Building electronic projects is a rewarding experience. Not only do you end up with a unique and useful device, but you also get the satisfaction of creating something with your own hands.

Check out some of the great projects that I’ve built in the workshop. You’re sure to find something that interests you.

I’m always building new projects in the workshop, so keep your eye on this page – new projects keep popping up here!

 

Using Digital Potentiometers to build Unique Projects

Digital Potentiometers, or "DigiPots", are exactly what you think they are - potentiometers whose wiper position is set using a digital signal instead of a mechanical shaft or slider.

Today we will see how to use Digital Potentiometers and we'll build a couple of projects. We'll build a remote-controlled audio volume system and a variable power supply whose output voltage can be set with a web-based interface.

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Raspberry Pi Solar Camera

Let's build a solar camera and take pictures of the Sun! We will use a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera with a Celestron EclipSmart Solar Telescope to stream video and images of the Sun.

And if you don't want solar pictures you can use any regular telescope and enter the wonderful universe of Raspberry Pi Astrophotography!

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IR Remotes Revisited - 2023

It's time we took a fresh look at infrared remote controls, so here is everything you need to know about using IR remote controls with microcontrollers.

Learn how to receive, decode and send IR signals, including ones from those hard-to-decode remotes like air conditioners.

Examples with both an Arduino and ESP32.

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Mecanum Wheel Robot Car with ESP-NOW Remote Control

Mecanum Wheels are unique wheels that allow you to propel a vehicle in any direction. Not just forward and backward, but sideways and diagonally as well.

Today, we will build a robot car that uses Mecanum Wheels. Our vehicle will also have a remote control with a joystick, a TFT display, and a rechargeable battery.

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Designing and Building Linear DC Power Supplies

Linear DC Power supplies are no longer as common as switching supplies, but they are still a good choice for many applications.

Today we will learn how linear power supplies work, how they differ from switching power supplies, and how to use voltage regulator modules.

We will then construct a DC Power Supply suitable for use on the workbench.

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Build a Custom Servo Motor with a DC Motor

If you have ever required a very big servo motor, or one that rotates at an angle other than 180 degrees, then this article is for you! Today we will take a Seeeduino XIAO and a potentiometer and use them to construct a custom servo motor, using a DC gear motor.

This is a project I'm doing in tandem with Jeremy Fielding and his "self-driving go-kart" build.

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Radio Control - Use the Flysky FS-I6X with Arduino & Build an RC Car

Today we will learn how RC Remote controls work, and how we can use them with an Arduino.

After learning two different ways of interfacing with the Flysky receiver, we will build a small robot car.

Our car will have two different modes - Normal & Spin. You'll have to read the article or watch the video to find out what that means!

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Build an ESP32CAM Robot Car

Today we will be putting together a robot car based upon the popular ESP32CAM module.

Our car will have a WiFi remote control and will stream video, so you can see where you are going when you drive it!

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Build a Developers Linux Workstation

Here is a complete and detailed guide to building a Linux-based Developers Workstation from scratch!

Starting with a "barebones computer" kit we will put together a Developers Workstation that has 15 essential software applications, plus a few custom tweaks.

Make sure to download the "Cheat Sheet" to simplify your build.

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Simple Bench Power Supply that Anyone Can Build!

Today we will construct a simple bench power supply that has both fixed and variable output voltages. It's a great project for beginners and useful enough for an expert!

Our design will make use of popular buck converter modules and an unused power "brick" from an old laptop computer, which you should have no problem obtaining.

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Build a Digital Level with MPU-6050 and Arduino

We will look at the MPU-6050, an Inertial Measurement Unit or IMU. This inexpensive device contains both an accelerometer and a gyroscope and has many applications.

We will also build an electronic level that uses an LCD and LED display.

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Convert an ATX Computer Supply to a Bench Power Supply

A Bench Power Supply is an essential component for any serious electronics experimenter. But a good supply with multiple output voltages and a high current capability can set you back some serious cash

In this article we'll look at an alternative - using an old computer ATX power supply as a high-performance workbench power supply.

It's a simple project that can give you a highly capable piece of equipment for next to nothing

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Multimedia with Kodi on Raspberry Pi

Kodi is an advanced, open source, multimedia center that can handle all of your media requirements

In this article you will learn how to build, configure and control a Kodi multimedia center

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Elegoo Robot Car Part 3 - Collision Avoidance & Line Following

The Elegoo Smart Robot Car is an Arduino-based design with an impressive list of features

In the final installment of this series, I show you how to use both Collision Avoidance and Line Tracking with the Smart Robot Car.

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Elegoo Smart Robot Car Part 2 - Bluetooth and IR Remote Control

In the second part of the series on building the Elegoo Smart Robot Car I will show you how to use the remote control functions.

The robot car has both IR remote control and Bluetooth remote control capabilities. Today we will learn how to use and code for both of these.

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Build a remote Surveillance Camera using motionEyeOS & Raspberry Pi

motionEyeOS is an open-source product that can turn any Raspberry Pi into a sophisticated surveillance system. It's very easy to use as the product is available as an image file for the Raspberry PI as well as several other single board computers.

In this article we will set up both a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and a Raspberry Pi Zero W with motionEyeOS. We will then learn how to use all of the features of this amazing product. If you are looking for an inexpensive yet advanced surveillance system this could be the answer!

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Building the Elegoo Smart Robot Car Part 1 - Assemble an Arduino-Based Robot Car

The Elegoo Smart Robot Car V3 is an Arduino-based robot car with features like Bluetooth remote, IR remote, line following, and collision avoidance.

In the first of a three-part article I will show you how to assemble and test the Robot Car.

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A Drone You Can Program - Introducing PlutoX

The PlutoX Aerial Robotics Kit is a DIY quadcopter that you can program and add your own hardware to. This unique device is perfect for experimenters, hobbyists and basically anyone who is interested in developing a project that can fly.

In this article I'll introduce you to the PlutoX and to the Cygnus IDE, the development environment you'll use to write code for the drone.

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Arduino UV Index Meter - Measuring UV Light

Ultraviolet Light is used in many industrial and medical applications. We also receive a dose of UV light from sunshine, and while a little UV light is good for you excessive exposure can lead to eye and skin damage.

In this article I will explain how to safely work with ultraviolet light and I’ll show you how to build a UV Index Meter that can accurately measure the level of UV and help keep you safe in the sunshine.

So grab your hat and sunscreen and follow along!

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DFRobot 5 DOF Robot Arm - Building the Robotic Arm

The DF Robot 5 DOF Robot Arm kit is a high-quality robotic arm that you can assemble yourself. With heavy duty servo motors and sturdy aluminum parts this inexpensive arm is perfect for your robotics experiments

Follow along as I assemble the robot arm. I’ll also build a simple robot arm controller based on the Arduino Nano and the PCA9685 16-channel PWM module.

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Build a Robot Car with Speed Sensors

I’m sure you have seen those inexpensive robot car chassis kits, the ones that come with two 6-volt motors. They are great fun and very useful and they even come with a couple of speed encoder disks (those little black circles full of holes). Problem is, no one tells you how to use them!

Let’s resolve that and build a robot car with speed sensors. Along the way we’ll learn how to use Interrupts, a valuable programming technique.

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Assembling the MeArm Robotic Arm

The MeArm is a small robot arm that was originally designed as a teaching device for schoolchildren. Despite its toy-like appearance it is also an excellent tool for serious robotics experimenters who would like to develop software and control systems for robotic arms without a large hardware expenditure.

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