8-bit Valentine with MeowCAD

abetusk designed an “8-bit” style LED heart with MeowCAD and has shared the board on OSH Park:

8bit heart 20150503


Order from OSH Park

The LED matrix is controlled by an Atmel ATMega328 microcontroller and the code to scroll text available on GitHub:

GitHub: 8bitheart

The parts list for Digi-Key is also available in that repo: BOM.csv

Here’s a video of the 8-bit heart in action:

abetusk is the creator of MeowCAD:

An online free and open source electronic design tool that runs in your browser.

The 8-bit Heart schematic and layout can viewed and edited on MeowCAD:

workflow_8bitheart

For more information checkout:

 

 

8-bit Valentine with MeowCAD

Quadcopter Running Lights

Matthew Matz recently tweeted about his tutorial to add running lights to the Parallax ELEV-8 quadcopter using a PCB from OSH Park:

RunningLightPhoto.png
Credit: Matt Matz

Running Lights for your ELEV-8 v3

Are you ready to mod your ELEV-8 v3?  This tutorial will show you how to build a set of fully programmable running lights composed of bright RGB LEDs.

Shared Project: ELEV-8 Running Lights Rev2

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Order from OSH Park

Matt Matz recorded a video of the surface mount components being reflowed… it’s magical when all the components snap into place at the end!

Quadcopter Running Lights

OSH Park sponsoring reddit contests

diy

We are pleased to sponsor /r/DIYElectronics contests on reddit:

Each winner will receive a $30 gift code to be used on OSH Park!

The current contest is:

An unconventional clock

The mission here is simple: give me a clock you won’t see in a store.

Perhaps a word clock. A lava lamp water clock. An alarm clock that slaps you in the face and eats your hair (warning: audio). I don’t care.

Constraints

There are no limits to parts, budget, or size. Your project can be as simple or as complex as you want.

You can use a breadboard, or you can design your own PCB. You decide for yourself whether you want to use a microcontroller. Up to you.

Winners

There will be 2 winners, one decided by a voting thread and another decided by a panel of judges.

Prizes

Deadline

March 14th

 

OSH Park sponsoring reddit contests

Star Simpson reimagines Forrest M. Mims classics

Star Simpson is designing PCBs with OSH Park for Forrest M. Mims III classic circuits!  A crowd-funding campaign for Circuit Classics will be coming to Crowd Supply soon:

Circuit Classics

Each circuit depicts an original, traced and hand-drawn schematic created by Forrest Mims for his iconic books “Getting Started in Electronics”, and the “Engineers’ Notebook” series. Every board includes a description of how it works, in Mims’ handwriting, on the reverse side.

Alongside the schematic is the circuit itself. Paired with the components you need to build up timeless examples such as the Dual-LED Flasher, the Stepped Tone Generator, and the Bargraph Voltage Indicator, each board is carefully designed for easy assembly recreating the wonder of learning how electronics work— whether it’s your first soldering project or your fifty-thousandth.

The Dual LED Flasher

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Photo by Star Simpson (@starsandrobots)
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Photo by Star Simpson (@starsandrobots)

The Atari Punk Console

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Photo by Star Simpson (@starsandrobots)

The Bar Graph Voltage Indicator

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Photo by Star Simpson (@starsandrobot)

 

Star Simpson tweeted:

People are asking me what font that is. It’s no font: that’s Mims’ handwriting. Exactly as in his books.

Forrest M. Mims III replied:

That’s right, Star. Circuits from the original “Engineer’s Notebook” were printed and illustrated using India ink on Mylar.

We leave you with this sage advice:

Always have a board in fab.

-Star Simpson

 

Star Simpson reimagines Forrest M. Mims classics

Shared Project: Sturdy Pot Adaptor for Breadboards

Sometimes it’s the simple things that make all the difference:

Sturdy Pot Adaptor for Breadboards

by Paul Stoffregen

Ever built a quick demo on a breadboard that needed a pot to adjust some parameter? As soon as someone tries to turn it, things come loose. That is, if they even try… little trim pots aren’t very inviting to touch & turn.

This pot adaptor board lets you use real full size (6mm shaft) pots on breadboards. With 10 header pins, the pot mounts securely to the breadboard, even when people turn the knob!

Paul has more information in his Dorkbot PDX blog post including this video:

I assembled the board with the recommended Bourns 10K pot from Digikey (#PTV09A-4020U-B103-ND).  For quick demo, I wired it up to a Teensy 3.2 Purple OSH Park Edition running an Arduino sketch that outputs to an Adafruit OLED:

 

Shared Project: Sturdy Pot Adaptor for Breadboards

Thimble.io prototypes with OSH Park

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We were excited when Oscar Pedroso told us that Thimble.io uses OSH Park to prototype their new monthly electronics kit service:

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“A big thanks to OSH Park for making these look gorgeous”

 

There are 3 days to go with their Kickstarter:

Thimble: Learn & Build Electronics w/ Monthly Delivered Kits

Create fun, electronic devices each month with guided tutorials and helpful community; first kit includes parts to build a wifi robot.

By making the Wi-Fi robot, you will:

  • create an Android/iOS app that makes things move
  • understand how electricity, motors, and microcontrollers work
  • prototype your own ideas to improve the robot
  • have fun showing off your creation.

Made for those curious about hardware and software: make things move!

For ages 13+ (soldering is involved)

 

Thimble.io prototypes with OSH Park