Arduino

Intel Arduino 101 BLE Blynk Tank

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Intel Arduino 101 based tank with BLE and Blynk!

This project uses the Intel Arduino 101 board that has a built in IMU and (BLE) Blue Tooth Low Energy. For the remote control I used the free Blynk app which is is available for Android and iPhone, it allows you to rapidly drag and drop some buttons to create a user interface. The Chassis is a Dagu DG012 from Sparkfun.

I tried to power the whole rig from the 5 AA battery pack that came with the chassis but the Arduino kept resetting on low voltage. Ideally I would use a nice LiPo battery pack but I think it’s reaching to expect a beginner to learn about the care and feeding of LiPos and purchase a charger so I chose to power the motors separately from the Arduino using a USB Battery pack. Be sure to remove the optional battery jumper on the Adafruit motor shield or you can fry some things, the power sources need to be separate.

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Custom Cortana MQTT Commands

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image Cortana can easily be extended to aid you with your DIY home automaton projects. In this example Cortana sends MQTT commands to open and close a garage door as well as ring the doorbell with custom jingles. By the way, you don’t have to use MQTT, you can also do a whole lot of other things as well from opening a file, opening a program, or launching your favorite websites.

As of the writing of this entry I am frantically trying to finish documenting the MQTT Doorbell and Garage Door Opener devices in separate posts. Hopefully I can get those whipped out in a few days.

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RepRap Prusa Mendel V2 Complete Build

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Building my very first 3D printer was quite traumatic and time consuming but also fun and rewarding! I don’t suggest building your own unless you have a love for tinkering, and making. There are some other qualities that will come in handy such as tendency’s for hacking, electronics, and computers. As this is a computer controlled machine complete with a microcontroller you MUST know how to turn a computer on. Be aware that building your own RepRap is more like getting a hobby than getting a project.

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DIY Arduino Oscilloscope with the Nokia 3310 GLCD screen

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I’ve seen videos on YouTube using an Arduino and a Graphical LCD screen (GLCD) to create a simple Oscilloscope. The annoying thing is that I found no help whatsoever on how to build one. I spent a few days figuring out how to use the Nokia 3310 LCD screen and then figuring out how to sample an analog port to create a fun oscilloscope effect.

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Automatic chicken door version two.

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As it is getting cold again and my chickens made it through the summer just fine, it is time to revisit and revitalize my automatic chicken door.

The older model was a large door that slid on a track that would get leaves, snow, and ice messing the whole thing up. Also the mecanisim that opened the door was a string that tension was held on with springs, the string would knot up and stop working, blowing the fuse sometimes.

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How to program an Arduino

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The absolute beginners guide to programming an Arduino Duemilanove for the first time. I will take you through downloading the Arduino programming software, configuring the software, writing your first program, sending it to the Arduino, and testing operation.

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