JUL9
Electromechanical Nixie Clock
We have seen the propeller nixie clock which was something new, but this nixie clock is really really something else.
There is no microcontroller to keep track of time and no tube multiplexing of any kind. The clock source is derived from a Telechron motor that does one revolution per minute. Seconds are displayed on IN-13 analog neon tube by using a potentiometer attached to the rotor and hours and minutes are produced with specially designed "gears" and PCB masks. This really is a piece of art!
Be sure to check the video after the break.
Source: Jon S. - electronix and more
JUL7
Nokia 3310 AVR library
With all these scrap phones and phone parts available nowadays, old Nokias in particular, it is very useful to learn how to interface reusable parts such as LCDs.
Microcontroller interfaced to 3310's LCD is ATmega8 and it also connects to USB port. LCD is based on Phillips PCD8544 controller and libraries are written in C. The source code also includes the "V-USB, virtual USB port for AVR microcontrollers" so LCD is actually controlled by a PC application.
Source: wkter
JUL1
AVR tutorial - IO registers
Protostack has announced their next AVR tutorial - "Introduction to I/O Registers". IO register is the way for microcontroller to interact with the outside world. So this tutorial will teach yout what are and how to use PORT, PIN and DDR registers on ATmega8.
The tutorial is, of course, in GCC.
Source: Protostack
JUN30
Link dump 6.30.2010
Open source Swarm Robot project
Simple design, open source, motion by pager motors. Kits soon available for your own robot army.
LED Pocketwatch
The coolest watch ever. Built around PIC16F946 microcontroller with lots of LEDs and features. Last year's news but still excellent!
Cosmic Ray Muon Detector
DIY Cosmic Ray Muon Detector with Geiger–Müller Tubes for the astrologist in you.
JUN29
On-board scooter computer
If you think that modding your scooter or a motorcycle with a simple battery indicator is cool, well, think again.
Whether you have a scooter or a motorcycle this add-on is a real treat. It is an on-board computer with color LCD touch-screen and lots of features: battery voltage indicator, time and date, temperature, lean gauge, current speed, max speed indicator, odometer, 2 trip meters, latitude and longitude readouts, compass heading readout and GSM/GPRS quad-band cellular module. It is all based on Arduino (ATmega168/328) microcontroller.
Source: Kurt
JUN9
Smart scooter battery charger
Scooter battery problems, anyone?
This smart charger automatically starts the charging procedure when battery voltage drops below a certain predefined value and stops after the voltage has risen above the maximum allowed value. Setup can't be easier, just connect two alligator clips to battery terminals and plug the device in mains. This way it can stay connected for months and the battery will never overcharge. This comes very very handy when you have a scooter or a real motorcycle that you don't drive during the winter time.
Because we all know what happens to a battery when not used and especially during the winter.
Source: Elektronika-Forum
JUN4
IR tracking robot
Here is the latest creation found on Let's Make Robots and it is very very cool. It is an object following robot that follows you around the room.
Realization is on PICAXE microcontroller and it uses servo motor to turn the "head" or the "eye" towards the detected object. The "eye" has lots of transmitting IR LEDs and 4 pairs of receiving IR photo-transistors. The photo-transistors are connected to microcontroller's A/D converters for measurement of level of the reflected IR light.
Make sure you check the video of it in action!
Source: OddBot, Lets Make Robots
JUN1
PhorseCode POV gadget
POV, again, is nothing new or revolutionary in display technology. This one is interesting because of a few things; it is very small - you can build it with SMD parts on a very very small PCB and power it with a 3V button cell battery; and it is programmable on the site with a single button input method.
It is built on Atmel ATTINY25 and it uses 3 data lines to control 6 LEDs. Now, this single button uses a strange code similar to Morse-code and it is named PhorseCode.
Source: Julian Skidmore
