Here’s a nice DIY tutorial on building an AVR Synth from basic schematics. The author decided to build it with perfboard and turn each element into a discreet module. Check out the details and photo essay at the link below.
DIY AVR Synth via Electronics Lab
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Tetris on… an Arduino - the “open source GameBoy” has a game! Liquidware is now selling the “game pack” as well. This set up is pretty intense, the little Ardunio is doing more than I think anyone ever expected!
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Justin wrote in to tell us about the new firmware he wrote for Arduino -
Breakfast is a firmware which runs on the Arduino allowing all of it’s functions to be accessed by a computer over a serial connection. I have implemented most Arduino functions ver batim, and I do plan on adding the rest soon. For now I have written a ruby “library” which allows you to access Breakfast, as a proof of concept, I have implemented an Arduino Shell using this library and Interactive Ruby IRB.
And who doesn’t love serial for breakfast - this sounds very awesome, and could be a great way for beginners to get the hang of programming in small line-by-line pieces. Check out his site for the deets - Breakfast, serial for Arduino
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Today I combined Jimmie Rogers’ Open Heart kit with a LilyPad Arduino board to make a light-up, animating LED heart brooch. I used conductive thread to attach the two together like a sandwich, and put a safety pin on the power supply. I dangled the brooch from the power supply with embroidery floss and the power/ground wires. The programming pins are still easily accessible for changing the animations. Oh, I also made an instructable for putting together your own.
More:
Josh Kopel will be teaching an Arduino workshop through Seattle’s 911 Media Arts Center.
The Arduino is a small programmable device capable of big things. With it you can examine the world through various sensors and use the data to control motors, lights and just about any other electronic device. Come learn how to build kinetic sculpture, audio sequencers, home automation systems or whatever you can imagine. This class will focus on controlling motors using the Arduino, and we will be investigating how to recycle/re-use commonly discarded ink jet printers for their component parts. Bring your best ideas and wildest concepts and lets get them moving. Course fee is 255.00 plus 40.00 lab fee: total 295. The lab fee will over a motor control kit, some additional electronics, and a supply of printers to hack. You will need to have a laptop computer (win XP or Vista, OSX, or Linux*), and you should purchase your own Arduino Diecimila.
The Arduino Diecimila is available in the Maker Shed.
And while you’re in the Maker Shed, check out Make’s own Getting Started with Arduino by Massimo Banzi, one of the co-founders of the Arduino project.
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Here’s an example of a simple way to make your Arduino greener. This setup is a Solio with an external USB cable connected up to Arduino to power a basic routine on the board. Check out the video of it in action at the link below.
SOLAR POWERED ARDUINO USING A SOLIO
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Kyle writes in about this simple arduino and bulldozer kit robot that follows a projected line:
A regular line follower robot consists one to three photodiodes that reads brightness (usually with IR lights) on the floor. Based on the readings, we program it in a way that the center photodiode always stays on the black line on the floor. If either side of the photodiodes reads black, that means the robot is off the track, turns the robot the other direction so that the robot will always stay in the center.
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It’s Tuesday again! This week I am making a scary pumpkin. Nothing gory or disgusting, just something that will scare the kiddies and hopefully score me some candy. How? Well, I am glad you asked. I rummaged through my parts bins and came up with an idea. What if I connected a horn to an Arduino and let out a nice blast when someone came around trick-or-treating. Hopefully they are so scared they drop their bag-o-candy and run away, leaving me with plenty of treats.
Note: It’s a joke people! No, I am not taking candy from kids (other than my own). Have fun, and be nice!
What you need:
Tools you need:
Step 1: Cut up the pumpkin
You can use a real pumpkin, but I picked this one up for $5 at a local craft store. Using a real one is fine, but photographing it over a few days can get messy so I decided to use a foam version.
The foam pumpkins are really easy to carve. So far it looks like a classic, smiling, jack-o-lantern. The kids will never suspect anything.
Step 2: Add the nose button
I had an arcade game button, so I used it for the nose, and a old doorbell button I used to trigger the horn. You can use any button that you have in your scrap bin.
Solder some wires to the “nose button” so you can assemble the electronics outside the pumpkin. Attach one wire to the ground of the Arduino and the other wire to pin (7). Also, you need an additional wire with a 10K resistor to ground. (See step 3 for a simple diagram) Speaking of Halloween, that is some scary soldering! Yuck.
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The inevitable mashup of the LilyPad Arduino and the XBee radio is in its final stages. Soon it will be easier than ever to integrate XBee communication in your wearbale projects. Look for these modules soon at your favorite physical coputing etailer soon.
LilyPad XBee Ready for Manufacture
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Matthew Williams sent in his Barduino. It’s an Arduino powered bar monkey for your next party. Remember, alcohol and electronics don’t mix, but electronics can mix alcohol. [Thanks Matthew]
It was developed using the Ruby Arduino Framework (http://rad.rubyforge.org/) and is driven using a Ruby DSL (domain specific language) so anyone can write simple recipes.
More about the Barduino
Update: Check out the comments for more information about the Barduino [Thanks again Matthew!]
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