Via Kate Hartman's flickr -

The XBee Lilypad project that Rob Faludi and Kate Hartman have been working on is looking great. They took the cc-licenced board design from Leah Buechley's Lilypad Arduino and made this sewable XBee radio.

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LilyPad Arduino meets XBee radios for a chat

A demonstration of the littleBits electronic component system in use prototyping some features for a coffee maker design.

littleBits is an opensource library of discrete electronic components pre-assembled in tiny circuit boards. Just as Legos allow you to create complex structures with very little engineering knowledge, littleBits are simple, intuitive, space-sensitive blocks that make prototyping with sophisticated electronics a matter of snapping small magnets together. With a growing number of available modules, littleBits aims to move electronics from late stages of the design process to its earliest ones, and from the hands of experts, to those of artists, makers and designers.

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LittleBits discrete components system prototype

DIY Design Electronics Kit

Assembling Feurig's open source Serial to USB converter seems a worthwhile way to try your hand at surface-mount soldering. -

The benito board was designed to allow people with intermediate soldering skills to build their own Atmel AT90usb162 based devices. The processor itself is a tqfp and the remaining components are almost exclusively smd 806 parts. While it is not as easy as working with dip components, it is not too difficult to do by hand and the processor is worth it.

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Benito7 Arduino programmer

You just blogged about aviators, EAA, and Makers. Once we finish building our airplanes, another cool thing that we're very lucky to be able to do is modify and improve them as well. That's something you're not legally allowed to do to the average Cessna. Sadly, since there's no runway at the expo center, I haven't been able to show these off at the Maker Faire :)

One minor improvement I've made to my homebuilt RV-9A is this ATMEGA-based angle-of-attack display. (link above) I've also built an Arduino GPS logger to record my travels.

There are far more ambitious projects as well. Several of us have designed LED-based exterior lights for our airplanes, and there is even one enterprising company selling open-source avionics.

The Sketching in Hardware '08 conference was held a RISD in Providence, Rhode Island this year. Both RISD and Providence were very welcoming and I think we had a lot of fun. Once again, Mike pulls off an awesome conference.

For my talk, since I didn't have one big thing I've been working on this last year, I decided to shotgun blast a bunch of different topics out there, arranged roughly on the topics:
- Good Hardware APIs - about the evolution of BlinkM's layout),
- USB not on Rails - an update to a previous Sketching talk of mine, and
- From 2D to 3D - experiments in 3D shapes from 2D lasercutter output...

Limor Fried (ladyada) & Phillip Torrone (Make) "Citizen Engineer" - Open source hardware, hacking SIM cards, modding a payphone for fun and for profit.

(Biz geek side note) At the end we have some quick estimates on the CPM that some could expect from doing online videos compared with doing online how-to videos that have a kit or "something" for sale. We think there are some good opportunities for people who makes things to share their skills and how they create and make a living doing that (and we've shared some initial numbers). Videos are becoming the new "text files" - if you grew up learning about some techy topics by text files shared around you likely recognize the analogy. Etsy sellers, makers and anyone who makes things might want to experiment with this model of sharing their skills with other online via video and having actually things to buy as part of the video, but not just an "advertisement" or "infomercial".

Tomorrow night, Thursday, July 24, as part of its week-long grand opening celebrations, HacDC is holding a town hall meeting to discuss hackerspace, the open source community, and the future of hacker/maker orgs in the metro area. I will be a member of the panel, representing MAKE, Alberto Gaitan will be representing Dorkbot DC, and Nick Farr will hold the fort for HacDC. I hope to see you there if you can make it.

Other Grand Opening events:

• Friday, July 25: HacDC invades The Brickskeller!  Come by and enjoy great beer with your favorite group of hacker space members! (The Brickskeller, 1523 22nd St NW, 8:30 PM - 2:00 AM)
• Saturday, July 26: Paying homage to Grace Hopper.  Come join us for Lunch in Columbia Heights and an afternoon outing to Arlington National Cemetry to pay tribute to "Amazing Grace".  (Meet at HacDC at Noon).  Then join us back at HacDC as we prepare for our Sunday opening!
• Sunday, July 27: OUR OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING CEREMONY! Join us for our official grand opening ceremony!  At 8:00, join us as our members receive their Black Lab Coats.  Our "commencement" address will be given by Jens Ohlig, one of the key figures behind the Global Hackerspace Movement.  Lots of projects and other things shall be on display throughout the day.  (HacDC opens at 3:00 PM, Ceremony at 8:00 PM with reception to follow)

HacDC

Today at Techcrunch we announced that we are building our own web tablet hardware device. This all stems back from a conversation a few weeks ago when we were discussing the ultimate web browsing/cloud computing client hardware. The iPhone is nice but too small, and most laptops are over-powered for the task. With applications on the web most of us just need a web browser most of the time, so the ideal device would be a light-weight small tablet running nothing more than Firefox on a decent screen and with a WiFi connection.

In an effort to help get them going or at least kick off some conversations, I think they should look at Chumby. The open source Wi-Fi "bean bag computer".... It doesn't fit all the "specs" Techcrunch proposed, but it's a good start. The $179 Chumby is linux based, can support a larger screen, is open source and a prototype could be developed. The team can get the source, schematics and part of Bunnie's brain immediately.

I think the Nokia n810 internet tablet is also pretty close to what Techcrunch described (linux based, Skype, can run Firefox) - hardware is hard, good luck guys. If this were a MAKE project I'd suggest modding an EEPC and going from there...

Leah Buechley, everybody's favorite e-textile expert, created this machine-embroidered LED matrix, alternating the top and bottom threads with conductive thread in order to use the fabric as a barrier between the two electrical traces. Very cool wearable display! Via Hackaday.

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All about Charlieplexing LEDs

Imagine this: A 30 something bearded man in shorts with a multi-meter connected to cables out of an exercise bike trying to remain balanced an read the multi-meter at the same time as he is turning the pedals with one foot and listening to a beep from the multi-meter. My wife who did not have to imagine it asked "What are you doing?" and I can tell that my answer "isn't that obvious" wasn't really that great. So here it goes, all the details of how and why I hacked my exercise bike.

A while back I bought an Arduino together with the pocket piano shield. That was fun and all and I did create a little hardware synthesiser which you can watch at YouTube. Then recently work had a little workshop with David Cuartielles one of the creators of Arduino, and I got seriously interested in doing more with that Arduino I had at home. I also have an exercise bike that I bought with a little idea of perhaps hooking it up to the internets in some way. This is how I've done just that. Reverse engineered the bike's sensors and logic viahooking up my Arduino and reading it's sensors.

The Monome isn't just good for input - it can be used as a display as well.

shado is an open-source compositing and sprite library for the >>monome. It is written in Java, but designed to work seamlessly with a lightweight scripting language like Groovy or Python.

We have assembled a number of demonstration programs using Jython under Max/MSP, but the system should work in any Java environment, and the scripting layer is optional.

For hackers, the fun part of consumer electronics is taking things apart and making them do things they weren’t originally meant to do. Since most consumer electronics devices are closed source, it’s a laborious process to do a hack; first you must reverse engineer the platform, and you are often relying on gut and instinct to grope around at the edges of your knowledge about the platform. Thus, on most platforms, it’s a challenge to reskin or case-mod the device, and deducing the location of a debug port and opening a console shell on the device is a big deal.

Chumby is different; it is open source, and designed to be hacked. For example, the serial port is spelled out on the silkscreen for you and there’s a backdoor to enable sshd, so it’s not big deal to bring up the console. Because of its hackability, you are enabled to do significant modifications due to the availability of all levels of design documentation—hardware, drivers, and application software. While it would be an enormous task to, for example, open up a Zune and put a larger screen on it, here, in this post, I will show you how to hack a chumby to have a larger, higher-resolution screen without too much effort. The native chumby screen is a 3.5” QVGA (320×240) display, but after you complete this hack, you will be treated to a 5.7” VGA (640×480) display.

Pain at the pump continues to reach new levels of misery every day. While most of us can’t afford to trade our current gas guzzler for a more fuel economical model, it would be nice to adopt some new driving skills that will translate into greater fuel economy. But where do you start? How do you know if your current jitney is a fuel sipper or a gas guzzler?

The Gas Guzzler Meter is an attempt at putting an immediate dollar value on your current driving techniques: a digital meter that displays exactly what you're spending as you motor along. Stomp on the pedal and see the bucks zoom out your tailpipe faster than a NASCAR driver competing for the Nextel Cup.

Today I am going to show you how to build a simple temperature sensor using one LM35 Precision Temperature Sensor and Arduino, so you can hookup on your future projects. The circuit will send serial information about the temperature so you can use on your computer, change the code as you will. I’m planning to build a temperature sensor with max/min + clock + LCD

Zach writes -

I'm very proud to announce a new board, designed and developed by the RepRap Research Foundation. Its called the Magnetic Rotary Encoder, and it uses a magnet to provide positional feedback information. It is based around the AS5040 chip, and provides 10-bits of resolution per rotation (1024 different positions!) It has 5 different output modes, a 6.1mm hole that fits the magnet for easy aligning, plenty of diagnostic LEDs for coolness, and 6 different mounting holes for ease of use, including GM3 gearmotor mounting holes.

More:

Make a Reprap Robot Part 1: The Electronics - Weekend Project Podcast

Sebastian Tomczak has been playing around with controlling VGA output from an Arduino. Using Max/MSP to process audio and send data to the Arduino and a standard VGA output to send sync data to the monitor, he's been able to put together some cool video effects.

You can grab the Max patch and Arduino code from Sebastian's post. I dig the effect - it reminds me of the cool C64 demos kids used to make.

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Arduino TV.

Arduino @ The Maker Shed store.

(NPR photo by Jolie Myers)

MAKE Contributing Editor Mister Jalopy (Los Angeles, CA) was profiled on NPR's Day to Day.

Mr. Jalopy describes himself as a mediocre welder, a fair mechanic and a clumsy designer -- not the type of fellow one would expect to create what he playfully calls the "biggest iPod in the world," a beautiful retro stereo, re-wired with an iPod so it can transfer songs from old vinyl records to MP3s.

...

Like many of his fellow makers, Mr. Jalopy is simultaneously an artist, a tinkerer and a craftsman. For him, it's a lifestyle. His garage is lined with cabinets full of parts, an unimaginable number of widgets, wires and springs. There are broken sculptures, pinball machines and dozens of bicycles and old cars in various states of transformation.

...

Mr. Jalopy has been consulting with Disney, Apple and other major corporations, preaching the gospel of open source manufacturing. He tells them to use screws instead of glue, and to make schematics readily available so consumers can fix and re-imagine the objects they buy. He also urges technology companies to create forums for consumers to share ideas, and pushes car companies to sell patterns so people can create accessories like seat covers.

Are You Sure You Own Your Stuff?

From the MAKE Flickr photo pool

The elegantly compact aurora "Open Source DJ Mixer" can be used in conjunction with MIDI software via MAX/MSP or PD and features a tasty LED lightshow capability -aurora is a usb powered multichannel mixer in a typical dj form factor. the device features two linear channel faders, a single a/b crossfader and eight backlit buttons. twenty four backlit knobs allow you to control effects. aurora, unlike most midi controllers, enhances performances with controllable ambient lighting. aurora easily integrates with your favorite midi compatible software.

The hardware is planned to be released in fully assembled and kit versions - no word on pricing as of yet.

Source code schematics and specs - aurora open source mixer

- aurora 224 on Flickr

This upcoming line of modular interface devices from Machine Collective look useful -

Machinecollective understands your needs and we're here to help you out! We are working on a range of modules based on frequently used components, sensors and indicators. The prototyping modules are designed to work with development platforms such as Arduino and Wiring. The modules can also be used for other purposes such as circuitbending, DIY synths, analog sequencers or plain old electronics projects.

The open source Wireless-G Router (model WGR614L), enabling Linux developers and enthusiasts to create firmware for specialized applications, and supported by a dedicated open source community. The router supports the most popular open source firmware; Tomato and DD-WRT are available on WGR614L, making it easier for users to develop a wide variety of applications. The router is targeted at people who want custom firmware on their router without worrying about issues, and enjoy the benefits of having an open source wireless router.

The WGR614L features a 240 MHz MIPS32 CPU core with 16 KB of instruction cache, 16 KB of data cache, 1 KB of pre-fetch cache, and incorporates 4 MB of flash memory and 16 MB of RAM.

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Open source hardware, what is it? Here's a start...

Open source hardware @ Etech (PDF).

Open source hardware archives.

THE idea of "open source" software is familiar to many computer users. Enthusiasts get together on the internet to create a new program, and as well as giving it away, they also make available its source code--the software's underlying blueprint. This allows other people to make additions and improvements, and those are made available, in turn, to anyone who is interested. You do not have to be a programmer to benefit from the open-source model: many people use the Linux operating system or Firefox web-browser, for example, both of which have been developed in this way.

Now the same approach is being applied to hardware, albeit in a modified form.

All of which suggests that open-source hardware will really start to make a difference when big hardware makers and consumer-electronics firms begin to embrace the idea. "It's a new day for consumer electronics," says Chumby's Mr Tomlin. "The community makes suggestions and shares hacks. And we don't try to sue our innovators. We make heroes of them."

• What is open source hardware.
• Open source hardware @ MAKE.
• Maker Shed store (we have our own open source hardware kits and stock many/most).
• Adafruit Industries - open source hardware.
• Adadruit Industries - open source hardware list (wiki).

Ladyada's just churning out the new kits these days; I'm not sure she's human. The latest:

Adding quality audio to an electronic project is surprisingly difficult. Here is a shield for Arduinos that solves this problem. It can play up to 22KHz, 12bit uncompressed audio files of any length. It's low cost, available as an easy-to-make kit. It has an onboard DAC, filter and op-amp for high quality output. Audio files are read off of an SD/MMC card, which are available at nearly any store. Volume can be controlled with the onboard thumbwheel potentiometer.

Here's a video of the Wave Shield for Arduino in action:

This PIC based countdown timer was used to control lighting for the Ultra-Violet exposure of photosensitive PCB material, although it would come in handy for many other applications, such as cooking, or even exercising. It also includes an audible alarm when the counter finishes and relays control to turn on or off the lights.

PIC Countdown Timer, [via]

Our pals over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories have released version 2.0 of their awesome Peggy LED pegboard display kit. I had the pleasure of seeing this thing in action at last week's Maker Faire. I want.

...Peggy 2.0 still does the same darn thing: it provides efficient power to a 25 x 25 array of LED locations. Peggy is designed to takes some of the sting, complexity, and mess out of playing with LEDs. It's a versatile and powerful light-emitting pegboard that lets you efficiently drive hundreds of LEDs in whatever configuration you like, without so much as calculating a single load resistor. You can install anywhere from one to 625 LEDs, and Peggy will light them up for you ... The biggest change is that the Peggy 2.0 hardware now supports simple animation capability with individually addressable LED locations. Besides the microcontroller, there are now four support chips that help to drive the rows and columns of the display. Now, we're not talking live video feeds or long movies here (speed and memory considerations will spoil that party), but you might be surprised how much you can do with a little AVR microcontroller.

Peggy version 2.0

Related:

• "Peggy," - A Light emitting pegboard display

DC401 is bringing DIY rapid prototyping to their May meeting:

Bruce Wattendorf is a Rhode Island based RepRap maker. He and his son have working on their RepStrap since January 2007. Bruce will be bringing his RepRap in to demo its capabilities and talk about the process of actually building one. For anyone who's dreamed of printing 3D objects, this talk is for you.

Date/Time: 7 May 2008 - 1730-1900
Location: AS220, 115 Empire St, Providence.

I don't know if you've seen these yet, but I put up a couple of Arduino projects I've been working on, like a lithium battery pack, an "extender shield," and a TouchShield OLED for the Arduino. I brought these over to the NY Hacklab and the Make and tech meets a few weeks back. You might also like this video I made yesterday (below) of all the Arduino shields I have, stacked on top of each other.