There are a ton of electrical wire connectors, too many to elaborate on in a single guide, however there are a couple of connectors that as a maker you will come across. Often when starting your way into the electronics world all you need ...
A super quick article for those who just got their hands on the Raspberry Pi Pico and want to keep it safe and snug in a case. Either with a resin printer or fused filament printer both can produce excellent cases. It was very pleasant prot...
8Bitdo controllers are the best retro-gaming controllers you can buy. You could pick one up for your RetroPie gaming system so you can relax back on your lounge with your wireless gaming controller. We did a great write up on the process of...
Ever wanted a pocket computer with a Full HD screen (1080x1920)? Love tiny GPIO screens like this 3.5 Inch from Waveshare but want one that is a little bigger and higher resolution so that it is easier to read? Or want a really premi...
Note that the digital artifacts on the screenare from the camera used to capture and not the screen itself How many great artworks or photos have you seen that consist of just lines of characters; words and numbers? Very few. It’s ...
Force-sensitive resistors (FSR) are remarkable electrical components and are proper unsung heroes in the Makers World. Name me a better variable touch input device which has basically no moving parts, all whilst being available in such a t...
Ultimaker Cura is an excellent slicing software to get the best out of your 3D printers and make the greatest models it possibly can, but it can do so much more! Cura is a brilliant means to inspire and expand your own creativity particular...
So we’ve taken a look at what Bluetooth is in our Introduction to Bluetooth tutorial, and hopefully, you’ve found our Choosing a Bluetooth Module For Your Project tutorial useful in deciding which Bluetooth module is right ...
Time to create a Little Red Advertisement Devouring Monster. This will be a self-hosted, network-wide, ad-blocking system running on a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer. It will also stop access to malware sites and phishing websites. Fur...
Geophones are devices that generate electric signals proportional to the particle velocity in a sound/compression wave. More simply a Geophone is a super low frequency microphone for the ground. Geophones are used around the world to measu...
Hello makers, if you love to prototype circuits and create electronic designs, then you’ll be familiar with the humble solderless breadboard. It’s where most electronic projects begin and is a familiar sight for tinkerers and in...
The OLED Featherwing by Adafruit is a particularly interesting Wing; it gives you a 128x32 monochrome OLED display right on top of your feather board. There's also three buttons to use that are internally connected to your MCU and accessibl...
There is a new Raspberry Pi! The long-awaited upgrade to the Rasberry Pi 1 Model A+ (Rpi1 A+). In this article, we are going to look at how much improvement the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ (Rpi3 A+) is over the Rpi1 A+ as well as how ...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® OLED Module SSD1306. In this guide, we'll connect the PiicoDev OLED to our Raspberry Pi and get it working with some example code to display text, shapes, and animations. To follo...
This guide will teach you how to control any small and big servos with a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (worth noting any Raspberry Pi Board with GPIO pins can be able to be used in this scenario. Servos are an immensely useful way to turn ele...
So you've got your Raspberry Pi 3 Model A and need a case to house it in. In this short guide we're going to step through the considerations you should take when designing your own case, as well as provide you with all the files you need t...
Ah prototyping, the backbone of maker electronics, well really all electronics. Any successful device, product, or idea doesn’t just appear as a finished concept, it goes through stages of product and one of those is prototyping. In f...
Break your television and monitors free from the confines of their edges with Hyperbian! This is an open-source ambient light software that will improve the way you enjoy your favourite media. Hyperion for the Raspberry Pi ∴ Hy...
The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is finally here! This is a huge leap forward for single-board computing and what better way to explore it than power one up, run some tests and stress it out! Here are the test results for those peopl...
Cameras in combination with artificial intelligence create arguably the most powerful sensor you can ever put on a microcontroller. So that’s exactly what we will do here with an ESP32-CAM Development Board that sports an inbuilt 2MB...
The :MOVE MINI allows you to turn your micro:bit into a simple robot! In this guide, we will give you some tips and tricks for assembling the :MOVE mini. This is a DIY assembly item and takes 30-60 minutes to fully assemble. There is a grea...
You ever wanted an Ad-Free and Bloatware Free Media Streaming Device that can run 4K movies with clean audio that transforms any Screen into a Smart TV. Sounds almost too good to be true but Raspberry Pi, Kodi and LibreELEC OS have swooped ...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® OLED Module SSD1306. In this guide, we'll connect the PiicoDev OLED to our Raspberry Pi Pico and get it working with some example code to display text, shapes, and animations. To ...
In this guide, we go over some common ways of adding motion to your project with actuators such as stepper motors, servos and linear actuators, to help you choose which one is most appropriate for your situation. The start of this guide c...
Being productive and efficient on a computer has become synonymous with dual-screens. Being able to run two application and have both take up a whole screen or run four text documents each taking up an A4 sized half screen really improves e...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® OLED Module SSD1306. In this guide, we'll connect the PiicoDev OLED to our Raspberry Pi Pico and get it working with some example code to display text, shapes, and animations. To f...
UPDATE: This documentation now also applies to Pyscan and Expansion Board 3.0 Pysense and Pytrack boards have a “firmware update mode”. Unlike the Pycom microcontrollers you don’t add a jumper to the board to acces...
Pulling the power to your Raspberry Pi can cause image corruptions & other issues that can damage your Pi! In this article, we will create a small push button that will work as a ‘Safe-Shutdown’ option. We’ll connect i...
So you have a 3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) file and you want to 3D print it with a resin printer. Then look no further, you have come to the right place. So before you can print your CAD model we are going to need a sliced file of th...
This Weather Station with Arduino was designed for the South Australia Catholic Education STEM Weather Station Challenge. We were lucky enough to be asked to build one of the basic kits provided to schools across South Australia for entry i...
Is it hot in here, or is it just my Raspberry Pi? A Raspberry Pi sitting on a desk doing nothing is kind of boring. However, a Raspberry Pi that can measure the temperature and make decisions based off that information is awesome! The Rasp...
I²C stands for the inter-integrated circuit and refers to a communication protocol we are going to use to communicate between our Arduino devices. In the past we have investigated the SPI and Asynchronous Serial Communications protocol...
The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ (I’ll be calling it the Pi 3+ for short) is an update to the existing Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and was released on Wednesday 14th March 2018. It has some very interesting changes: The Broadcom BCM2837 has ...
Love your Raspberry Pi but wish it had even more connectivity akin to your mobile phone. Then the Waveshare 4G HAT is the solution for you! HAT simply means Hardware attached On Top. With this installed on your Raspberry Pi Single Board Co...
Raspberry Pi right? It’s amazing! Raspberry Pi has taken the world by storm and changed the way that people think about computing. The Raspberry Pi 3 builds on this with some amazing new features, however one feature that is still ab...
Cura is constantly being improved upon and half the fun is keeping on top of all the new changes and new offerings it gives. For completely free software, they are doing an amazing job. Nailing the recipe for a 3D prints will let you get th...
In this article we'll show you how to connect your PiicoDev® modules to your favourite development platforms. Connection Guides Other Connection Methods Pinouts Connecting Many Modules PiicoDev Smart Modules Custom I2C Addres...
Now that we are all on track with our Slicer software, having just installed Cura 2 and upgraded our printer firmware, let's work on turning some 3D Model files into G-Code for our 3D Printer to create. We're going to be using our LulzBot M...
[Update: The OMXPlayer system, needed for the video looper, has been dropped with the recent 'Bullseye' Raspberry Pi OS. Updates are coming out fast and all the teething troubles from this new OS will be ironed out. For now, download and f...
IntroductionWelcome to the guide for the Makerverse Audio Kit. This kit will allow you to build a music player, a musical keyboard, and a sound effect soundboard! To follow along you will need: The Makerverse Audio Kit The Makerverse ...
This is going to be easier than you thought (or at least much easier than I thought)! Today we will create a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B UPS PiJuice System that will be completely powered by a Solar Panel. It's coming up to winter over here so I...
Sometimes a good Raspberry Pi project needs to be in a place that just hard to reach. The Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ has a small form factor and is well suited for being tucked away inside a box, ceiling, or wherever your project demands. It...
After the release of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1 GB and 2GB and 4GB generations there was a design revision. Now if you have any other Raspberry Pi board in your hand the impact of this design revision will not affect you. If you happen to...
Today we're pulling out the breadboard, getting up and running with an RTC module then finishing up by making ourselves a clock that will keep the correct time even when we pull the plug. To achieve this we will be combining three main com...
warning: Pycom has updated their libraries and the code listed below may not work. If you discover this and find a fix, please post it on our forum and we'll send you a $25 store credit along with a huge thank you. Go to Forum Thread. ...
Introduction This guide covers how to connect the Makerverse Micro SD Card Adapter to a Raspberry Pi Pico and program a basic data logging script in MicroPython. To follow along, it's best to have: A Makerverse Micr...
In this guide, we’ll learn how to harness the power of MOSFET transistors to easily control higher-powered components like solenoids, motors, and Peltiers with a microcontroller. First, we will cover an easy-to-follow example using s...
Now that you have picked up your Mooshimeter, there might be a few questions you have on keeping it working well for as long as possible. As the Mooshimeter is a battery powered device, eventually the day will come where you simply cannot c...
This guide will demonstrate exactly how to control Standard Stepper Motors and DC Motors with a Raspberry Pi Single-Board Computer. To do this as seamlessly as possible we will utilise a HAT. HAT stands for Hardware Attached on Top. HAT bo...
Here is how to control a 12 Volt Solenoid with a Raspberry Pi using a 5 Volt Relay. Solenoids are an immensely useful way to turn electrical energy into a linear motion. Solenoids come in a variety of different specifications with 5 Volt an...
Introduction Welcome to the guide for the Makerverse Load Cell kit. With this hardware you will be able to make a set of scales capable of measuring weights up to 3kg with a precision as low as 0.1g! To follow along you will need: ...
Now I'm not talking about a delivery service - I'm talking about an Uninterruptable Power Supply for your Raspberry Pi 4. So if your Raspberry Pi project needs to be powered all the time relying solely on the mains power system may leave y...
Introduction We’re going from zero to hero. Starting from nothing we’ll get a WiPy communicating with Adafruit IO, an IoT service out on the Internet. We’ll be able to send data from the device to the cloud and control th...
We had a lot of fun making this speed build video for the Paris Flyer CarouSol Kit by Solarbotics. If you aren't already familiar, Solarbotics makes a great line of DIY electronics kits made from laser cut materials. They range from quite s...
The Infinity Mirror Kit V2 is a desktop display that creates a dazzling optical illusion - a tunnel of light that tears through space! The Infinity Mirror Kit V2 entered production in October 2018, and now ships with an Adaf...
While the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4s (CM4s) share a lot with the regular Pi 4 Model B, getting started with the flashing process can be quite different depending on which model you pick! This article aims to demystify that, so without f...
This guide is all about doing clever things in a software to get the best results out of a 3D printer. The main focus is turning intricate CAD files into a format that you can print without small details or thin walls being neglected b...
The ONESIE family of cases come in three distinct models; Stealth, Maker and Hats. This will be a guide introducing the ONESIE family, the 3D printable monocoque stealth cases for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, talk about what makes them di...
Pimironi Picade Pan-Tilt Hat lets you mount and control a pan-tilt module right on top of your Raspberry Pi palm-sized computer. Setting up a Pan and Tilt system has never been easier with absolutely no soldering required! Pe...
I SPI with my Raspberry Pi, something beginning with…S! Serial-Peripheral-Interface (SPI)! Welcome to our Raspberry Pi SPI communication tutorial. Today we’re going to look at how to use the SPI bus on our Raspberry Pi ...
Filament grinding is very unlikely to occur if your running an Ultimaker S5 3D Printer with Ultimaker materials or 3rd party supported materials. Filament grinding occurs when the knurled feeder gear slips against the filament instead of sm...
Let me introduce a new 3D printable case for the Raspberry Pi Pico and the PiicoDev ecosystem. There are variants of the case, one which allows you to wall-mount the system and another variation that makes it possible to charge the dev...
Show of hands, who loves Raspberry Pi? We all do, and one of the most common questions we get asked is which Raspberry Pi kit is going to best suit my project, which one has the right components in it etc. So today we’re going to be l...
Introduction This guide will cover the basic functionality of the GlowBit Python library when driving a GlowBit Matrix 8x8 module. To follow along, it's best to have: A GlowBit Matrix 8x8 A Raspberry Pi Pico ...
This guide will demonstrate exactly how to control any large DC Motors that we stock with a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer, through code or through a Bluetooth Controller. To clarify (in my mind) a large DC Motors runs at 12+ Volt...
This is an update to an older guide done so that we can provide you with the fastest, most modern, and best way to set up your system. Nothing beats bright shiny colourful lights and this guide demonstrates the fastest and most customizab...
You’ve made yourself a great project for your Circuit Playground Express, now all you need is a box to put it in. How do you keep your Circuit Playground safe in a housing while still being able to press the buttons and use the sensor...
What if I told you that you could have the power to detect a lightning strike from 40km away? You'd probably think I've gone mad watching too many Marvel movies. But it is true! All thanks to the DFRobot Gravity: Lightning Sensor. Accessib...
In case you haven’t noticed, Internet of Things is the phrase on everyone’s lips right now; why make a device, when you can make an IoT device? And the good folks at Particle.io have made it easier than ever to create your own...
Co-Polyester is an astounding material in terms of properties, all the best properties of Tough PLA and ABS which are then dialled up just that extra bit in regards to both ruggedness and durability. Ultimaker offers two versions of Co-Poly...
This guide will help you get started with a PiicoDev® Servo Driver module. We'll take a tour of the module and walk through some examples to drive common servos. Servo motors are integrated motors that contain their own power circuitr...
Today will be all about controlling Fully Addressable LED Lights using any Espressif ESP32 Development Board and your mobile Phone all through WIFI! All possible by WLED. There are many ways to use your mobile phone to remotely...
Welcome to the MicroPython for micro:bit workshop! This workshop is aimed at makers who want to start programming with MicroPython, we will be using the micro:bit as it is very easy to use so we can cover the important concepts that will ap...
Introduction The Makerverse Motor Driver has been updated to a v20 design which now features a 5V output pin instead of the VM pin. Some images and in-video descriptions in this guide may be outdated This guide covers the use of the Maker...
Welcome to the Raspberry Pi Pico Workshop, where you will learn everything you need to know to hit the ground running and start making your own projects with the Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython. This workshop is designed for complete beg...
JST is a standard of electrical connection used widely across a spectrum of electrical applications. It's defined as a Japanese Solderless Terminal and is manufactured by a company of the same name. The JST range includes a variety of fami...
Feel restricted by your connectivity? Want to send data from a remote node 10km away from civilization? Or ~3km when you are in a built-up civilization. Feel the urge for Liberation? Then I have the solution for you! Using only hardware bu...
What do we mean when we talk about the "Internet of Things"? Mostly we're talking about tiny computers that have access to the internet and do some useful work. Unlike the computers we're used to holding in our hands, they don't have a touc...
SPI stands for Serial Peripheral Interface and it is a way to send data between microcontrollers and other small devices. It is a synchronous data bus, meaning it uses a clock to regulate the data transfer. SPI is also Full-Duplex com...
Crunching numbers is fine, but sometimes you really need to visualise what’s going on in the tiny brain of your Photon. There are numerous different ways to visualise data or text on a microcontroller from binary LEDs, to HDMI display...
Well hello there, if you’ve been looking at the amazing line-up of Saleae gear and wondered how to get started with it all, then you’ve come to the right place. Today we’re going to take a look at getting your Saleae setup...
Fritzing is a completely free Circuit Design program available across all popular operating systems. The program was designed to support hobbyists, hackers, artists and makers (and all creative minds) in taking the step from concept to prot...
So, you want to control things with your Particle Photon and/or Electron do you? Well, a relay is a perfect way to do that. Whilst there are many ways to control an electrical signal from digital logic such as transistors and optoisolators,...
What We'll AchieveThis guide will help you set up a Plant_io controller to automatically irrigate a plant of your choice. This example focuses on germinating seeds, but this is only one option. Along the way we'll: Assemble a hardware pl...
It would be good to have some understanding of Pycom microcontroller boards before reading this article. We won’t go into what capabilities each microcontroller board has. If you’d like an introduction, try our Pycom WiPy Overvi...
In this guide, we'll learn what a Servo is, when we might use one, how to choose a Servo, and finally how to use one with a Raspberry Pi Pico. To follow along you'll need: A Positional Servo, such as the Feetech FS90 Micro Servo A Con...
In this tutorial, we will look at the basics of Solenoids and how they work. Then we will design a small circuit that can drive a Solenoid from the input/output pins on your Arduino board. We covered a whole bunch of rotational motion co...
The Micro:bit has the ability to measure temperature by sensing the temperature of the silicon die inside the main CPU. This works because the Micro:bit runs cold, and the temperature of the CPU is usually a good approximation of ...
The Raspberry Pi 5 was announced just a few weeks ago and across the internet, we have seen some recurring questions, so in this article, we tried our best to answer some of them. Contents: Overclocking Questions Cooling Quest...
IntroductionWelcome to the guide for the Makerverse Essentials Kit. This kit provides the fundamental hardware required to construct many of the kits in the Makerverse Kits range along with providing hardware which will continue to be usef...
Ever thought it would be cool if your Raspberry Pi could see the world like you do? You’re in luck, camera support is an integral part of the Raspberry Pi hardware, it comes with a built in CSI connector for connecting camera ...
Introduction This guide will help you read weather data from your PiicoDev® Atmospheric Sensor and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi (model 3, 4, Zero ...
Introduction This guide will help you read temperature data from your PiicoDev® Precision Temperature Sensor and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi (model 3, 4, Zero or Zer...
Near Field Communication (NFC) is used all and everywhere. As it stands there are over two billion NFC-enabled devices (many of them smartphones) in use today. This basically means over 20% of the world’s population has access t...
The Raspberry Pi as we know it today is just the “tip of the iceberg”, the product of more than a decade of development, spanning 4 generations with up-to 18 boards and counting released so far. Alongside this development, there...
Welcome to the Arduino Workshop, where you'll be able to follow our guided course which covers everything you'll need to know in order to create your own Arduino projects and become a leveled up maker. My name is Sam and along with being ...
Introduction This guide will cover the basic functionality of the GlowBit Python library when driving a GlowBit Matrix 4x4 module. To follow along, it's best to have: A GlowBit Matrix 4x4 A Raspberry Pi Pico ...
Introduction The Makerverse Nano Power Timer is an ultra-low current consumption power controller designed to periodically turn on a battery powered microcontroller. It is perfect for maximising the battery life of data-logging sensor...
Welcome to the Circuit Playground Express Workshop! This workshop is geared toward educators and coding beginners, who want to get started programming with this easy to use platform. We will go over everything you need to know to get you st...
Welcome to the Raspberry Pi Workshop for Beginners! Here you'll be able to follow along with our series of bite-sized videos that cover everything you'll need to know to get started with your Raspberry Pi, and start making awesome project...
Let's unlock Biometric Control on our Raspberry Pi Single Board Computers! Biometric Technology uses unique physical or behavioral attributes that are individual to each person and not (easily) replicable. Extraordinarily everyone on Earth...
Every Micro:bit has the ability to measure visible light, but what about UV light? Imagine that you are growing a plant on the window sill in a well-lit room. Does your plant have enough light? Plants need UV light to photosynthesize e...
Say you want to build a sun-tracking solar panel. You could add a tiny computer, like an Arduino, to control it. That might be all you need. But what if you need to connect to it to control it from somewhere else? Connecting it into your ho...
Hello everyone, how awesome are the Teensy boards from PJRC? Super awesome. And as with any product that has been around for a few years, and gone through various iterations, there’s now a few different boards to choose from, which ...
Laser cutting is a very fast production and manufacturing method that has one limitation. You can only cut flat surfaces! Well don’t let that stop you from creating 3D objects and sculptures with a laser cutter, Fusion360 has a great ...
What fun would a computer be without a screen to see what you’re doing? Well if you own a Raspberry Pi and are curious about the different ways you can connect an external display or monitor up to it, then look no further. Today we&rs...
There are many different ways to use your mobile phone to remotely control and manage any Raspberry Pi and one of the best options out there to date is the phone application RaspController (you can also find it for free in the Google P...
Electroluminescent wire, often referred to as EL wire, is a thin copper wire coated in phosphor which will produce light when alternating current is applied to it. The light emits a similar feel as if it were a neon light or ...
Logic analysers are an incredibly valuable piece of test and measuring equipment, but sometimes it can be hard to work out exactly what you need, and what model is going to best suit your needs. If you’re not sure what a logic analyse...
So you’ve got your Raspberry Pi. You’ve gotten NOOBS setup on it, explored Raspbian a bit, and you’re feeling like a bit of a pro. Awesome! Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty side of things, what it’s ...
If you’ve ever built a robot with wheels, or any motorised parts really, you’ll have come across the issue of needing to drive it from your microcontroller. Because a standard chip is only able to output a small amount of curren...
The wires in our circuits are often forgotten when we are planning our next big project, but the right connectors will a make your project look more professional and a lot easier to work with! In this tutorial, we are going to have a quick ...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS ...
The Raspberry Pi 5 is here and one of the biggest questions is, how does it stack up against the previous Pi 4? Well, we already have one to take a look at so let’s run some benchmarks and compare the two.(We also have another articl...
It is time for a high-quality, complete package, 1920x1200 (HD) display set up with a Raspberry Pi Single-Board Computer. In regards to touch screens with Raspberry Pi have looked at Tiny GPIO HAT LCD displays, medium-sized AMOLED maker di...
If you put a shield on top of an Arduino Uno there aren’t very many options available to protect it all inside a case. You can always make one yourself though, so that’s exactly what we did! This “High Rise” case for...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS ...
Hey there, are you loving the vintage gaming experience that is RetroPie? Wait, you haven’t heard of RetroPie. No! You’d better go and check out our Gaming Kit for RetroPie tutorial ASAP. Oh good, you now know the awesomeness t...
3D Printing is one of the ways we can turn virtual 3-dimensional models into real world objects. It is an Additive manufacturing (AM) process, building models layer by layer. AM is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which takes a blo...
Imagine being a builder without a hammer, or a car without a brake, this is kind of useful, but nowhere near as useful as it could be. This is like being a maker/DIY’er/enthusiast without being able to solder. Sure you can breadboard ...
If you’re a musician or have had anything to do with the entertainment industry, you may have heard of the term MIDI before. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and was created in the mid-80’s as a way to standa...
High power LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have different requirements that need to be met when compared to regular LEDs. Current regulation using only resistors is impractical so it is necessary to use a switched-mode voltage and current reg...
Let's turn it up to 11! Today we are getting right into Bluetooth Audio Receivers in particular the MH-M38. The MH-M38 is a stereo audio receiver with loudspeaker outputs (and an inbuilt amplifier) that can play music from a smartphone/com...
Hello there, how’s your day been? Good? Fantastic! Not so good? Don’t worry it’s about to get a lot better, because today we’re going to take a look at how to use the I2C interface on our Raspberry Pi to control I2C ...
There is some wild weather approaching! We need a way to give ourselves an early warning when a disaster strikes! In this project, we will use the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express to make an all in one Disaster Detection Station that wil...
In this guide, we'll learn what a Relay is, why we might use one, how to choose a Relay, and finally how to use one with a Raspberry Pi Pico. To follow along you'll need: A 5V SPDT Relay - I'll be using a 5V Single Channel Relay M...
Getting into the Arduino environment is a lot of fun but with so many acronyms and slang terms its easy to get confused. Knowing this first hand, I have put together a glossary of sorts for terms relating to Arduino, if you are new to the A...
Recently, we've talked a lot about Slicing software, settings, materials and the like. It's time to take a deeper dive into the actual design of model files. We've got a basics guide for Computer Aided Design available here. We're going to ...
In August of 2014 Shanghai-based chip manufacturer, Espressif, released a ultra-cheap Serial to Wi-Fi chip called the ESP-01. At the heart of the ESP01 was an ESP8266 chip broken out into the 8 pins needed to program it via a microcontrolle...
Installing filament into your Ultimaker 3D printers will quickly become an intuitive process. But until that happens I'll be here to help run down the process and to teach you exactly how to do it whilst keeping your awesome 3D printer safe...
Often the last consideration in a maker project, the DC power supply is the heartbeat of many electrical projects and the correct selection requires some consideration. Power supplies go by a lot of different names, you can call them Wall ...
The Micro:bit is great for small portable projects like a soil moisture sensor. In this tutorial, we will walk through how to program a Micro:bit to make a reliable and consistent soil moisture sensor that will give consistent readings. The...
If you’ve ever created a project that uses batteries, you’ll be well aware how hard it can be to decide on elements in the project which can affect the battery life. You end up ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ for a...
ECHO…echo…echo…echo… We’ve all had fun shouting into a cave or large space and hearing our voice coming back to us at some point during our childhood. And if you’re like me, a fully grown adult who...
Amid all the new controllers that 8Bitdo have brought out and the mountain of Raspberry Pi cases and accessories that are available, we’ve bundled everything together to create the ultimate RetroPie gaming console. If you’ve bee...
So, you have set up your shiny new resin 3D printer and now want to produce beautiful models. Well, this tutorial will tell you exactly what to do from filling the tank, starting a print via USB then the removal, cleaning, and final UV ligh...
If your 3D printer is an Ultimaker S5 then your prints will almost always come out looking brilliant. Although achieving desirable 3D printed components can sometimes require troubleshooting to resolve print errors. These errors often can ...
So, you’re looking for the right way to power your breadboard? You’ve found that your Arduino Uno just doesn’t quite have the juice to power up your circuit. It's likely that the microcontroller can output around 400mA whe...
Hey guys, if you’re looking to get the creativity and fun of Makey Makey into classrooms or workshops, then you’re in the right place! Makey Makey is an incredible tool for educators to get kids thinking about how they can use t...
Now that we've investigated and explained how How GPS Receivers work we can apply that understanding to some real-world applications of of the ideas. To start, we can use any GPS receiver, an Arduino Uno and some male-to-female Jumper ...
Life’s better in colour right? Then why are you still using boring old regular LEDs in your project, when you could be using addressable RGB LEDs. Now LEDS that have Red, Green, and Blue integrated in a single package are nothing new,...
Introduction This guide will help you read temperature data from your PiicoDev Precision Temperature Sensor and a Micro:bit. To follow along, it's best to have: A Micro:bit A PiicoDev Precision Temperature Sensor TMP117 A PiicoDev a...
Introduction This guide will help you read temperature data from your PiicoDev® Precision Temperature Sensor and a Raspberry Pi Pico To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi Pico with pins sol...
Introduction This guide will help you read weather data (Temperature, Air Pressure and Humidity) from your PiicoDev Atmospheric Sensor and a Micro:bit. To follow along, it's best to have: A Micro:bit v2 (v1 does not...
This guide will teach you how to control up to 992 5V Servos through the GPIO pins on your Raspberry Pi! But more practically, without stacking multiple HATS (Hardware Attached on Top), this guide will teach exactly how to control sixt...
If you ever needed a performance boost when running Machine Learnt AI Systems (like facial recognition) with a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer then I have a solution for you. The OAK-D Lite. The Oak-D Lite is the Leatherman Multi-tool o...
Electronics is fun, so far we have covered off on communicating between devices, making LEDs flash and LCD screen operation. However using electricity to control some form of movement in your project is a fun and interesting aspect to inves...
Servo motors are extremely useful in so many different applications; it’d be good to learn how to control them! Solenoid and DC motor control have been shown already; for the most part, they are both pretty straightforward (only powe...
Introduction This guide will cover the basic functionality of the GlowBit Python library when driving a GlowBit Stick 1x8 module. To follow along, it's best to have: A GlowBit Stick 1x8 A Raspberry Pi Pico or...
Print-in-Place mechanism is one of the special things about additive manufacturing that all other manufacturing methods just cannot replicate. They use various hinges, linkages and joints to create moving parts that are printed as a single ...
Each and every day it has become easier to print the natural and human-made world around us. So, if you ever worried that you would run out of things to 3D print fear not! There are many ways of producing 3D models and most of these me...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto your Mi...
Introduction This guide will help you read atmospheric data from your PiicoDev® Atmospheric Sensor and a Raspberry Pi Pico To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi Pico with pins soldered (pointing do...
Sometimes all a good Pycom project needs is some colourful lights! This tutorial demonstrates how to control WS2812 LEDs with the Pycom Wipy and Lopy4. WS2812 or WS2812B LEDs (otherwise known as NeoPixels) are the most commonly used RG...
In this getting started guide we’ll use the Pytrack from Pycom to detect our location on Earth using the onboard GPS module and use the accelerometer to control a 3D model on the PC. I put a WiPy onto my Pytrack, connected it to ...
This guide will teach you exactly how to use a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer to independently control 4 relays. A Relay is an electrically operated switch. This is all possible thanks to the PiRelay V2 HAT from SB Components. These re...
If you want a high-end robotics platform that is easy to expand with it does not get better than goBILDA! GoBILDA is a complete build system designed for makers, students, and educators. From curated kits, to many structural alum...
If you’re in the education sector or keep up to date with the latest STEM learning tools, then you’ve most likely heard of Sphero. It’s one of the most popular educational products which fuses robotics with imagination and...
A special part of me enjoys it when people go ‘I cannot believe that was 3D printed’ and one of the best ways to get that reaction is through post-processing. Now not to belittle the beauty of a raw print result you can achieve ...
By default, FFF/FDM 3D Printers require the 3D Models they print to grow up from the Print bed at an angle of 45 or more. This is by far the biggest limitation of all 3D Printers. To print models that don't follow that rule, and have parts ...
[Update 18-02-2021 - Made a Vesa Mount for the Argon One M.2 Case as well so nobody missed out] A quicky article for those who have their Raspberry Pi 4 Model B all tucked in snug by the very stylish Argon One Case but wish they could...
Nothing beats bright shiny colourful lights and adding an extra dimension only makes them better. This guide demonstrates the fastest and most customizable way to have WS2812B grids of fully addressable LED Nodes come alive. Exactly ...
The full example-code is reproduced at the bottom of this article. Performing manual measurements (in bulk) is for suckers and undergraduate students. Thankfully, most lab gear comes with a digital interface like USB or Serial and you can ...
If you’re looking for a platform to create your ideal data-logger, then look no further than Particle. Whether it be that you want to build a weather station, or a movement detection system, thanks to Particle’s 3G and Wi-Fi boa...
If your utilizing a correctly set up Ultimaker S5 3D Printer you should have no issues with first layer printing. So long as there are print profiles available on Cura, which most likely it will, with a correctly set up 3D printer you will ...
This guide is all about mounting PiicoDev® Modules. It covers how to mount modules to PiicoDev Platforms (or any other material up to 3mm thick), and shows the common dimensions and mounting-hole patterns for PiicoDev hardware...
Let's do some creative projects to get familiar with the GlowBit™ rainbow and micro:bit. The animation runs for 10 seconds, and can be started by pressing either of the micro:bit's buttons In this guide we will: Wi...
In the Plant_io Basic Setup Guide we assembled the Plant_io platform to automatically irrigate plants, and sprouted some seeds. As the project runs, a log file is updated with data captured at each interval. This simple log allows us ...
Welcome to the next step of comprehension for the fireball programming language of Python. This guide will provide you with tools to help aid conceptualisation of the control flow within your programming scripts. The control flow is th...
The eternal question of ‘does it print in more colours?’ is often one of the most common community desires. And yes you can! One of the best ways that this need is delivered is through dual-extrusion printing. Dual-extrusion pri...
Toolheads for your 3D printer come in all shapes and sizes. The different models available from Lulzbot are all designed with a specific purpose in mind, usually to add a filament type to your 3D printing repertoire. Dual extruders enable y...
So we have vertical graphing of voltage and horizontal sweep, but our signal is just going to go bananas on our screen if we don't sweep at the same point in the waveform. That's where triggers come in, allowing us multiple ways to fix ou...
By now, you’ve probably seen the fancy new Raspberry Pi cases we’ve got available; the NESPi case by Retroflag. Designed and styled specifically for retro gaming systems such as RetroPie, it offers everything you need to turn yo...
If you’ve ever come across the term ‘logic analyser’ and not been sure exactly what is was, you’re in the right place. Logic analysers are one of the less common pieces of test and measuring equipment, but they&rsquo...
Stepper Motors are a bit of a halfway mark between DC Motors and Servo motors, but they find a sweet spot that allows them to be perfect for certain applications. There are still a few main differences to be aware of when it comes to workin...
In this guide, we'll be learning about sensors that measure inertial movement, how they work, how to choose the right sensor type, and how to get the most out of their readings. Hardware mentioned in this guide: PiicoDev Accelerometer ...
In this tutorial, we are going to connect a Motor to the Raspberry Pi and create a hypnotic self-spinner. We are first going to look at how to wire the Raspberry Pi to the motor controller and the motor. We will then look at using the raspb...
The Infinity Mirror Kit is a desk-top display that creates a dazzling optical illusion - a tunnel of light that tears through space! Note: This tutorial is for the Infinity Kit V1. We updated have updated to the Infinity Kit V2 as of ...
Fused filament fabrication and transparent prints! No, surely you mean SLA prints. And true you can get excellent transparent prints effectively using SLA however consumer-grade fused filament fabrication can be mistaken for glass when corr...
Resin 3D printers are an immensely powerful tool in the hands of a maker and they have never been more accessible. This will be a rundown on this technology, contrasting it to filament 3D printing and an explanation of tools whilst tea...
The PiicoDev® Air Quality Sensor is based on an ENS160 multi-gas sensor that detects Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These measurements are run through some algorithms to produce standardised outputs like Air Quality Index (AQI...
A popular question that we get all the time is ‘How do I choose a speaker or amplifier to go with my project?’. It’s a good question, and if you’re not familiar with the terminology, it can seem a bit daunting to kno...
Remote control of your 3D printer is a particularly appealing concept, especially if you've been forced into printing via USB in the past. Using your new 3D printer should be as simple as plugging it in, uploading some G-Code and pressing '...
By now you’re probably loving the platform that is Particle and all these crazy ideas of how to create the next big IoT thing (Internet of Things thing…hmm), but for many inventors, the stumbling block is integrating your creat...
Welcome to 'Zero to Maker,' a workshop that will walk through and introduce a ton of tools and skills to help Makers of all skill levels! In this series, Jaryd and Liam will be completing projects as a part of the 2024 Fab Academy and...
warning: this guide is dated and kept for legacy reasons. Links may not work. Welcome to part 1 of our Cadsoft Eagle tutorial. Put your hand up if you’ve always wanted to take the clunky, delicate circuit you’ve c...
So in case you haven’t heard yet, digital LEDs are the go-to solution for any project that uses RGB LEDs and you want to avoid the rat's nest that ensures when using multiple RGB LEDs, each colour requiring its own connection. Digital...
No gamer cave is complete without a retro gaming console and 8Bitdo Controllers are the best retro-gaming controllers you can buy. These controllers are simply that good. But there is nothing worse than rushing downstairs eager to play...
What a time to be alive! It’s never been easier to get into electronics and programming with platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Chibitronics and many more. These platforms are great, but with the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming m...
The FEP film is a layer of transparent thin plastic (that is double layered) that is installed on the bottom of a resin tank (or Vat) in all resin 3D printers. This film creates a way for the UV light or laser light to cure the liquid resin...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto y...
We want to show you how great Fritzing is when it comes to going from your breadboarded prototype to a polished, Etchable PCB design. We are going to utilize a completed circuit we used for our SPI Arduino tutorial that uses a shift registe...
Today, we’re looking at the 8Bitdo NES30 Pro. It’s a newer controller from 8Bitdo and one that I’m really excited about. It’s an interesting gamepad, with the styling and form factor taking cues from both the classic...
At the heart of every Adafruit Circuit Playground Express lies a three-axis accelerometer. This allows us to write programs that take the orientation of the board into account. We can detect orientation and acceleration on any axis. With Ci...
You’ve been working on that project for days, even weeks, and you’ve gone through all the steps of the process; meticulously ensuring everything is above board. And yet, for some unexplainable reason, your circuit is acting out....
Flawless high-quality audio output on a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer! All is achieved by the IQaudio DAC+ HAT. This dedicated DAC lets you enjoy high-quality, distortion-free, artifact-free, low noise, and high-bitrate audio playback...
The Raspberry Pi is an amazing piece of technology, and it’s the platform of choice for all kinds of projects. Something that makes it great is the integration of complex hardware that is taken care of for you. For example, if you wan...
Welcome to the 3D Printing Workshop! I'm Aidan from Core Electronics and in this workshop we are going to take a hands-on journey into the exciting technology that is 3D printing. I have personally spent the past 12 months immersing mysel...
There are so many types of cameras modules and lenses that are plug-and-play for Raspberry Pi Single Board Computers and that number is steadily increasing. From day to night, you can keep track, photograph, and record your surrou...
It has finally happened, they figured it out! The new frontier of Colour Electronic Paper is here and I'm very impressed. People have been demanding this ever since the first E-Paper readers hit the market in the noughties. That black and ...
"Yes, I would recommend this a friend." That's the verdict of 90% of people who pick up the Rule your Room Kit from littleBits. We love it so much, we're most definitely recommending it to you and your family. But you don't need to take ...
Here is a solution so you can turn your Raspberry Pi handheld computer on and off from the power plug (power cycle it) just like any other appliance in your home! And it can all be done through only one setting. With a normally set-up Rasp...
If you're looking for a benchtop power supply, but you're unsure of what you should be looking for in a decent supply for your workspace, we have got you covered with this guide. We will look at the specifications to look out for in a power...
How many young people are able to assemble a computer, from scratch? Sure, adults can do it. There are even IT professionals and avid PC enthusiasts that take it to the next level; customizing everything down to the color of the Power LED a...
A new day is upon us, and it is glorious. After all, it’s not often that a new Raspberry Pi board is released. As you’re probably aware, the current iteration of the popular Raspberry Pi microcomputer is the Raspberry Pi 3. It h...
Similar to how bats echo-locate and how submarines use sonar, the PiicoDev® Ultrasonic Rangefinder uses sound waves to measure the distance to an object. It sends out a high-pitched sound wave, which bounces off of the object and comes...
Before we dive into the FIDO Certified Key-ID Security Key and how it's used, let's get a handle on what authentication online means at the moment. Authentication is simply the process of identifying a user based on a set of unique factors...
Dual Extruding with FDM 3D Printers is typically reserved for the most expert-level makers. By adding the ability to print with 2 materials, you open yourself up to a spread of conditions that simply didn't exist with a single extruder setu...
One of the swell things about 3D printers is being able to lay fabric onto a build plate and create components directly on top of or embedded with fabric material through them. This lets you easily sew designs onto clothes or create interes...
This will be an overview, initial setup and first print guide for the Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 2 Extended . Quick links for the contents of this guide is seen below. Printer Overview Printer Characteristics ...
This Tutorial is all about the MicroPython Programming Language. We will discuss what MicroPython is, why you will want to use it in your projects and we will share some resources to help you learn further! What is MicroPython? MicroPyt...
Every good E-Textiles or Wearables project needs to start somewhere, and the natural starting point for any project is choosing the right microcontroller. There are many good choices out there, and we will compare a few of the best and brig...
In your foray into the 3D printing sphere, you will likely just run into moments when using a new extruder nozzle type would be beneficial. An often-overlooked detail, different nozzles give all different kinds of advantages and with the ri...
Time to flex some of the coding muscles we have gained. Using the knowledge we have with Python, this guide will go through the creation of interesting and dynamic graphic animations. The first codes in this tutorial are generators for geo...
With the newest update to Raspberry Pi OS (Debian Version 11 - nicknamed ‘Bullseye’) there have been some changes to the terminal commands which control attached cameras. This is one of the biggest changes with the new up...
Welcome to our beginners tutorial on analog electronics. Living in the digital age that we do, it’s easy to disregard the world of discrete analog components, however these concepts form the basis for everything from your mobile phon...
IntroductionIn this guide, we'll get a Raspberry Pi Pico W to send and receive data to the cloud using the MQTT protocol. To follow along, all you'll need is: A Raspberry Pi Pico W Understand how to connect the Pico W to WiFi Underst...
Once you setup your printer and finish printing your first rocktopus, you will inevitably want to move onto more ambitious prints right away. It’s understandable, all the possibilities all at once, I get it. We are going to step you ...
Speed or Perfection? That choice is what an understanding of Layer Heights whenever Resin 3D printing is going to provide you. Any Traditional Resin 3D Printer worth its salt will let you print with Layer Heights between 10 Micron to 100 Mi...
Layer Exposure Time is the crucial parameter that when dialed in will change average 3D resin printed components into awesome, crispy, final results that capture every single detail of the CAD model. As a general rule for Normal Layer ...
The Micro:bit is a feature-packed development board that’s perfect for the classroom or the beginner programmer. Each Micro:bit has a built-in radio that can transmit and receive signals sent from other Micro:bits. The radio has a ran...
It is long overdue. Time for a table with all the info comparing every generation and style of Raspberry Pi from the genesis to now! We have come a long way to have our hands on the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 8 GB so it is time we give you the ...
Dual-extrusion printing is an absolute treat and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) as a support structure is truly worth a celebration! You can produce immensely detailed models with a ton of supports and not be concerned about removal. Just immerse ...
Recently, we got a brand new Dual Extruder v3 Tool Head from LulzBot and took a dive into the design of it, mainly, what makes it so great for Dual Extrusion with our 3D Printers. First, a quick recap, Dual Extruding is the process of using...
It is time for an Airplane Tracking Raspberry Pi! The final setup here will let you personally collect data on the exact whereabouts of airplanes over 400km away. It will update one to four times each minute. Be passenger planes, cargo air...
On and Off. It’s the basis for all electronics, from the most sophisticated computer network to a simple circuit. Electronics is all about using one thing, to control another, input and output, on and off. Even the transistors inside ...
In November of 2017, our friends over at LulzBot released a major software update to their Slicing software, Cura. In this tutorial, we will look at what Cura is and does, the process of installing Cura 2 onto a PC already running Cura 21.x...
Different environments will present completely different fire behaviour under the same conditions. For example, a eucalypt forest may burn more severely than a grassland because of the difference in fuel type and climate. In this video we ...
When making a webcam mount for your 3D Printer, there are physical limitations for where you can have the camera sitting safely throughout the whole print. A while back, we remixed a really nicely designed bed mount for the Raspi Camera so ...
This will be a guide giving an overview of Cura, the open-source 3D printing slicing application from the smart cats at Ultimaker. Put simply Ultimaker Cura is a software which allows you to turn the computer file of your design into a reci...
If you hang around 3D printers, X-Y plotters, CNC machines, drawing machines, or people who use any of them G-code is a term that will universally come up no matter where you find yourself in the world. But what is it? And how is it being u...
The Raspberry Pi 5 is here! Our favourite credit card-sized computer has just gotten an update and we already have one here to take a look at, so let’s power it up, run some tests, and see what’s new! (If you want to s...
If you've picked yourself up a 3D printer, you've no doubt printed yourself a heap of models from Thingiverse by now. It's great fun and the best way to learn how to control the options you have available through Cura; scaling, rotating and...
Raspberry Pi Compute Modules have developed in tandem with the many generations of Raspberry Pi single-board computers. These boards are in every right a microprocessor just like their bigger cousins however they are a very different form f...
Let's have a very quick look at Git and Github - Git is an enormous topic, so this won't be an exhaustive tutorial but by the end of it we'll have a working knowledge of basic git workflow. I'll be showing this tutorial on a Rasp...
The realm of 3D printers is currently the forefront of new technology. The capabilities of these machines are under relentless progression determined hugely by the technologies available and needs from the community. Reliability, accuracy a...
In this guide, we'll learn what a Rotary Encoder is, when and why we might use a Rotary Encoder, and how to use a Rotary Encoder with a Raspberry Pi Pico. To follow along all you'll need is: A Rotary Encoder - we recommend using our br...
There are three levels of firmware upgrades that are required on Pycom gear. First, performing an upgrade on the firmware of any of the Pycom microcontrollers is a simple affair. Download the Pycom Firmware Update application as linked in t...
Introduction Let's read colour data from a PiicoDev® Colour Sensor with a Raspberry Pi and create a colour sorting machine. This guide will cover connecting the hardware, downloading some example code and remixing it. To follow along,...
OctoPrint Integration is one of my favourite new features in Cura 2.6+: LulzBot Edition. In short, this integration means that you can print and control your 3D Printer via it's OctoPrint server. All from within your slicer window on your P...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto yo...
There is a whole range of Sub-4 Inch Displays that attach directly to the GPIO pins of Raspberry Pi Palm-Sized Computers. Many of them are touch devices and increase the usability of your Raspberry Pi whilst making almost no size sacrifices...
Introduction Let's read colour data from a PiicoDev® Colour Sensor with a Raspberry Pi Pico, and create a colour sorting machine. This guide will cover connecting the hardware, downloading some example code and remixing it. ...
Introduction Let's read colour data from a PiicoDev® Colour Sensor with a Micro:bit V2, and create a colour sorting machine. This guide will cover connecting the hardware, downloading some example code and remixing it. To f...
One of the great things about the 8Bitdo controllers is the fact that you can upgrade the firmware as new builds are released by 8Bitdo, allowing for future compatibility with various platforms. The process for updating the 8Bitdo controlle...
Out of the box, a LulzBot 3D Printer comes tuned to perform exactly as you need it to. But over time we flash new firmwares, take our printers cross country, swap tool heads, perform cold pulls and a whole swathe of other things that could ...
We're going to get started with the Fire-EdUp Platform and begin calculating Fire Danger Level, and Fire Behaviour Index. To follow along you'll need: A Fire-EdUp Platform A Micro-USB Cable A Computer with Thonny installed. ...
This is the Big Daddy of the Pycom range of devices. The Pycom FiPy has all these connection capabilities (with one tiny caveat): Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 16Mbps LoRa (all regions, not 433MHz) Sigfox Cellular LTE (Cat-M1/NB-IoT) Bluetooth L...
Raspberry Pi Boards are a great gateway for learning about how to get to grips with computers, at a price that makes it hugely accessible and a size that fits right in your hand. Raspberry Pi boards are chock a block full of features a...
In case you haven’t noticed, when dealing with electronics, you’ll be picking lots of small things up, and it only gets harder when dealing with tiny SMD components. But whatever you’re working on, be it a breadboard proto...
There is a new board in the Raspberry Pi family! In this Tutorial, we will walk you through the steps to set up your new Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.To setup your Raspberry Pi 3A+ you will need: A Raspberry Pi 3A+ A Preloaded NOOBS SD Card...
Where do I start? If you’re new to programming Python is a great place to start! I’ve seen Python taught to primary school age children and I have used Python in a Machine Intelligence course at university. It’s no wonder...
Let us set our codes free into the world wide web and design codes which access real world data! This real-world data will represent the current reality of the world around us. Application Programming Interface requests is the method that a...
Introduction This guide will help you read distance data from your PiicoDev® Distance Sensor and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi (model 3, 4, Zero W) This tutorial will u...
Introduction This guide will help you read light intensity data from your PiicoDev® Ambient Light Sensor and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi (model 3, 4, Zero W) This tut...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto your Mi...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of OPEN-CV with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto yo...
In case you haven’t heard, the Internet of Things (IoT) is upon us. More and more devices everyday are being connected to the internet to communicate to people and other devices. Particle have seen the DIY/maker community’s desi...
8Bitdo have brought joy to many retro-gaming enthusiasts with their SF30 Pro Bluetooth controller. It’s a fantastic piece of gear, and one of our favourite controllers to use with a RetroPie setup. We’ve covered off on our thoug...
What’s even better than the world’s most popular microcomputer sitting on your desk? When it’s sitting there in a case which protects it, makes it easier to use, and gives your desk some style. If you buy a Raspberry Pi i...
Introduction This guide will help you read motion data from your PiicoDev® Motion Sensor with a Raspberry Pi single-board computer. To follow along, it's best to have: A Raspberry Pi (model 3, 4, Zero or Zero W) This tutorial ...
After some serious touch time your LulzBot 3D Printer and the quick print options in Cura 2, it's more than likely that you want to make more specific changes to the way 3D Models are printed. Whether it be, changing the support type and st...
Arduino Projects with Motion (Using Sparkfun RedBoard) Welcome to the Third Project Set from the Sparkfun Inventors Kit V4.0 Guide! In this tutorial, we will explore the operation of a Servo Motor and an UltraSonic Sensor in combination wi...
The Pimoroni Unicorn HAT lets you add 64 dazzling RGB LEDs to your Raspberry Pi, and makes for a sickeningly colourful display. I'll show you how to get yours set up, and we'll have a go at modifying an example script. This tutorial i...
Who should follow this tutorial? If this is your first experience with Raspberry Pi, and you're using a starter kit for a Raspberry Pi Zero W, then this tutorial is for you. We'll plug everything into where it needs to be, install an ...
One of the most critical parts of a successful 3D print is the correct material choice and through its careful consideration you will get the best result for the final component you had in mind. Ultimaker has a wide range of 3D printi...
Hi there! If you’re wondering what all the hype and interest surrounding Raspberry Pi is about, you’ve come to the right place. The original Raspberry Pi debuted in 2012, and is a credit card sized computer that has ports for U...
Both Python and MicroPython are powerhouse programming languages. Each of them is capable of supporting your programming needs to almost the limits of your imagination. Both languages are transportable, open-source, growing in popularity, c...
One of the big questions in DIY electronics circles is which DIY platform is going to be the best for me? And the two biggest platforms right now is Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Whilst at first glance they might seem the same; circuit board ...
Makey Makey is a compact circuit board which allows you to create circuits using anything you like and connect them up to a computer. You use alligator clips to connect things to the Makey Makey, and then your Makey Makey connectors to a co...
This tutorial works great for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, however if you need a Video Kiosk/Digital Sign for the newer Pi Models, we've written this guide on how to do it. One of the most requested projects for Raspberry Pi is how to set ...
Like many things in the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, functions such as rotating the display output can be a little unintuitive at first. Or perhaps you’re not sure how to get rid of that annoying black outline on your screen. So, we’...
The Internet of Things(IoT) and its devices have been utilised by ‘DIYers’ and ‘Makers’ to connect projects to the internet and take advantage of the worldwide network we have created. Some might say a sentence with ...
Our Slim Case for the Arduino Uno allows you to keep your Arduino safe and protected from damage or shorts, while still allowing access to all the pins! In this guide, we will show you how to assemble your new Slim Case. Every Slim Case for...
Welcome to our tutorial for using NOOBS (New-Out-Of-Box-Software) to install an OS (Operating System) for use with your Raspberry Pi. The NOOBS package includes access to seven popular Operating Systems: Raspbian Windows ...
If you’ve been around electronics for a while you’ll have noticed the trend of single board microcomputers targeted at hobbyists through to industrial projects, the most popular platform being the Raspberry Pi. Now the Raspberry...
Hey guys, today is the day where we introduce you to another piece of mind-blowingly awesome technology known as Teensy. Simply put, Teensy is a brand of microcontroller development boards created by PJRC and designed by the co-owner, Pau...
On the lower left-hand portion of every Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, there is a small onboard speaker and class D amplifier. This allows you to make some pretty loud sounds! The amplifier is also connected to the true analog output ...
Nothing beats a good cheat sheet. So wouldn't it be great to have a single image, that encapsulated a tonne of handy 3D printing tips and information and have it be ready to hang on the wall in your own Makerverse. Well, we agreed so much ...
Of the many great objects you can create using any 3D printer lithophanes are definitely up there. Traditionally lithophanes were an etched or moulded artwork created on a very thin translucent porcelain that can been seen clearly only...
The Slim Case for the Raspberry Pi 3A+ provides protection for your Raspberry Pi without adding unnecessary bulk. Best of all it keeps everything sleek and tidy without hiding the board itself. The Slim Case was designed and manufactur...
The Slim Case for the Raspberry Pi 3B+ provides protection for your Raspberry Pi without adding unnecessary bulk. Best of all it keeps everything sleek and tidy without hiding the board itself. The Slim Case was designed and manufactur...
The Slim Case for the Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero W and Zero WH provides protection for your Raspberry Pi without adding unnecessary bulk. Best of all it keeps everything sleek and tidy without hiding the board itself. The Slim Case was de...
School zone sign There are lots of maker and Internet of Things (IoT) projects that need a high quality mobile Internet connection. While technologies like Sigfox and LoRa are going to be a big part of our future, in a lot of places cellu...
On the lower left-hand portion of every Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, there is a small onboard speaker and class D amplifier. This allows you to make some pretty loud sounds! The amplifier is also connected to the true analog output ...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® Magnetometer. In this guide we'll connect the Magnetometer to our Raspberry Pi, get it working as a compass, and read the magnetic field strength of a nearby magnet. Finally, we'll remix the code to ...
This tutorial is aimed at getting some instant gratification from your WS2812 LEDs (trade name: NeoPixels). I'll briefly cover a bare-bones setup for the Particle Photon. If you've never used any Particle hardware before, learn how to get ...
Perhaps you’ve read our Gaming Kit for RetroPie tutorial on how to setup a RetroPie console and wondered what’s required to actually build one, or heard about it and not been sure what you need. Well, today is your lucky day bec...
--- NEW UPDATED GUIDE CLICK HERE ---This tutorial is aimed at getting some instant gratification from your WS2812 LEDs (also known as NeoPixels). We'll briefly cover a bare-bones setup for Raspberry Pi. This tutorial will work with ANY mod...
The Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes packed with onboard sensors, in this tutorial we will learn about using the temperature sensor in MakeCode. MakeCode is great for a simple project because its block-based interface and pre-built...
The ESP32 family of microcontrollers are incredibly powerful (2 Cores on a Microcontroller!) and when combined with the awesome writability of MicroPython can be used for all kinds of projects. The ESP32 generally does not come with MicroP...
How does your workspace look? Could it be tidier? I know that mine always could be, but with the daily addition of different tools, components, boards and general tech, it can be hard to keep on top of it all. Then when it comes to working ...
We've been familiar with the Mooshimeter for a while now, we've got tutorials on Getting up and running with a Mooshimeter, how to datalog with your mooshimeter, taking voltage/current measurements with multi-meters and finally a whole arti...
Now that we've taken a look at MakeBlock's beginner kit, the mBot (take a look at the previous article here), let's take our skills to the next level with the Ranger. The Ranger adds much more modularity and customisation to the kit. From e...
Welcome to the next step of understanding in your programming escapades with Python. This guide will introduce an overview of all keywords within Python, provide an understanding of what exactly a keyword is and how to make simple codes wit...
With winter currently in full swing, there's a particularly annoying 3D printing problem that is rearing its ugly head, Warping. For those who don't know, warping is what happens when parts of a printed model shrink due to cold drafts acros...
Project Set 2 – Sound Welcome to the second Project Set from the Sparkfun Inventors Kit V4.0 Guide! In our last Project Set, we explored the basics of the Arduino IDE, some electrical and electronic concepts and looked at vario...
In this tutorial we will learn how to set up the Onion Omega2/Omega2+ for the first time. You will require the following: Onion Omega2 or Omega2+ An Onion Omega2 Dock, such as: An Onion Omega2 dock, eg. Power Dock or Bre...
A big project request for the Raspberry Pi is the ability to make a digital sign, that loops images/videos/other media fullscreen with no interactivity. This can be a great way to display dashboards, promotional videos and other media. For ...
The New Version of the Raspberry Pi 4 has started going out to makers everywhere. If you are wanting to upgrade your old RPi3 project to take advantage of all the cool new features there are a few steps we are going to have to take first to...
First of all, why subject your Raspberry Pi to this level of stress? In the case of Raspberry Pi 4, the A72 CPU is so powerful that it can overheat if it doesn't have enough cooling. This results with the CPU being governed (slowed do...
In the attempt to give the most comprehensive and truly easy to understand reference pages for the programming language of Python it is only natural to talk about built-in functions. A function in Python is a block of code which only runs w...
In another tutorial we looked at the Photon board from Particle, and whilst Wi-Fi is awesome for many applications, it restricts you to a localised connection. Particle have once again come to rescue and provided us with a cellular solution...
Wi-Fi, as we know it, is a form of wireless communication based on the 802.11 standards as outlined by the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). If you're paying attention to it, you'll notice an appendage to this st...
Every day, Solar energy bombards Earth with about 173,000 terawatts of power. That's close to the yearly electricity bill for Planet Earth. Solar energy is free power from the stars. So the question stands, why aren't we using it more? Pric...
The 8Bitdo SF30 Pro was launched at the end of 2017 by 8Bitdo in an effort to create the ultimate, ‘portable’ gaming controller. Having become known for their faithful recreations of vintage gaming controllers, the SF30 Pro is a...
Welcome to the Sparkfun Inventors Kit (SIK) Ver 4.0 tutorial page. In this beginner’s tutorial, we will explore the basics of microcontroller programming and circuit electronics through a series of projects that are provided in the&nb...
Introduction Let's play tones and melodies on a PiicoDev® Buzzer Module with a Raspberry Pi. This guide will cover connecting the hardware, running an example to make sure everything works, and playing simple melodies. To follow along...
IntroductionLet’s take a look at the Raspberry Pi Pico W - a WiFi-enabled development board from Raspberry Pi. This overview article will explore the Pico W features and specifications. As always, there are additional resources at th...
IntroductionThis article will compare the Raspberry Pi Pico, and Pico W. Aside from the obvious difference (the Pico W has wireless connectivity), there are a few smaller and more subtle differences that are worth considering.Physical Comp...
The ESP8266 is the Serial to Wi-Fi SOC gaining steam back in August of 2014, no doubt you've heard of it; if not used one yourself. Since then, hundreds of IoT devices were built on this originally-undocumented device. With those projects a...
We have a more recent guide to Stress testing your Raspberry Pi, this guide has been kept here for reference. Part of the joy that is Raspberry Pi is getting stuck into it at a slightly lower level and finding out exactly what yo...
So what does it mean to run headless?A computer setup without a monitor is said to be running headless. You might want to do this if you're installing your Pi into some project, or want to keep power-usage and cost minimal. This kind of se...
One of the greatest features of the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express is its MakeCode compatibility. MakeCode is an exciting coding interface that makes coding accessible for those with little or no exposure to how coding works or how it ...
Hey all! By now you should have heard about all the wonderful Teensy Boards produced by Paul Stoffregen and the PJRC team but, in case you haven't, they're a collection of high-speed, ARM-based microcontrollers that...
LulzBot have released the Aerostruder for both Mini and Taz Printers now (Mid 2018). It features a Titan Aero Extruder from E3D, which makes it capable of printing in flexible filament and rigid filament, depending on the situation! It's an...
Alright, so we know that Bluetooth is awesome, and if you don’t, take a read of our Introduction to Bluetooth tutorial. But how exactly do we go about implementing Bluetooth communication in our projects? Well, fortunately for us, th...
RetroPie is a fantastic system, and once you map your input device, it will take those mappings and apply them to all of the emulators on RetroPie. If you’re new to RetroPie and want to find out a bit more, take a read of our Gaming ...
You have your shiny new MicroPython or Circuit Python board and you have Installed the Firmware and connected to REPL, but now you want to put your code onto the board. To do this we need to send the files over serial. Luckily Adafruit has ...
This will be a quick 101 on how to use the Raspberry Pi Imager so that you can Flash a new Micro-SD Card. Everything you need to use this Software will be found in this article. The contents of this guide can be seen below. - Download Loc...
Welcome to the best article on setting up an OpenMediaVault-based NAS on a Raspberry Pi Single Board Computer! This guide is the fastest and best way to go about it. Raspberry Pi single-board computers are purpose-built to run 24/7, with a...
GPS is accurate and handy to use, so much so that we rely on it more and more every day. It's not often we take the time to learn how it works. The idea of GPS refers to a Global Positioning System; a collection of satellites in orbit above...
What is MQTT? MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport) is a simple and ‘lightweight’ way for internet-connected devices to send each other messages. This is important for home-automation because devices need to send messag...
Have you ever lost or broken a TV remote before it's time? Have you ever wanted to spice up the way you change channels or inputs on your TV? Have you got a greedy housemate who always steals the remote off you? If any of these are the case...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® 3x RGB LED Module. In this guide, we'll connect the LED Module to our Raspberry Pi Pico and get it working with some example code to display colourful patterns. To follow along, it's best to ...
The ability to connect your test equipment to a local PC is invaluable. It allows monitoring and the use of your equipment via a PC interface. That includes coveted mouse/keyboard control! This control centre capability is essential when yo...
Part of the joy that is Raspberry Pi is getting stuck into it at a slightly lower level and finding out exactly what you can do with it if you take a look under the hood. One of the most popular experiments to do with your Raspberry Pi is o...
Part of the joy that is Raspberry Pi is getting stuck into it at a slightly lower level and finding out exactly what you can do with it if you take a look under the hood. One of the most popular experiments to do with your Raspber...
Hailing from Aleph Objects in Loveland, Colorado, the Lulzbot range of 3D printers are world renown for their quality, reliability and ease of use. The reason they're so popular? Apart from the gilded Lulzbot technical support (practically ...
What is a Paper Circuit? STEM technology has evolved into all kinds of fantastic forms with many brands bringing craft and electronics together in new and innovative ways. There’s plenty of products which make use of ‘paper cir...
When making a box with a laser cutter, its entirely possible to make your design as a single flat drawing through careful planning and measurement – but who wants to do that!? This is a guide to making a box quickly and easily using F...
Greetings on your next step in your Python trip. This guide will focus on the | import |, | from | and | as | keywords. These keywords distinctly focus on ways to introduce new functionality to Python. For stoc...
After lovingly crafting your project on a Raspberry Pi, you might want to share it with the world. The easiest way is of course just to publish a list of the commands that you executed to get everything up and running. For complex proj...
What good is a robot if it can’t interact with the environment around it? Sensors are the backbone of almost every electronics project as they allow your program to make decisions based on external stimuli. We’ve got sensors for...
Adafruit has done it again with the new and improved Circuit Playground Express. This new version of the Circuit Playground is packed with even more sensors, and capacitive touch ready connection pads. This is a great board for makers ...
Progressing further into the epic programming language of Python the instinctive next step should be user defined functions. Now as a quick refresher, a function in Python is a block of code which only runs when it is called. It is organise...
The built-in remote monitoring camera and the live feed it provides makes for a fantastic tool of the Ultimaker S5 and Ultimaker S3 3D printers. You can now keep tabs on your prints remotely, easing the pain of a long-distance relation...
★ Achievement unlocked - 3D Print "Glass" ★ Your friends will not believe the results but this guide will tell you all the secrets to have a 3D printed component which is beautifully transparent to the point of being able to ...
Let's get started with the PiicoDev® Capacitive Touch Sensor. In this guide, we'll connect the PiicoDev Capacitive Touch Sensor to our Raspberry Pi and get it working with some example code to detect touch events. We'll also remix the c...
The new Gizmos and Gadgets revision 2.0 from littleBits is here and we've decided to review the kit for any budding inventors (or inventor's parents) out there. The v1.0 kit was impressive enough, we were interested to see what littleBits c...
Note: With the rollout of TTNv3, the "Setup" section of this guide no longer works - but we're keeping it here for posterity. Let us know on our forums if you need help getting started with the new method. One of the most common sensors in...
Python is a powerhouse programming language capable of supporting you throughout all your programming adventures. Making exciting and unique code is just flashes of comprehension away. For those just starting, looking at the Python Pr...
When it comes to assembling a prototype Printed Circuit Board (PCB), there are a couple of options for applying solder-paste: Paste each individual pad by hand with a syringe, or; Use a stencil to paste all pads in one pass. The firs...
There has been uncovered a new worthwhile step on the Python Journey thanks to the help of my co-worker and forum superstar Owen. That step is the Flask Web App Framework for Python. This framework is going to allow you to do thin...
Espressif is a constantly ground-breaking company that produces lots of really cool development modules which includes the ESP32. ESP32 Boards, ESP32 Dev-Kits, and ESP32 Modules (the part that gets soldered to the Board/PCB) are all about ...
The Raspberry Pi has revolutionized the world of single-board computers, offering a platform for learners, hobbyists, and professionals to explore, create, and innovate. From its inception, the Raspberry Pi series has been a beacon of techn...
Hello and welcome to our tutorial where we a look at all things LED. Now first of all, what is an LED? LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and is an electronic component used to convert electrical energy to light energy. This process is cal...
UPDATE: This tutorial has been updated for the Krypton release of Kodi (Version 17) If you have built yourself a home media center using a Raspberry Pi, you're one step ahead of most people out there. The pure joy that comes from having a ...
The Pysense expansion board from Pycom has many sensors. In Pycom Pytrack Getting Started, I showed how with some Processing code we can see the real-time position of the board in 3D. That project works with the Pysense too. How about we sh...
This guide will be a rundown on Python, the open-source programming language built by the hugely intelligent Guido van Rossum. This guide will also contain external links to Python resources and download links. Programming is...
To fully equip ourselves on our Python odyssey we will take a leap into Operators and their Precedence. Python is undoubtedly a Homeric programming language, epic in its possible applications and vast in its potentials. Operators ...
To better yourself for future programming skylarking let me welcome you to the next step of understanding Python. Loops are among the most basic yet also the most powerful features in programming. Utilised by all modern programming language...
[Note - Terminal Commands talked about here have been superseded with the new 'Bullseye' Raspberry Pi OS. Link here for new 'Bullseye' camera commands. If you want to use the commands found on this page download and flash the old 'Bu...
Deeper we go into the Python Mines of Moria, but I promise there is no Balrog here. We now have reached the point of scope and I will steer you smoothly clear. Scope is somewhat notorious, especially when one is a pioneer. It can leave you ...
Hola on your next viaje in Python. Python is an absolutely asombroso programming language and this is the next step on the escalera of understanding. This guide will focus on the | pass |, | continue | and | break | keywords. The...
We're going to compare each of the Arduino Boards available to Maker's and Electronics Enthusiats. We'll discuss the features of each board, provide an informative pinout diagram with tonnes of detail, and toward the end of the article, pro...
Welcome to the next step on this Python voyage. Today we will be creating graphical user interfaces using the powerful Tkinter library. Graphical user interfaces are referred to as GUI and can be pronounced as Gooey. GUI is a visual way of ...
Welcome to the Python Workshop, where you will learn everything you need to hit the ground running with the worlds most popular programming language Python. My name is Tim and am a passionate maker and cherish free exchange of knowledge. I ...
Continuing our Python journey deeper into this dynamo of a programming language we will immerse into the keywords | if |, | elif | and | else |. Imagine all these keywords as the traffic controllers telling the control flow w...
This guide will help you get started with a PiicoDev® Potentiometer - an intuitive input device that allows you to easily interact with your project. PiicoDev Potentiometers are available in two flavours: Rotary and Slider. We'll ...
Welcome to the C Programming Workshop for Makers! Here you'll be able to follow along with our series of easily digestible videos that cover everything you'll need to know to on your way with C programming and start making awesome projects....
So, you want Python to do something very functional but do not feel like writing heaps of code to achieve that functionality? Then look no further, this guide will teach you exactly how to do that by utilising Python Packages. Python P...
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to identify and communicate with tags. Each RFID module emits radio waves that energise the passive tag, which then responds with its own identifying number or data, as reque...
This guide will help you get started with a PiicoDev 3-Axis Accelerometer. We'll walk through some examples to read acceleration, infer tilt angle (from gravity), and detect tapping and shaking. An accelerometer is a device that mea...
Welcome to the benchmarking arena! We are going to put eleven microcontrollers to the test and see how they hold up against a set of fiendish tasks that we devised to push them beyond their limits. We chose most of our candidates based on t...
This guide will help you get started with a PiicoDev Real Time Clock. We'll set and read the time/date, observe the power-backup capability, and configure the RTC with an alarm. A Real-Time Clock (RTC) is a timekeeping device that accurat...
In this guide, we'll look at common methods of detecting people and some of the different sensors you can use to detect people in your next project.Sensors covered in this guide: PIR Sensor RCWL-0516 Microwave Radar SEN0395 mmWave Rad...
Continuing our Python journey deeper into this dynamo of a programming language we will take a leap into variables and types. Variables are one of the most fundamental concepts and exist in pretty much all programming languages. Variables a...
A radio transceiver is a device that can both transmit and receive radio signals, making it the perfect tool for communication on the go and remote projects! The PiicoDev Transceiver™ is a 915MHz radio that can send short messages up...
When we boil it down, everyday interactions with electronics are usually limited to controlling stuff with switches. Whether it be turning on the lights, switching on your laptop or turning on the kettle, all examples of how a physical sw...
Converting a Mule into an articulated 4 wheel vehicle. A 'Mule' is/was a hand trolley with a motorised elevatable platform. What for? Just for fun, want to be able to control it using the R2D2 droid inventor app via LittleBits boards, why ...
The aim of this project was to create a working model of the aircraft exterior lighting systems. Initially, this started as a simple project for Uni, but I wasn’t having that. I wanted to learn something. So of course, I went over the...
Our local council picks up recycling bins one week and green waste the following week. Sometimes people forget which bins go out each week and perhaps they mistakenly put the wrong bins out. Not that that has ever happened to me of course! ...
Ever seen a touch lamp in action and wondered how on earth we can make that using basic components? This project is a basic circuit with 2 transistors to amplify a signal from your touch.Extra: The LED doesn't actually blink like that, just...
Do you want a quick, easy, cheap RF remote control for your Raspberry Pi projects? Well, look no further than the front door! As you've probably got a half-duplex RF setup you've never considered using in a project before. Try this simple h...
This Raspberry Pi, IoT Doorbell is basically a simple smart Door Bell, which takes a photo of whoever rings it, and emails it to the specified email address, and keeps all the photos in a folder. (along with going Ding-Dong). Any Problems,...
In preparation for some Maker Faire's we were heading to last year, I wanted to combine the awesomeness of the Makey Makey platform, with the fun that is RetroPie. For those who don't know the Makey Makey, it's a fantastic platform that all...
A simple, and affordable build that produces sharp, and consistent heat-bends. A nichrome wire heats a channel. Place the acrylic over the channel, wait for it to reach temperature, and pull the hingeing section to create a bend.
&l...
&l...
This is the third project I've put up using the Makey Makey, and it's incredible fun, but it's also the simplest. Today I'm going to show you how to make a simple Skill Tester game complete with sound effects using a Makey Makey board and s...
Introduction This project started because I needed to replace a water tap timer that had seen better days. The aim was to use a Raspberry Pi Pico and a couple of PiicoDev boards to do what the water timer did. The actual stopping a...
It is real and here it is! Including everything you need to make one a Luma 1 for yourself! So allow me to introduce you properly to the Luminator Mark 1. I'm talking all the ins and outs of this inside-out neo disco ball so you can ...
The motivation behind this project came from a robotics and engineering club that I've been going to. I've been saving my money and building up an understanding of raspberry pi and electronics. The reason I chose this project was to get use...
This project will measure atmospheric conditions (Temperature, Humidity, Air Pressure) and log them to an SD card over a long period (months!) while running off a few AA or AAA cells. Usually, projects powered by an Arduino Uno are quite p...
I love the ESP line-up. I started by messing around with the ESP8266 and I completely fell in love with it. The 8266 is all I ever wanted from a microcontroller: WIFI connectivity, a decent amount of GPIO, a deep-sleep mode for batter...
This is an awesome project that takes about 6 hours to complete. Hours upon hours of endless fun thereafter! Ideally, some prior soldering experience is advantageous but if you take your time and practice before you start it's beginner fri...
This project came about for a number of reasons. Firstly, we wanted a real showpiece for the school's Resource Centre. It's a real talking point and when people find out that it was made almost enti...
This project came about for a number of reasons. Firstly, we wanted a real showpiece for the school's Resource Centre. It's a real talking point and when people find out that it was made almost enti...
I wanted to build a weather station. After some googling I found a great ‘how to’ guide using a raspberry pi.
I was also interested in learning Python, so I decided to dive right in...
I wanted to build a weather station. After some googling I found a great ‘how to’ guide using a raspberry pi.
I was also interested in learning Python, so I decided to dive right in...
The aim of this project was to use the sun to charge some batteries with 1W and 2W Seeed solar panels. The DFRobot Solar LiPo Charger and a Sunflower Solar Power Manager were purchased. Initially, this was unsuccessful because I did no...
This project uses a US100 ultrasonic distance sensor to detect instances of a garage tilt door being left open and sends an alert via the IFTTT mobile app. Additionally, the device logs temperature and pressure to a Thingspeak channel using...
I like to take on projects that give me an opportunity to learn new things. For this project, my two goals were to learn more about face detection algorithms and PID controllers but of course, there were so many more skills learned along th...
Although there are commercially available lighting kits for Lego models, we found those that are available for this Hogwarts Castle can seem a little garish and don’t do the best job at concealing the wires. We felt that with t...
This project uses an ESP8266-01 WiFi module to send an alert to my phone if the fridge door is left open or ajar.
After ordering a few of the ESP8266 board variations I found myself with an ESP8266-01 variant which wasn't very usefu...
After ordering a few of the ESP8266 board variations I found myself with an ESP8266-01 variant which wasn't very usefu...
Wow - this is one monstrous sounding and great looking speaker - even if I do say so myself! This is basically a 2.1 (stereo + subwoofer) system made with 3D plastic parts. Both the full range and subwoofer speakers are based on closed (se...
If you have chickens and find you're not always available to close the gate at night or check the water levels each day, then why not use an ESP8266 to automate your chicken door and receive alerts door status and low water level, as well a...
I want to make a portable music box that my 2 year old kid can operate intuitively on her own. So, Spotify or any other on-demand music platform with tablets and Bluetooth speakers are out of the question. Remember the good old days of putt...
Tunnels are a critical part of road infrastructure and they feature some pretty cool tech. This Smart Tunnel project demonstrates some of the technology involved and how some real-world problems might be solved. Features RFID Trip...
The aim of this project was to provide a cost effective and basic weather station for my backyard that can upload readings to Weather Underground. Part 2 of the project will be using this local data to trigger activities in and around my ho...
Introducing to you today, the Quadbeest, the next evolutionary step in the Strandbeest genealogy. It seemed to be about time for Strandbeests to evolve to take over the air, so I made it happen. Able to be controlled over a kilometre in the...
This mini cube is made up of six 4x4 WS2812B panels giving a total of 96 individually addressable RGB LEDs. Buried inside the cube is an ATTiny85 microcontroller powered by a 120mAh Lithium-Ion battery. It also contains a mercury switch and...
This project is about adding a wireless Adafruit Feather HUZZAH ESP8266 or ESP32 v2 with Adafruit Featherwing 128x64 OLED to interface with the self-assembled MightyOhm Geiger Kit.
IntroductionI wanted to bring ageing, and failing, Home Automation infrastructure into the modern age whilst retaining hardware investments already made. Our house had Universal Power Bus (UPB) dimmers and switches installed at build time...
This project started life as an alarm clock for my son made to look like the time circuit from the Back to the Future movies. The display can show the time in various formats, including the one from the movies of course. It's configurable v...
These days we can do just about anything on our phone, we can control so many aspects of our lives using the technology in our pocket, but the most mundane aspects of our lives; opening the garage door, blindly reaching for the light switch...
I made this car because at school there was a Lego We-Do tug-of-war competition but the cars only drove backward and I wanted to make a car that can turn and drive forwards. If you make this car don't throw away the chassis box because I ...
The inspiration for this project stems back to my childhood when I was curious to find out how the mechanical barometer worked.
The inspiration for this project stems back to my childhood when I was curious to find out how the mechanical barometer worked.
Despite having two high-quality variable (but analog) benchtop power supplies, I decided you can never have too many. I also specifically wanted a fixed, multi-output supply for standard project voltages such as 3.3V, 5V, 9V, 12V, ...
Despite having two high-quality variable (but analog) benchtop power supplies, I decided you can never have too many. I also specifically wanted a fixed, multi-output supply for standard project voltages such as 3.3V, 5V, 9V, 12V, ...
Have you ever wanted to make a Weatherproof Weather and Air Quality System that transmits its edge-collected data long-range through LoRa (up to a 10Km range) and then have that data automatically uploaded to the Internet to be gorgeously ...
After purchasing an Anycubic Photon resin printer, I wanted an easy and reliable method for post-curing the prints. This allows the printed resin to achieve maximum material strength and eliminate tackiness in...
After purchasing an Anycubic Photon resin printer, I wanted an easy and reliable method for post-curing the prints. This allows the printed resin to achieve maximum material strength and eliminate tackiness in...
Getting letters and parcels is awesome, what’s not so awesome though is when you miss the postman and you don’t know if that important bit of mail arrived or not. Such a frustrating, yet mundane problem can be solved by creating...
Chances are if you are anything like me, being a maker is often an excuse to create as big of a mess as possible during the duration of a project. And after the project is finished? You are left with an enormous mess to clean up, taking awa...
So, my wife wanted to have some small plants in the house. I didn’t, so we compromised, and got some plants. The only thing is that neither of us remembers to water them, so I wanted to build a sensor array to monitor the moisture con...
This project aims to fuse neopixel strips with papier mache and origami into a free-standing electro-sculpture. The freestanding structure is formed from wire mesh and papier mache. It is then painted and wired up with strips of LEDs conne...
This project is about how to build an 8 bit computer on breadboards, from 7400 series basic TTL. I am currently in the process of building mine, and will give an overview of what's involved. It is a great project that can teach you a lot ab...
Do you love your Wii and its ability to play all GameCube games perfectly but wish you could take it on the go like a Gameboy?
Well, I definitely did and if you're like me so do you. And here is the right place...
Do you love your Wii and its ability to play all GameCube games perfectly but wish you could take it on the go like a Gameboy?
Well, I definitely did and if you're like me so do you. And here is the right place...
Who says you can't have it all? Good looks and a great sound! My name is 'Holman" and I'm a Bluetooth speaker in the form of mans best friend - a dog of course! Why is my name Holman? Well, that's the name of the manufacturer of the PVC pi...
I’ve always been fascinated by LED screens and seeing beautiful colours mix and merge to create vibrant displays. I also love games, so what better way to combine the two than a giant LED pixel matrix which can play games, display aud...
I’ve had a Current Cost Power Monitor for a number of years which worked well until we put solar on the roof. The Current Cost can’t determine which direction the power is flowing and so power generation and con...
I’ve had a Current Cost Power Monitor for a number of years which worked well until we put solar on the roof. The Current Cost can’t determine which direction the power is flowing and so power generation and con...
The concrete body of the lamp (which, to my eye look a bit like a leek) is made is two halves. The 1st and 2nd halves are cast in 2 steps using the same mould twice. I had a few failed attempts at making the mould entirely from sta...
The concrete body of the lamp (which, to my eye look a bit like a leek) is made is two halves. The 1st and 2nd halves are cast in 2 steps using the same mould twice. I had a few failed attempts at making the mould entirely from sta...
Today we will be making an Arduino circuit that will start playing a noise if the water (or surrounding environment) reaches a certain temperature, in our case, that temperature will be 100° Celsius. This is a useful little projec...
This project incorporates two Arduino boards, in a Master/Slave setup. The master is one with an accelerometer (ADLX345) and the slave has a Servo attached (SG90). When tilting the accelerometer, the master Arduino tells the Slave Arduino t...
Presenting the KiPad - a custom macro keypad for the popular open-source PCB design software KiCad. KiCad is awesome! But I've found that during PCB layout, my right hand is constantly moving back-and-forth between the keyboard and mouse -...
I strapped a Raspberry Pi Pico W to my garage door motor and now I can control my garage door from my phone! The Pico W hosts a simple webpage on my local network with three control buttons - one for Up, Stop and Down. Pressing one of...
This project has been created to be used as an exemplar for Year 7 Technology students to demonstrate some of the features and potential of making with a micro:bit. This device is a teacher tool or game accompaniment device that random...
Introduction So now everything is available in this day and age, and all those childhood dreams can now come true as parts, technology and software has come a long way. I had recently taken up the hobby, RC planes. Eventually I learnt ho...
An infinity mirror creates a striking optical illusion - a tunnel of light that seems to tear through space. I built this infinity-mirror table using some addressable LEDs, a Particle Photon and easily obtainable timber supplies. Check out...
This project uses an Accelerometer to detect when you are leaning left or right. Depending on if/where you are leaning, it will flash LEDs on the right or left of the bike's rear. Powered by an Arduino and a 12v battery pack (my case 8 AA B...
This project is to modify a Dell multimedia keyboard into a Raspberry Pi Zero dedicated keyboard with external powered USB hub. You can find this article in my blog http://sizeofinfinity.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/modify-dell-multimedia-keyboa...
Introduction Searching for solar panels and related items on the Core Electronics website; I came across the Solarbotics GraviTrack Marble Machine Kit. I thought the kit would be a good educational tool for the grandkids. The kit was a hit...
I like working with the Pi Zero W and Pi 4 as they are very compact, very powerful and very cheap for the capability they offer. I want to use them on small projects, stand-alone, and can't always guarantee power. As we know most Pi's don't...
In this project, I'm using an esp32 board combined with a thermistor, plus an Amazon Web Services Lambda API plus some web charting code for temperature sensing. Source code can be found in the GitHub repository: https://github.com/Acr...
This thermometer idea came to me when my little sister asked me “Vince, what’s the temperature?” Answering I said, “Well, I’ll look it up.” So I looked it up but that wasn’t enough for her, This con...
This project uses a waterproof ds18b20 sensor to log pool water temperature to an SD card and displays the temperature on an LCD.
For this project, an Arduino Uno was used to create a waterproof water temperature logger. The project...
For this project, an Arduino Uno was used to create a waterproof water temperature logger. The project...
I had first seen smart mirrors online several years ago and have been meaning to create one ever since, my requirements were to be able to see the time, weather, calendar and news. The great thing about it is the unlimited possibility for c...
Our recycle bin is collected fortnightly, but I can never remember which week, and the printed calendar changes every year! So I made a Raspberry Pi Pico W and GlowBit Matrix powered model wheelie bin which shows when the bins are due at a...
YAM (or YetAnotherMonitor) I keep more than 20 enclosures of Australian native lizards and turtles and I want to make sure they are all in an appropriate environment. To that end, I built a microcontroller-based system to monitor the tempe...
We've got a whole bunch of Raspberry Pi 3 Cases here at Core Electronics. From the Official Enclosure that's perfect for most uses, right through to the gilded PiBow Coupe from Pimoroni. All of the cases we see have one or two impressive fe...
The Raspberry Pi Microscope was put together to help with soldering PCBs that have small surface mount components. Its main function is to verify the quality of solder joints and ensure there aren’t any short circuits. With the addition of...
I made a Raspberry Pi camera that captures GIF files and optionally tweets them over WiFi! It's built around a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a Pi Camera module. The camera connects to a pre-programmed WiFi network to tweet the gifs, but...
I was looking for something educational to 3D-Print for my child in Thingiverse and came across the concept of the Math Spinner. I found the models lacked a method of checking the answer so I wanted to automate it. The core design is inspir...
Summary A Raspberry Pi 3B is used to collect digital counts from an electronic rain gauge (1mm of rain per reed switch closure by magnetic see-saw). It has been running without issues for over 12 months. A UPS powers the Pi so it is immune...
Now that we have decked out our Lulzbot Taz 6 3D Printer with a really nice looking acrylic enclosure, I'm just about ready to turn on some serious 3D printing work. But before I dive into that endless pool of fun, it's a good time to take ...
Remote Controls are magical enough to recreate this awesome Death Eater Skull. You can switch it on from across the room and make it glow an evil green! Jake and Nathan built this invention at a littleBits Workshop down at the Core Electron...
After seeing how much fun people had using the Makey Makey as a gaming controller for our RetroPie setup, I decided that more fun, simple projects that can be made using household materials were in order. So today I present to you the piano...
In the area I live, there are often kangaroos that jump in front of traffic, often from blind spots, and can get themselves into harm's way. I wanted to build a low-cost solution that can alert drivers to kangaroos in these blind spots to r...
Making a dumb coffee grinder slightly less dumb. This is a programmable timer tethered to a Rancilio Rocky coffee grinder. The Rocky is a "dumb" grinder and electrically very simple. Basically it's an ac motor with an on/off switch and a m...
My partner wanted to assist with additional space for possums to live in as trees are being lost in the neighbourhood causing possums to move into unwanted areas. She asked me if there was any way to see if the possums were using the box we...
Here is a project I just could not help myself but build. A 3D printable Ukulele with a body as large as I could fit standing upright on the printers here. The intention was to make it as large as possible, using no supports, and without th...
How-to guides are very useful, but while “do this, then do that” is great to reproduce exactly what is in the guide, it’s less helpful if you want or need to modify the project. This is especially true with technology proj...
The Raspberry Pi Zero W is a tiny, yet powerful little device. Coupled with a Pimoroni Speaker pHat, it can be easily turned into a portable Airplay speaker which allows you to stream your music anywhere you want.Parts you'll need: Raspb...
I was wanting to know what the water temperature was without having to physically go and check and I was curious about how warm the water would get during a sunny day and how much heat was lost overnight. I am interested in the idea of home...
Ever wanted to know exactly what bird is near you by only the sound but simultaneously have zero ideas about birds? Fear not, here is the solution for you! A fully fletched Bird Call AI System that runs completely on a Raspberry Pi Single ...
Recently I finished my first Particle Photon project. It’s basically a temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure monitor all in one! I’m not a programmer, but I know enough to tweak code when necessary. I have, on...
Do you get nightmares of losing your YouTube Subscribers? If you do, you are not the only one. Luckily I have made this "YouTube Desktop Notifier" to keep me up-to-date with my channels Subscriber and View Counts. This very simple DIY ...
This project is a simple stopwatch with a little bit of a twist! It operates like a conventional stopwatch… you can start and stop it, you can record lap times and you can review the lap times once you hit stop. The twist is th...
This project has been a long and tricky one for me, I purchased my robot arm kit from Jaycar many years ago with the intention of controlling it from the start. I used to work with industrial robots, so when I saw this robot kit for sale I...
Introduction My passion hobby is night-time time-lapse photography and astrophotography/nightscapes. This means a lot of time spent outside in the dead of winter overnight and an issue that I faced was dew condensing on the lens. This is...
I am an amateur musician, coder, and electronics maker. When I found out that the Novation Launchpad (mine is a mini MK3) can be programmed, I was excited about creating unique music. The idea is to use the Launchpad to play a game and use ...
I used an Arduino and a US-100 ultrasonic sensor to make an extremely low-cost tide gauge. This project measures the tide by sensing the distance to water using a US-100 ultrasonic sensor. The device has a 3D printed base&nb...
A smaller version of our amazing Infinity-Mirror Table - the Desktop Infinity Mirror compresses all the colourful goodness into a picture frame-sized display. The entire design is made from laser-cut acrylic that we cut in-house. Check out ...
I have a peer-reviewed study on my desk and it confidently tells me that all the capacitors on planet Earth want to be synthesisers when they grow up. To make the world a better place, let's realise the dream of four fortunate elec...
I recently picked up a used BMW E46 and noticed the door panel trims were all hanging on by some duct tape. When I went to inspect, I noticed that all the clips had been broken and replaced with silicone rubber to try and hold it to the doo...
The UNITRAC (UNIversal TRACtion system) is a simple 3D printable conversion for the Black Gladiator-Tracked chassis, It’s designed to transform the large wheelbase platform into a self-contained propulsion system that has all the torq...
Being punctual is important. Hence accurate time is required. Clocks tend to miss out when it comes to accuracy especially when they are set by the user. So, why not get accurate time from the internet and use tried and tested hardware to ...
This one is for the Stargate fans out there. A realistic, 3D printed, light-up Zero Point Module! I found a model on Thingiverse for a ZPM - It had good detail but - I took issue with the visible seam, and to change the colors of any cryst...
This project creates a functional 12-volt portable battery case for camping or other outdoor activities.The battery box provides a 12V cigarette lighter socket for running lights with an on/off switch for ease of use. There is also an Ander...
I'm an amateur musician but a pretty serious classical & jazz pianist, and this project arose out of my interest in exploring the difference between writing music for synthesisers and music for piano. I work as a mathematician, so...
I read somewhere about UNIX Epoch time and thought wouldn't it be neat to have a clock that showed time in this format? This project developed from that idea. I had a unused GPS module with serial output so I thought it would also be cool ...
I had been captivated by the sound levels of trains I could hear passing by Metford throughout the day/night. I wondered if a sound level sensor reporting data back over LoRa would help me understand when a train was noisy. I also like the ...
Tabot is a robotic tablet dispenser. It is designed to help elderly people maintain their independence and help anyone who has tablets remember to take them on time.https://www.gofundme.com/tabot-helping-the-elderly Please vist this website...
I used to sleep in a caravan on my grandparent's property and as amenities were inside the house I had to go in and out of it quite regularly. I got sick of fumbling around with keys to go in and out of my caravan, so this project uses an A...
We made a Pi Zero W retro-games console! The nostalgia is making me dizzy! If you'd like to build your own, we've put together a couple of wishlists to make things easier: For the Pi Zero W build, like in this project, check out the PiG...
Ever wanted to record a video and be included in it? My children did. One does parkour, and the other loves to dance, both want to perfect their art by watching their moves during practice. They asked their inventor/tinkerer dad, "can you ...
Hi. My son and I have made our first Racing Simulator Motion Platform. It has been a challenge but we now have a playable situtationIt has been a long journey, starting off with info from the great people at www.xsimulator.net and a lot of ...
Once you go down the retro gaming rabbit hole, that's it, you're not getting out without putting together your own gaming console. It all began with my hacked PSP, which I was running emulators on. Then I wanted to run them on my big screen...
The driver behind this project is to allow the remote control of some of the equipment in my shed. I have a CNC router/laser cutter that uses my compressor and dust extractor whilst it is running, and well whats the point in having a comput...
We wanted to make a interactive display of the fun that can be had with DIY projects to take to Sydney Mini Maker Faire. We decided to do so by utilising the TinkerKit Braccio from Arduino.org, alongside some 3D Printing ingenuity, for an e...
We've built a mass SD card writer using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, some USB hubs and SD card readers. This beast has enough ports to write 49 SD cards at once! At Core Electronics, sometimes logistics hang-ups mean that suppliers cannot mee...
This project is to allow remote control of my pool and associated lights with a dedicated display inthe house, a phone application and Amazon Alexa. Any and/or all of these input devices may be usedto control the pool. The pool temperature ...
[Update – Until there is correct compatibility of NPM with the new Raspberry Pi ‘Bullseye’ OS I highly recommend at this stage flashing and using the previous Raspberry Pi ‘Buster’ OS onto your Micro-...
This project started due to the smoke haze that enveloped our area during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires. I wanted something to check the air quality of my home and maybe find areas where it needed better sealing. In addition, the BMP280 senso...
Introduction This began as an idea after building a very basic single-channel unit. Commercial smart watering systems use a Wifi connection to the internet and get weather reports to determine the level of watering required. These systems...
After experimenting with automatic blue light filters on my electronic devices I wanted to replicate the idea with the lighting around the house so that it would gradually transition to warmer colours as the night progresses. I believe this...
Makers love reviews as much as you do, please follow this link to review the products you have purchased.