This doesn't look safe to build for most DIYers, but I see from videos on YouTube a few people have tried this before. It sounds a little harsh, with distortion a bit beyond a heavy metal sound, but the Digi-Key setup sounds better than most. I wonder if you could use a tube amplifier somewhere in the circuit for a smoother sound.... If it didn't sound better, at least it would look even more extreme with the lights off.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tesla Coil Guitar Amplifier
High voltage is not just the name of a song and album from AC/DC. The latest Another Geek Moment Video from Digi-Key shows how to use a Tesla coil to see and hear "high voltage rock and roll" without an amp or speaker.
This doesn't look safe to build for most DIYers, but I see from videos on YouTube a few people have tried this before. It sounds a little harsh, with distortion a bit beyond a heavy metal sound, but the Digi-Key setup sounds better than most. I wonder if you could use a tube amplifier somewhere in the circuit for a smoother sound.... If it didn't sound better, at least it would look even more extreme with the lights off.
This doesn't look safe to build for most DIYers, but I see from videos on YouTube a few people have tried this before. It sounds a little harsh, with distortion a bit beyond a heavy metal sound, but the Digi-Key setup sounds better than most. I wonder if you could use a tube amplifier somewhere in the circuit for a smoother sound.... If it didn't sound better, at least it would look even more extreme with the lights off.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Google Honors Heinrich Hertz Discoverer of Radio Waves
Today's Google Doodle honors the Physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz who discovered what are now called radio waves in November 11, 1886. He name is well known because of a previous commemoration for this discovery. The Hertz is the SI unit of frequency (which is why the abbreviation is capitalized as Hz). Hertz made this discovery conducting experiments based on the work of James Clerk Maxwell.
Introduction to Radio Waves
Lec 27 MIT 8.02 Electricity and Magnetism, Spring 2002
Electromagnetic Spectrum Poster by UniHedron - click for links to online retailers
Electromagnetic Spectrum Poster by UniHedron - click for links to online retailers
Friday, January 27, 2012
ATMega Development Board Supports GPS Video Overlay Module
Decade Engineering has released the BUD Smart Application Board that is designed to display GPS and user defined video overlay using the BOB-4 on screen display module. BUD can also be used as a general-purpose Atmel megaAVR development board. It has an ATmega640, uses a serial bootloader, and can use free AVR-GCC based development tools, so an external debugger and third-party tools aren't required. The processor has 64KB flash and 4KB EEPROM, additional EEPROM can be added to the board as an option. You can easily to download example software and schematics from Decade's website, registration is not required.
The videos below show the BOB-4 used for GPS overlay with an RC plane camera in Antarctica and for a Datsun 240Z track session. The BOB-4 can easily be used with other microcontroller development boards or a PC, it only requires 5VDC, serial data, and video I/O.
The videos below show the BOB-4 used for GPS overlay with an RC plane camera in Antarctica and for a Datsun 240Z track session. The BOB-4 can easily be used with other microcontroller development boards or a PC, it only requires 5VDC, serial data, and video I/O.
You can purchase BUD and BOB-4 from Decade Engineering's website. The BOB-4 module is also available from Solarbotics and Farnell. See the Decade Engineering site for additional dealers.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Free ChipKit Boards For DesignSpark Contest
The DesignSpark chipKIT Challenge is giving away 1000 chipKIT Max32 development Kits to registered participants.
The chipKIT Max32 is an arduiono-like platform from Diligent with a Microchip PIC32MX795F512 MIPS processor and 512K Flash. Cash prizes will be awarded for the most energy-efficient designs ranging from $5000 US for first prize to $200 for honorable mention. Community awards will also be given, $100 vouchers for electronics and magazine subscriptions. The deadline for entries is in March 2012.
The chipKIT Max32 is an arduiono-like platform from Diligent with a Microchip PIC32MX795F512 MIPS processor and 512K Flash. Cash prizes will be awarded for the most energy-efficient designs ranging from $5000 US for first prize to $200 for honorable mention. Community awards will also be given, $100 vouchers for electronics and magazine subscriptions. The deadline for entries is in March 2012.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lattice Low-Cost PLD Breakout Board
The Lattice Semiconductor MachXO2-1200ZE Breakout Board Evaluation Kit includes a MachXO2 programmable logic device with 1280 look up tables, 108 I/O, and support for DDR, LVDS, and hardened I2C, SPI, and timer/counter. The board is only $29.99 and includes free access to Lattice Diamond design tools. The on-board FTDI USB allows easy connectivity and programming without additional debug hardware, power is also provided via USB. The large prototyping/header area surrounding the chip has standard 0.1 inch spacing.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Mouser Carrying Pandaboards
The PandaBoard is another powerful Texas Instruments Sitara ARM-based processor development platform like the BeagleBoard and BeagleBone. The video below shows it running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Now that Mouser is an authorized PandaBoard distributor, you can order all three boards at one place. PandaBoard is also featured in the Mouser Product Knowledge Center, which gives it a dedicated page with more detailed information than for most products. Currently, there are only about 2000 pages in the Product Knowledge Center and TI has over a hundred products listed including microcontrollers, sensors, evaluation modules and development boards.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
CES 2012 Videos
If you want to see what is happening at CES, there is an official youtube channel for the 2012 CES conference where you can see booth interviews and attendee videos. Here is a video from OLogic showing a robot they call A.M.P. for Automated Music Personality. OLogic is a design house for toys and consumer electronics, the A.M.P. isn't for sale yet but has been shown for a few years as a showcase of their engineering abilities.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Embedded Linux Conference 2012
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Microsoft Small Basic
Microsoft Small Basic is a free compiler for beginners to computer programming. You can find it at the Beginner Developer Learning Center at MSDN. Microsoft wants to put the fun back into computer programming with Small Basic and includes a getting started guide, online lessons, online e-books chapters, and code sharing.
The syntax is not the same as the BASIC I learned as a kid on the TI 99/4a or the Commodore 64, but more of a take off on Microsoft languages like VB. For example, compare the classic "Hello World" in BASIC to Small Basic.
10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
In Microsoft Small Basic it's a bit different:
TextWindow.WriteLine("Hello World")
The longer function name doesn't look as fun to me, but they make it easier to remember with help as you type. I can't find any auto-complete, but that is probably just as well for beginners.
Microsoft makes it easy to migrate your Small Basic program to Visual Basic, there is a Graduate button built into the interface that will convert your program automatically.
I found Microsoft Small Basic when I was looking for a free compiler for a child to learn computer programming. I think it is a good choice, it should keep them interested because it is easy to use and they can get instant results with the run button, like you do in classic BASIC programming. They even have turtle graphics, which is always fun for kids. When they become more advanced programmers, they might be interested in the free sample chapter from Basic Computer Games Small Basic Edition.
The syntax is not the same as the BASIC I learned as a kid on the TI 99/4a or the Commodore 64, but more of a take off on Microsoft languages like VB. For example, compare the classic "Hello World" in BASIC to Small Basic.
10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
In Microsoft Small Basic it's a bit different:
TextWindow.WriteLine("Hello World")
The longer function name doesn't look as fun to me, but they make it easier to remember with help as you type. I can't find any auto-complete, but that is probably just as well for beginners.
Microsoft makes it easy to migrate your Small Basic program to Visual Basic, there is a Graduate button built into the interface that will convert your program automatically.
I found Microsoft Small Basic when I was looking for a free compiler for a child to learn computer programming. I think it is a good choice, it should keep them interested because it is easy to use and they can get instant results with the run button, like you do in classic BASIC programming. They even have turtle graphics, which is always fun for kids. When they become more advanced programmers, they might be interested in the free sample chapter from Basic Computer Games Small Basic Edition.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Open and DIY Game Consoles
Two Linux based systems are coming out that are aimed at consumers for general computing, education and gaming. The Rasberry Pi has been making a lot of headlines because of its low cost (< $35 US), and a recent games.com blog predicts it could cause a social gaming explosion. Another highly anticipated system is Pandora, which is not cheap at 375 EUR, but offers portability. If you can't wait a few months for these to be available, you can build your own console by connecting an Arduino to a
GameDuino, or get build the entire console yourself with and XGameStation or Uzebox kit.
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| Raspberry Pi |
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| Pandora |
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| GameDuino |
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| XGameStation |
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| Uzebox |
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