I’ve created a new shield for my micro Internet of Things gateway to allow driving an IR LED, added a micro SD card slot, FTDI pinout for easy programming and a visible status LED. I also added a TMP36 temperature…
In an effort to make the Funky v2 even easier to use, I decided to make it appear as a standard LilyPad Arduino USB by using the same USB VID/PID pair. This will enable using it with Arduino IDE without needing…
I laid out a new pcb design to eventually produce, it is a USB enabled ATMega32U4 @ 8Mhz/3.3V (same MCU as Arduino Leonardo) board with optional AAA battery holder on the back plus LC3525@3V boost regulator that will allow the thing to run off the…
I hooked my Dirt Cheap Low Power Wireless Sensor Node (DCLPWSN 🙂 ) to the scope to see what is going on during transmissions. I used this library for the test, and this code: /** * Pins: * Hardware SPI: *…
I have mentioned before, that I have purchased couple nRF24L01+ units from eBay for the stunning $3 with delivery included. I decided to make some cheap tests this time, so went for a veroboard prototype. I got two blank DIP…
I have a cheap USB to 3.3V TTL FTDI Cable that I bought on Ebay. It has been giving me some troubles ever since I got it, burned couple RFM12B modules along the way. I decided to hook it to…
I read an interesting post few months ago about a guy modding his motorcycle’s tail light so it is much more fancy. I had to try it out too 🙂 I have couple ATTiny85s lying around so in couple hours…
I have a Paradox home security system and I have long wanted to interface with it. I am most interested in its status (armed, disarmed) and the zone statuses. I can use the alarm status to send myself SMS when…
I bought one of these keypads off ebay few days ago, and decided to try it out. These work pretty straight-forward, you have 8 pins – 4 for rows and 4 for columns. When you press a button, it creates…
Timer 4 on the ATMega32U4 is a high speed one, but I have never tried it out before. Now that I have a scope, I decided to toy with it. It can work from the internal PLL, meaning some really high frequencies…
One of the cool things about having a digital scope is that you can take screenshots and post them in blogs :). I wanted to check how a Funky v2 was behaving, so hooked one to measure its current consumption…
I have finally decided to get myself an oscilloscope, my choice ended up to be a Rigol DS1052E. The model seems to be pretty popular, and for a price tag of 309 EUR with delivery, I could no longer resist.…
I have recently added a MOSFET to Funky v2 so it can control the power state of the RFM12B module. This was done in an attempt to allow starting up from a gradually rising power source, like the LTC3108 energy…
I haven’t been able to use my miniature nodes the Funky v1 or Funky v2 with my energy harvesting board yet, in the means of plug-and-forget type of solution. Basically the issue is that we have a slowly rising voltage from…
I have previously created a DIY soil moisture sensor, but wiring it required couple resistors. I was recently reading a post by JCW on using a light sensor and figured I could simplify my setup using the same basic idea…