Hello all and welcome to this super simple and inexpensive instructable. If you like throwing frisbees AND you like flashing lights AND you like night time – then this instructable is for you! Have you ever waved a light or torch around and found that it ‘draws’ lines in the air? What if that light was changing colour …
Build this microcontroller controlled rainbow flying disc – and then throw it! Continue Reading
Introduction This circuit is a battery characterizer that applies a fixed load to a charged NiCad or NiMH cell and measures milliamp-hour capacity as it discharges. There is no single load that can be applied to a battery to measure milliamp-hours. It depends on the battery type, it’s intended application, etc. This device is simply …
In 1971, Signetics—later Philips—introduced the NE555 timer, and manufacturers are still producing more than 1 billion of them a year. By adding a few components to the NE555, you can build a simple voltage-to-frequency converter for less than 50 cents. The circuit contains a Miller integrator based on a TL071 along with an NE555 timer …
NE555 timer sparks low-cost voltage-to-frequency converter Continue Reading
When TEST botton is pressed, RA3 pin is set to “1”. R2 and R3 are divide the voltage to 1/2 Vra3 which is connected to RA2 pin to be a Vref for comparator. The C undertest is charging and the timer is start. When the voltage of C undertest is more than 1/2 or above …
Determine capacitance by measuring the charging time using PIC16F688 Continue Reading
Being an active outdoor guy, I have a few different types of 12V lights and a variety of battery types. – For flying RC planes and quadcopters at night, we use sealed lead acid batteries to power our club tables. – For fishing, I have a few 12V 2W led lights, powered by 2200mA, 3 …
PIC 12F675 Programmable 12V Battery Monitor Continue Reading
Why make your own printed circuit boards when you can get them commercially made for low cost? For one, it can take one to four weeks to receive the boards. For prototyping, this can be a major hurdle. Each design iteration will then take a month or more, and a project may need many months …
Make high-quality double-sided PCBs – at home Continue Reading
I received the Boozhound Labs JFET Moving Coil (MC) Pre-Preamp Kit a while back and I promptly assembled the small circuit board. I’m a sucker for a simple kit and a hot iron. That is where it all stopped. The circuit board remained complete and laying about for a few years. Recently I required another …
Description This project combines a PIC and three constant current ‘buck’ converters to produce an RGB LED controller that will operate with the the high power 350mA LEDs using PWM to control the LED brightness. By driving the red, green and blue LEDs with varying pulse widths the controller can generate up to 16 million colours using …
RGB LED PWM Driver for High Power 350mA LEDs using PIC12F629 Continue Reading
Yet another voice controlled home automation system! As shown in the picture, the system can control any electrical appliance, by turning ON or OFF, that is connected into the electrical socket. The system does this using bespoke voice commands. The system uses a micro-controller board (PIC or Arduino) and a PC/Laptop with the Microsoft Windows …
Voice Activated Power Sockets (Home Automation) Continue Reading
HRL Laboratories, based in Malibu, CA, recently tested a prototype neuromorphic chip with 576 silicon neurons aboard a tiny drone measuring 6×6×1.5 inches and weighing 93 grams. The project was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The drone, custom built for the test by AeroVironment of Monrovia, CA, flew between three separate …
