CircuitPython is an easy-to-use language with hundreds of libraries for microcontrollers. Today we will be using CircuitPython with the Raspberry Pi Pico
With over 300 libraries already to go CircuitPython makes it easy to expose the power of the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Today we’ll see how to install CircuitPython and how to use it to build a keyboard emulator, a mouse emulator, work with MicroSD cards and flash some addressable RGB lights.
The new Raspberry Pi Pico is a microcontroller – yes a microcontroller, not a microcomputer! It lists for four dollars and it uses a new MCU designed by Raspberry Pi.
To test one out I hooked up a bunch of I/O components and used MicroPython to code them.
In this first of a two-part series we will learn how to measure both DC voltage and DC current using an Arduino Uno. Although the examples all use the Uno, what we learn here can be applied to any microcontroller.
The second part of the series will, of course, focus on Alternating Current.
Today we will look at PlatformIO, an alternate IDE for working with the Arduino and many other microcontrollers.
You’ll learn how to install PlatformIO under Visual Studio Code, and also how to use it to program for the Arduino Uno, The ESP32 and Seeeduino XIAO.
Once you get used to it you’ll see that PlatformIO has many advantages over the Arduino IDE.
We have seen how to control DC devices with an Arduino, now it’s time to learn how to control AC equipment.
In this article I will show you a SAFE method of experimenting with AC on your workbench.
We will also build a light-activated relay and a marquis-style light chaser using solid state switches.
Basic Logic chips have been around for a very long time, yet they are still used in new designs. An understanding of how basic logic chips work will move your design skills up a notch.
Today we will look at the most elementary of logic chips, the basic gates. We’ll also learn about logic families, and we’ll see how to create a logic chip emulator using an Arduino.
We’ll finish up by designing a simple intruder alarm using an Arduino and a basic logic gate.
Time to move up to another microcontroller, the ESP32. This amazing device has multiple I/O ports, WiFi, Bluetooth and BLE, analog inputs and outputs and many, many more features!
Today we will get started with the ESP32 by setting up the Arduino IDE as our programming environment and going through some of the example sketches.
Learn about the Peltier Effect and how to use a common and inexpensive Peltier cooler to cool down your electronic projects. We will perform a few experiments with a Peltier module, including using it to make ice!
We will also hook up a Peltier Cooler assembly that you can get on eBay.
An Analog Feedback Servo Motor is a servo motor that has a connection to its internal feedback potentiometer. Thi sallows you to measure the precise position of the motor shaft in real-time
Today we will learn how to calibrate and use this motor, we’ll even see how it can be used as an input device to memorize and repeat a sequence of movements.
The NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a powerful AI development platform that can be had for only 99 US dollars.
Today we will look at the Nano and set one up with a microSD card image. We’ll also run a few test programs to show off its capabilities.