Random experiments, circuits, code, rapid prototyping, sometimes things to buy, and the odd tune by Tod Kurt.
Parallax’s Basic Stamp is the mainstay for hobbyists wanting to add intelligence to everyday devices. A new system called Arduino provides the benefits of the Basic Stamp at a greatly reduced cost, increased speed, and is entirely open-source.
Do you love Arduino? Do you think the concept of Arduino shields is just the coolest? Do you wish you could get some of those neat Arduino Prototyping Shields that Tom Igoe made? Too bad no one sells them yet, because building your own versions of those boards is a bit out there for us …
CircuitPython is an amazing microcontroller programming platform, running on many different chips and boards while providing a consistent API. I’m pretty experienced with embedded development and Arduino, but have little Python knowledge. So for the last few years I’ve been using CircuitPython to teach myself Python. The results I’ve been logging via my QTPy Tricks …
Over on github, I’ve been extending my experiments with the Arduino Mozzi synth library. Mostly I’ve been focussing on SAMD21 chips (QT Py M0, Trinket M0) and the RP2040 chip (QT Py RP2040, KB2040, etc) because SAMD21 support is in the official Mozzi repo and there’s a RP2040 Mozzi port. The SAMD21 has a built-in …
Neopixel LEDs with only two wires?! Just data & ground? What kind of magic is this? This is my take on this hack that Parallax Propeller forum user “Tubular” posted about in 2014 (!) The trick is that the data line is carrying power, and a capacitor and Schottky diode are on the strip to …
If you are like me, you play around with Neopixel / WS2812-style LEDs a lot. Normally I solder my own custom-connectors and don’t use the ones that come with the reels I buy. But since we’ve been playing around with WS2812-compatible Xmas lights, I decided to make a “Neopixel Dev Kit” for easier experimenting with …
I’ve not done much on our plotter Xmas tree this week because, well… if you follow me on Twitter, it’s likely you’ve seen me ramble on about these crazy new Christmas Tree lights we got for our tree (first tree ever!). I wasn’t able to find appropriate “Christmas Tree” light forms of the WS2812 lights, …
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