E-infosl

Kia UK Adds New 'City' Edition to Picanto 3-Door 'Originals' Collection

Kia UK Adds New 'City' Edition to Picanto 3-Door 'Originals' Collection:

A little over a year after Kia expanded the range of its Picanto city car with a three door model, the Korean carmaker has launched a new special edition named 'City' as part of the 'Originals' collection.
On sale now at a starting price of £10,245 OTR, including metallic paint, the City comes equipped with additional standard features.
Read more »

Turning Raspberry PI in to PIC programmer

Turning Raspberry PI in to PIC programmer:

Raspberry Pi is pretty popular Linux on a small board solution. It can do lots of stuff you can think off, so Giorgio Vazzana decided to build a PIC programmer. The RasPi software (called rpp) is written for GCC without any external library. So it can be compiled by running make command.

The more hustle there is with programmer physical interface as PIC requires high voltage (12V) supply in programming mode and 5V to drive logic. So it needs additional hardware attached to Raspberry Pi, because it provides only 3.3V. Currently programmer supports only 11 PIC16 chips without ICSP support. Hopefully this project will evolve in to more usable.

Attiny2313 relay board replaces 555 timer

Attiny2313 relay board replaces 555 timer:

We all know that 555 timer IC is unbeatable but when speaking of flexibility and time range it might not be what you want. This is why Evilmadscientist designed a simple ATtiny2313 based relay board with pre-programmed functions to use right away. Board is equipped with single mechanical relay and 8 position dip switch for selecting operation modes.

By selecting DIP switch values it is possible to set delay timer from 1 second up to 31 hour. There are few other function like one shot timer, automatic trigger upon turn-on, stop button. You can use it as stand alone module or plug ISP programmer and tweak this open source kit for your own needs.

Basic 16×8 resolution laser projector

Basic 16×8 resolution laser projector:

Making laser projector doesn’t take much. Hardware is simple – a controller board (Arduino in this case), laser from DVD writer, small motor and set of mirrors. Mechanics is one thing and microcontroller is another. Since this is a multi-line projection it requires synchronization which is done using IR sensor. IR sensor captures rotation of mirrors and gives exact timing for sending laser pulses.

In order to make things more interesting there is an xBee module added for live data streaming. Using this wireless link it is possible to draw things with mouse and instantly see on projection, view scrolling text and the crazy one – display webcam image with only 16×8 pixels.

W7200 brings TCP/IP and ARM Cortex M3 in one chip

W7200 brings TCP/IP and ARM Cortex M3 in one chip:

We introduce to you a novelty from company WIZnet – chip iMCU W7200, which is a combination of a well-proven „hardwired“ TCP/IP solution W5200 and the ARM Cortex M3 chip. The result is a powerful chip providing a fast and stable TCP/IP connection with a minimum loading of an ARM processor.

Company WIZnet specializes on TCP/IP solutions which offload the main processor of an application. In applications requiring a high computing power, it is naturally convenient to have available a maximum computing power of the processor and not to load it with tasks, which can be done via additional circuits. However, how to make it with minimum development effort and even to save a PCB space? The solution is the iMCU^TM chip. iMCU series – Internet MCU, provide a fast Internet through an „on-the-fly“ architecture and quick algorithms. W7200 supports all common protocols like TCP, UDP, ICMP, IPv4 ARP, IGMP, PPPoE, Ethernet and also an ADSL connection. The principle of the iMCU W7200 is best illustrated in the attached block diagram. In our standard stock portfolio can be found the chip itself and also the evaluation board iMCU7200EVB.

W7200 brings TCP/IP and ARM Cortex M3 in one chip - [Link]

The Akafugu Nixie Clock

The Akafugu Nixie Clock:

The Akafugu Nixie Clock is a fun to build stylish clock kit that uses old-fashioned neon Nixie tubes and new RGB leds for backlight.
It comes in a 3 PCB modular design with a unique look that incorporates the PCB board into the case: The front and back panel are PCB boards, with smoke black acrylic lining the sides. The result is a strikingly simple and compact Nixie clock that combines modern and retro looks.
The Akafugu Nixie Clock - [Link]

Power Management ICs Simplify Integration of Supercapacitors in Energy Microharvesting Designs

Power Management ICs Simplify Integration of Supercapacitors in Energy Microharvesting Designs:

Stephen Evanczuk writes:

Energy-microharvesting applications such as wireless sensor nodes require periodic bursts of power well beyond that available in steady state from most ambient sources. In this respect, supercapacitors offer performance characteristics that are well suited for energy-harvesting environments. By combining supercapacitors with appropriate power and charge management circuitry, and using specialized devices from manufacturers including Linear Technology, Maxim Integrated Products, and Texas Instruments, engineers can exploit microharvesting techniques in applications with demanding peak power requirements.

Power Management ICs Simplify Integration of Supercapacitors in Energy Microharvesting Designs - [Link]

TWIDisplay – 8-digit 14-segment LCD

TWIDisplay – 8-digit 14-segment LCD:

The TWIDisplay 8-digit LCD is an easy to use 8-digit 14-segment transflective LCD display. Libraries for Arduino and avr-gcc are available on GitHub.
Only four wires are required for operation, one for power (runs on both 3.3V and 5V), one for ground, and two for the TWI protocol. To control a display like this, a dedicated controller chip is required.
TWIDisplay – 8-digit 14-segment LCD - [Link]

High-power LED driver features multiple dimming control modes

High-power LED driver features multiple dimming control modes:

The LM3463 by Texas Instruments is a six-channel LED driver with dynamic headroom control for high-power applications that accurately drives up to six strings of LEDs. The biggest cost reductions in LEDs today come from improvements in efficacy (fewer LEDs needed for the same light output), and the LM3463 is no exception.
It is the industry’s first wide-input voltage LED driver featuring multiple dimming control modes—PWM input signals, analog-to-PWM input control, or 4-byte data control—to maximize system efficiency and reduces complexity in LED area lighting. The driver targets such bright-light applications as street, high-bay and ceiling lighting. When designers require PWM, the LM3463 is particularly useful as it accepts a simple serial data stream and the LED driver creates the PWM signals internally. It can, therefore, be used with a fairly inexpensive MCU and it easily adjusts brightness. [via]
High-power LED driver features multiple dimming control modes - [Link]

Low-Current, I²C, Serial Real-Time Clock

Low-Current, I²C, Serial Real-Time Clock:

The DS1339A serial real-time clock (RTC) is a low-power clock/date device with two programmable time-of-day alarms and a programmable square-wave output. Address and data are transferred serially through an I²C bus. The clock/date provides seconds, minutes, hours, day, date, month, and year information. The date at the end of the month is automatically adjusted for months with fewer than 31 days, including corrections for leap year. The clock operates in either the 24-hour or 12-hour format with AM/PM indicator. The DS1339A has a builtin power-sense circuit that detects power failures and automatically switches to the backup supply, maintaining time, date, and alarm operation.
Low-Current, I²C, Serial Real-Time Clock - [Link]