December 12, 2012

Using Vintage DL1414 LED displays with Arduino

 Some of use enjoy locating, using and ... hoarding vintage electronic devices and components - and a popular category of these contains LED displays. Ed Nisley shares this passion in his article explaining how to use DL1414 alphanumeric LED displays with an Arduino. The DL1414 contains four characters that can display numbers and letters to help reminisce from a bygone era. However if you have some, they can easily be controlled by using two 74HC595 shift registers, for example:


For more details including nicely documented code, visit Ed's website. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


Instead of using DIP-format 74HC595s, consider our Freetronics EXPAND: Expansion/Shift register modules. They contain the 74HC595 shift register on a small board with standard 0.1" spacing holes that are perfect for soldering header pins into for breadboard use, and a small "power on" LED. By doing this you have a robust vehicle to insert and remove easily without tools or the risk of bending the IC pins. This is only one of our large range of prototyping modules - check the full range today!


December 12, 2012

Add WiFi to your Ethernet-enabled Arduino

 Recently there have been several WiFi Arduino shields introduced to the market, however the cost of them can be close to the $100 mark. However if you already have an existing Arduino-Ethernet solution such as an Ethernet shield, EtherTen or EtherMega (etc) there is a much simpler and cheaper method of converting it to WiFi. Luca Dentella has documented how to use the inexpensive TP-Link TL-WR702N router as a WiFi client - and then by simply connecting it to the Ethernet socket of your hardware - you're done. 


Furthermore, a quick Internet search finds these routers for less than $20. So to find out more, visit Luca's page here (Opens in Google Translate). And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


When putting together your next Internet-enabled Arduino project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.



December 11, 2012

Computer-controlled MIDI Glockenspiel with Arduino

 Controlling music playback devices with MIDI is becoming quite commonplace, however modifying existing instruments to be computer-controlled is an interesting challenge and one that you can do yourself. One excellent example of this is by Mike Cook, who took a simple childrens' Glockenspiel - added solenoids under the bars and wired the whole thing up to an Arduino with a MIDI interface. Now this can be controlled using almost any PC with a MIDI output capability. Here's Mike's work in action:


What a great project, and it works very well. To learn more, click here to visit Mike's website. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're an experienced Arduino user and interested in more advanced Arduino projects and usage - get yourself a copy of "Practical Arduino" by Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings:


Create your own Arduino-based designs, gain an in-depth knowledge of the architecture of Arduino, and learn the easy-to-use Arduino language all in the context of practical projects that you can build yourself at home. Get hands-on experience using a variety of projects and recipes for everything from home automation to test equipment. For more information and to order, click here



December 11, 2012

DIY Proximity-sensing trackball scroll wheel

 In order to add the equivalent of a mouse's scroll wheel to a trackball, Instructables user "hilukasz" has used an Arduino and a Sharp infra-red distance sensor to read the location of a hand above the trackball. The data received by the Arduino from the IR sensor is then sent back to a PC running processing, which takes care of the scroll action. Here it is in action:


So that's a different and somewhat obtuse method of adding another form of an interface to a computer. Click here for the tutorial, and for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


When creating projects with external circuitry hacking existing devices - consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with


December 11, 2012

Receive mobile push-notifications from your Arduino

 Although it is relatively simple to broadcast information from your Arduino board to the Internet, the resulting broadcast is either public via twitter or the connection can difficult to setup due to needing a static IP address. Thus this new method described by Clement Storck is refreshingly easy and quite usable. Their method uses the "PushingBox" cloud-based notification system, which can send an email, SMS or tweet. In this example, when the doorbell is pressed, the Arduino triggers PushingBox which requests an image from an Internet-connected IP camera aimed at the door. Then the user receives a photo of who's at the door. For example:


Very well done. Click here for the tutorial. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


Want to get started with your own system? Our Freetronics EtherTen is the perfect board for enabling your PushingBox projects. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.


December 10, 2012

Control servos over the Internet with teleduino

 Once again Nathan Kennedy has created more features for his online Arduino-control system - teleduino. In this instalment he demonstrates how to control a servo - remotely - using http simple commands. The system really is very simple, and after a few minutes you can control the servos without any complex middle-ware or external services. Plus the servos can be set at a pre-defined angle, to avoid problems when the host Arduino board is reset. 


Click here for Nathan's tutorial and here for more on the teleduino service. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


Our Freetronics EtherTen is the perfect board for enabling your teleduino projects. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.


December 10, 2012

Easily send tweets from Arduino using cosm

 Arduino team member Tom Igoe has found an interesting feature (or loophole? You decide) within the pachube/cosm online data graphing service that allows your Internet-enabled Arduino board to send a tweet. Although there are already a few Arduino-twitter solutions, this one is good as you don't need to muck about with third-party authentication. Thus your Arduino can now tweet with the stars or let you know more relevant data. 


For more information and a great tutorial, click here to visit Tom's website. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.


When putting together your next Internet-enabled Arduino project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.



December 10, 2012

Create an awesome button with a Freetronics LeoStick

Some projects can be simple and fun, and this one by Instructables user "The Nerdling" is no exception. They've used the Freetronics LeoStick as a simple "Awesome Button" - a project that randomly types a word via USB keyboard emulation into your PC. They have created a true minimalist version, by using a loop of wire as a normally-closed button. However with some work you could enclose it with a normal button and so on.

 

So for some more fun, awesomeness and using a LeoStick as a USB keyboard, click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

So what is a LeoStick? It's the Arduino Leonardo-compatible board that's cheaper and smaller than the original:


 Apart from being one of the smallest Arduino-compatibles on the market with USB, it also has an onboard RGB LED and piezo which can be used a knock sensor and various tune and sound effects. Plus you can add extra circuitry with the matching protostick! For more information and to order, click here.





December 07, 2012

Visualize and use different wireless signals with your Arduino

 As an exercise to make analysing and understand various wireless signals, both RF and infra red a simpler process, tarquinio  has created am Arduino sketch and matching PC software to extract and display the signal being received. In doing so you can understand the  data protocols and then create your own, for example to make your own remote controls or have your Arduino take over a few different wireless systems. 


The entire project is documented well, start here for information and downloads. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're interested in receiving and decoding RF data over 315 or 433 MHz, check out our Receiver shields:


They're pre-assembled except for the headers, include two user LEDs for debugging or general blinking, and leave you plenty of space for prototyping circuitry. These shields can also be used in the the “Weather Station Receiver” project in the book “Practical Arduino” - it shows how to intercept the signals from a La Crosse weather station and decode them using an Arduino. For more information and to order, click here


December 07, 2012

Fetch - a new Arduino development tool

 Another piece of software has appeared that works in conjunction with an Arduino system to display data from the board. It is also able to display the value of global variables from your sketch in real time. Although the software is only at the alpha development stage, it looks to be a promising tool in the kit of Arduino development. 


For more information, discussion and the download link, visit the Arduino forum (you'll need to log in for the download link). And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you find this type of project interesting, get yourself a copy of "Practical Arduino" by Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings:


Create your own Arduino-based designs, gain an in-depth knowledge of the architecture of Arduino, and learn the easy-to-use Arduino language all in the context of practical projects that you can build yourself at home. Get hands-on experience using a variety of projects and recipes for everything from home automation to test equipment. For more information and to order, click here