Chicago

Creating the Benchoff Nickel

fustini, , , 2 Comments

Screenshot from 2017-03-23 13-54-53.png

Andrew Sowa writes about the PCB he designed in KiCad to surprise Brian Benchoff last weekend at the Hackaday Unconference in Chicago:

Creating the Benchoff Nickel

I thought of making the Benchoff nickel after I saw Brian’s Hackaday,io profile. He has a hi-res image of the center a Benchoff Buck which is well suited to being converted to a PCB. There is only a few colors and they have sharp edges. Bitmap2Component in Kicad, can easily detect these transitions and convert them into a footprint file. With the help of a text editor, I was able to manually layer everything into one complete image.

http://andrewsowa.com/blog/2017/3/19/creating-the-benchoff-nickel
http://andrewsowa.com/blog/2017/3/19/creating-the-benchoff-nickel
http://andrewsowa.com/blog/2017/3/19/creating-the-benchoff-nickel
http://andrewsowa.com/blog/2017/3/19/creating-the-benchoff-nickel

 

The KiCad design files are available on GitHub:

screenshot-at-2017-02-14-20-58-40Junes-PhD/Benchoff-Nickel

 

Junes-PhD has shared the project on OSH Park:

Benchoff Nickel

b990e15b3b0bff6615d77bda90d22716

Order from OSH Park

Creating the Benchoff Nickel

Recap of Hackaday Unconference in Chicago

fustini, , Leave a comment

On Saturday the Hackaday community turned out in force to try something new. The first Hackaday Unconference was held in three places at the same time, and I was in Chicago and was amazed at the turnout and variety of presentations. The image above sums up the concept quite well, everyone shows up ready to…

via The Think Tank at the Chicago Unconference — Hackaday

http://hackaday.com/2017/03/23/the-think-tank-at-the-chicago-unconference/
http://hackaday.com/2017/03/23/the-think-tank-at-the-chicago-unconference/
http://hackaday.com/2017/03/23/the-think-tank-at-the-chicago-unconference/
http://hackaday.com/2017/03/23/the-think-tank-at-the-chicago-unconference/

 

Recap of Hackaday Unconference in Chicago

Chicago to Host Hackaday Unconference

fustini, , 2 Comments

We’re excited to announce that Chicago will play host to the Hackaday Unconference on March 18th. We are happy to expand our unconference plans to include this event at Pumping Station One from 1-8pm on 3/18. Astute readers will notice that this is the second location we have announced this week.

via Chicago to Host Hackaday Unconference — Hackaday

Chicago to Host Hackaday Unconference

Simula Robotic Organisms

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screenshot-at-2016-11-16-19-45-13

Chicago Robotics Corp is exploring 3D Printed Robotics with Simula:

simulated life-forms for use in research and entertainment

The robot is programmed with Arduino IDE:

Programming Simula

You might choose to program Simula by yourself from scratch, modify our existing software, or just keep up with our latest simulations.

Arduino Library for the Simula Boards and Modules is on GitHub:

images1 ChicagoRobotics/CRC_Simula_Library

 

Video of two Simula units cruising around:

 

 

Simula Robotic Organisms

PiAQ: Open Source Indoor Air Quality Sensor

fustini, , , , , , 2 Comments

UPDATE 2016-10-24: Dave Conroy of CRT Labs will present the PiAQ tonight at Chicago hackerspace Pumping Station: One

nar_crt_logo

National Association of Realtors’ CRT Labs in Chicago has developed a Raspberry Pi HAT to make information about the air people are breathing more accessible:

piaq3

The PiAQ

Open Source Indoor Air Quality Sensor for Raspberry Pi

Measurement Points:

  • Temperature (SHT31)
  • Relative Humidity (SHT31)
  • VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) (IAQ Core)
  • Derived CO2 (IAQ Core)
  • Barometric Pressure (MPL3115A2)
  • Light Intensity (TSL2561)
  • CO Concentration (MiCS-4154)
  • NO2 Concentration (MiCS-4154)
  • Sound Intensity (ADMP401)

v0-3_prototype

Connectivity:

  • FSK (RFM69HW 433/915MHz)
  • WiFi (Particle Photon)
  • Cellular (Particle Electron) (Coming soon)
  • LoRa (Coming Soon)

Authors and Contributors

Schematics and Eagle CAD Files are on GitHub:

github NationalAssociationOfRealtors/PiAQ

CRTLabs has shared the board on OSH Park:

PiAQ HAT

d04eecd8c0a5d6ae0db999d6cb948271
Order from OSH Park

PiAQ: Open Source Indoor Air Quality Sensor