TinyISP-Tuner

In my recent experience with the ATtiny2313, I had problems with the serial communication at 8Mhz. Which in turn my research led me to learning about tuning the internal oscillator. The ATtiny is a small microcontroller by Atmel, the same company that makes the ATmega328p in the Arduino UNO. It doesn't have all the features but it is cheap and great for embedding in projects. Here is a link to more info on them: http://www.atmel.com/products/microcontrollers/avr/tinyavr.aspx . The great part is that there is a add-on for the Arduino IDE called Arduino-Tiny. This way you can use the same code with the ATtiny's.

After some trial and error and some help from the forms, I was able to figure out how to tune the ATtying2313 and get reliable serial communications. As a result I decided to design a kit that makes it much easier to tune.

The TinyISP-Tuner connects to your computer via a FTDI cable and has an ATmega328p as the controller. The ATmega328p is running the TinyISP sketch with tuning and KnockBang. KnockBang allows you to pass serial debug info via SPI over the FTDI cable to your computer. Very convenient. When tuning is enabled there is a 16ms pulse sent out to the ATtiny you are programming. Plus you can program the ATtiny once it is tuned with your sketch. All with this one kit.


Supports ATtiny84/44/24, ATtiny85/45/25, and ATtiny2313/4313.

Kit Contents:
• 1x PCB
• 1x 6pin Right Angle header for FTDI programming
• 1x Atmega328p DIP (Pre-programmed with TinyISP configured for tuning)
• 1x 16Mhz Resonator
• 2x 0.1uF Capacitor
• 1x 10K Resistor
• 1x 330Ohm Resistor
• 1x Red LED
• 1x 20pin socket
• 1x 14pin socket
• 1x 8pin socket
• 1x 28pin socket

Check out the guide: http://friedcircuits.us/docs/tinyisp-tuner/
If you want to buy one: https://www.tindie.com/products/FriedCircuits/tinyisp-tuner/

PiGlow from Pimoroni

In a recent Adafruit order I couldn't resist picking up the new PiGlow for the Raspberry Pi. This is a neat 18 LED add-on that connects to the GPIO header of the Raspberry Pi and communicates over I2C. With the example Python code, I was blinking in color in no time.

You can buy them from Adafruit in the US or directly from Pimoroni in the UK. The Pimoroni site has all the links to get you started. I used the link to Jason Barnett's Gihub which has a in depth how-to and a lot of examples to get you started and playing in color.

The LEDs are in a spiral pattern, making for a great binary clock, which is included in the code examples. I ended up taking it to work leaving the clock to run all day. Within the clock example you can set the LED brightness. All of the 18 LED brightness can be set from 0 to 255. I can tell you that 255 is super bright, I mean especially bright, as in put on your sunglasses. Especially the white LEDs in the center. Which just made me think of one cool project. With a PIR and light sensor you could make a hallway light, and even tweet when it is activated. That is how bright the white LEDs are.

All the LEDs are a single color. Starting from the center you have white, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Plenty to play around with. One great feature is that if you have their PiBow case, it fits with the case completely closed.

I think its a great addition to the Pi and there is so much you can do with it. The only thing I would like to see is maybe a version that doesn't block all the GPIOs with maybe a stacking header. It only uses power and I2C but you lose access to the rest. You could use a breakout like Adafruit's Cobbler or T-Cobbler and then connect the needed connections to the PiGlow.

This can be a great learning tool for someone new to the Raspberry Pi and Python. You can learn Python with instant feedback.

FriedCircuits Now Live!

We'd like to welcome you to our grand opening of our new online store, FriedCircuits.us!

Over the past few months, we have diligently worked toward creating a one-stop-shop that offers tools & parts for sale as well as detailed documentation. There we hope to provide new products, tutorials and share FriedCircuits related projects. 

Fear not! This here blog will remain active, and host most of MobileWill's personal projects and such. After all, it is through this blog that we were able to grow many ideas and tools that helped launched our FriedCircuits tindie shop (which we still plan to support)!

Speaking of supporting - we'd like to thank all of our supporters for helping us succeed to where we are now. As a thanks, we are offering 10% off to the first fifty customers! 

To dive into this deal, simply check out the new shop here: FriedCircuits.us, register and order. Use the coupon code: OPENTEN

We hope you will find FriedCircuits to be easy to navigate, helpful and fun! Please leave us your feed-back of FC - it is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-heartsy

P.S. Check back soon for an upcoming giveaway!

OLED Backpack New Features

Recently, the OLED Backpack has gone through a few updates and it has come to be quite a new tool! Thanks to Edouard Lafargue for all his hard work, he has made the OLED Backpack extra amazing.

New features:

• Auto scaling (can change scale range in code)
• Multiple Screens - Short button press
• Scope View
• Energy Readings
• Peak and Min values
• Large font for each of the 3 readings (Voltage, Watts, Amperes)
• Amperes display auto adjusts decimal
• Button resets peak, min and energy counts

Check out Edouard's review

http://www.aerodynes.fr/2013/09/08/fried-circuits-tester-multiscreen-and-energy-measurement/

You can get the latest version on Github: https://github.com/FriedCircuits/FC-USB-Tester-OLED-Backpack

You can buy the OLED Backpack on Tindie.com: https://www.tindie.com/products/FriedCircuits/usb-tester-oled-backpack-bundle/

VA Tester Demo Video

Come watch a demo of the VA Tester and support us on Tindie: goo.gl/r3wkhJ

VA Tester Fundraiser is Live!

After designing and constructing both USB Tester and the OLED Backpack, this next tool was naturally conceived. Introducing the VA Tester, a device similar to the USB Tester. However, unlike its counterpart, the VA Tester allows you to use it inline with almost any project. Additionally, it makes the OLED Backpack twice as useful.

The VA Tester allows you to monitor up to 26VDC at ±3.2A Max. This gives you a wide range of possibilities. Using the screw terminals, you can attach bare wire or jumper wires without having to solder, making for quick and easy connections.

Another useful change from the USB Tester is the replacement of the banana connectors to standard sized test points that fit most of your DMM probes.


Here is a picture of the first prototype:

Interested in owning one of these VA Testers? Then come support the fundraiser on Tindie! If we reach our goal, we'll give away an OLED Backpack to one lucky backer!
https://www.tindie.com/products/FriedCircuits/va-tester-kit/https://www.tindie.com/products/FriedCircuits/va-tester-kit/

To read more about the VA Tester, check out our friend Edouard's, (over at Aerodynes) review: http://www.aerodynes.fr/2013/09/02/friedcircuits-new-tester/

Coin Cell & Higher Engery Drain

Working with microcontrollers tends to lead to using coin cell batteries. They are great small batteries and due to their internal resistance, you can usually run an LED directly. Here is a an interesting article from Nordic Semiconductor about high drain pulse impact on coin cells.

ABSTRACT
Ultra low power wireless connectivity is being added to an ever greater number of coin cell battery powered
applications. Calculating the battery lifetime of such a product is always important, buthow is the capacity of
the battery affected by the usage pattern?This article shows how the high peak, but short duration pulsed loads typical of ultra low power wireless
applications affect Energizer® CR2032 coin cell batteries and how your design and operation affects the batterylife time you can expect in your application.

http://m.eet.com/media/1121454/c0924post.pdf

Understanding Efficiency Standards For External Power Supplies

I came across this article about power supply efficiency the other day while researching power supplies. It is quite the informative read, I highly recommend it!

In the early 1990s, it was estimated that there were more than 1 billion external power supplies active in the United States alone. The efficiency of these power supplies, mainly utilizing linear technology, could be as low as 50% and still draw power when the application was turned off or not even connected to the power supply (referred to as “no-load” condition).

Experts calculated that without efforts to increase efficiencies and reduce “no-load” power consumption, external power supplies would account for around 30% of total energy consumption in less than 20 years. As early as 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started a voluntary program to promote energy efficiency and reduce pollution that eventually became the Energy Star program. However, the first mandatory regulation dictating efficiency and no-load power draw minimums wasn’t put in place until 2004. The following section traces the path from the CEC’s 2004 regulation up to the current standards that are in place today.

http://electronicdesign.com/energy/understanding-efficiency-standards-external-power-supplies