After many months of looking at NTSC waveforms on my scope (go video-sync trigger!) I have finished the Fuzebox, a fully open-source, DIY 8-bit game console (based on the Uzebox I posted about a while back). It is based almost completely on an ATmega644 with some video encoding help from the AD725.
It is designed specifically for people who know a little bit of programming (such as having messed with an Arduino) to expand into designing and creating their own video games and demos. A full-featured core runs in the background and does all the video and audio processing so that the game code stays clean and easy to understand.
Full 256 simultaneous output colors, 240×224 pixel resolution
Tile & sprite support
Two player ports, either with Super Nintendo or classic Nintendo controllers (although the kit comes with SNES)
NTSC RCA composite and S-video out (PAL not supported at this time )
4 channel PCM output mono audio for music and effects
SD/MMC card support for future expansion
Built on an Atmel AVR core, 64KB flash and 4KB of RAM
Main microcontroller chip is preprogrammed with an STK500-compatible (sometimes referred to as Arduino-compatible) bootloader
Write game code in C, using fully open source tools on any platform
Foofers (the Dragon?) makes scaley costumes and has designed a “rar-box” based on a Arduino + Wave shield to play special effects. When the button-pad is pressed, different sounds are played through a speaker fitted into the mask. A bit late for his halloween, but a good idea for any costume that could use some extra-yiffy-spiffyness. Check out video and details on his livejournal
Kevin286 is making a satellite transmitter circuit that can be forwarded to a website (!), he says:
I work at a small company that deals in GPS tracking via simplex satellite modems and as such have rescued quite a bit of junk before it’s scrapped….I’ve got (an) Axonn STX2 satellite transmitter…I’ve been working with the Arduino stuff for a little while now and have a basic understanding but I’ve never used the Arduino to ‘talk’ to anything before.
Starting out on your electronics adventure?
Want to wield the mighty soldering iron?
Tired of saying “I’d totally get into electronics if I only knew what tools to get…”?
Working with substandard equipment is a terrible way to learn electronics: a lot of frustration with too little success. The right tool set will keep you progressing without the stressing. I’ve pointed many people to my list of suggested electronic equipment, and now I stock my suggested starter tools in the webshop as part of my Electronic Toolbox. This toolbox contains 13 (!) items: for soldering, desoldering, holding, testing, tweaking, cutting, wiring and even a breadboard & 5V power supply so you can get right to work. It’s like a Magic 6-lb Bag of Useful
30W adjustable temperature soldering iron (Model XY258) – with a temperature control on the side and indicator LED so you can go from standard to lead-free to silver solder. Comes with a 1/16″ tip which is good for through hole and some larger surface mount assembly.
Soldering stand – a real stand with sponge and double spring prevents your iron from ‘rolling away’ or burning a hole in the table. Essential for your safety.
Solder, rosin-core, 0.031″ diameter, 1/4 lb (100g) spool – Standard 60/40 solder for electronics work. Most toolkits give you a tiny bit, but this spool will last you for months and you won’t run out in the middle of your project
Solder sucker - Strangely enough, that’s the technical term for this desoldering vacuum tool. Useful in cleaning up mistakes, every electrical engineer has one of these on their desk.
Solder wick/braid 5ft spool – Used along with the solder sucker to clean up soldering messes. Wick really comes in handy when soldering or desoldering surface-mount parts. Even if you don’t have the best iron for SMT work, a bit of wick will fix it up.
Panavise Jr – PCB holder and general purpose 360 degree mini-vise. I use mine every day, they are the best thing for holding your circuit board steady, and the soft jaws are not conductive so you can do power tests at the same time.
Basic multimeter (model MAS830) is a good-all-around basic multimeter. Has a continuity tester, DC/AC voltage and current, resistance, transistor and diode/LED test.
Diagonal cutters (model Xcelite 170M) – the best diagonal cutters, these are comfortable to use and have strong nippers for perfect trimming of wires and leads. I’ve used my pair every day for years.
Wire strippers – basic adjustable wire strippers, they are the standard issue for all MIT students
Micro needle-nose pliers – for bending, forming, holding, squeezing and plying all of those little components.
Bonus! 5V power supply kit - DC power jack, protection diode, 7805 1Amp 5V regulator, two 25V and 6V bypass capacitors, two 0.1uF ceramic capacitors, red and green indicator LEDs and matching resistors. All the parts necessary to power up your first electronics project from a wall adapter or batteries.
A group of students at RMIT University in Australia have been bit by the POV bug! They are designing & prototyping an open source persistence-of-vision device that will display the current speed and distance traveled using the bike wheel.
Do you have an oscilloscope? Do you have an Arduino? Do you need a clock to impress your houseguests and/or fellow engineers? If you answered “YES” then you must build Jan’sScope Clock Shield TODAY!
For super extra bonus points, combine it with a Pong Clock.
dylski wanted to build a Drawdio, but didn’t want to pay/wait for international shipping. No problem, he just made his own out of parts kicking around his workbench and some stripboard/”veroboard”. The big insight for me here is the stripboard preplanning. Check out all the details, pictures and video at his website
In addition to the Duemilanove’s, I’ve put a new version of the ethernet shield up in the shop as well. This version allows the use of XPort or WIZnet Ethernet modules. The WIZnet module is compatible with the official Arduino Ethernet library, which is easy to use and very powerful. However it does not have DHCP built-in which can make setup a bit frustrating if your network isn’t friendly. Still, they are a bargain compared to the XPorts, available for only $20.
The big box of Arduino Duemilanove’s just landed here in New York and they are already in the shop. This rev has everything the last one (Diecimila) does, with a bonus of auto-power switching between DC and USB. All pending orders (including Starter Packs) will ship with the new Arduino.
And! Thanks to the strengthening dollar (USA! USA!), I am able to cut the price of Arduinos down to only $30. Perfect timing for holiday gifts, final class projects and Christmas-break hacking.
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