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Articles by David Scheltema
Power tools News, Reviews and More
Like so many of our readers, I use power tools of various sorts pretty much daily. However, I never really thought about the technology in my hands. I’ve recently come to finally trust a cordless driver to do the job, but beyond that, I thought about them as a motor, a switch, and a power […] Continue Reading
What every IoT engineer needs to know about navigation: GPS, dead reckoning, cellular, Wi-Fi, and BLE – Particle Blog
From micromobility to finding your keys, building a navigation solution is challenging. This guide covers your technology options for your next IoT product.
Particle Mesh development timeline
Particle Mesh is our most ambitious product launch as a company: three new boards, a collection of new accessories, a new form factor, and new networking technologies. The Argon, Boron, and Xenon feature cutting-edge communication protocols like Thread, Bluetooth 5, and LTE M1/NB1, each requiring entirely new silicon, some which have never been deployed in any product, not just our own.
This Tennis Racket Grunts Like Maria Sharapova | Make:
Late one afternoon browsing the net for new projects, I experienced two parts of my life collide: electronics and tennis. That’s because prior to my job at Make: as a technical editor, I was a tennis pro. During those years on the court, it was quite common to chide people who would grunt when their racquet made contact with the ball. So when I discovered Seiya Kobayashi’s Grunting Tennis Racquet, a playful take on the grunting problem — I could barely contain myself.
The $15 PINE64 Just Launched on Kickstarter, and it's Already Funded
The PINE64 board is a $15 quad-core 64-bit 1.2GHz computer with 512MB of RAM, which is quite a bit of power at a very low price. The project has already met (and exceeded by a factor of nearly four) its crowdfunding financial goal, and it only launched today. It is pretty easy to understand the appeal of the PINE64 board: It is fast and it is cheap.
C.H.I.P. vs Pi Zero: Which Cheap Computer is Better?
Now that there are two capable, sub-$10 computers for Makers — the $5 Pi Zero and the $9 C.H.I.P. — the debate will rage online over which board is faster, cheaper, and the right one to use in a project. These debates are often unproductive, but they don’t have to be. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each board.
Raspberry Pi Releases Tiny $5 Computer: Model Zero
Today, Raspberry Pi announced its newest model, the Zero. Costing just $5, it represents a vast decrease in price that should afford more people the opportunity to use computers than ever before. Considerably smaller than the common Raspberry Pi model B, Pi Zero operates at 1GHz with 512MB of RAM, making it about 40–60% faster according to Raspberry Pi Foundation CEO Eben Upton. Until now the Raspberry Pi Foundation did not have an ultra low cost board that delivered competitive specifications.
Raspberry Pi Zero Pirate Radio Throwie
Editor’s note: The Raspberry Pi’s broadcast frequency can range between 1Mhz and 250Mhz, which may interfere with government bands. We advise that you limit your transmissions to the standard FM band of 87.5MHz–108.0MHz (see Step 5) and always choose a frequency that’s not already in use, to avoid interference with licensed broadcasters. What better way to celebrate the launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero than to build a project.
Eye-Tracking Wheelchair Control Design Wins Hackaday Prize
This past weekend Eyedrivomatic won the Hackaday Prize, a contest which called for Makers to build a project that would effect positive change in the world. The Eyedrivomatic is an Arduino Uno based system that augments eye tracking software to physically control a motorized wheelchair. The winning team of Patrick Joyce, Steve Evans, and David Hopkinson get to choose whether they want to go to space or take the cash equivalent of $196,883.
New NVidia X1 Board Has Serious AI Chops. What Could You Build with It?
Yesterday NVidia announced the Jetson X1. It is an exceptionally powerful development board, with a specialized graphics processing unit that makes quick work of complex math problems. It’s also quite expensive, retailing at $599 (or $299 with an educator’s discount). We don’t think it’s a board you’ll want to run out and buy right now for your next generic project, but if you’re building an autonomous vehicle, you might want to check it out.
OpenBCI Launches New, Hackable Brain Computer Interface
For several years, Connor Russomanno and Joel Murphy have been designing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) as part of their company, OpenBCI. It’s a tricky proposition; subtle brain waves can be measured, but it’s difficult to read them and even more difficult to control them. So for its latest device, the team launched a for the BCI Ganglion, a sub-$100 device to measure brain, muscle, and heart activity.
Element14 to Offer Raspberry Pi Customization for Bulk Orders
Yesterday the and the electronics distributor announced an exclusive program for Raspberry Pi boards. Assuming you are willing to order a lot of boards (3,000–5,000 of them), Element14 will help engineer and manufacture your custom design. Here are a few things that you could potentially do with a custom Pi: Seven million Raspberry Pi boards have been sold globally since the foundation was established in 2012. And many of these Pi boards are used in industrial or commercial applications.
New $30 Sensor-Packed, Curie-Powered Arduino 101 | Make:
ROME — Today at the Rome Maker Faire, Intel and Arduino are announcing a new board, the Arduino 101, powered by the Intel Curie module. It is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2016, at about $30. Thanks to technology in the Curie, the Arduino 101 will have a 6-axis accelerometer with a gyroscope, and the hardware for Bluetooth wireless communication, in addition to the familiar input and output capabilities of the classic Arduino UNO.
BeagleBoard Reveals the X15
The BeagleBoard X15 is the latest embedded development board from the non-profit foundation and it is one powerful, open source hardware puppy! While the board has been a poorly kept open secret, with details emerging on various social networks and even coverage on a few blogs, the foundation has not released any official specifications until today. This thing is seriously powerful. It basically doubles every spec on the BeagleBone Black.
Snickerdoodle Dev Board Boasts ARM Processor with Onboard FPGA
The team at krtkl (pronounced “critical”) is crowdfunding Snickerdoodle, a $55 that has an ARM application processor with an onboard FPGA. It is programmable from a cellphone, has 154 general purpose input/output pins (GPIO), and might just be the next big thing for Makers in the embedded computing community.
Amazon Just Made it Easier to Use AWS for Your Next IoT Project
Today Amazon announced Amazon Web Services (AWS) Internet of Things (IoT), a system designed to simplify connecting embedded development boards to Amazon’s cloud computing system. Getting starting with is fairly straightforward. Simply head on over to Amazon and create an account. Once you’ve configured your Amazon account to include web services, look for the IoT section in the overall AWS landing page.
The $9 Computer Is Shipping Today! | Make:
The $9 CHIP computer is shipping. According to Dave Rauchwerk, CEO of Next Thing Co., single units will go out to early backers in 5 to 9 days; additional orders will arrive in December. But if you backed the project at the Kernel Hacker Backer level on , you will receive two CHIP computers — the second by mid-October. The CHIP is an innovative open hardware project, with open source software.
5 More Maker Projects That Freaked People Out
Ahmed Mohamed is not the first Maker with a project that upset people who didn’t understand it. Technology projects can look scary to the uninitiated. Several big names in this field have had to deal with the reactions engendered by their projects. Their experiences, and Ahmed’s, offer the Maker community a chance to reflect on the things we build and how they are perceived. Here are five more Makers who built gizmos that others found upsetting.
Teensy Beefs Up Tiny Dev Board with New Version
Today Paul Stoffregen announced the Teensy 3.2, the latest iteration of their sub-$20 development board . This update, available now, isn’t a huge revision to the hardware design, but those looking to integrate the board with additional accessory Wi-Fi boards — such as the ESP8266 and OctoWS2811 — will welcome the beefier 3.3V voltage regulator now standard on the 3.2 board version.
5 Raspberry Pi Projects to Build This Weekend
Here are some of my favorite recent Raspberry Pi projects. Each project will take you less than a weekend and if you’re super quick, you might able to make them all before Monday morning. Dig out your Raspberry Pi, grab a handful of components, and get making! With security vulnerabilities constantly in the news, why not spend a bit of time locking down your internet traffic. Browse anonymously with a and obfuscate your traffic.
Now on Sale: The Official Raspberry Pi 7" Touchscreen | Make:
The Raspberry Pi Foundation announced today the launch of the official Raspberry Pi 7″ Touchscreen Display. It is the first, and only, display to use the DSI (Display Serial Interface) port on the Raspberry Pi. The display is on sale right now at a very attractive price: It’s only , or roughly £48 in the UK. Here are a few key specs and features: The new display comes out after years of speculation regarding when or if an official DSI-based screen would come out.
Intel Announces Maker Reality Show, $1 Million Prize
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — As the house lights rose on a video montage of Mark Burnett’s television highlights, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained to the crowd at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) that Intel, Burnett, and Turner Broadcasting System are collaborating to produce America’s Greatest Makers, an unscripted reality TV show documenting Makers taking a product to market, and are giving a million dollars to the winner.
5 Racetracks from the Motor City Maker Faire
“Power Racing is like a Dollar Store Formula 1″ says the event’s founder James Burke. As a general rule, Maker Faire Detroit hosts the largest field of Power Racing Series vehicles. Perhaps it’s due to the Motor City’s historical affinity with racing or, more practically, the Faire’s geographic proximity to the middle of the United States.
$9 CHIP Computer Reveals Its Open Source Details | Make:
We’ve been wondering exactly how open source CHIP, the $9 computer, is. Turns out, it’s really freaking open! Open hardware files and the general Next Thing Co.docs page. The initial launch of CHIP from the Oakland, California-based Next Thing Co. made big waves a few months back with its capabilities (1GHz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND storage, and WiFi and Bluetooth built-in) and crazy-low price (just $9, but international shipping pushes that higher for some).
Self-Driving R/C Car Parks Itself Just Like a Lexus
Self-driving cars are in the news almost daily, but they are not exactly in my automotive budget for this decade. Today, that has changed.
Bio & IoT News from the Solid Conference
O’Reilly Media held its annual Solid conference this week in San Francisco. It’s an annual show covering “Hardware, Software & the Internet of Things.” We found it eye-opening, informative, and occasionally controversial. Here’s some of what we heard at this year’s show: Joichi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab, explained that code is now being used for genes that can be printed into bacteria.
Handmade Wooden Kinetic Wall Clock Sculpture
While cleaning out an old laptop’s filesystem back in October, David West discovered a few videos he took of a mechanical clock atop the South Ward Meeting Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Years before his digital find, he worked in that very building and became so interested by the clock’s movement that he recorded several videos capturing the intricate design. With his passions rekindled, West set out to (in his words) “Do something about it!” The results are impressive.
Voltera’s V-One Prints 2-Layer Circuit Boards
An Arduino Uno blank on the Voltera V-One. Several weeks ago at Maker Faire Bay Area, I caught up with Voltera co-founder Alroy Almeida to learn more about the Voltera V-One, a conductive ink printer. The V-One is a slick device. Not only does it extrude conductive ink, but it can also be configured to deposit insulating ink, enabling two-layer board fabrication. You can see this process in the image below. The blue insulating ink is applied over a trace made of silver conductive ink.
Tracking Planes with RTL-SDR
Software-defined radios (SDR) are gaining in popularity, and it’s not hard to see why — using them, your computer can tune into in an enormous range of frequencies, including FM radio, unencrypted police and fire bands, aircraft transponders, and in many countries, digital TV. The most popular SDR devices for the money are known as RTL-SDR because they’re based on the Realtek RTL2832U, a demodulator chip that supports the USB 2.0 interface.
Gadgetize Your Bike with these 3 Projects
Over the years at Make: there have been a ton of bike related builds, maintenance tips, and wacky modifications. It makes sense, as most bikes don’t come with much beyond the essentials to pedal and steer around town. Whether it’s adding a practical accessory such as charging your cell phone, or personalizing your frame with bright EL wire, there’s a project for you and your bike.
DJ Uses Intel Edison to Revolutionize Scratching
It doesn’t get much better than the world renowned DJ Qbert scratching insanely fast, except when every scratch is not just expressed as sound, but also sparks off of a tesla coil. That’s exactly what took place during Maker Faire Bay Area when DJ Qbert took to the stage to close the event. Turntables are instruments in their own right. That’s a lesson I learned thanks to DJs Qbert, YogaFrog, and Hard Rich, all members of Thud Rumble this past weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area.
DFRobot Encourages the Open Hardware Community
DFRobot is a Shanghai-based open source hardware facilitator whose mission is to encourage people to develop their own products and simply enable more rapid project creation. We caught up with Hector Saldana of DFRobot to find out more about the company’s offerings. Saldana notes one of their main focuses of DFRobot is to reduce the time it takes people to learn a new sensor by releasing open source code examples and libraries.
Bubble Gum Dress Is Pink Down to the Circuit Board
While it’s not often talked about, many Makers wait until the last minute to finish their projects. It’s most likely because we are all simply extremely busy and fit making into any, and every, available moment. During MakerCon we caught up with Anouk Wipprecht in the Maker Media Lab, who was furiously working to complete her latest work — the Bubble Gum Dress — in time for Maker Faire Bay Area.
Zach Supalla Announces Particle
MakerCon was full of exciting announcements, interesting presentations, and even a few surprises. Zach Supalla, co-founder and CEO of Spark IO, shocked many when he ended his presentation announcing that going forward, Spark IO will now be Particle. We caught up with Supalla and discussed his experiences building the company, his decision to change their name to Particle, and when the backers of their second crowdfunding campaign can expect to receive their new Photon boards.
The World's First $9 Computer Coming to Kickstarter
Snuggly situated in an industrial section of Oakland, CA is Next Thing Co. a team of nine artists and engineers who are pursuing the dream of a lower cost single board computer. Today they’ve unveiled their progress on Kickstarter, offering a $9 development board called Chip. The board is Open Hardware, runs a flavor of Debain Linux, and boasts a 1Ghz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of eMMC storage.
Microsoft and Arduino Announce Hardware-Support Collaboration
Microsoft seems to be getting more and more Maker friendly, and today their courtship moves further forward with the surprise announcement of two new collaborations with microcontroller makers Arduino. Both projects, announced at the Microsoft developer conference Build, involve Windows 10, and both usher in a new level of Microsoft engagement with the Maker Movement.
DIY Open Source Reflow Oven
Peter Easton and Gary Tietz are both semi-retired engineers, but still enjoy tinkering with software and hardware projects in their spare time. Together they set out to solve a big challenge for those designing small form factor electronics boards: soldering surface mount components. There are two basic approaches to soldering components on a printed circuit board (PCB): through-hole and surface mount. In the through-hole soldering each component has long wires known as leads that protrude from it.
Beats Into Bots: GlueMotor Drives PWM Servos with Smartphone Audio
One of my favorite aspects of editing projects at Make: is seeing how other people approach technology. It’s truly energizing to see someone use a basic component in a way you’d never think of doing yourself. Such an experience is exactly what happened when I first saw Kazu Terasaki’s GlueMotor — a method of controlling servo motors with PWM via a phone or tablet over a 3.5mm audio cable.
20 Projects To Celebrate Arduino Day
In the spirit and celebration of Arduino Day, we’ve compiled a list of some great past projects for your enjoyment. While the Arduino UNO and older Duemilanove are two of the most common Arduino boards, the MEGA and the Yún should not be avoided. The MEGA is much like the UNO, however, it has an expanded number of input and output pins, and is often used to control 3D printers. The Yún is ideal for project where onboard wifi connectivity is a must.
The Surprising Maker Backstory of Intel's Tiny Edison Computer
Brian Krzanich stood in front of a packed audience at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas, backed by a sea of oversized blue display screens. The Intel CEO had just finished presenting a smartwatch and headset — new wearable projects that the company was collaborating on — when he reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be an SD card.
Cellular Connectivity Comes to Microcontrollers With The Spark Electron
Meet Electron from Spark, the new board that puts GSM cellular connectivity directly on the microcontroller. With its onboard cellular antenna, this diminutive board will offer a huge range of deployment options and alleviate the hassle of using a custom cellular breakout board with your micro controller projects. They’re offering two versions, with either 2G or 3G connectivity. It thankfully also reduces the frustration of dealing with mobile carriers — more on that in a moment.
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