FEB3
Wireless LCD display
Now this is a good project with a good code snippet. It allows you to send data over IR link to a remote LCD character display. So, it's a wireless LCD display!
Part count for this device is very minimal. On the transmitter side we have a PIC16F688 microcontroller with 5V power supply and HSDL-1100 IR transceiver module used only for TX. At the receiving side there is also a PIC16F688 with HSDL-1100 module and LCD display with KS0070B controller.
So if you need to send some text wirelessly - this is the way to go.
Source: Alexander Avtanski
JAN29
Digital light dimmer
Our forum user niho has just finished his light dimmer for DC current. He describes his project:
"The light level can be adjusted with two push-buttons "Up" and "Down". Controller in this application is PIC16F84 that drives BUZ11 mosfet. Dimmer is tested with a light bulb 12V/4W and mosftet didn't get even warm (which was expected since the datasheet says: 50V/30A). There is a small 5V voltage regulator on board LM78M05 (0,5 A) for the PIC microcontroller. Light level can be adjusted to 10 steps (0-9) and upon startup it is automatically adjusted to level 5. Current light level is displayed on 7-segment LED display with common anode. PCB was designed in Proteus and firmware is written in PBP."
Source: schematics: niho @ forum
JAN27
Moving site to another server
Notice to all of our visitors!
Elektronika.ba website is moving to another server so you might not be able to access the page for next 3-4 days!
Sorry for the inconvenience!
JAN25
FM receiver 60-800 MHz
This could be a pretty interesting project since it is a narrow-band FM receiver that operates in 60-800 MHz range.
The main component of this FM received, or should we say FM scanner is Philips UV1336 tuner taken out of and old TV set. This tuner has internal PLL that is controlled via I2C and it can do a step of just 6,25 kHz. Anyway, this receiver project is originally intended for monitoring polar orbiting weather satellites operated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but it can be used for many other interesting applications such as listening to your strong 464 MHz FM bug.
Source: Charles S. and Karen L. S.
JAN19
ATmega168 TV Tetris and Snake games
This AVR project is interesting because it uses special library for displaying text on TV in PAL format. That means that besides from the Tetris&Snake games it can be used for many cool applications that require displaying data on TVs.
It is based on ATmega168 microcontroller that runs on 20MHz and uses really small amount of external parts. We really can't say anything new about the implemented games but nonetheless it wouldn't be bad to build this project and get that "Tetris fever" once again, especially since it consists of just 6 parts. Anyway, the focus of this entire project should be on the tvText library which is also available for download on the project page.
Source: Ben
JAN18
Voltmeter gauge transformed into a clock
I felt like we needed another geeky clock in here, so here is one made out of a an analog voltmeter gauge.
It is actually disguised as a voltmeter gauge, not made out of one. Voltmeter-like scale is printed on a paper and placed on a wooden box. The inside of a box consists of minimal part count and the main component is the servo actuator which is controlled by a PIC18F1320 microcontroller. The PIC micro is also used for time keeping with its internal Timer1 which is configured to interrupt on every 25ms at 8MHz clock or 10ms at 20MHz clock. The code and the schematics are on the project website, so you can build this stealthy looking clock.
Source: Jon Chandler
JAN15
Starting your car without a key
You probably didn't have your car stolen and now you have to start it with a screwdriver like this guy, but you might like it anyway. You might like this even more if you had an RFID tag implanted under your skin!
After implanting an RFID tag in his hand, Jeffie figured out that it would be cool to put it to some use. So, he bought an RFID reader and installed it into his car, wired it up with a starter and now when he wants to go for a ride he just has to wave his hand around the RFID antenna. Pretty cool, but with RFID simulators now available it might pose a huge security risk.
Source: Jair2K4
JAN11
AVR development board - update
Back in September, we reviewed an AVR development board from Protostack. The board was capable of taking an ATmega8, ATmega168 or ATmega328 microcontroller and at less than $10, it was quite affordable.
Well protostack have just released a new version of the board and it's looking even better. This version brings 4 improvements, namely: new power supply section, the 6 pin ISP interface changed from 1x6 pin to 2x3 pin, new section for mounting dual row headers or similar components, power busses now have better markings, the board is available by itself or as part of an ATmega8 or ATmega168 development kit.
The developments kits include a microcontroller and other supporting components to help you get started.
