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There’s a lot of choices to be made these days when it comes to picking out which microcontroller and development board you might choose to tinker with and learn on. Arduino based boards and projects represent a great option with their mature environment and there massive user community and collection of online resources. If you want to bypass a pure Arduino board you could always jump straight to an Arduino-based project. A good example could be the Wizzard Game Development platform.

The Wizzard has an ATmega328p on board, the same chip at the heart of many Arduino boards. The ATmega328P is programmable on the Wizzard via the 6-pin ICSP connector; the board just uses the USB port for power. The Wizzard has 9 NeoPixels on board, with each NeoPixel having an associated momentary switch.  Across the bottom of the device there are 3 other momentary buttons for select, enter and reset and there is a small onboard buzzer for simple audio output.

Included on the Wizzard are numerous game examples: Tic Tac Toe, Simon Says, and other simple games that use the buttons and the NeoPixels. Each example is written in the Arduino IDE and the code is available on the project repository linked from the product page. One thing we love is that there is an STL for a printable cover for the device, and the cover uses the manufacturers’ panel edges which, when left on the Wizzard, create a simple way to attach the cover. Quite genius!

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I’m lucky enough to own a few 3D printers, and largely in this modern era, they work really well without too much tinkering and optimisation. Most of the time my printed results are close enough and I don’t get too hung up on calibration. When I do need higher dimensional accuracy one of my starting points is to check the diameter of the filament and then calibrate my extrusion and flow rates accordingly. It’s quite interesting how variable a nominally 1.7mm filament can be. The bdwidth is a device you can place in the filament path and it will constantly check the filament width and report the filament motion; combine it with a Klipper-controlled machine and it will automatically adjust the flow rate to constantly match the filament properties.

It’s an interesting device. Powered via USB, the onboard screen gives live feedback to the user. Its optical system can return filament dimensions to an accuracy of +- 0.015mm using a high-resolution CCD sensor. It also has the more common filament sensor functions built in such as jam detection and it will detect run-out situations and again can link to Klipper to pause the printer on detection of these conditions. There are options to connect this back to your machine via USB or I2C, and the USB port can also be used to update the firmware. Over on the repository, there are instructions on how to install this into Klipper which looks really straightforward and a Klipper config file addition is also supplied.

So if you want to optimize your prints just a little bit more, check out the bdwidth and let us know what you’re printing with it!

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I’m getting old! While I still own a couple of skateboards and longboards they are gathering dust and merely looking in their direction can make my knees ache in anticipation! I’ve never played with electric skateboards but have seen a few about and they look incredibly fun, and for some journeys, a decent transport option. In operation, E-Skateboards tend to have a handheld remote and a receiver unit attached to the board with the drive mechanism. Improving the remote experience is the mission of the Z.Mote and it’s clear to see it’s had a lot of thought put into the design process.

This particular Z.Mote is an iteration of an earlier remote with more emphasis on styling as well as tweaks to the already impressive functionality. Over on the product page, they describe the work getting the hall effect sensors and throttle to behave well and hint at the amount of CAD iterations getting the PCB and the physical case perfect. On board are addressable RGB LEDs which clearly show the connection status and there is a handy light bar feature which adds a torch-like function to the Z.Mote.

It all adds up to a well-engineered controller, with the additional lighting feature being useful and also a safety feature making the rider more visible. The product looks fantastic and from the product reviews it’s clear that customers have enjoyed using the device. Though it is supplied fully assembled, you’ll need to source your own 102050 Lithium-Polymer battery and you can choose which connector type you would like fitted to the receiver so you can be up and skating with style in no time.

Remember, whenever you’re skating, always wear a helmet and appropriate safety gear! You don’t want to be someone wishing you had worn a helmet, you’d rather be the one thankful you did.

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LED filaments have been around for a while now and have been increasingly spotted in all kinds of projects. They offer some really nice properties in terms of light output and physical flexibility, plus they are pretty easy to drive. One of the original industry use cases for them was making retro light bulbs that mimic older filament bulb aesthetics, therefore it’s really cool to see the RetroLite, a retro-looking modern seven-segment display using them.

Project creator Eean discusses over on the product page that RetroLite is a development continuing from an earlier product: the InfiDig, a similar project, which, under certain conditions, had some small issues with flickering. The form factor has changed a bit too, taking advantage of card-edge connectors which can be used with the proper connectors, or you could cut a slot into your PCB and solder them directly in place! With the proper slot width, you could easily get a tilted display for easy reading.

The RetroLite has moved away from Charlieplexing and now features an onboard direct drive approach to address each LED filament. The result is an easy-to-use device that only needs addressing for changes and makes the creation of numbers, letters, and custom displays even easier. It uses the classic 74HC595 shift register, so there are lots of libraries and example code to get you up and running.  You can drive these displays via an SPI bus, but it is equally possible to drive them from any GPIO.

Supplied fully assembled, their great instructions and documentation are over on the repositories linked on the product page, and the design files are also available. As such we expect to see these cute chain-able glowing displays popping up in lots of projects.

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If you haven’t come across the M5Cardputer before don’t be fooled by the header image of this post. That keyboard is usually a full qwerty setup. The M5Cardputer is an ESP32-S3-powered device with lots of hardware wrapped around it. There is Bluetooth and WiFi, a diminutive but crisp 1.14″ TFT display, a MEMS microphone, an SD card slot, USB-C and much more. It’s a heap of programmable fun and, best of all, it’s around $30. Therefore we are not surprised to see it begin to pop up for resale with custom firmware and modifications for specific use cases, like this excellent 10LC Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) calculator.

RPN is rarely seen in modern calculators but was once a more common option. If you are unfamiliar, in math using reverse Polish notation the operators follow their operands. This means that the conventionally notated “2 + 3 – 1” becomes “2 3 + 1 -“. All operations are based on a stack, and using an RPN calculator is a great way to learn about how stacks work from a practical point of view.

RPN calculators were a hallmark of Hewlett-Packard scientific calculators, and are very collectable, often fetching a few hundred dollars for a good-condition classic. While emulation in software/apps is a good way to explore RPN nothing beats the feel of some real clicky hardware.

With its Xtensa 32-bit LX7 dual-core processor, the M5Cardputer-based 10LC is pretty powerful under the hood. It’s capable of processing 100,000 iterations of a loop in around 10 seconds. The custom 10LC firmware (pre-installed) has font size and colour options as well as optional audible keyboard beeps. The 10LC also comes with custom stickers to add to the M5Cardputer, but as this is a stock M5Cardputer under the hood, if the RPN calculator isn’t ultimately the calculator for you, you’ll find many interesting projects based around this fun little handheld.

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It’s fair to say the RP2040 from Raspberry Pi has swept through the makerverse and become a solid and affordable microcontroller for lots of projects. The chip itself is finding its way onto many independent development board designs, which are getting smaller and smaller. The RP2040 Zero from Waveshare is a variant of an RP2040 board that is so compact it lends itself well to wearable projects. It’s great to see this fabulous little collection of RP2040 Zero wearable cases and mounts appear here on Tindie.

The project creator suggests that these are “nothing fancy” and that you could probably make your own; however, this isn’t easy for those without access to a laser cutter. The upper and lower sections of the cases are laser cut from 1mm microply. The upper panel has two cutout sections which, combined with the flex in the thin ply, form button covers for tactile buttons. There is also a small hole which aligns with the RP2040 Zero onboard LED. Between the upper and lower plywood parts, there is a plastic spacer forming the walls of the cases and also creating the wrist mount loops in the pictured option. There are other options, however. A plain standalone case is available, as well as a case with wings on the rear cover and screw holes for mounting onto your project.

If you have the tools, you might want to create your own case — but if not you might consider one of these well thought out, affordable cases. It might save you a few valuable hours that you can assign to other parts of your RP2040 Zero project!

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There’s a wealth of options to add small displays to microcontroller projects but it can be a little bewildering to know where to start; additionally, it can also be a little bit of a lottery in terms of getting a quality image and frame rate. The vPlayer is an innovative little ESP32-based touchscreen display that aims to make this easier.

The bespoke PCB design hosts an ESP32 and a smartwatch display as well as a collection of connectors and an SD card. In fact, the fully assembled and tested device comes with an SD card and an example test video file on board. Over on the documentation pages, there is a link to a custom Windows or Mac video converter application which allows you to convert video files to the correct format, which you can then copy to the vPlayer SD card and it will loop through all the files on the card. If you’re a Linux user then fear not! There is an example command also on the documentation page allowing you to use ffmpeg to convert files using the terminal.

Video playing aside, there are heaps of examples for the vPlayer listed on the product page and shown in the product video. Among the examples are direct ESP-CAM feed monitoring, a local weather station display, traffic webcam feeds, an external computer telemetry display and more.

Power comes via USB-C which also can transport data. As with all ESP32s, there is onboard WiFi and Bluetooth. The smartwatch display is small but crisp and there is onboard backlight control as well as a touch interface. Digging into the specs there are UART, I2C and I2S broken out to JST SH/SR connectors as well as further IO pads available on the PCB.

With a commitment to continued updates and examples being developed, this is a really interesting project which we hope to see incorporated into lots of projects!

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Interestingly, I’ve been wanting to write up the XIAO Powerbread product for quite a while. In a rare peek behind the scenes, we here at the Tindie blog only tend to write about products that are in stock at the time of writing. A while ago I came across the XIAO Powerbread and promptly bought one and, naturally, my purchase took it out of stock!

Now back in stock, the XIAO Powerbread is an excellent and clever breadboard power supply. While there are lots of breadboard power supplies available, this one has features that take it a notch above most. It offers two outputs of the commonly used 3.3 V and 5 V. With the built-in LCD display the onboard voltage and current sensing functions are clearly shown and updated in real time. It’s excellent to be able to see voltage, current and power use.

Supplied as either a kit or assembled the XIAO Powerbread utilises an onboard RP2040 IC and the entire project is open source. There’s mention on the product page that future updates might include additional functionality such as USB serial communication and even PWM control. However, as a robust power supply capable of delivering up to 1.5A it’s a fantastic tool to have on your desk as it stands.

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I’m not quite old enough to remember the CMOS 4000 series ICs being released. I do, however, have a massive fondness for the series as, some years ago, I fell into the heady world of “Lunetta” building. Lunetta builders, working in the vein of Stanley Lunetta, create noisy synths using only the CMOS 4000 series running at audio rates in a way that was never particularly intended. The fact that you can make 6 square wave oscillators from a single CD40106 still excites me and a close follow-up favourite was making lo-tech sequencers using the CD4017 decade counter. Nostalgia aside, the CD4017 is an excellent chip that allowed clock and counter devices to be made very simply, including many early digital timepieces. This excellent CD4017 Digital Logic Clock V2.0 kit allows you to learn about the CD4017 and also practice your surface mount soldering to build this attractive clock.

Supplied as a PCB and components you’ll need a fine-tipped soldering iron and some thin SMD solder around 0.4mm or less. If you have done some through hole soldering before and want to try surface mount then this is potentially a great project to learn with. Over on the product page, there is a link in the documentation section to a web page with numerous videos and guides on how to build this device. Another option is “drag soldering” using a flat-blade tip to “drag” the solder along the leads. There are some excellent videos online demonstrating all sorts of SMD techniques — be sure to check them out! It’s not nearly as hard as it’s made out to be.

The device combines 6 x CD4017 decade counters which allows it to have an LED display for hours, minutes and seconds. The timebase is built around a 32.768 kHz crystal, with a CD4060 and 4027 dividing that down by 2¹⁴ resulting in a 2 Hz clock pulse. It’s built largely using the same type of technology as now vintage digital timepieces and, as such, should keep time well. Powered over USB, we can imagine this sitting on a desk or workbench as an excellent and attractive conversation starter.

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For many years a common hardware tool for learning about attacking and testing WiFi networks has been the Deauther. The original Deauther tended to be built around the ESP8266 and could create and execute a variety of attacks on 2.4 GHz WiFi networks. The original is an amazing device and has been built into all kinds of form factors including the classic watch package. Of course, the march of time and technology moves onward and now it’s very common to see or own 5 GHz WiFi systems. This new Realtek RDl8720DN-based Deauther tool can now explore and attack both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks simultaneously.

Of course we need to mention that you need to check your local laws before owning this in your region and you should only use this device to attack your own WiFi networks and devices or those that you expressly have permission to do so. The device differs a little from the original 2.4 GHz Deauther tool in that it only acts to send Deauther packages whereas the original project had numerous attack methodologies.

This 5 GHz Deauthor tool is supplied fully flashed and assembled and there is a choice of colours for the 3D-printed enclosure. Power is supplied via an included USB-C cable giving you plenty of options for mobile and desk-based experimentation.

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