Search results for "piccolino OR 30 OR projects OR mods OR hacks OR and OR extension"

The Piccolino rapid development board can be used to design microcontroller circuits quickly. The Piccolino has a fast 16f887 PIC microcontroller, voltage regulator, and communications module, and can be easily extended using its four headers. This e-book contains 30 projects based on the Piccolino. We'll use its unique communications facilities and get the Piccolino to communicate with programs on a PC. On the PC, we use the free programming language Small Basic. You can use this to create Windows programs with buttons and graphs quickly. You will learn how to analyze components such as inductors, capacitors, and OPAMPs, and how to display the measurement results in a graphical format. This will help you to design your circuits easily. We will then start to adapt to the Piccolino. We'll add components to it to make it more powerful, with extra features such as flow control and digital to analog conversion. The clear instructions will enable you to design and build your adaptations. This way you can make your custom designed Piccolino. We'll end up making an extension: a PCB that that can be mounted on the Piccolino headers. As an example, we'll design and build an extension for an LCD. You can use the included board layout to make your PCB or have it made for you. At the same time, you will learn how to make your extensions. The only limitation is your imagination! The clear descriptions along with circuit diagrams and photos, will make the building of these projects an enjoyable experience. Each project has a clear explanation of the reasons why it was designed in a particular way. This helps you learn a lot about the Piccolino, as well as Small Basic, and the components that are used in this e-book. You can adapt the projects to suit your requirements or combine several projects.

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There are many so-called 'Arduino compatible' platforms on the market. The ESP8266 – in the form of the WeMos D1 Mini Pro – is one that really stands out. This device includes WiFi Internet access and the option of a flash file system using up to 16 MB of external flash memory. Furthermore, there are ample in/output pins (though only one analogue input), PWM, I²C, and one-wire. Needless to say, you are easily able to construct many small IoT devices! This book contains the following builds: A colourful smart home accessory refrigerator controller 230 V power monitor door lock monitor and some further spin-off devices. All builds are documented together with relevant background information for further study. For your convenience, there is a small PCB for most of the designs; you can also use a perf board. You don’t need to be an expert but the minimum recommended essentials include basic experience with a PC, software, and hardware, including the ability to surf the Internet and assemble PCBs. And of course: A handle was kept on development costs. All custom software for the IoT devices and PCB layouts are available for free download from at Elektor.com.

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Getting started with the world’s best open-source PCB tool The latest iteration of KiCad, the world’s best free-to-use Printed Circuit Board tool, is packed with features usually found only in expensive commercial CAD tools. This modern, cross-platform application suite built around schematic and design editors, with auxiliary applications is a stable and mature PCB tool. KiCad 8 is a perfect fit for electronic engineers and makers. Here are the most significant improvements and features in KiCad 8, both over and under the hood: Modern user interface, completely redesigned from earlier versions Improved and customizable electrical and design rule checkers Theme editor allowing you to customize KiCad on your screen Ability to import projects from Eagle, CADSTART, and more Python scripting API Improved integrated SPICE circuit simulator Multi-sheet schematics Filters define selectable elements Enhanced interactive router helps you draw single tracks and differential pairs with precision New or enhanced tools to draw tracks, measure distances, tune track lengths, etc. Advanced interactive router Built-in bill of materials generator Realistic ray-tracing capable 3D viewer Customizable teardrops Plug-in manager for quick installation of themes, libraries and functionalities such as autorouters and BOM generators This book will teach you to use KiCad through a practical approach. It will help you become productive quickly and start designing your own boards. Example projects illustrate the basic features of KiCad, even if you have no prior knowledge of PCB design. The author describes the entire workflow from schematic entry to the intricacies of finalizing the files for PCB production and offers sound guidance on the process. Further full-fledged projects, of incremental difficulty, will be presented in a second book, together with a variety of advanced recipes.

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Affordable solutions with the ESP8266 and 3D printing If you are looking for a small yet powerful IoT device, you are likely to come across the ESP8266 and compatible products on the market today. One of these, the Wemos/Lolin D1 Mini Pro board strikes a remarkable balance between cost and performance. A small and very affordable prototype board, the D1 Mini Pro stands out with its WiFi functionality and a 16-Mbytes flash memory for easy creation of a flash file system. In addition, there are sufficient input and output pins (only one analog input though) to support PWM, I²C, and One-Wire systems to mention but a few. The book describes the operation, modding, construction, and programming of home appliances including a colorful smart home accessory, a refrigerator/greenhouse controller, an AC powerline monitor, a door lock monitor, and an IKEA Trådfri controller. As a benefit, all firmware developed for these DIY, "IoT-ized" devices can be updated over-the-air (OTA). For most of the designs in the book, a small printed circuit board (PCB) and an enclosure are presented so readers can have a finished and attractive-looking product. Readers having – or with access to! – a 3D printer can "print" the suggested enclosures at home or in a shop. Some of the constructions benefit from a Raspberry Pi configured as a gateway or cms server. This is also described in detail with all the necessary configuring. You don’t need to be an expert but the prerequisites to successful replication of the projects include basic skills with PC software including the ability to surf the Internet. In terms of hardware, you should be comfortable with soldering and generally assembling the PCBs presented in the book. All custom software written for the IoT devices, the PCB layouts, and 3D print files described in the book are available for free downloading.

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Over 45 Builds for the Legendary 555 Chip (and the 556, 558) The 555 timer IC, originally introduced by the Signetics Corporation around 1971, is sure to rank high among the most popular analog integrated circuits ever produced. Originally called the IC Time Machine, this chip has been used in many timer-related projects by countless people over decades. This book is all about designing projects based on the 555 timer IC. Over 45 fully tested and documented projects are presented. All projects have been fully tested by the author by constructing them individually on a breadboard. You are not expected to have any programming experiences for constructing or using the projects given in the book. However, it’s definitely useful to have some knowledge of basic electronics and the use of a breadboard for constructing and testing electronic circuits. Some of the projects in the book are: Alternately Flashing Two LEDs Changing LED Flashing Rate Touch Sensor On/Off Switch Switch On/Off Delay Light-Dependent Sound Dark/Light Switch Tone Burst Generator Long Duration Timer Chasing LEDs LED Roulette Game Traffic Lights Continuity Tester Electronic Lock Switch Contact Debouncing Toy Electronic Organ Multiple Sensor Alarm System Metronome Voltage Multipliers Electronic Dice 7-Segment Display Counter Motor Control 7-Segment Display Dice Electronic Siren Various Other Projects The projects given in the book can be modified or expanded by you for your very own applications. Electronic engineering students, people engaged in designing small electronic circuits, and electronic hobbyists should find the projects in the book instructive, fun, interesting, and useful.

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39 Experiments with Raspberry Pi and Arduino This book is about Raspberry Pi 3 and Arduino camera projects. The book explains in simple terms and with tested and working example projects, how to configure and use a Raspberry Pi camera and USB based webcam in camera-based projects using a Raspberry Pi. Example projects are given to capture images, create timelapse photography, record video, use the camera and Raspberry Pi in security and surveillance applications, post images to Twitter, record wildlife, stream live video to YouTube, use a night camera, send pictures to smartphones, face and eye detection, colour and shape recognition, number plate recognition, barcode recognition and many more. Installation and use of popular image processing libraries and software including OpenCV, SimpleCV, and OpenALPR are explained in detail using a Raspberry Pi. The book also explains in detail how to use a camera on an Arduino development board to capture images and then save them on a microSD card. All projects given in this book have been fully tested and are working. Program listings for all Raspberry Pi and Arduino projects used in this book are available for download on the Elektor website.

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Easy and Affordable Digital Signal Processing The aim of this book is to teach the basic principles of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and to introduce it from a practical point of view using the bare minimum of mathematics. Only the basic level of discrete-time systems theory is given, sufficient to implement DSP applications in real time. The practical implementations are described in real time using the highly popular ESP32 DevKitC microcontroller development board. With the low cost and extremely popular ESP32 microcontroller, you should be able to design elementary DSP projects with sampling frequencies within the audio range. All programming is done using the popular Arduino IDE in conjunction with the C language compiler. After laying a solid foundation of DSP theory and pertinent discussions on the main DSP software tools on the market, the book presents the following audio-based sound and DSP projects: Using an I²S-based digital microphone to capture audio sound Using an I²S-based class-D audio amplifier and speaker Playing MP3 music stored on an SD card through an I²S-based amplifier and speaker Playing MP3 music files stored in ESP32 flash memory through an I²S-based amplifier and speaker Mono and stereo Internet radio with I²S-based amplifiers and speakers Text-to-speech output with an I²S-based amplifier and speaker Using the volume control in I²S-based amplifier and speaker systems A speaking event counter with an I²S-based amplifier and speaker An adjustable sinewave generator with I²S-based amplifier and speaker Using the Pmod I²S2 24-bit fast ADC/DAC module Digital low-pass and band-pass real-time FIR filter design with external and internal A/D and D/A conversion Digital low-pass and band-pass real-time IIR filter design with external and internal A/D and D/A conversion Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT)

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Mastering PCB design with real-world projects This book builts on KiCad Like a Pro – Fundamentals and Projects and aims to help you practice your new KiCad skills by challenging you in a series of real-world projects. The projects are supported by a comprehensive set of recipes with detailed instructions on how to achieve a variety of simple and complex tasks. Design the PCBs for a solar power supply, an LED matrix array, an Arduino-powered datalogger, and a custom ESP32 board. Understand the finer details of the interactive router, how to manage KiCad project teams with Git, how to use an autorouter on 2 and 4-layer PCBs, and much more. KiCad 8 is a modern, cross-platform application suite built around schematic and design editors. This stable and mature PCB tool is a perfect fit for electronic engineers and makers. With KiCad 8, you can create PCBs of any complexity and size without the constraints associated with the commercial packages. Here are the most significant improvements and features in KiCad 8, both over and under the hood: Modern user interface, completely redesigned from earlier versions Improved and customizable electrical and design rule checkers Theme editor allowing you to fully customize the look of KiCad on your screen Ability to import projects from Eagle, CADSTART, and more An improved and tightly integrated SPICE circuit simulator Autorouting with the Freerouting plugin Filters define which elements of a layout are selectable Enhanced interactive router helps you draw single tracks and differential pairs with precision New or enhanced tools to draw tracks, measure distances, tune track lengths, etc. Enhanced tool for creating filled zones A customizable coordinate system facilitates data exchange with other CAD applications Realistic ray-tracing capable 3D viewer Differential pair routing Rich repositories of symbol, footprint, and 3D shape libraries Python scripting API for programmatic customization and extensions Improved footprint wizard for fast custom footprints

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Clever Tricks with ATmega328 Pro Mini Boards With a simple Pro Mini board and a few other components, projects that 20 or 30 years ago were unthinkable (or would have cost a small fortune) are realized easily and affordably in this book: From simple LED effects to a full battery charging and testing station that will put a rechargeable through its paces, there’s something for everyone. All the projects are based on the ATmega328 microcontroller, which offers endless measuring, switching, and control options with its 20 input and output lines. For example, with a 7-segment display and a few resistors, you can build a voltmeter or an NTC-based thermometer. The Arduino platform offers the perfect development environment for programming this range of boards. Besides these very practical projects, the book also provides the necessary knowledge for you to create projects based on your own ideas. How to measure, and what? Which transistor is suitable for switching a certain load? When is it better to use an IC? How do you switch mains voltage? Even LilyPad-based battery-operated projects are discussed in detail, as well as many different motors, from simple DC motors to stepper motors. Sensors are another exciting topic: For example, a simple infrared receiver that can give disused remote controls a new lease on life controlling your home, and a tiny component that can actually measure the difference in air pressure between floor and table height!

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50+ Android Apps with Raspberry Pi, ESP32 and Arduino This book is about developing apps for Android compatible mobile devices using the MIT App Inventor online development environment. MIT App Inventor projects can be in either standalone mode or use an external processor. In standalone mode, the developed application runs only on the mobile device (e.g. Android). In external processor-based applications, the mobile device communicates with an external microcontroller-based processor, such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, etc. In this book, many tested and fully working projects are given both in standalone mode and using an external processor. Full design steps, block programs, circuit diagrams, QR codes and full program listings are given for all projects. The projects developed in this book include: Using the text-to-speech component Intonating a received SMS message Sending SMS messages Making telephone calls using a contacts list Using the GPS and Pin-pointing our location on a map Speech recognition and speech translation to another language Controlling multiple relays by speech commands Projects for the Raspberry Pi, ESP32 and Arduino using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi MIT APP Inventor and Node-RED projects for the Raspberry Pi The book is unique in that it is currently the only book that teaches how to develop projects using Wi-Fi and Node-RED with MIT App Inventor. The book is aimed at students, hobbyists, and anyone interested in developing apps for mobile devices. All projects presented in this book have been developed using the MIT App Inventor visual programming language. There is no need to write any text-based programs. All projects are compatible with Android-based mobile devices. Full program listings for all projects as well as detailed program descriptions are given in the book. Users should be able to use the projects as they are presented, modifying them to suit their own needs.

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The Raspberry Pi is a $35 credit-card sized computer with many applications, such as in desktop computing, audio and video playback, and as a controller in many industrial, commercial and domestic applications. This book is about the Raspberry Pi computer and its use in control applications. The book explains in simple terms, with examples, how to configure the RPi, how to install and use the Linux operating system, how to write programs using the Python programming language and how to develop hardware based projects. The book starts with an introduction to the Raspberry Pi computer and covers the topics of purchasing all the necessary equipment and installing/using the Linux operating system in command mode. Use of the user-friendly graphical desktop operating environment is explained using example applications. The RPi network interface is explained in simple steps and demonstrates how the computer can be accessed remotely from a desktop or a laptop computer. The remaining parts of the book cover the Python programming language, hardware development tools, hardware interface details, and RPi based hardware projects. All the 23 projects given in the book have been tested and are working. The following headings are given for each project: Project title Project description Project block diagram Project circuit diagram Project program description using the Program Description Language (PDL) Complete program listing Description of the program The book is ideal for self-study, and is intended for electronic/electrical engineering students, practising engineers, research students, and hobbyists.

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Getting started with the world’s best open-source PCB tool The latest iteration of KiCad, the world’s best free-to-use Printed Circuit Board tool, is packed with features usually found only in expensive commercial CAD tools. This modern, cross-platform application suite built around schematic and design editors, with auxiliary applications is a stable and mature PCB tool. KiCad 8 is a perfect fit for electronic engineers and makers. Here are the most significant improvements and features in KiCad 8, both over and under the hood: Modern user interface, completely redesigned from earlier versions Improved and customizable electrical and design rule checkers Theme editor allowing you to customize KiCad on your screen Ability to import projects from Eagle, CADSTART, and more Python scripting API Improved integrated SPICE circuit simulator Multi-sheet schematics Filters define selectable elements Enhanced interactive router helps you draw single tracks and differential pairs with precision New or enhanced tools to draw tracks, measure distances, tune track lengths, etc. Advanced interactive router Built-in bill of materials generator Realistic ray-tracing capable 3D viewer Customizable teardrops Plug-in manager for quick installation of themes, libraries and functionalities such as autorouters and BOM generators This book will teach you to use KiCad through a practical approach. It will help you become productive quickly and start designing your own boards. Example projects illustrate the basic features of KiCad, even if you have no prior knowledge of PCB design. The author describes the entire workflow from schematic entry to the intricacies of finalizing the files for PCB production and offers sound guidance on the process. Further full-fledged projects, of incremental difficulty, will be presented in a second book, together with a variety of advanced recipes.

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