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 To match her article on Arduino audio output, Amanda Ghassaei has also unsurprisingly published another excellent tutorial on audio input with Arduino. Apart from explaining basic sampling, Amanda runs through non-inverting amplifiers, DC offsets, clipping and using interrupts with higher-speed sampling. The entire article is documented very well including some useful DSO imagery. 

To learn more, head over to the tutorial page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

To test audio sampling yourself you can make an easy start with a simple electret microphone board, and our Freetronics MIC: microphone and sound module is perfect. 

 Technologist Mark Armstrong needed a way to remotely control devices on a remote location, including the hot water system. The ability to control this remotely saves money in that he only needed to have hot water only when at the location. This problem was solved with a system based around a Freetronics EtherTen, various relays, WiFi router and Internet access. It polls a public MySQL database which contains the desired settings for the HWS and appliances  Using an iPad application or a custom Windows program these settings can be changed, thus being read by the remote EtherTen and actioned. 

One of the features of this project is that you don't need a static IP at the remote location, as the EtherTen is polling a remote database for control instructions. For more information and notes, visit Mark's website here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 With the need to constantly rotate a webcam between two parties during online conversations, Tom created two methods to rotate it using a servo. The first method was by using a 555 timer to generate the pulses required to activate and move the servo, which was then controlled with a potentiometer. The next solution was to use an Arduino board - which makes controlling servos very simple, and a set of foot pedals from the "Guitar Hero" console game. Now when the pedal is pressed, the camera will rotate and then return upon a change of state on the pedal - for example:

Another problem solved with an Arduino and some imagination. For more information, visit Tom's project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

Servos? Arduino? Not sure what that's all about - but would like to know? Then the best way to learn is with out 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.

 Once again Amanda Ghassaei has published a great tutorial on the various methods of audio output that can be generated with an Arduino board and some external circuitry. Apart from the usual R-2R DAC that we're used to, Amanda continues on and explains how to buffer the output using an op-amp voltage follower, adding a low-pass filter, DC offset and finally output to a speaker. 

This is a very well written and useful tutorial, so do check it out. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 For those of you with a car that doesn't have insanely complex electronics comes this project from Instructables user 'thematthewknot'. He has added RFID via an Arduino to the central locking system of his car which grants him keyless entry. The reader is placed just behind the B-pillar and works well through the glass. If the car is unlocked it automatically locks after 25 seconds. You can see it in action below:

If you make a system like this, be sure to allow a method for people to escape the car in an emergency! This would also be a great solution for other RFID access projects at home, work and so on. So to get started visit the project page here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 As a possible form of altitude sensor or other detection device, Geoffrey Barrows has created an interesting analogue edge detector using an Arduino and a lot of light-dependent resistors. As light changes across the LDRs, the signals from each are measured and using an algorithm programmed into the Arduino a flow-direction can be determined. In the following video the concept and project are explained in more detail:

A fascinating use for light-dependent resistors. For more information visit Geoffrey's project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 XBox live enthusiast Andrew has created an amazing method of checking if friends are also logged into XBox live using an Ethernet-enabled Arduino hardware and some traffic lights. The Arduino checks via an API every five minutes to see if a particular person(s) is logged on and then shows the playability status using the traffic lights. What a great idea!

Another great example of how an Arduino can be used with something totally unexpected. To recreate this yourself check out Andrew's page. 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.

 For research purposes, "Dr Ayars" and some students came up with a huge two-dimensional temperature measuring device. Using a 30cm sqare piece of aluminium they mounted one hundred DS18B20 temperature sensors - all of which can be read by an Arduino. Once the measurements have taken place, the data can be sent out to a PC to be analysed by all sorts of software. Their example using python code created a usable colour temperature display. A fine example is shown below, where a bag of ice and a soldering iron are placed near the sensors:

For more information and to create your own version, click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

Although measuring temperature and humidity is nothing new, have you done so with an Infrared temperature sensor module?

The new Freetronics IRTEMP: module is perfect for contactless temperature measurement. This is our special version of the industrial infrared remote thermometer units with an onboard power supply, communication support and a software library and examples supplied. Very simple to use with an Arduino as we have provided a Getting Started guide and Arduino library. For more information and to order, click here. 

 The quest for a truly random number follows an almost infinite number of paths, depending on the project budget or imagination of the creator. Another interesting method has been devised over at the 1474orchard site which promises interesting results. By using a 555 oscillator circuit cranked up to around 128 kHz and the output measured by an analogue input, the readings were samples and graphed for analysis. 

The results appeared similar to the waveform of the oscillator output, however after some statistical calculations on the bit values of the samples. it was shown that the distribution of bits 0 to 4 was quite even - and once isolated could be a good source for a random number. For information, detailed explanations and more visit the site here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

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 "High Noon" using some clever coding and using PROGMEM to get around the Arduino's memory limit. The game works well and with some imagination is a great interlude, for example:

For more information including the sketch and other interesting Arduino projects, visit Emmanuel's site. And 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: