I have been awful about keeping up with x0xb0x news as I am wrapping up the next run of x0xen (panels came in this week, yeah!) But I am completely stunned by this incredible x0xb0x casemod:
In fact I am so utterly entranced, I won’t say a thing about it. Just get your ass over to the website and order one of the limited editions. Is open source hardware awesome or WHAT?
Hard-working ladyada.net forum user SolidSilver has posted instructions for using a ‘upgraded’ Arduino with Linux. Excellent work!
If you have an Arduino project where the dev board is stuck inside a machine, or attached to the rafters or is inaccessible in some other way, a wireless programming/debugging link will save you tons of time. This tutorial is an extension on Rob’s version. In this version, no extra firmware or hardware (other than a capacitor) is necessary. Just use the default bootloader. I demonstrate it with a ‘classic’ Arduino but of course this can be easily adapted to any version or clone.
You will need 2 XBee adapter kits, 2 matching-protocol XBee modules, an FTDI cable (or other FTDI breakout board, if you can wire it up correctly) and a 0.1uF capacitor (although sometimes a 1.0uF capacitor worked better)
The big trick is turning on “Digital I/O passing” where the reset pin is wirelessly mirrored from one XBee to the other. I spent a few hours reading the datasheet to figure it out!
Check out this diagram, can you tell I spent 5 minutes on it?
I just wrapped up a little step-by-step on turning an FTDI cable into a Parallax Propeller programmer. The instructions can be applied to any FTDI breakout board, might be handy if you have a Propeller but no propplug kicking around.
The Twittering-plant Botanicalls project has undergone a revamp, with very nice new kits. These are still Arduino-based but are now pared down to a single green-leafed PCB. The best part of the new design is that the XPort modules and microcontrollers are preprogrammed with the code for a unique Twitter account. That means you can just plug it in and its ready to go, a lot easier than the last rev which required a bit of hacking to work. The kits are also priced 1/3 less. Its cool to see the project get better & better…so I snagged a couple and they’re in the Adafruit shop now!
Man this makes me so jealous of our Neighbors to the North…A Vancouver cafe/workshop/gallery/gigspace that sells fine tea and electronic musical instruments and modules. Is it as cool as it sounds?
XBee modems are one of the easiest ways to create a wireless point-to-point or mesh network. They have error correction, are configured with AT commands, come in multiple flavors and can create a wireless serial link out of the box! I wanted to make a wireless Arduino project but all the adapter boards on the market made me unhappy. So I designed what I think is an excellent low-cost adapter board.
For more information, including instructions, schematics, example code, tutorials & more check out the project’s webpage! For $10 you can own one, too, simply head over to the Adafruit webshop.
Perfect for wirelessly communicating with a microcontroller project.
The latest Arduino design is available and I’ve still got this box full of the previous revision - the Diecimila. 
But my loss is your gain… you can now get an Arduino for $30! And for a limited time, you can even get a preprogrammed upgrade chip (with 2x memory & 2x storage) to go along with it for $5 more.
(In case you are wondering the difference between the Diecimila & the newer Duemilanove, the newer version automatically switches between USB and DC power where as the older version has a jumper to switch between the two. The microcontroller is the same, the pinout and shape is the same, etc.)
I’m honored to be mentioned in two great publications this month (available online or on the news-stands very soon)
One is Technology Review (which among other things is the MIT alumni magazine). Kate Green writes about Adafruit & myself along with my most-excellent peers & fellow alumni Bunnie (Chumby) & Eric W. (Instructables) on a good review of the current state of open source hardware. Read all about it here
Next is WIRED magzine, where Clive Thompson writes about Arduino, its growing popularity and “How to make $$$ with open source hardware”
I’m excited to see that open source hardware is getting more and more coverage - I have definitely seen a big increase in OSH lately and I’m sure more press will get some of the talented engineers out there thinking about how to publish their next project.
Want to learn more about open hardware? Make has a big collection of posts, slides, videos etc both from myself and others
Here is a timely project for an electronic halloween pumpkin. With a bit of hacking a $1 plastic pumpkin is upgraded: a sensor embedded in the nose detects when people get close and will randomly play scary sounds and animate the LEDs on its face. The sounds are stored on an SD card so its easy to change and customize what the pumpkin says/screams, while the code is written for an Arduino so its easy to modify the behavior. I’m going to have this pumpkin outside my door to freak out the little kids who go to daycare nearby. Boo!
This is a modified version of the project that is a little ‘accelerated’ for easy videoing: normally it only makes sound every couple of minutes
You will need:
This isn’t a particularly tough project, but you’ll need to know basic Arduino/Microcontroller programming and soldering
Check out the detailed step-by-step over on the project page…
