#OpenHardware

[adafruit]

Festival of Lights… A 'USB Stick' Sparkle Motion WLED driver ✨💡🔌🌟

To wrap up this year, we're doing 8 days (maybe!) of light-filled designs. We started with the Sparkle Motion Mini

which can drive thousands of shimmering RGB LEDs. Next, we were going through some of our NeoPixel samples today and found some "LED Christmas light kit" with star LEDs, its basically these stars

with a little USB plug that has IR, a crummy mic, a tactile switch to cycle modes manually, and a tiny microcontroller that turns the LED selections to different patterns - kinda like this:

The idea is cute - but the implementation could be improved with a lil sparkle motion

! we made a PCB that would fit into the same plastic enclosure but with an ESP32 instead. it's got an IR receiver, ICS-43434 I2S digital microphone

https://www.digikey.com/short/mmv3tthz

gpio 0 button in the 'right' place, 5V 2A fuse, USB-serial converter for uploading/debugging, and two level-shifted outputs. We can probably get the case in quantity or have this be a 'DIY replacement' that folks can use to make their existing setups WLED/xLights friendly.

[borismann]

Campaign launch for Tangara Music Player today:

Tangara is a cool, hackable, ESP32-powered music player that provides high-quality audio, long battery life, and a design that’s easy to customize, repair, and upgrade.

It’s the year of tiny hardware, so yes, I ordered one!

#music #openhardware #opensource

[aditiandslick]

Episode 1: Irony in the wasteland

Another hot sweaty day as Slick and I hobble through the waste lands in search of electronics to trade for food. As I hobble along, I think that you have to smile at the irony of life.  My rich parents were lost in a freak bird accident in our flying car. I was lucky as the accident only left me short one leg. Lucky – sort of. That accident not only stripped me of my family, but it changed my whole way of life. When I was injured I was thrown out of Metro with the trash into the wastelands.

Now 3 years later, I scavenge to survive with my best friend -a fox bird- I call Slick. Slick kept me alive in this dump by finding food in Metro’s waste before I figured out how to live in the wasteland. Believe it or  not, I am not alone. Metro has many rejects or as they say “jects” scattered all over the sprawling wasteland. 

I grew up rich and comfortable. My parents had both been ruling elites in Metro that backed a zero tolerance for the weak and disabled. Now I find myself with the other jects searching through Metro’s trash to survive.

My name is Aditi, which my dad said came from an ancient tongue that meant unimpaired. Pretty funny right for a girl with only one leg? Worse, or perhaps funnier, my missing foot still itches!

But my Mom says Aditi is actually Sanskrit for “free” - I guess I am free out here to do as I please. I please, of course, to find waste with some value left in it so Slick and I don’t starve to death.

[3dwithus]

Open source is on everyone's mind these days. Check out:   Book Review | Create, Share, and Save Money Using Open-Source Projects

[system76]

System76 Gets Animated For New Handcrafted Computer

System76 is releasing a new open-source computer, available for preorder next month. In the coming weeks, before the finalized hardware is announced, a four-part animation will be released weekly, with design updates hidden within a game portion of the story.

The animated videos follow the journey of two characters: Zoe, the Pop!_OS installer bot for System76 computers, and Tenzen, an engineer. Tenzen travels through a dark corner of the universe, called the Thelio System, to find the origins of Zoe’s damage in order to repair her. 

An interactive game portion for each chapter allows players to explore unique settings in order to guide Tenzen on his journey. These settings contain easter eggs for players to unlock secrets pertaining to the design of the new computer.

The story itself contains different worlds, each representing an antithesis to open source ideals. These themes are utilized to draw attention to the importance of open source in the evolution of technology. The parallel drawn between open source and the Thelio computer also helps System76 celebrate its milestone as the company transitions to manufacturing its own open hardware. CEO Carl Richell has been striving to achieve this goal since the company’s inception in 2005, and is eager to bring the new hardware to customers and open source fans alike.

Those who are interested in learning more about Thelio can subscribe for updates and follow the saga at thel.io leading up to the preorder release next month.

[blitzcitydiy]

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A post shared by Blitz City DIY (@blitzcitydiy)

‪My breadboard is a bit precarious but here’s some sweet @adafruit crickit Circuit Python seesaw IR analog action ⚡️🐍🦗🕹‬ #diy #tech #electronics #hardware #opensource #openhardware #circuitplayground #circuitpython #python #programming #coding #pythononhardware #crickit #robot #make #makersgonnamake #makersmovement #nerdlife https://www.instagram.com/p/BtFTBChHr_O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1p44iwe2ty5tm

[roboticaambiental]

Carros radiocontrolados mediante Arduino/ Bluetooth/Android

[de3dprintman]

The parts for my Prusa i3 Mk3 are almost finished except for the LCD holder. I'm going to use the MMU 2.0 for that one. 😉 But these parts look amazing already in transparent orange nGen and black HT by @colorfabb_official. All parts are printed on the Original Prusa i3 Mk3 by @josefprusa. 0,2 mm layers and 20% grid infill. One extra perimeter for the Colorfabb nGen. #PrusaResearch #Prusa3D #Prusai3MK3 #Colorfabb #Colorfabb_nGen #Colorfabb_HT #PimpMyPrusa #TeamOrange #Makersmovement #Makerslife #Makergram #Maker #OpenHardware #Additivemanufacturing #Additive #FDM (at Amsterdam, Netherlands) https://www.instagram.com/de3dprintman/p/Bs_YAp7nrTr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1baf7gcmhiflc

[ianaburgess]

OpenUK: Join #FutureLeaders training tomorrow at noon BST, to hear about #openhardware from @andrewjskatz and @stevehelvie - what a double act. All welcome https://www.instagram.com/p/CCtjFx1AO6k/?igshid=1fafv5ym9e57i

[adafruit]

Newxie brings the joy of nixies without the 170V power supply 💡🕰️✨

If there's one thing that melts our hearts, it's a nixie clock - we built one 20 years ago!

but nixies are hard to find now that we don't hit up the MIT swapfest at 7am anymore

well we saw this funky faux nixie clock

http://www.unitedcreation.co/marvel-tubes/

and realized they're just using the same 1.14" TFTs we stock already

so why not re-spin the breakout into a skinny right-angle-mount version? Instead of card edge, we have 2x7 right angle headers - both rows are the same contact, but this way, we get more mechanical stability. We kept the level shifting to work with 3.3V or 5V microcontrollers but dropped the micro SD card. You could stack these side by side on a breadboard with as little as 0.7" pitch!

[mifactori]

Open Design is Circular Design! Our article on Open Circular Design got updated to make the relationship between Circular Design and Open Design stronger. Open & Circular = Keep options open for the future. And here is how → https://mifactori.de/what-is-open-design #OpenDesign #CircularDesign #Sustainability #SustainableDesign #Design #IndustrialDesign #ProductDesign #OpenSource #OpenHardware #ClimateChange #CircularEconomy #Upcycling #DIY #futuredesign #futurism #circularity #revolution https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0RATCIc32/?igshid=149w0mi1iiv3m

[aditiandslick]

I was so proud of us for finding all the clean plastic. When we finally drag the bags to Doc Roys, he says “It is too bulky – there is hardly any weight even when you fill a big bag. My contacts won’t take it unless they can smuggle it...oops I mean ‘transport’ it into the cities. If you can get me a bag of it that weighs more than you I will give you a food ration and some scraps for Slick.” I pouted for a second. After all if I could get the bags here on one leg, certainty someone with two could carry it into the city.

Then my mouth turned up in a smile. I remembered the solar panel. It really did change everything. I limped home as fast I could to do research on the web. After a few hours – I had it!  I have been reading on the web how to make tools that others somewhere on this planet are making. I needed something to make the plastic waste into valuable products.  The first one I decide to build is called a shredder.  It is the easiest – I want it to make the waste plastic easier to move for Doc Roys smugglers...oops I mean ‘transporters’.

Because we live in an endless junkyard, finding the metal pieces for the shredder was way easier than I first thought. Slick and I take all the old plastic bottles that look clean and throw them in the top. I turn a crank and metal teeth bite into them and spit out plastic confetti at the bottom. It is so fun when it works the first time – even Slick is happy. Maybe he knows tasty food scraps are in his future.

Hmmmm…..If I could find some more solar panels I could use the power to run an electric motor then I would not even have to crank it.

[warrior6124]

HardDisk Spinning in Open.....💃🕺#boomerang : #gif #harddisk #hdd #openharddrive #openhardware #head #harddiskhead #geeks #computer #hardware #storagedevice (at Amandeep's Home)

[system76]

New System76 Promotion helps Provide Funds to Open Source Projects

To celebrate the launch of the open source desktop, Thelio, System76 is providing funds to open source projects throughout the holiday season.

Release for the press Nov 8 - Jan 3:  Last week, System76 launched Thelio, a powerful new open hardware desktop computer handcrafted with a free and open future in mind. The ethos of open source removes the limitations set by proprietary restrictions, empowering users to be creators. With the launch of Thelio, System76 hopes to push open hardware further than it has ever gone before and continue to inspire the masses to explore open source tools. This will only work if these tools are seen as superior to proprietary ones.

To help accomplish this end goal, System76 is giving back to the open source community. While their desktop includes open source design features, their laptops aren’t there yet. So through the holiday season, a portion of profits from laptop purchases will go toward funding open source projects until January 3rd. Specifically, projects include KiCad, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Software Foundation (FSF), and the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA).

“We picked these four projects to represent a wide array of efforts within open source initiatives.” Says Louisa Bisio at System76. 

FSF has been an important source of funding for many open source projects, as well as educating the public about free and open technology.

OSHWA encourages technological research and development, and uses the Open Source Hardware certification to help people easily identify products that embody the community definition of open source hardware.

EFF ensures that rights and freedoms are enhanced and protected as technology progresses. 

KiCad, a software tool from CERN, has been an instrumental tool in designing System76 hardware. 

System76 recognizes each project as essential proponents of the development and improvement of open source technology.

In order to draw attention to the raising of funds for these organizations, System76 is incentivizing purchases through laptop sales. The promotional video, Tuxmas, produced in a comical System76-style holiday tale, stars the mascot for Linux computing himself: Tux. The laptop discounts and the video can be seen at: https://system76.com/specials. Every purchase of a laptop donates 10$ toward open projects and customers can save $30-$100, or up to $160-$370 with upgraded components.

You can donate directly to KiCad at:  http://kicad-pcb.org/

Enjoy!

[blitzcitydiy]

🙌 🚇Ⓜ️4️⃣ 🙌 #diy #tech #electronics #opensource #openhardware #metro #hardware #circuitpython #make #makersgonnamake #makersmovement #nerdlife

[protozoid]

LFO-1 available for purchase

The LFO-1 is now ready for production, and the first production units are rolling out.

There are a number of changes over the initial design, including power supply improvements, a number of minor bug fixes, and a simple but but useful upgrade: The LED now isn’t just on/off, but undulates gradually in time with the sin and triangle waveforms!

A number of further features/improvements are also planned for Rev 2 of the board, coming as soon as the Rev 1.1 boards are sold out. I will open-source that version of the schematic too once its ready.

The LFO-1 can be purchased from tiny.cc/protozoid_lfo1 for $AUD130.

See this previous post for more information and a demo video.

Update (23 Mar 2020) : I have a few of these ready to go now using this design, but if there is a lot of interest I am considering doing a larger run with a powder coated enclosure and silk screened artwork. Please feel free to get in touch if you are interested in this.