Expression – Page 3 – Mithat Konar (the blog)

Arduino AsyncTimer library

So there I was scratching an itch when I realized the scratch would make for a good Arduino library. AsyncTimer lets you create a timer that does something when you start it (or nothing if you prefer), then waits a predetermined time before doing something else. While it’s waiting, it doesn’t lock up your Arudino the way the delay() function does—it just schedules the time-out action to take place some time in the future.

If you’re not the RTFM type, you can just get what you need from the GitHub repository.

Arduino code completion directories

If you’ve opted to use a general-purpose IDE for Arduino development, perhaps in conjunction with a Makefile, it’s helpful to know what directories to point your IDE toward to get decent code completion.

To that end, I’ve added a list of the ones I know about to my wiki.

The new number one

101

The folks at Arduino.cc are set to release what appears to be the Arduino Uno usurper. The Arduino/Genuino 101, in addition to being heaps faster, also has built-in Bluetooth LE and a 6-axis accelerometer. Co-developed with Intel, the board uses their Intel® Curie™ Compute Module. While not yet released, scuttlebutt says it’ll cost about the same as the Uno.

A house for cats

Design that’s possible when crime rates are low.

My GPS Lifeplan

My occasional partner Stephen Kelly and I recently finished work on the beta version of myGPS LifePlan—a mobile and desktop-friendly version of a vast educational resource for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. It went live a short time ago.

Stems

cement-mixers

The Verge has an interesting writeup on Native Instruments’ Stems, “a new audio format that stores up to four different tracks in a single audio file.” I (and I am sure others) had this idea back in the late 80s but based on multitrack cassette and synced MIDI control of mixing parameters. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes!

Kimiko Ishizaka plays Chopin on an 1832 Pleyel

I don’t normally like promoting Kickstarter stuff in this space, but based on her earlier Well-Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations recordings, I’d say this is totally a worthwhile effort.

Happy Arduino Day!

Congratulating the core and the community for 10 years of creativity-enabling open source wonderfulness.

Minimal Arduino using through-hole parts

brdfront brdback

It’s still hovering around freezing, so I guess it’s time for another Arduino.

I got curious about how small I could make yesterday’s Arduino Pro Mini using through hole parts if I got rid of everything optional. And here’s the answer.

I got the board down to the width of the original Arduino Pro Mini: 0.6″. I wasn’t able to shrink the length any; it’s still 1.8″. It doesn’t have an on-board power supply, there are no LEDs, and no optional pullups for I2C/Wire. Totally minimal, baby. You can see for yourself in the schematic.*

As with yesterday’s offering, a PCB is available through OSH Park.

*Subject to change!

Arduino Pro Mini using through-hole parts

Arduino_Pro_Mini_PTH

Because winters are sucky and the weather outside still not at all inviting, I decided yesterday to see how close you could get to making an Arduino Pro Mini with through-hole parts. The answer is about this close.

The main differences are the final product measures 1.1″ x 1.8″ rather than 0.7″ x 1.3″, two extra analog inputs available on the SMD version of the ATMEGA328P are missing, and the low-power configuration is a build-time option. Here’s the schematic* as it stands today.

If you’re feeling brave enough to build this thing, PCBs are available through OSH Park.

*Subject to change!