Open Hardware/Modding: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and More
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Arduino ☛ Get notified of impending floods with this Arduino Nano 33 IoT-based display
The Arduino Nano 33 IoT powering the Flood Alert device sources its data from the UK Environmental Agency’s API to get statistics on an area’s latest risk level along with an extended description of what to expect. Initially, the electronics were mounted to a breadboard and housed within a cardboard enclosure, but a later revision moved everything to soldered protoboard, a 3D-printed case, and even added a piezoelectric buzzer to generate audible alerts.
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Arduino ☛ Use sound to trigger your camera’s flash with this DIY device
This device, based on an Arduino UNO Rev3 board, uses a microphone to listen for loud noises. If a noise exceeds a set threshold, the Arduino triggers the flash. An isolation circuit made with a Reed switch protects the Arduino from the high voltage of the flash. Reed switches are relatively slow, but they’re affordable. For better performance, an opto-isolator could be used instead.
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CNX Software ☛ Kumquat – An Allwinner V3s embedded system board with isolated CAN, Ethernet and ESP32 for WiFi and Bluetooth
The Kumquat is an Allwinner V3s board designed for industrial automation, home automation, IoT projects, robotics, and embedded system development. The Allwinner V3s features ARM Cortex-A7 cores with 64MB DDR2 RAM and 8MB SPI flash storage. Connectivity options include Ethernet, USB-C, isolated CAN-FD, and WiFi/Bluetooth via an ESP32 module. Additionally, it has eight auto-detecting 12/24V IOs, four relays for controlling external devices, and a real-time clock with battery backup.
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Raspberry Pi ☛ Building a Raspberry Pi Pico 2-powered drone from scratch
The journey of building a custom drone began with designing in CAD software. My initial design was fully 3D-printed with an enclosed structure and cantilevered arms to support point forces. The honeycomb lid provided cooling, and the enclosure allowed for embedded XT-60 and MR-30 connections, creating a clean and integrated look. Inside, I ensured all electrical components were rigidly mounted to avoid unwanted movement that could destabilise the flight.
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Andrew Hutchings ☛ Two special Amiga 4000s: Introduction
On Saturday, I was at a Norwich Amiga Group meetup, where I got to meet Stuart (Stoo) Cambridge again. For those who don’t know, Stoo is a great graphics designer and used to work for a famous game development company called Sensible Software.
Stoo brought a couple of Amiga 4000s along with him for me to repair. So, this is the first post in a series where I repair these machines.
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Herman Õunapuu ☛ ThinkPad as a server: third time's the charm
Doesn’t mean that I won’t run hardware into the ground.
Compared to last two attempts, I’ve made a couple of important changes to the setup.
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Doug Brown ☛ Are wireless gamepads terrible? Mario Maker TAS playback with an RP2040
Earlier this year, there was some drama around the shutdown of the Nintendo Wii U’s online gaming. Team 0% had a goal of making sure that every level created in Super Mario Maker was beaten at least once. If you’re not familiar with Mario Maker, it’s a video game that lets you make your own levels in the style of several classic Mario titles and share them with the rest of the world to play. Well, it did until new uploads were disabled in 2021. By that point in time, the sequel Super Mario Maker 2 had come out on the Switch and that’s where most people were creating their levels.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ ESP32-S3 Development Board with 1.91″ AMOLED Display and 6-Axis IMU
Waveshare recently launched an ESP32-S3 development board featuring an integrated 1.91″ AMOLED display, designed for rapid prototyping and the development of IoT and portable projects with interactive displays.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ FWS-2290 is a Compact Desktop Network Appliance with Intel N97 for Security Solutions
The FWS-2290, recently launched by AAEON, is a desktop network appliance powered by Intel’s N-series processors, specifically the Intel Processor N97. Designed for UTM and VPN applications, it integrates features such as Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology, AES-NI, and Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ Unitree G1 and H1 Humanoid Robots Now Available for Ordering
The distributor RobotShop recently featured the Unitree G1 and the more advanced Unitree H1 general-purpose humanoid robots. Both models are equipped with 3D LiDAR and a depth camera for sensing and offer multiple degrees of freedom for mobility. Additionally, the H1 provides an optional upgrade to the Jetson Orin NX for increased computing capabilities.