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Category Archives: Microcontrollers

RasPi with Touchscreen

06 Mar

I’ve wanted to use my RasPi with a touchscreen interface for awhile now, and have finally starting collecting the information I need.  Here’s the first haul:

First, you’ll need a screen to interface with the RasPi. For simplicity, you’ll want to find one with HDMI input and USB interface for the touch layer.  Here are some good examples:

Example 7″ Screen      Example 8″ Screen

Next, you’ll need to be able to interface with the touch drivers. Here‘s a great write-up (including Kernel building and XBMC patches).

Note: In lieu of buying one of the kit screens, you can use an old laptop screens with DVI/VGA with one of these, and then buy a matching size touch overlay.

 
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Posted by on March 6, 2013 in Drivers, Microcontrollers, Video

 

ZigBee Primer

24 Feb

I’ve always wanted to try out a ZigBee in a project, but wasn’t quite sure where to begin. For those in a similar situation who want to learn every tid-bit about the devices, take a gander here. It goes further in depth than needed for someone who just wants to put together a project prototype, but if you really want to see what they’re capable of it can’t be beat.

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2012 in Microcontrollers, Peripherals

 

Wavetable Synthesis

18 Jan

One of my favorite classes in college was a micro-controller course where we had to build an alarm-clock radio.  For extra credit, I wrote a very simple “music” module to allow students to write songs to use as alarms (instead of a boring tone or siren.)  At the time I wondered if there was a way to play real midis or multiple frequencies at once to make more advanced songs.  Sadly, I was a busy student and didn’t have time to look into it.

Now, far too late for class, I’ve come across a project using wavetable synthesis which would have been an excellent jump point for me to implement a more advanced music module.  I’ll have to play around with this concept and see if I can’t slip a new module to my old professor.

 

 
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Posted by on January 18, 2012 in Microcontrollers, Microcontrollers, Music, Programs

 

Reflow Oven

05 Jan

A reflow oven is an absolute must if you plan on doing projects with many surface mount parts.  Hack-A-Day has featured many examples of home made reflow ovens, usually using a toaster oven and a microcontroller to do the work for you.  This post uses that approach and has a very detailed guide on getting started building your own.

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2012 in DIY, Microcontrollers, Physical Hacks, Repurposing

 

Interfacing uC with Windows apps over USB

04 Jan

Many microcontrollers have integrated USB meaning you have the ability to hook them up to a PC and interface with them. This is something I’ve had to do before which took me more effort than I would have liked. Here is a great little example page on how to go about doing it a better way.

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in Microcontrollers, Microcontrollers, Programs, Software

 

RGB Color Detection

01 Jan

Here is a fun idea that could be leveraged into several interesting projects.  It uses an RGB LED and a CdS photocell to detect the color of any object.  Here‘s another really cool version of the same project, where a ball changes color to match the surface you put it on.

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2012 in Arduino, LED, Microcontrollers

 

VGA Generation with Atmega644p

01 Jan

I’ve always wanted to try out video with a microcontroller, and this a great example project.  It will display a flicker free 256×240 256 color image stored in SRAM.  It seems like it would be a small step to take this from a static display to moving images.

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2012 in Microcontrollers, Microcontrollers, Software, Video

 

Programming Arduino using Audio

31 Dec

This is a cool project which sets up your Arduino to accept programming via a mono headphone plug.  This could be very useful for a simple interface to add new data to an existing project or possibly even do a complete reprogramming with no more than a headphone jack on a PC and some simple software.

 
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Posted by on December 31, 2011 in Arduino, Arduino, Microcontrollers, Microcontrollers