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This version of Pololu's Black Edition A4988 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier ships with male header pins installed, so no soldering is required to use it with an appropriate 16-pin socket or solderless breadboard.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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. Since you’ve got your new P...
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...
Welcome to the exciting world of laser cutting! For all those makers out there looking to start creating with a laser cutter, this tutorial will have the basic information you need to get started! We recently added a Laser Cutting Service t...
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. Connecting your Pycom Lopy4 or an...
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. Sending data to the cloud is grea...
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. In the lasts article we looked at...
Have you heard about the Circuit Playground? It's the new all-in-one electronics platform from Adafruit. It was created to bring all the fun features of electronics and physical computing to makers, but It's dead-simple to use, solde...
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. In our two previous Pycom article...
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. warning: this is a "nano" gateway...
In this tutorial, we will learn how to code for the Onion Omega2 on our PC, and then wirelessly upload our code using the ATOM text editor. The ATOM text editor is a powerful and easy to use text editor developed by the team at Github...
Lulzbot is constantly building upon their printer's design, incorporating the best modifications and add-ons from the community into their newer models. In May 2016, their newest addition to the TAZ line of printers, the TAZ 6 wa...
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. Any good LoRaWAN device can send ...
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...
Check out our Getting started with micro:bit video if you'd like to see a quick tutorial on writing a program, start-to-finish, with a micro:bit. In a Nutshell The micro:bit is a versatile and classroom-friendly, programmable 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...
uGateway is setup, with the exception of your WiFi password. It's perhaps best we don't know what that is! If you know your way around Pi Zero and Raspbian (with desktop edition) then you can edit WiFI details as normal. He...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 ...
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’...
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...
"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 ...
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...
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. The two main standards at work in...
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 are a wide range of filaments available in FDM 3D printing; it’s easy to get lost in all the abbreviations, acronyms, and temperatures. We’ve decided to bring together the most relevant information when selecting fila...
CircuitPython is a variant of MicroPython that is designed with ease of use and simplicity in mind, and it works great with the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. CircuitPython is based on the very popular Python programming language, the...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Resistors are the hardworking underdogs of the electrical circuit world. You have probably added a 4.7k or 330-ohm resistor into your circuit without thinking about why we use those values, let alone what the resistor is doing. We are going...
If you've had issues getting your Raspberry Pi 4 to work with specific HDMI displays (monitors, TV's etc.) this tutorial has got you covered! It's a quick fix that just requires a bit of tinkering in the config.txt file that's present on al...
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...
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...
Have you ever heard people talk about how amazing the Internet of Things is and how you can leverage the power of the internet by creating IoT devices, but not really known how to get started? This tutorial is for you! We’re going to ...
The Mooshimeter is one of our favorite multimeters here at Core Electronics! If you haven't heard about them before, then take a quick look at our review. One of the most popular features of the Mooshimeter is the ability to log voltag...
Bluetooth is a low-power radio technology used to link devices wirelessly. Most commonly recognised as the way to link a mobile phone to a car or speaker, it has many uses beyond that. The "low power" aspect is not a shortcoming, as a large...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
Back at it again with tips for IoT devices when connecting with Mobile networks. Quickly to explain The Internet of things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects (things) that are blessed with sensors, software, and other technolog...
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...
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...
Want to setup a wireless XBee network between some Arduinos and your PC? We're going to show you how. We will be using Series 1 XBee modules alongside some XBee Explorer USB modules from Sparkfun to set up our own Personal Area Network (PAN...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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 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’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 ...
So, after almost a week of researching, cross-referencing, double checking, and image hunting, I’m excited to show you guys my take on the history of Arduino, and the evolution of the Arduino hardware into what it is today. With so m...
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 ...
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...
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 '...
In this tutorial we’ll be getting familiar with basic use of the Raspberry Pi terminal. We’ll cover navigating the file-system, making directories, writing and editing text files, and just touch on the use of wildcards. To get ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
[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 ...
So you've got your brand new RetroPie gaming kit setup, but you've got no idea how to save your games. No one wants to be starting afresh each and every time they jump onto their Pi for some light gaming. I've put together this handy guide ...
[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...
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...
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...
Welcome to the final Project Set of the Sparkfun Inventors Kit! This Project Set focuses on Robotics with the final Circuit being an Autonomously Driving Vehicle! New components introduced in this tutorial are: DC Motor/Gearbox Mo...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
So, you might have the best project in the world, an amazing idea and design, but no matter how clever your circuitry or how advanced your prototype is, unless you can power your project correctly, it all counts for nothing. Often you will ...
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...
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...
The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects that are all around us which are blessed with sensors, software, and other technology for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems al...
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...
Have you ever wanted to simplify or automate a task using an Arduino? Yes? Well, have you ever wanted to simplify the code required for that task into a neat collection of easy-to-use functions? Also yes? Then this tutorial is for you! In t...
This guide is a little outdated: Follow our updated guide for a much simpler way to get started! Contents Part 1 - Interacting Coding with the REPL Part 2 - Moving Beyond the REPL (with rshell) Part 1 - Interactive Coding with the...
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...
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...
Pycom is a constantly groundbreaking company which produces a lot of really cool development boards and expansion shields. They have a large focus on multiple network connectivity, particularly in regards to low power, long-distance informa...
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. The TMP36 is a low cost, eas...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
Check out our micro:bit in the classroom video if you'd like to see how micro:bit integrates into classrooms, years 7-12. After a quick review of the hardware, we'll fire up a micro:bit and write our first program. All you...
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...
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 ...
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 simplest sensors in an...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
If you could operate your switch without physically toggling it on and off, you would open yourself up to an entire section of electronics. Relays are one of the best ways of doing this. A relay is essentially just a switch, controlled by a...
We get a lot of interest from parents and educators surrounding littleBits and innobits. Especially the difference between the two products. Both are magnetically connected electronic building blocks. Both products empower people to invent ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Once you receive and unbox your Lulzbot machine you might be so eager to print things, you skip a few steps in the setup process and all of a sudden you are having all sorts of difficulties that you can’t understand. It happens, what ...
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...
Have you ever used an Arduino board, and wanted to hook it straight up to a JST connected LiPo battery but knew it wouldn’t work? Or maybe you wanted a microcontroller with built-in wireless capabilities? Well, Adafruit has developed...
[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...
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 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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Hello and welcome to another tutorial on the joys of RetroPie. Today we’re going to look at making RetroPie even better. If you’ve had the chance to play around with the RetroPie system, you’ll have noticed that whilst it ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Infrared (IR) is a great way of using non-visible light to control electronics, and there are a bunch of modules that we can use with our Arduino. However, what do we mean when we are talking about infrared and electronics? Well, IR remotes...
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...
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...
Makeblock is a company with education at the forefront of its priorities. They introduce mechanical design, and software development to robotics in a way analogous to Lego, that is to say, they aim to educate the student by encouraging crea...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
Wouldn't it be great to have a single image, that encapsulated a tonne of handy 3D printing tips and information to hang on the wall behind your 3D Printer? Well, we agree so much so that we've gone ahead and created this infographic/cheat ...
PiicoDev is the open-source and best-documented platform specifically designed with rapid prototyping and maker education in mind. As fellow community educators, we have infused PiicoDev with ideas to ensure that every home project, school...
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 ...
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...
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...
Media centres are everywhere nowadays, from smart TV’s with built in media apps, to standalone lounge room boxes to watch all your favourite shows on. With the new features found on the Raspberry Pi 3, it makes sense for it to become...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
The Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes equipped with an onboard microphone that is capable of sensing both amplitude and frequency. This tutorial will walk through a quick sketch using MakeCode to turn the lights on the board into a ...
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. ...
By now you are aware that when it comes to measuring electronic signals, oscilloscopes are what you are going to be using. However, if you were providing a circuit with a particular signal, a function generator is the perfect tool for tha...
Variable resistors come in all shapes and sizes, and they all do the same basic job. They allow you precisely control voltage/current flow within a circuit. The most common type of variable resistor we see in DIY electronics is the Potentio...
The Feather boards are the brains of your project, we took a closer look at the different models in our Birds of Feather article, check that out first (especially if you have no idea what the difference is between a feather and a wing). You...
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...
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 ...
Yep, Raspberry Pi is a very cool platform, so cool that they offer a range of stylish HATs to go with them. No not headwear, but fully functional hardware modules that are designed to plugin directly to the Raspberry Pi GPIO headers, and op...
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 ...
[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...
Interested in creating designs to be laser cut? In this tutorial, we will learn how to use Gimp and Inkscape to convert a graphic image to a vector image that you can cut on a laser cutter! In order for the job control software to turn you...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
Whenever you want to print larger than your 3D printer build space you are going to find yourself wanting to combine 3D printed parts together. Furthermore, as you wrap your head around 3D printing, you learn to save on filament by printing...
The PiicoDev Magnetometer unlocks a lot of sensing abilities for your project. In this guide we'll walk through how to sense an angle with a small magnet and print the angle on a PiicoDev OLED. This guide covers what the sensor is r...
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...
So you have just received your OctoPi kit and you are looking to get it up and running. All you need to do is grab out all the parts you received and around 20 minutes of time. To connect your OctoPi to the network you need to decide what ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
In this article, we'll program a Micro:bit v2 using a web browser. We'll connect a Micro:bit to our computer, open python.microbit.org and begin coding our first script. Contents What You'll Need Connect your Micro:bit Open the Progr...
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...
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 ...
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 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...
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...
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 ...
As technology gets smaller and more powerful, wearables and portable devices are becoming more common in our everyday lives. Makers are looking to make projects portable and with that comes the need for high capacity batteries that are reli...
[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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 installment of our Onion Omega2 tutorial series, we will cover the basic steps necessary to install and run python on the Omega2 or Omega2+. We'll cover how to install python or python3, how to install python modules and finally, w...
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...
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 ...
In this tutorial we'll be writing our first bash script for Raspberry Pi. We'll create a directory to keep this and future scripts, write the actual script, and set it up as something that can be executed from the shell. Scripts are an inc...
A common issue many makers face when they move from microcontrollers to Single-Board-Computers is how to get them to run a program automatically when they are powered on. People who have cut their teeth on Arduino, Micro:bit, and other micr...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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...
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...
In this guide we'll create a simple HTTP server using a Raspberry Pi Pico W. This server will be accessible from within a local WiFi network and can be used to read sensors and control hardware - in our case we'll drive an LED and read the...
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...
The latest Circuit Playground board, the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes equipped with an onboard IR transmitter and receiver! This can be used to communicate with TVs and other household devices. You can also use infrared remote ...
Hello, and welcome to our tutorial where we’ll be looking at two different types of soldering irons and which one is going to be best for your workshop. We’ll be specifically looking at soldering irons, not how to solder, so for...
Introduction This guide will help you read distance data in millimetres from your PiicoDev Distance Sensor and a Micro:bit. To follow along, it's best to have: A Micro:bit A PiicoDev Distance Sensor VL53L1X A PiicoDev adapter for Mic...
Looking for the best way to get into robotics? Checkout Makeblock's mBot. This all in one robot is the perfect introduction to basic robotics, with its simple yet robust design, mBot is built with education in mind. The mBot kits modul...
Lithium Polymer (abbreviated LiPo) batteries are one of the most useful cells we see used in electronics. Typically used in mobile phones, RC models, and other small electrical appliances; their flat, pouch-like package design makes them pe...
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...
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 ...
If you’ve come looking for how to get your Teensy board up and running using the Arduino IDE, then you’ve come to the right place. Whilst you can use the standard Teensy loader application to flash compiled code directly to yo...
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...
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...
Educators everywhere are lining up to have the most recent, high-tech teaching tools to introduce STEM learning in the classroom. With the rate that modern technology is advancing, educators can often feel overwhelmed with the sheer number ...
The aptly named Ultimate Kit 2.0 is the final kit in the line-up of educational robots from Makeblock. With over 160 independent mechanical parts and modules, the Ultimate Kit 2.0 answers the call for almost limitless creative freedom. Matc...
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: ...
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...
When Teensy was first released, it was a revelation to the maker community. It brought together the power of ARM processors and the simplicity that is the Arduino IDE. Building upon that platform, Paul Stoffregen, the man behind PJRC contin...
The latest Circuit Playground board, the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes equipped with an onboard IR transmitter and receiver! This can be used to communicate with TVs and other household devices. You can also use infrared remote ...
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...
Arduino Projects with an LCD (Using Sparkfun RedBoard) Welcome to Project Set 4 in the Sparkfun Inventors Kit Guide! In this tutorial, we will look into using Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD's) to print data. This ability allows us to remotel...
IntroductionIn this guide, we'll get a Raspberry Pi Pico W connected to the internet using WiFi. To demonstrate the connection we can query a webpage, or get the current time from a time service. To follow along, all you'll need is: A R...
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...
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...
Ever had the issue where you have dozens of old phone chargers and appliance plug packs piled up in a rats nest of AC-to-DC mayhem? We tend to breeze right past these square, black power supplies, not knowing what's happening under the hood...
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...
PLA is Poly-Lactic Acid filament, and it's usually the go-to choice for people looking to print larger models or for longer periods of time. The important properties of the material dictate the reasons for using it; it doesn't warp at all a...
Hey guys, how much fun are microcontrollers? They’re your own miniature slave to do your bidding in whatever way you choose, however as fun and all as using them to do math and crunching numbers, the real joy is seeing them interact w...
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...
Addressable RGB LED strips are one maker favourite that can really spruce up any project or even be the star attraction of one. These strips allow you to select the colour, brightness and state of any LED in a long strip and can make for ...
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...
Display devices are used to visually display the information we are working with. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens are one of many display devices that makers use. We have libraries to control specific LCD functions which make it ridicu...
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...
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...
Python is one of the fastest growing programming languages in the world! To help you master this language we have made a quick reference guide and are going to cover a few of the basics things to be aware of when starting out with python....
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 ...
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...
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...
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 digital multimeter (DMM) is one of the most common tools on a Maker's bench. We use DMMs to take electrical measurements in a fast and relatively accurate way. The reason we call it a multimeter is because they can take multiple types mea...
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 ...
The Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes packed with sensors, and for this tutorial, we are going to learn to use the onboard thermometer (technically a thermistor)! We will take temperature readings with the thermometer and print out ...
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...
A soldering station is a multipurpose power soldering device designed for electronic components soldering and they find homes on any modern makers desk. They also are widely used in electronics repair workshops, electronic laboratories, in ...
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...
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...
The Adafruit Circuit Playground Express comes equipped with an analog light sensor, but it can be used for much more than just sensing light or darkness! The light sensor has a similar spectral response to the human eye. Its connected to an...
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...
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...
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...
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...
We’re in a golden age of connectivity, the internet we know today has given us the tools to connect anything to anything, and now with the platform brought to us by Particle, DIYers everywhere can connect the creations up to this va...
If there’s an odd one in the Pycom family of microprocessor boards it’s this one, the SiPy. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just that its sister board the LoPy4 has the same capabilities as SiPy, plus a LoRa ...
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...
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...
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...
The Rigol DP-832 is a 3-channel, benchtop power supply suitable for a serious maker, makerspace or product developer. In this video I'll take you on a tour of the supply's operation and give my two cents on things I like and dislike. ...
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,...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
Ah, Arduino and LattePanda coming together at last. What could be better? Well along with the fact that your LattePanda is a fully fledged Windows 10 computer so you can program any Arduino board you want as normal, one of the best things a...
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...
Have you ever wanted to program your microcontrollers with Python instead of Arduino? MicroPython and CircuitPython bring the ease of Python to microcontrollers by adding hardware support! In MicroPython, Python is largely unchanged other t...
Not quite sure how to get started with your Pimoroni Blinkt module? Let's set one up and have a play around! We'll guide you through the installation, open up some examples and try our hand at writing a simple program. You'll need: A Ra...
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...
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...
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...
In this world not all machines are made equal and this is especially true in the sphere of 3D printing. One of the best ways to compare 3D printers is by the magnitude of materials it is capable of producing high-quality components from. Yo...
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...
We have tailored guides on series circuits and basic switches, but that’s not even close to the limit of what you can learn and teach with Chibitronics. The Classroom Pack comes with all the components an educator would need to teach...
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 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...
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 ...
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...
[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...
It's time to make our own changes to the Fire-EdUp Platform's code! In this guide we'll modify the behaviour of the platform to create an audible alert under certain conditions. Follow along with the video below, and see the references be...
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 ...
Today we’re going to look at installing the Windows 10 IoT (Internet of Things) core onto a Raspberry Pi 3. Traditionally Windows has been the resident overlord of desktop devices, however in recent years we’ve seen it t...
The Maker Revolution celebrates the creation of new devices and the modification of existing ones - the transition from a consumer buying goods to eventually having a major part in their creation. The Maker Revolution places strong emphasis...
We're going to pick up where the LiPo Battery tutorial left off and look closer at the Adafruit Powerboost modules for charging your LiPos. We talked about the rules of using these batteries and how to make sure you don't set your project a...
Running a virtual Raspberry Pi on your computer can be a neat way to experiment in a Raspbian-like environment without being tethered to a physical Pi. In this video, I'll walk you through the process of installing Raspberry Pi Desktop on a...
So you’ve got your Raspberry Pi, you’ve got your sensors and external components and you’re ready to build a world-conquering robot beyond compare. But hang on a minute, the sensor you have only operates on 5V and you vagu...
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...
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 ...
So you’ve got your Particle Photon or Electron, you’ve got your sensors and external components and you’re ready to build an IoT device to make the world your slave. But hang on a minute, the sensor you have only operate...
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...
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...
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...
What a glorious time we live in, where, as technology continues to evolve, so too does the ability to learn more about it and get hands on with concepts that would otherwise be out of reach, especially for young minds. Today, we’re go...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
[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...
[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...
Nowadays, everything is going wireless. Phones, computers, game controllers, consoles, everything! Wireless technology has allowed us to use electronic devices with an untethered freedom which just isn’t possible with clunky cables ...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
Ah, what a glorious time we live in, where we have to compare which micro-computer is going to best suit our needs. If you’ve been in the maker sphere for just a short time, you’ll be sure to have heard of Raspberry Pi the mirac...
So you’ve got your microcontroller/development board ready to go, you’ve got your sensors and external components and you’re ready to build an IoT device to make the world your slave. But hang on a minute, the sensor you h...
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 :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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
This will be a quick article showing the process to flash the legacy Raspberry Pi OS 'Buster' Debian 10 (or any previous OS iteration) to a Micro-SD card. With any exciting new Operating System (OS) release, there are always small ...
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...
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 connectio...
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...
The Micro:bit by BBC is a great data collection tool, it just needs a little help remembering what it has measured! This tutorial is made for those Micro:bit projects where transmitting your sensor data over radio or Bluetooth to a computer...
For Ultimaker 3D printers it is crucial to have a flat and level build platform which is parallel to the path of the nozzle. By having a correctly set up print space it will ensure the best possible results for all 3D printed components.&nb...
This is the process I go through to make Polymaker Polywood look like actual wood (or at least I had a good go at it)! It will assume you already have a 3D printed components made from Polymaker Polywood Filament. This is a PLA (p...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
The Makey Makey introduces the concept of using everday objects like fruit, lead pencil drawings, play dough etc. to interact with your computer via USB. The Makey Makey acts like a HID device over USB, which means that it behaves just like...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
★ 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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
[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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
Since I was young, I've always loved to explore. Over the years, I've tinkered with RC cars and played with planes, which were always plenty of fun. But I always dreamed of going out further - out into the real world, far beyond the confine...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
This project is to build a super cheap wireless adapter based on Raspberry Pi Zero and ENC28J60 ethernet module for Xbox 360I have two Xbox 360 consoles and today I want to connect them together but I only have one OEM wireless adapter. It ...
I use a Raspberry Pi running EmonCms for collecting sensor data and controlling devices around the home but several things have been on my To-Do list to enhance its functionality. A Shutdown/Power Down/Startup circuit. Proportional fan...
Hey guys! First time poster. I've been working on a blaster for my girlfriend's costume, and I thought I would share it with everyone. When triggered, it plays a selected sound effect and flashes the light. Pretty simple :)So, this is my fi...
Introduction: I have a flat screen television that is about 7 years old that I purchased before Smart TVs were commonly available. What I wanted to achieve with My Pi project was to turn my slightly old TV into a media centre. I wanted to...
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...
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...
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 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 ...
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...
The objective of this project was to create an Internet of Things (IoT) device that could give pet access to a food bowl when a text message command was sent from a remote location. I had never done an IoT project before, so I wanted to ke...
The aim of my project was to make a small display to show information such as the clock, weather, calendar, etc. I liked the idea of making a magic mirror, but wanted to try something more unique, less expensive, and easier to assemble (no ...
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...
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 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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 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...
I bought a Pi zero w from Core Electronics for a friend, also bought the official case too but thought I'd fit the Pi into something he can show off! I used an old hand held game case I had laying around, I had to remove the original circu...
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...
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...
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, ...
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 ...
My brother-in-law has a dairy farm in Victoria and many hours per week are wasted traversing the farm to check water tank levels, opening/closing valves, and other small tasks that could easily be remotely monitored and controlled. It was ...
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...
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...
UV is important to reptiles (and people) in processing vitamin D3 which is needed to absorb calcium. Without it reptiles often suffer from Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which leads to weak bones and can be fatal. Thankfully, pet shops have t...
I was down at a local game shop recently and noticed their range of chess boards and decided to try my hand at a simple little project. I'm a big fan of Doctor Who, Chess and 3D Printing. So I decided to combine them all together into a fun...
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 ...
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...
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...
For $50 and some dedication a retro gaming console can be yours and with HDMI you can play it with any modern TV or monitor. Instead of using bulky and space taking cartridges and discs it's all on the console. For this build, we're going ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
If you haven't already seen it, check out part 1 of this project. it has all the background info in it. And if you haven't got one yet, get yourself a particle photon, they are great. This part of the project was hooking the particle photon...
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...
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...
This was an attempt to build a autonomous robot that could follow a person or bike while carrying tools, equipment or water. This project used a Raspberry Pi3 and Wild Thumper All-Terrain Chassis.Here's a video of the build: There's a re...
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...
Wands are cool, right? That's what Trinity, Adele, and April were thinking of our recent littleBits Workshop, down at the Core Electronics Knowledge Factory. Their inspiration for this project came straight from the films, in particular, th...
Using a few bits and pieces, this ordinary coffee grinder now has two presets to run the motor for a programmable length of time. The idea being that the grinder running for a set amount of time will deliver a certain amount of coffee each ...
[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-...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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! ...
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 ...
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