Create Electronics Equipment at Home: April 2016

22 April, 2016

Force Sensitive Resistor Round 0.5

0.5 "force sensitive resistor (FSR) is a quick way to measure the pressure, and is very easy to setup. FSR depending on how much pressure is applied to the sensing area, its resistance to change. The greater the ball, the less resistance. When measured with a multimeter , the sensor is greater than 1MΩ when no pressure is applied to a resistance.
As an example, we have a simple resistor voltage divider circuit using an Arduino UNO and will measure the force.

Sewing Lights With non-LilyPad

Regular'll show you how to use LED bulbs, I ate a quick fabric flower work together, but there is no end to the ways you can use this technique. Here I thought it was sewing supplies:

Retail Servo Landing Page

Short Description:
Congratulations on your purchase of a SparkFun servers! Servos output shaft of the motor to spin properly to control, robotics and other permits for the project, opening up all kinds of possibilities.

21 April, 2016

LCD Add-On Assembly Guide

Welcome
Liquid crystal display exclusive Owners Group (OC dawgs ...) Congratulations on becoming a member! Easy assembly of some of the world on his mind soon after you'll be able to communicate with your Arduino.

Piezo Drum Kit Quickstart Guide

Short Description
Piezo sensors in a five-piece drum kit drum kit lets in turn virtually anything. Play sounds when people interact with them in the past, I hang up my desk and couch Piezo sensors are used. This document is a simple introduction to working with Piezo elements. Once you Piezo sensors are able to detect the voltage levels, you can turn some sounds and start and stop your car, you can use them to start, etc. The possibilities are endless. This is because we used the drum sounds to generate an Arduino shield and MP3 player, we call this drum kit, but it is no hardware that can be used with percussive velocity input.

Office Door Knocker Castle

We are always looking for more ways to make our office fun and strange. One of our engineers, Mike, until recently rigged elevator Tardis sound and play. I wanted to do something similar in my office, but, especially. I often close my door does not work, but most of the time, when someone comes to my office, the door to indicate their presence in the rap formal announcement. I decided to have a little fun with him.

20 April, 2016

Earthquake Data Logger

You are not destined for greatness in every project. Or success. Or even building. Sometimes you lovingly crafted project will meet again warned never to fly. Sometimes your project a "success" may be an underwhelming result. This is the story of such a project.

Flex Sensor 2.2" - Small Retail

Thank you for buying a SparkFun Flex Sensor! This unique material sense, it is much lower. It opens up a wide range of projects including:
  • Whiskers on robots
  • Gloves know what your fingers are doing
  • You can say that the door remains open how far they
  • You know that if you're shaking their hands stuffed animals
... And other uses limited only by your imagination.

Breadboard Power Supply Kit 5V/3.3V Quickstart Guide

Short Description:
Breadboard Power Supply Kit 3.3Volts your breadboard projects are easily controlled by a selectable voltage to 5 volts, or be able to access. It's like the one that took power through a DC wall wart. DC barrel connector instead of providing a stripped +/- can be attached if desired. This guide Everything you need help to get started with breadboard power supply.

Triple-axis magnetometer - HMC5883L breakout Quickstart Guide

Short Description:
This Honeywell's HMC5883L, a breakout board for a 3-axis magnetometer. There are a wide range of uses magnetometers. The most common side affect of using a digital compass chip, or use them as a ferrous (magnetic) metal detection included.

19 April, 2016

Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

Short description:
LED brighter than the starter kit, but not packing the punch Über bright Luxeon, tri-color LED Breakout Kit lets you shine guru. Some of you, in the light of the large, bright and colorful, if you need to throw your project, look no further than tri-color LCD breakout kit. superbrightLEDs blind could brighten it with just about anything! Here we have everything you need here to get you up and running quickly with it.
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

Requirements:
Assembly of the kit to be welded. So, if you already know how to do, please check out these helpful guidelines. In addition, a few tools you will need for assembly:
  • Soldering iron
  • Solder
  • Cutting
  • Male header or other connection methods
  • (Optional) needle nose pliers
  • (Optional) Third Hand

Breakout is a breakout of the tri-color LED that there are many, many ways that you can use or control it. However, following this guide you will find helpful:
  • breadboard
  • Jumper cables
  • arduino
  • (Optional) multimeter or coin cell battery

What does this mean:
Tri-color LED Breakout Kit is a simple very bright LEDs, which can provide more current than the pins of a microcontroller draw kit is designed to control. Each LED LED transistor to switch from a 5V source said. The current limiting resistor as close as possible to their maximum 80mA for each LED is run. It is planned to check out all laid out.

How to use it:

Assembly:
Before starting assembly, check carefully that you have received all the parts. You must have the following:
  • 1x tri-color LED breakout PCB
  • 1x Super Bright LED - Red 10mm
  • 1x Super Bright LED - Green 10mm
  • 1x Super Bright LED - Blue 10mm
  • 1x 7.5 ohm resistor (to be colored Stripes: Violet, Green, Gold, Gold)
  • 1x 6.8 ohm resistor (to be colored Stripes: Grey, Blue, Gold, Gold)
  • 1x 20 ohm resistor (Stripes will be colored red, black, black, Gold)
  • 3x Transistor 2N3904
  • 3x 330 ohm resistor (to be colored Stripes: Orange, orange, brown, gold)
If any part is missing? (Bad SparkFun kitters!) Drop an email to our customer service team. We'll leave them to you as soon as possible.

Okay, let me start building!
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

The PCB occupies the center of a large round and check out the silk screen. This is for your LED. Each of the LED to the long leg holes marked "L" and enter the number of holes in the shorter legs short "S" marked. LED diodes and this is really important because if you turn them back, they will not be installed.

Now you need to figure out which color of each LED. There are several ways to do this:
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

1) Insert a coin cell battery and possession of the coin cell battery in the battery, and on the lead (anode) to the positive side of the leads. LED should light up, indicating its color. If you do not use language that battery is touching both sides of the LED leads, make sure that the battery is correctly oriented and. Outputting a small amount of current to the battery, so do not worry, once these are put together are only able to be bright!
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

2) A good multimeter diode test settings (sometimes combined with the continuation of the trial) that you would like to use your LED light show. Although only the smallest bit multimeter does not worry that the LED shows you the best dim!
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

 3) Orange, Orange, Brown, Gold) and 5V: a 330 ohm resistor (with colored stripes grab one sequence. Connect as shown. We are used to the current limit of 330 ohm resistor, to make sure we do not destroy the current considerably less LED If you want to be that. So, again, do not worry, your leadership will be brighter once this is put together!
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

Now that you know what is the color, which leads them to the right place, and those little buggers biting clip. Make sure the flat beds pushed against the PCB. They will take a little push to get all the way through.

Then, it is time for transistors. This transistor is used because of their maximum brightness LED will be running around 80mA. More than a typical microcontroller output pin, can, Arduino like. So, we use transistors to switch on and off the LED. Transistor line up with their footprints. They should get as much as possible close to the board a little wiggling. Then solder the leads and clips.
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

Third, resistors. There will be a color code to indicate the value of each resistor. You read the color codes or you can use a multimeter to measure the value of prevention. It is important to match the resistors PCB with their proper spots. The number printed on the PCB using the first letter of each color to match or use of the band. Do not worry about the direction in which they are inserted, it is not important. This kit for the resistor color codes are given below:

7.5 ohm (purple, green, gold)
6.8 ohm (gray, blue, gold)
20 ohm (red, black, black)
330 ohm (orange, orange, brown, gold)

Finally solder a connector. We prefer to use a breadboard for the male headers, but you, of course, just about anything, please make use of the free.

Hardware:
Now, let's get this thing shining! If you like a simple breakout board LED behavior of the transistors that are pre-configured for use with low current digital signal. Just make sure that your power supply cable to a microcontroller 240mA (80mA * 3 LEDs) can provide incredibly easy. Most of these can easily wall warts and USB sources. Now, your Arduino wire has been shown to:
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide
Tri-Color LED Breakout Quickstart Guide

Firmware:
Now everything has been fitted, we're ready to handle it with our Arduino. First, you need to install if you already have the Arduino IDE. The LED control will allow us to load our example code. Check out this tutorial if you need help to install more Arduino IDE.

Notice that we PWM pins on the Arduino wired? In this view, an impact 'dimming' to produce, our LED flicker on and off very quickly, allowing faster than the eye. Check out the following example code for a demonstration:
 /*
 Tri-Color LED Breakout - An example sketch for the Tri-Color LED Breakout
 By: Hilary Hoops
 SparkFun Electronics
 Date: 6/23/11
 License: CC-BY SA 3.0 - Creative commons share-alike 3.0
 use this code however you'd like, just keep this license and
 attribute. Let me know if you make hugely, awesome, great changes.
 */
  
int RedLED = 9;     // LED connected to digital pin 9 (pwm pin)
int GrnLED = 10;    // LED connected to digital pin 10 (pwm pin)
int BluLED = 11;    // LED connected to digital pin 11 (pwm pin)
int LED[3]={RedLED, GrnLED,BluLED}; //an array to make it easier to cycle though 
the LED colors

void setup()  { 
  //Set pins as output pins
  pinMode(RedLED, OUTPUT);   
  pinMode(GrnLED, OUTPUT);   
  pinMode(BluLED, OUTPUT);   
} 

void loop()  {
  //Fade each LED in and out individually. Possible range is 0-255
  for(int i=0; i<3;i++){ //Cycle LED color
    //Fade in
    for(int fade=0; fade<=255; fade+=5){
        analogWrite(LED[i], fade); 
        delay(30);
    }
    //Fade out
    for(int fade=255; fade>=0; fade-=5){
        analogWrite(LED[i], fade); 
        delay(30);
    }
  }
  //Fade all the LEDs in and out 
  //Fade in
  for(int fade=0; fade<=255; fade+=5){
      analogWrite(RedLED, fade); 
      analogWrite(GrnLED, fade); 
      analogWrite(BluLED, fade); 
      delay(30);
  }
  //Fade out
  for(int fade=255; fade>=0; fade-=5){
      analogWrite(RedLED, fade); 
      analogWrite(GrnLED, fade); 
      analogWrite(BluLED, fade); 
  nbsp;    delay(30);
  }
}

That's all you need to get your lights shining.

Resources:
Tri-color LED Breakout Kit product page
LED's basic commentary
LED current limiting resistor
Vs. anode cathode

Conclusion:
Enjoy your new LED! If you have any problems, feel free to contact technical support Take support@sparkfun.com SparkFun

Using the TTS256 with the Voicebox Shield

What are we doing?
IC is a cool little text to speech TTS256 SpeakJet IC chip that is connected to the device and the user text automatically send a text string and sounds are converted to be able to interpret SpeakJet. You can send TTS256 English words aloud and then Speakjet essence of the word; How cool is that! A person of this ourselves,

LCD 16x2 Add-On

How it works
LCD stands for liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display glass substrate transparent dots or pixels in a grid of electrodes etched with each. Naturally, the liquid crystal molecules, but when electricity is applied to them to straighten out. It is dark or clear the way light passes through the point to be able to be, affected. HD44780 controller chip built into the display (it is at the bottom of the black blob) receives commands from your Arduino, and a variety of letters, numbers and symbols formation of active pixels on and off. Datasheet is a diagram of all the characters stored in the controller chip. The backlighting of the display, which is powered by 15 and 16 pins for the LCD has an LED.

Learn How to Solder: BigTime Quickstart and Council Directive

Getting started
Learn how to solder: BigTime Watch Kit is an all-in-one kit helps you go from noob Welding Welding guru. It is when you have all the ingredients and equipment you when you're finished, you skills you can use to create even more toys, kit to assemble, and service. In this guide, we have included in your kit is a quick rundown of all the items will talk briefly about each one, and then show you how to put it all together.

Necessity:
BigTime Quickstart and Council Directive
BigTime Quickstart and Council Directive
The kit used by people who have never in their lives pick up a soldering iron is designed to be, and it is these who want to brush up on their skills in welding can be used by design. So, no matter your skill level or age, Learn how to solder: Big Time can be fun for all walks of life.

Before we get in the building, let's make sure we have everything we need. Are you following all the kit should include:
  • Soldering iron
  • Soldering iron stand
  • Lead-free solder - 10 g Tube
  • Flush Cutters
  • Solder Wick
  • SparkFun Safety Glasses
  • BigTime Kit
You'll notice that there is a small box inside another box. In this box, you will find all the parts for BigTime Kit Watch. This kit includes:
  • 1 X pre-programmed IC dip ATMega328
  • 1 X 4 address 7 segment display
  • 1 X 32 kHz, Crystal
  • 1 X 10 ohm resistor
  • 2 x 0.1uF capacitor
  • 1 X right angle tactile buttons
  • 1 X 20mm coin cell battery holders
  • 1 X 20mm coin cell battery
  • 4 x 4-40 screws
  • 1 X Allen Wrench
  • 1 X Velcro Watch Bands
  • Parts acrylic enclosure
  • Council Directive
If any part is missing? Sometimes it can get a little misplaced one element. If you've been wanting to contact our customer service team, and we will share in a snap.

Rally
Instead, try and talk you through the assembly process, our friend David Stillman, we'll show you how to build BigTime being offered in the following video.


Conclusion
With that, you have a fully functional BigTime Watch your friends and family must be ready to show off. If you have any questions or comments, please drop them in the box below. Happy soldering!

Resources
For more tips and tricks, see the other welded to the tutorial.
  • Welded Crash Course
  • Soldering 101
  • Through-hole rework

Boxing Timer

Boxing and Making Noise:
If you want a boxing match, you know that two people 'box' round each other. For training, boxers, boxing, so their bodies during a bout 1 minute to 3 minutes, and the rest can be used as a war on the base at the same time, use a timer.

ProtoSnap - E-Sewing Kit Getting Started Guide

To add a little zest to your wearables you're looking for, it's bright, white LEDs do not get more delicious. But, if you're new to e-textiles game, really general electronics, cable (or sewing) can seem like a daunting task in a deliciously thought circuit. E-sewing kit ProtoSnap our more basic, yet useful, some of the concepts taught in the circuit is aimed at, so you confidently of anything you fancy LED, switches, buttons, and the battery can throw.

10-Segment LED kit Landing Page

Short Description
This nifty bar graph module is a convenient 20-pin DIP (dual inline plastic) packages consisting of 10 separate LED. Are you one of their latest bright four modules, each color (red, yellow, green, blue) and one, and get enough resistors.

LiPo Battery Care

Care Techniques conventional lithium polymer battery
Lithium polymer battery is a favorite of ours. Some very light weight and high power density available.

VoiceBox Shield Quickstart Guide

"Hello World" never sounded so good
Voice Box Shield is a unique element to your Arduino- compatible system allows a robotic voice. It's a SpeakJet speech-synthesizer chip and an audio amplifier that can directly drive consists of a small speaker. In addition to forming the speech commands sent to it, SpeakJet tones and other chips, such as "robot" noises There are many other features such as the ability to coordinate. It is pre-stored phrases that can be set up when the input pin is triggered. Detailed technical information, see the User Guide SpeakJet.

Nike+iPod Dissection

People self-educational purposes in order to destroy them, do not just buy something? Is not that right? Oh ... Well here is another breakdown of internal commercial device. You can learn a lot from professionally engineered devices. Creating a Nike + iPod photo internal piece was surprisingly satisfying. Image available only set was horribly out of focus, so here's how to set a quick picture of the popular Nike + iPod product works.

ProtoScrewShield Kit Retail

Proto Screw Shield, Arduino in a bag in a frustratingly words that conjure up images of a prototype of drilling (I had to look it up), (who is not there?). That is not quite what we're going for, but you're imagining a versatile prototyping shield, that just about any electronic component, you're definitely on the right track with a CAN interface. Proto Screw Shield is always useful with screw terminal combines our proven Arduino ProtoShield.

18 April, 2016

Roomba Remote Tilt Controller

When you are in Bluetooth, accelerometers, and what do you get to combine iRobot Roomba SCI? A vacuum for couch potatoes.

TTL Laser Retail

Story
SparkFun TTL laser and red laser with a microcontroller (eg Arduino) can be controlled by, or used as a stand-alone laser pointer is a simple to use. Laser can be great for many things; A receiver is an easy to use light for optical communication systems, everything from a cat toy.

Musical Instrument Shield Quickstart Guide

Short description
Believe it or not, the music sounds of a variety of small chips on the Shield device capable of generating. Ever Saiful at a department store (or other brand) synthesizer, played with? Shield instruments can sound just as many on the VS1053 chip! It's just how you talk to, which is the subject of this tutorial is here.

17 April, 2016

With Voice Box Shield uses TTS256

What are we doing? Watch This Video First.
IC is a cool little text to speech TTS256 SpeakJet IC chip that is connected to the device and the user text automatically send a text string and sounds are converted to be able to interpret SpeakJet. You can send TTS256 English words aloud and then Speakjet essence of the word; How cool is that! A person of this ourselves,

How to Use a Hot Air Rework Station

How to Hot Air
When working with a lot of room for error there or the creation of printed circuit boards are made. You can build buildings by hand or machine, depending on whether you, too, often have a mind of its own. Sometimes the person building (or building a machine that makes programming) you can do wrong. Other times, rang the time, solder or components on the PCB can react in ways that are not acceptable. Although there is no fear, there are ways to solve this problem! SparkFun Hot-air rework station is a kind of solution. Hot air stations or guns are very useful tools and is essential for any electronics workbench.

16 April, 2016

Robot Claw Tutorial

Short Description
Assembly and robotic claw, and questions about the suitability of the medium server after receiving a decent amount, a small tutorial, I decided to write about assembling claw. We are getting your claw and grab it as quickly as possible to go over the basics.

Photon Remote Temperature Sensor

Role
Scientific methods to test our universe and allow his natural strength. By collecting and analyzing the data, we find the historical trend to make predictions about future events. Such a phenomenon that greatly affects our daily and long-term, life temperature. This tutorial shows you how data.sparkfun.com your own remote temperature sensor to automatically upload the data to build Web services. This is perfect for learning, hands-on projects, or learning the difference between the daily temperature fluctuations and the average temperature difference is a particularly important when climate change was discussed.

15 April, 2016

LED Current Limiting Resistor

An LED current limiting is very important. Preventing an LED circuit will behave very differently. Ohm resistors to behave appropriately in accordance with the law: V = IR. For example, an increase in the voltage across the resistor, the current proportion is the same as the value of the resistor will be increased. Simple enough. LEDs do not behave in this way. They are a characteristic V curve that I'm different than a resistor, such as a diode behavior.

14 April, 2016

Through-Hole rework The "Slap in The System"

Soldering is an art. With practice, one easily with small-pitch SMD LED chips can learn how to assemble complex circuit board. Along the way, various "tricks of the trade" to learn: that the strategy is not immediately apparent, but much easier soldering.

13 April, 2016

Digital Caliper Battery Hack

Short description:
Digital calipers beautiful, but their limited battery life can be frustrating. Battery can be found easily enough, but if you're in the middle of a project, you do not run out and buy two packets like a home only to realize that when you are late you still want to get to the end of time.

12 April, 2016

The FCC and Open Source Hardware


Electromagnetic Spectrum: the United States, the FCC tried to use the same resources to hundreds or thousands of businesses are responsible for maintaining harmony within. The upside to this is that we can (usually) things like WiFi, cellular phones, police radio, baby monitors, etc. depend to act as and when we need them. The downside is that each of us to do business in the United States who want to sell electronics and electronic devices creates a hurdle.

A USB Keyboard / Mouse to Turn Your ProMicro

How cool would it be if you have a USB keyboard and / or mouse to any of the buttons, joysticks, sensors or other electronic gadgets can make? You just input device into a controller for your computer programs or games you want to do about that. What if you could do it with one line of code, Arduino inside the cozy confines? Interested? Well, say hello to my micro friend: SparkFun Pro Micro!

11 April, 2016

Robot Journal - Pamela

SNACK: confidential / Silent Killer Ninja Android
Okay, my mum was not just robots, but it was kind of stealthy (if the slowness equal stealthiness). In addition, a play of words for snack, tasty treats based on the Android release - in my case, Ice Cream Sandwich. To save you from falling asleep or get munchies, I get off on food and get to the tutorial.
I was told we bonus for every goal has been to create a robot, I went home and lasers, rail guns, and other deadly weapons in an assortment of chemicals dreamed of my fellow co-workers' robot melt. As long as it does not harm a human being, eagerly approve Asimov, okay?

RC Hobby Controllers and Arduino

Remote Control Arduino
Robots, cars, robot cars, and the sport needs some degree of remote control devices of all sorts. Most of the time, do it yourself, or some other XBee wireless technology to implement this test. Sometimes it is not a bad idea, but it is more often than not driven and somewhat frustrating way to see more from them. If you find yourself thinking, "I just put the stick RC car battery to push and move it, I remember the good old days."

10 April, 2016

Robot Journal - Michelle

Let's make a robot
To defeat the robot is a robot ... Wait, you mean I did not win? Well, it was a nice try anyway.

How will a tiny, 6-inch battle bots are made for the curious, want to know more about the design process, or just want to know why I hate coding, then this tutorial is for you. I am running as a summary of the wheels on the two servos and a stepper with a round bot that there is rotation around a bar. Nothing like building your bot onto a wrecking ball.

09 April, 2016

SparkFun Ethernet Shield Quickstart Guide

Network / Internet connection SparkFun Arduino Ethernet Shield and equipped with powerful Ethernet use the library!

Stepper Motor Quickstart Guide

Stepping up to the Challenge
There are a handful of motorcycles to choose from, and sometimes it's as clear that one will be best suited for your specific application. In this tutorial, we are one of the motors, stepper motor will be discussed, and when it is better to choose on the option of a stepper motor. How do we EasyDriver stepper motor driver board, driver board with one of the simplest around the motor to be used will be discussed.

Flexiforce Pressure Sensor (25lbs) Quick Start Guide

Role
This is a quick how-to explain everything you need to start using Flexiforce pressure sensors. 25lb version of this example, but the concept is applied to the flex sensors.

Mono Audio Amplifier Quickstart Guide

The tiny Texas Instruments TPA2005D1 audio amplifier based on. It is up to 1.4 Watts in an 8-ohm speaker, and you can drive; It will not shake a stadium, but it will provide plenty of volume for your audio projects.