 April, 2024 by mixos

Lukas Fassler has published a new project, a DIY PWM dimmer for LED lighting. The dimmer can handle 100W@12V and is controlled by a single potentiometer.

I have recently moved to a new penthouse and was looking for a PWM dimmer to control some 12V LED strips. I thought that should be easy enough nowadays but it proved more difficult than I thought. All I found either didn’t meet my requirements, were uggly or expensive. So I decided to build my own, tailor-made to my needs.

PWM dimmer for LED lighting – [Link]

maker.io – a new website for DIY projects

Posted on 22 February, 201622 February, 2016 by mixos

Digikey has launched a new website for the maker and DIY world. The aim of this new website is to help people take their ideas from concept to product by providing the tools and resources on every step of the process.

Maker.io was created to help makers understand the phases that occur from concept through production. Digi-Key knows designers will have stumbling blocks throughout the phases, and the main objective of the site is to walk makers through the design-chain “Roadmap” that offers an aggregated community of tools, ideas, solutions, and information that properly meet the needs of the marketplace every step of the way.

maker.io – a new website for DIY projects – [Link]

MAGIC PIXEL – Bluetooth full color LED display

Posted on 19 February, 201619 February, 2016 by mixos

MAGIC PIXEL is a full color LED display able to show animations, scrolling texts, and video from a PC or Mac. The display can also be controlled using an Android or iOS device via bluetooth interface.

Magic Pixel is a universal and handy Bluetooth LED display, which we’ve been developing with focus on ease of use and effectivity. It can be used for displaying advertisement, information or just for fun. Magic Pixel is an ideal solution where effective and dynamic visualization of information is required.

MAGIC PIXEL – Bluetooth full color LED display – [Link]

Electronics & Arduino Reference Cards

Posted on 19 February, 2016 by mixos

Adafruit has published some new Business card-sized references for Arduino and basic electronics. Adobe Illustrator format files are available for download on their github.com repository.

Adobe Illustrator format. These are sized for Overnight Prints‘ standard business card template; full color, double-sided…rounded corners are optional but add a touch of class (and won’t cut off any information). Creative Commons license, feel free to print your own, remix and share!

Electronics & Arduino Reference Cards – [Link]

PlatformIO – open source ecosystem for IoT

Posted on 19 February, 201619 February, 2016 by mixos

PlatformIO is an open source integrated development environment for the IoT world. It comes with an IDE which allows you rapid embedded system development and with library manager which organizes hundreds of the most popular libraries. It’s cross platform without external dependences and supports 200+ embedded boards, 15+ development platforms, 10+ frameworks. Check it out on the link below.

PlatformIO – open source ecosystem for IoT – [Link]