Open Hardware and Devices: Atari ST, Librem, Raspberry Pi, and More
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Controlling a model railroad with a vintage Atari ST
Rossignol’s model railroad features DCC (Digital Command Control), which controls the amount of power and its polarity going to the tracks, as well as switches. Rossignol just needed a way for his Atari to communicate with the DCC. For that, he chose an Arduino Mega 2560 board. The Atari talks to the Arduino via an RS232-to-TTL converter, and the Arduino, in turn, talks to Rossignol’s DCC-EX via I2C.
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Update on Librem-EC 1.12
Librem-EC 1.12 for the Librem 14 has been released with a fix to the PL4 power limit to address sudden shutoffs that still remained in the 1.11 release. Once again, the issue was in a subtle corner case, which we were able to identify with help from testers. Update to 1.12 with our update instructions, and check out the source code. Thank you to all those who helped us troubleshoot and fix this issue!
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Lapdock Kit: Transform your Librem 5 into a laptop
The Lapdock Kit allows you to experience the full potential of the Librem 5 and the Nexdock 360 while getting expert support from the Purism support team. Have all of your apps and all of your data in one device that can fit in your pocket and act like a phone when you need it to, but then transform into a laptop when you want to type out an email, do some image editing or watch a video on a larger screen.
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Desert Eye 2.0 robot | The MagPi #127
Desert Eye is also a great showcase for Raspberry Pi 4, which Aviv chose for its video processing capabilities – “a large consideration in this robot” – as well as controlling its motion and communications. Aside from the cameras, Raspberry Pi 4 controls the two main DC motors, a stepper motor so the camera can rotate while being stabilised, the GPS and wireless connectivity, and a three-axis sensor and fan.
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SONOFF MINI Extreme (MINIR4) ESP32 WiFi smart switch can fit into most gang boxes
SONOFF MINI Extreme (aka MINIR4) is a ridiculously small WiFi smart switch based on ESP32 wireless microcontroller and designed to be connected to a load such as a light bulb and a wall switch that can be a momentary switch, a door exit switch, an SPDT switch, a latching switch, or even dry contact sensors. The tiny form factor (39.5-33 x16.8mm) enables the WiFi smart switch to fit into various boxes, even the smaller European gang boxes.
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Embit EMB-LR1280-mPCIe-4x is a 2.4GHz LoRa mPCIe module based on Semtech SX1280 chipset
Embit EMB-LR1280-mPCIe-4x is an mPCIe (mini PCIe) module based on four Semtech SX1280 2.4 GHz LoRa transceivers and designed for OEM gateways that can work worldwide thanks to the use of the 2.4GHz ISM band and supports ranging. We first covered 2.4GHz LoRa and the SX1280 transceiver two years ago as a solution to design region-independent products specially suited to maritime and intercontinental logistics applications.