Raspberry Pi-based Eye Catcher
A standard sand clock just shows how time passes. In contrast, this Raspberry Pi Pico-controlled sand clock shows the exact time by “engraving” the four digits for hour and minute into the layer of sand. After an adjustable time the sand is flattened out by two vibration motors and everything begins all over again.
At the heart of the sand clock are two servo motors driving a writing pen through a pantograph mechanism. A third servo motor lifts the pen up and down. The sand container is equipped with two vibration motors to flatten the sand. The electronic part of the sand clock consists of a Raspberry Pi Pico and an RTC/driver board with a real-time clock, plus driver circuits for the servo motors.
A detailed construction manual is available for downloading.
Features
Dimensions: 135 x 110 x 80 mm
Build time: approx. 1.5 to 2 hours
Included
3x Precut acrylic sheets with all mechanical parts
3x Mini servo motors
2x Vibration motors
1x Raspberry Pi Pico
1x RTC/driver board with assembled parts
Nuts, bolts, spacers, and wires for the assembly
Fine-grained white sand
The Elektor Laser Head transforms the Elektor Sand Clock into a clock that writes the time on glow-in-the-dark film instead of sand. In addition to displaying the time, it can also be used to create ephemeral drawings. The 5 mW laser pointer, with a wavelength of 405 nm, produces bright green drawings on the glow-in-the-dark film. For best results, use the kit in a dimly lit room. Warning: Never look directly into the laser beam!
The kit includes all the necessary components, but soldering three wires is required.
Note: This kit is also compatible with the original Arduino-based Sand Clock from 2017. For more details, see Elektor Magazine 1-2/2017 and Elektor Magazine 1-2/2018.
This bundle contains the popular Elektor Sand Clock for Raspberry Pi Pico and the new Elektor Laser Head Upgrade, offering even more options for displaying the time. Not only can you "engrave" the current time in sand, you can now alternatively write it on a glow-in-the-dark foil or create green drawings.
Contents of the bundle
Elektor Sand Clock for Raspberry Pi Pico (normal price: €50)
NEW: Elektor Laser Head Upgrade for Sand Clock (normal price: €35)
Elektor Sand Clock for Raspberry Pi (Raspberry Pi-based Eye Catcher)
A standard sand clock just shows how time passes. In contrast, this Raspberry Pi Pico-controlled sand clock shows the exact time by "engraving" the four digits for hour and minute into the layer of sand. After an adjustable time the sand is flattened out by two vibration motors and everything begins all over again.
At the heart of the sand clock are two servo motors driving a writing pen through a pantograph mechanism. A third servo motor lifts the pen up and down. The sand container is equipped with two vibration motors to flatten the sand. The electronic part of the sand clock consists of a Raspberry Pi Pico and an RTC/driver board with a real-time clock, plus driver circuits for the servo motors.
A detailed construction manual is available for downloading.
Features
Dimensions: 135 x 110 x 80 mm
Build time: approx. 1.5 to 2 hours
Included
3x Precut acrylic sheets with all mechanical parts
3x Mini servo motors
2x Vibration motors
1x Raspberry Pi Pico
1x RTC/driver board with assembled parts
Nuts, bolts, spacers, and wires for the assembly
Fine-grained white sand
Elektor Laser Head Upgrade for Sand Clock
The new Elektor Laser Head transforms the Sand Clock into a clock that writes the time on glow-in-the-dark film instead of sand. In addition to displaying the time, it can also be used to create ephemeral drawings. The 5 mW laser pointer, with a wavelength of 405 nm, produces bright green drawings on the glow-in-the-dark film. For best results, use the kit in a dimly lit room. Warning: Never look directly into the laser beam!
The kit includes all the necessary components, but soldering three wires is required.
Note: This kit is also compatible with the original Arduino-based Sand Clock from 2017. For more details, see Elektor Magazine 1-2/2017 and Elektor Magazine 1-2/2018.
The power-management IC used on Raspberry Pi 5 integrates a real-time clock, and charging circuitry for a button cell which can power the clock while main power is disconnected. This Panasonic ML-2020 lithium manganese dioxide battery with a two-pin plug and a double-sided adhesive pad can be connected directly to the battery connector of the Raspberry Pi 5 and attached to the inside of a case or another convenient location.
The ESP32-C3 chip has industry-leading low-power performance and radio frequency performance, and supports Wi-Fi IEEE802.11b/g/n protocol and BLE 5.0. The chip is equipped with a RISC-V 32-bit single-core processor with an operating frequency of up to 160 MHz. Support secondary development without using other microcontrollers or processors. The chip has built-in 400 KB SRAM, 384 KB ROM, 8 KB RTC SRAM, built-in 4 MB Flash also supports external Flash. The chip supports a variety of low power consumption working states, which can meet the power consumption requirements of various application scenarios. The chip's unique features such as fine clock gating function, dynamic voltage clock frequency adjustment function, and RF output power adjustable function can achieve the best balance between communication distance, communication rate and power consumption.
The ESP-C3-12F module provides a wealth of peripheral interfaces, including UART, PWM, SPI, I²S, I²C, ADC, temperature sensor and up to 15 GPIOs.
Features
Support Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 1T1R mode data rate up to 150 Mbps
Support BLE5.0, does not support classic Bluetooth, rate support: 125 Kbps, 500 Kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps
RISC-V 32-bit single-core processor, supports a clock frequency of up to 160 MHz, has 400 KB SRAM, 384 KB ROM, 8 KB RTC SRAM
Support UART/PWM/GPIO/ADC/I²C/I²S interface, support temperature sensor, pulse counter
The development board has RGB three-in-one lamp beads, which is convenient for the second development of customers.
Support multiple sleep modes, deep sleep current is less than 5 uA
Serial port rate up to 5 Mbps
Support STA/AP/STA+AP mode and promiscuous mode
Support Smart Config (APP)/AirKiss (WeChat) of Android and iOS, one-click network configuration
Support serial port local upgrade and remote firmware upgrade (FOTA)
General AT commands can be used quickly
Support secondary development, integrated Windows and Linux development environment
About Flash configuration ESP-C3-12F uses the built-in 4 MB Flash of the chip by default, and supports the external Flash version of the chip.
This USB Stick contains more than 300 Arduino-related articles published in Elektor Magazine. The content includes both background articles and projects on the following topics:
Software & hardware development: Tutorials on Arduino software development using Arduino IDE, Atmel Studio, Shields, and essential programming concepts.
Learning: The Microcontroller Bootcamp offers a structured approach to programming embedded systems.
Data acquisition & measurement: Projects such as a 16-bit data logger, lathe tachometer, and an AC grid analyzer for capturing and analyzing real-time signals.
Wireless communication: Learn how to implement wireless networks, create an Android interface, and communicate effectively with microcontrollers.
Robotics and automation: This covers the Arduino Nano Robot Controller, supporting boards for automation, and explores various Arduino shields to enhance functionality.
Self-build projects: Unique projects such as laser projection, Numitron clock and thermometer, ELF receiver, Theremino, and touch LED interfaces highlight creative applications.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced maker, this collection is a valuable resource for learning, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of Arduino technology.
Specifications
Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ @ 133 MHz
264 kB on-chip SRAM in six independent banks
Support for up to 16 MB of off-chip Flash memory via dedicated QSPI bus
DMA controller
Fully-connected AHB crossbar
Interpolator and integer divider peripherals
On-chip programmable LDO to generate core voltage
2x on-chip PLLs to generate USB and core clocks
30x GPIO pins, 4 of which can be used as analogue inputs
Peripherals
2x UARTs
2x SPI controllers
2x I²C controllers
16x PWM channels
USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support
8x PIO state machines
What you'll get
10x bare RP2040 chips
Inside the RP2040 is a 'permanent ROM' USB UF2 bootloader. What that means is when you want to program new firmware, you can hold down the BOOTSEL button while plugging it into USB (or pulling down the RUN/Reset pin to ground) and it will appear as a USB disk drive you can drag the firmware onto. Folks who have been using Adafruit products will find this very familiar – Adafruit uses the technique on all thier native-USB boards. Just note you don't double-click reset, instead hold down BOOTSEL during boot to enter the bootloader!
The RP2040 is a powerful chip, which has the clock speed of our M4 (SAMD51), and two cores that are equivalent to our M0 (SAMD21). Since it is an M0 chip, it does not have a floating point unit, or DSP hardware support – so if you're doing something with heavy floating-point math, it will be done in software and thus not as fast as an M4. For many other computational tasks, you'll get close-to-M4 speeds!
For peripherals, there are two I²C controllers, two SPI controllers, and two UARTs that are multiplexed across the GPIO – check the pinout for what pins can be set to which. There are 16 PWM channels, each pin has a channel it can be set to (ditto on the pinout).
Specifications
Measures 2.0 x 0.9 x 0.28' (50.8 x 22.8 x 7 mm) without headers soldered in
Light as a (large?) feather – 5 grams
RP2040 32-bit Cortex M0+ dual core running at ~125 MHz @ 3.3 V logic and power
264 KB RAM
8 MB SPI FLASH chip for storing files and CircuitPython/MicroPython code storage. No EEPROM
Tons of GPIO! 21 x GPIO pins with following capabilities:
Four 12 bit ADCs (one more than Pico)
Two I²C, Two SPI and two UART peripherals, one is labeled for the 'main' interface in standard Feather locations
16 x PWM outputs - for servos, LEDs, etc
The 8 digital 'non-ADC/non-peripheral' GPIO are consecutive for maximum PIO compatibility
Built in 200 mA+ lipoly charger with charging status indicator LED
Pin #13 red LED for general purpose blinking
RGB NeoPixel for full color indication.
On-board STEMMA QT connector that lets you quickly connect any Qwiic, STEMMA QT or Grove I²C devices with no soldering!
Both Reset button and Bootloader select button for quick restarts (no unplugging-replugging to relaunch code)
3.3 V Power/enable pin
Optional SWD debug port can be soldered in for debug access
4 mounting holes
24 MHz crystal for perfect timing.
3.3 V regulator with 500mA peak current output
USB Type C connector lets you access built-in ROM USB bootloader and serial port debugging
RP2040 Chip Features
Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ @ 133 MHz
264 kB on-chip SRAM in six independent banks
Support for up to 16 MB of off-chip Flash memory via dedicated QSPI bus
DMA controller
Fully-connected AHB crossbar
Interpolator and integer divider peripherals
On-chip programmable LDO to generate core voltage
2 on-chip PLLs to generate USB and core clocks
30 GPIO pins, 4 of which can be used as analog inputs
Peripherals
2 UARTs
2 SPI controllers
2 I²C controllers
16 PWM channels
USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support
8 PIO state machines
Comes fully assembled and tested, with the UF2 USB bootloader. Adafruit also tosses in some header, so you can solder it in and plug it into a solderless breadboard.
The Motorino board is an extension-board to control and use up to 16 PWM-controlled 5V-Servo-motors.
The included clock generator ensures a very precise PWM signal and a very precise positioning.
The board has 2 inputs for voltage from 4.8 V to 6 V which can be used for up to 11 A. With this input, a perfect power supply is always guaranteed and even bigger projects are no problem.
The supply runs directly over the Motorino which provides a connection for voltage, ground and control.
With the build in capacitor, the voltage is buffered which prevents a sudden voltage-drop at a high load. But there is also the possibility to connect another capacitor.
The control and the programing can be done, as usual, with the Arduino. Manuals and code examples allows a quick introduction for beginners.
Specifications
Special features
16 Channels, own clock generator
Input 1
Coaxial power connector 5.5 / 2.1 mm, 4.8-6 V / 5 A max
Input 2
Screw-terminal, 4.8-6 V / 6 A max
Communication
16 x PWM
Compatible with
Arduino Uno, Mega and may more microcontroller with Arduino compatible pinout
Dimensions
69 x 24 x 56 mm
Included
Board, Manual, Retail package
This collection features the best of Elektor Magazine's articles on embedded systems and artificial intelligence. From hands-on programming guides to innovative AI experiments, these pieces offer valuable insights and practical knowledge for engineers, developers, and enthusiasts exploring the evolving intersection of hardware design, software innovation, and intelligent technology.
Contents
Programming PICs from the Ground UpAssembler routine to output a sine wave
Object-Oriented ProgrammingA Short Primer Using C++
Programming an FPGA
Tracking Down Microcontroller Buffer Overflows with 0xDEADBEEF
Too Quick to Code and Too Slow to Test?
Understanding the Neurons in Neural NetworksEmbedded Neurons
MAUI Programming for PC, Tablet, and SmartphoneThe New Framework in Theory and Practice
USB Killer DetectorBetter Safe Than Sorry
Understanding the Neurons in Neural NetworksArtificial Neurons
A Bare-Metal Programming Guide
Part 1: For STM32 and Other Controllers
Part 2: Accurate Timing, the UART, and Debugging
Part 3: CMSIS Headers, Automatic Testing, and a Web Server
Introduction to TinyMLBig Is Not Always Better
Microprocessors for Embedded SystemsPeculiar Parts, the Series
FPGAs for BeginnersThe Path From MCU to FPGA Programming
AI in Electronics DevelopmentAn Update After Only One Year
AI in the Electronics LabGoogle Bard and Flux Copilot Put to the Test
ESP32 and ChatGPTOn the Way to a Self-Programming System…
Audio DSP FX Processor Board
Part 1: Features and Design
Part 2: Creating Applications
Rust + EmbeddedA Development Power Duo
A Smart Object CounterImage Recognition Made Easy with Edge Impulse
Universal Garden LoggerA Step Towards AI Gardening
A VHDL ClockMade with ChatGPT
TensorFlow Lite on Small MicrocontrollersA (Very) Beginner’s Point of View
Mosquito DetectionUsing Open Datasets and Arduino Nicla Vision
Artificial Intelligence Timeline
Intro to AI AlgorithmsPrompt: Which Algorithms Implement Each AI Tool?
Bringing AI to the Edgewith ESP32-P4
The Growing Role of Edge AIA Trend Shaping the Future
The ESP32-WROOM-32, measuring 25.2 x 18 mm only, contains the ESP32 SoC, flash memory, precision discrete components, and PCB antenna to provide outstanding RF performance in space-constrained applications.
ESP32-WROOM-32 is a powerful, generic Wi-Fi + BT + BLE MCU module that targets a wide variety of applications, ranging from low-power sensor networks to the most demanding tasks, such as voice encoding, music streaming and MP3 decoding.
At the core of this module is the ESP32-D0WDQ6 chip. The chip embedded is designed to be scalable and adaptive. There are two CPU cores that can be individually controlled, and the clock frequency is adjustable from 80 MHz to 240 MHz. The user may also power off the CPU and make use of the low-power co-processor to monitor the peripherals for changes or crossing of thresholds constantly. ESP32 integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, Hall sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I²S and I²C.
The integration of Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi ensures that a wide range of applications can be targeted and that the module is future proof. Using Wi-Fi allows a vast physical range and direct connection to the internet through a Wi-Fi router while using Bluetooth allows the user to conveniently connect to the phone or broadcast low energy beacons for its detection.
The sleep current of the ESP32 chip is less than 5 µA, making it suitable for battery powered and wearable electronics applications. ESP32 supports a data rate of up to 150 Mbps, and 20.5 dBm output power at the antenna to ensure the broadest physical range. As such the chip does offer industry-leading specifications and the best performance for electronic integration, range, power consumption, and connectivity.
Downloads
Datasheet