August 2015

Verilog for FPGA

  Al Williams from Hackaday has some nice tutorials to get you up to speed in using an FPGA.  “Whatever tools you use, the workflow for any FPGA is basically the same, although details of the specific tools may vary. Sometimes the names vary a bit, too. Although you write code in Verilog, the FPGA has different blocks (not all vendors call them blocks) that have certain functions and methods they can

50,000V High Voltage Power Supply Build

    Victor8o5 built this interesting 50,000V High Voltage Power Supply which is fun but can be dangerous if not given the respect that high voltages demand. If you are interesting in getting some serious spark jumping action this build is for you. Best of all the main component can be found for free from an old TV. “This high voltage power supply has been designed to output a fixed voltage of

Dobot - Robotic Arm

  The Dobot is an interesting robotic arm platform that has lots of cool uses. “The High Accuracy how easy for our M-1X to carry the small screwdrivers with full accurate strikes! Various Controlling Methods it could be controlled by via 6 ways including mouse, mobile APP, EEG, voice, leap motion and gestures. M-1X can read It support the VI system. Red or green? You decide! “  

Repair Broken IC Pins using a CO2 Laser Cutter

      If you have an IC with broken pins near the die normally this chip is dead but if you have a CO2 laser cutter and a bit of time you might be able to laser away some of the die so you can access the internal chip traces. Have a look at ca.rstenpresser.de for some ideas. “Since a few of the Pads already were delaminated I decided to

DIY Camera Slider

  If you want to amp up your picture taking options a camera slider could be a great option. Purchasing one can be expensive so why not build your own. skepticaljay has built this one with a great list of required parts and a guide to make it.    “Parts: 1 10 foot 3/4 inch conduit ~1 foot of 3/4 inch schedule 40 pvc ~1 foot of 1 inch schedule 40 pvc

Name the Thing Contest – 287

  The prize this week is a HMC5883L Triple Axis Compass Magnetometer Sensor so you can add some directionality to your next project. This contest will run for one week (Aug 22 – Aug 28, 2015). Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item above and what it can be used for. Please do not give the answer in the comments. Send an email to

Fun with ESP8266 and WS2812B LEDs

  CNLohr has been playing with the popular addressable WS2812B LED lights and the powerful (and cheap) ESP8266. In these videos he discusses how to optimize their usage together and provides full source code to get a foot hold on your own experiments.