November 22, 2012

Make your own electronic dice

 Whether you want to make an electronic die, or a pair of electronic dice - the tutorial by Instructables user ".A." will give you a head-start on the project. It's a time-honoured classic Arduino project, and also a great one to share with beginners to show them how simple our technology can be. The project is constructed on an solderless breadboard an would take less than an hour to complete. Here is an example of the project in action:


So for more information and the tutorial, click here. And we're on twitter, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If this type of project interests you and you're new to the Arduino world, check out our new Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:


The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects! 

So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page.




November 21, 2012

Make your own geolocation data logger with Arduino

 The ability to measure various forms of data and log it for further analysis is one of the strong points of the Arduino platform, as doing so is relatively simple. One example of this is the Geo Data Logger by Instructables user techbitar. They have demonstrated how to log GPS position data, time, speed, and accelerometer data to a microSD card in a well-documented project. Futhermore each stage of the Arduino sketch is explained well, so he reader has a better understanding of operation, instead of just "uploading and doing". 


To get moving with your own version, visit the project page. And we're on twitter, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

For those looking to recreate such a project, a good start would be our Eleven board along with the AM3X accelerometer module:


This tiny 3-axis accelerometer module can operate in either +/-1.5g or +/-6g ranges, giving your project the ability to tell which way is up. Ideal for robotics projects, tilt sensors, vehicle dataloggers, and whatever else you can dream up. For more infomation and to order, click here





November 21, 2012

DIY Simple Arduino-based Trumpet

 Well... not a real trumpet of course, but an electronic version that still has the three buttons and emits the noise through a small speaker. By following Instructables' user "QuicksilverRox's" guide the goal of a simple electronic music device can be met. It only requires an Arduino-compatible board, a piezo speaker and some simple button circuitry. This would be a great project to introduce someone to the world of Arduino or just make some noise.


For more information and to make your own version, click here. 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 to work with an  project - consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with


November 21, 2012

Delay-style audio sound effects with Arduino

 Arduino enthusiast Duane at the rcarduino site is working on a variety of tutorials concerning sound effects created with an Arduino board. In this instalment, he discusses the delay effect. In his words 

This works by recording the output as it is being generated and then mixing this sound back in with itself - after a delay. The result should be familiar to anyone who has every played an electric guitar through an amp with reverb. In the case of the Auduino synthesizer the result is a mild echo effect and slightly smoother, more metallic sound - the effect can be turned on or off through a push button 


Doing so is quite simple, and demonstrated in the following video:


To get started with your own effects, follow the tutorial from here. 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 to work with an  project - consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with



November 20, 2012

Controlling AC motors with an Arduino

 As part of a long-term project to hack an electric sewing machine, Barbara "PC-Monster" W has been experimenting with an optotriac to allow isolated control of the mains current to the motor via a microcontroller, in this case an Arduino. An optotriac is similar to an optocoupler except it can handle mains-rated voltages - so if using one take care and have qualified people with you.  


Moving forward Barbara hopes to detect the position of the sewing needle, motor speed and control the speed for some Arduino-controlled automation, so to keep track visit her blog here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're interested in switching high-current loads from an Arduino or other development platform, check out our NDRIVE: N-MOSFET driver output module:

 

This high-power N-MOSFET module lets you switch high-current loads using a tiny microcontroller. Perfect for controlling that set of traffic lights mounted in your living room! Works brilliantly for automotive projects such as switching high-power 12V lights and high wattage LEDs. It can be driven directly from a 5V logic output, and handles up to 60V at 20A. For more information and to order, click here


    November 20, 2012

    Low-power Arduino demonstration with wake system

     Arduino enthusiast Nick Gammon has demonstrated a method of running an Arduino microcontroller using an incredibly small amount of current - down to 0.1 uA. This is achieve by constructing an absolute bare-minimum system consisting of the ATmega328 and enough components to allow for function - so no voltage regulators, USB interface or other miscellaneous circuitry. Furthermore, by using a typical numeric keypad Nick introduces a wake-on-press function that also returns the buttons pressed to the Arduino. 


    This is a great example of a project that requires user-input and long battery life, or even for interest's sake. To get started, visit Nick's project page here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

    If you're prototyping Arduino projects on solderless breadboards, blown the MCU on your board, or making your own - save time and hassle with our new ATmega328 microcontroller pre-loaded with the Arduino Uno bootloader:


    It's the same one as found on our Eleven, KitTen and the original Arduino Uno, plus it has a very useful pinout sticker attached to save confusion when wiring it up. So for more information and to order, click here. And we also sell the stickers!



    November 20, 2012

    Automatically leveling your "Castlevania" character with Arduino

     Nuno Alves had the typical dilemma of needing to take care of his young child and wanting to play Castlevania at the same time. Instead of being a bad parent or ignoring the game, Nuno turned to an Arduino to solve the problem. He has created a device which physically presses the attack button on a PS3 controller repeatedly. This helps increase the score as once one positions the game character at a certain spot on the screen, it can easily stand and attack oncoming zombies for a simple points earn. All is revealed in the following video:


    Furthermore the Arduino sketch and notes are contained in the project page. Well done Nuno. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

    If this type of project interests you and you're new to the Arduino world, check out our new Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:


    The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects! 

    So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page.




    November 19, 2012

    Making Android apps and working with Arduino

     Android developer and all-round technologist AdamOutler has published a series of video tutorials on creating Android apps, and also integration with the hardware via the Android ADK. Starting from basically blinking an LED he takes you through a variety of topics to the point of home automation and other useful system ideas. The videos are well presented and make interesting viewing, for example:


    For more information and the complete series, click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

    If you're looking for an Arduino-compatible board with inbuilt USB host shield for ADK experimenting look no further as we have the Freetronics USBDroid board:


    Apart from being a fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard microSD socket and the full USB socket and host-mode controller. As well as the Bluetooth application described above, this is the ideal platform for developing peripherals or projects based around Android devices with ADK (Android Developer Kit) functionality, but without requiring a USB host controller shield stacked onto an Arduino. For more information and to order, visit the product page here




    November 19, 2012

    Arduino LCD game: Nicomachus

     Once more Emmanuel Turner has ported another game to work with an Arduino and our LCD Keypad Shield. In this instalment he brings us the classic game "Nicomachus". It's very good - you think of a number, then answer three questions from the Arduino - and it guesses your number. It's a classic that dates back to 90AD and adapted from the classic book of games by David Ahl. Review the video for a demonstration:


    Once again - well done Emmanuel. For more information including the sketch and other interesting Arduino projects, visit Emmanuel's siteAnd for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

    Instead of building your own LCD module onto a breadboard, save time and move forward with the Freetronics LCD & Keypad shield which contains a bright 16x2 character LCD and five buttons that can be read from only one analog input pin:


    November 19, 2012

    DIY hardware ZABBIX agent with Arduino

     The first thing that came to mind when researching this was "what's Zabbix?" - and in answer to that - "Zabbix is an enterprise-class open source distributed monitoring solution for networks and applications". Basically it allows you to monitor data from devices over the Internet. And thus Arduino forum member 'levkov' has published details of his own Zabbix agent built around an Arduino Mega with an Ethernet shield and temperature-humidity sensor. The hardware assembly is incredibly simple, and they've also published the required Arduino sketch and example to get you going. Below is an example of the output from the service:



    So once again we have a great example of Internet-connected devices and Arduino. Click here to get started with your own version, and for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

    In his project levkov used a separate Arduino Mega and Ethernet shield, however you can save time, money, space and energy instead by using the Freetronics EtherMega:


    Quite simple the EtherMega is the fully-loaded Arduino-compatible board on the market today. Apart from being completely Arduino Mega2560-compatible, it includes full Ethernet interface, a microSD card socket, full USB interface, optional Power-over-Ethernet support and still has a circuit prototyping area with extra I2C interface pins. So if your project is breaking the limits, upgrade to the EtherMega today.