I own Fujifilm HS20EXR digital camera that use to take photos for this blog. One day I thought I wanted to have a wired external trigger. The ready made cables seemed to be expensive and/or hard to find. So I used the DIY approach: search for needed details from Internet and then build my own →
USB Fume Extractor project combines a small craft box, 12v case fan, aquarium carbon filter, dc boost converter and some basic electronic components to create a USB powered fume extractor which treats your lungs to some clean air when soldering. Check the USB Fume Extractor video how the project works: USB Fume Extractor was designed →
Researchers have long been trying to discover the mysteries of the brain, as well as target areas within to control behaviors. Optogenetics might be a relatively unknown area of neuroscience. Researchers inject tiny LEDs into the brain to control behavior article tells that for almost 15 years, scientists have been experimenting with optogenetics, a new →
I ordered some time ago Arduino Sensor Shield v4.0 because it is an easy way to connect input and output devices to Arduino. Arduino Sensor Shield provides three pin (ground, voltage, signal) interface for connecting all kinds of sensors (potentiometer, button, LDR etc.) and output devices (relay cards, servos etc..) to Arduino. The Arduino Sensor →
Some days ago I had to help a friend to interface several microphones to a Canon camcorder microphone input. I had interfaced earlier years ago microphones to several prosumer and professional video cameras, but I though it would be a good idea to do a Google search to check what is said on interfacing to →
Your daily commuting can become mundane and boring. Hilarious Car Key Hack Lets You Drive It Like You Stole It article shows how you can easily spice things up with this clever hack that makes it feel like you’ve just jacked someone’s ride. All you need is an old screwdriver—the more worn it is the →
The markings on SMD components have been always hard to read. Besides the fact that the numbers and letters in them are very small, the number coding used on them is different than what is used on traditional though-hole components (the reason is that there would not be enough space to print any long codes →
Twisted pair Ethernet (10 and 100 Mbit/s) uses two pairs of wires. Ethernet (10 Mbit/s works well, 100 Mbit/s sometimes) can be run on the old telephone wiring. There some years ago quite a bit of interest in reusing old telephone wiring for Ethernet connections. Reusing old installed wiring for Ethernet works usually well if →
A standard hobby RC servo motor is designed to rotate through only 180 degrees. They are most often used in RC applications (like steering). The servo motor controlling is done with servo control pulses (1-2 ms pulse at around 50 Hz rate). More details on the control signals can be found at Servo protocol web →
EDN magazine reported just few days ago that National Robotics Week has started. There are many robotics events arranged around USA. EDN magazine page from last Friday has a list of links to interesting articles on robotics. There are for example articles on Roomba sensors for hackers and building a power supply for your robot. →