Tindie

While not every hacker has a vector network analyzer on their bench, those into the RF side of things likely do. VNAs have long had a cloud of mystery about them, due to their (at a glance) unintelligible display output. However, they are in essence a very simple pair of instruments: a signal generator, and a signal analyzer. One of the outputs sends out an RF signal, which goes through the device under test, and then back into the input of the VNA. It can then see how the device affects the signal, and if any power is reflected back into the output of the VNA. This allows designers to test RF components, like antennas and filters.

However, the average VNA was, for a long time, a very expensive piece of equipment, reserved only for the telecom labs and research facilities. Over the last decade or so, the prices have fallen to the point that RF hobbyists can start to use them. The NanoVNA smashes through the existing price floor, bringing a 3GHz VNA to the market for under $60.

While the specs won’t be winning any awards, the device is still very usable for RF hobbyists and amateur radio operators in particular. Being USB-powered, it’s possible to use it with a powerbank, making a portable unit which is perfect for field testing. There is also on-board charge circuitry, so the end-user can add a lithium-ion battery pack to the unit and make it self-contained!

A bonus is the software packages that it can work with — namely this very cool open source VNA package. This allows further analysis to be done on a PC, opening up more detailed and advanced measurement capabilities.

If you are into RF design, check out the NanaVNA V2 and let us know what you think!

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GPS modules are coming down in price, with cheaper units made overseas being available for under $10. However, they come with some disadvantages. They typically have lower accuracy, and worse reception. This means it takes a lot longer to get an initial fix, like the GPS receivers from the 1990s which needed an open sky and many minutes.

But a recent chipset from Mediatek has improved in both areas. It is more accurate and more sensitive. This GPS receiver board from elektronic-idee pairs the new Mediatek MT3333 chipset with a beefy antenna connector. With the included antenna, it’s possible to get decent GPS reception indoors. This makes it an ideal partner to a GPS-disciplined clock source for your home lab. Even a high-quality rubidium oscillator can be improved by adding GPS discipline. You will see an even bigger difference when pairing it with either a temperature compensated or oven controlled quartz oscillator. (Psst, the same seller actually sells a pre-made GPS-disciplined oscillator that integrates this same GPS chipset!)

This receiver supports 33 channels of tracking with 99 channels for acquisition. It supports both GPS and GLONASS, as well as various SBAS (Satellite-based Augmentation Systems) which can, in certain parts of the world, give more accurate location fixes and timing outputs. In this category, it supports both current and future American, Japanese, and European augmentation systems.

It can give accurate position data using as little as 7mA! Even in full-power tracking mode, the GPS module only uses 23mA. This is an order of magnitude better than older generation chipsets, and can dramatically increase battery life. This makes options like solar or energy harvesting viable.

The chipset boasts an active interference canceller, and a built-in logging function. This is the perfect chipset to use in low-power IoT solutions that need location data. As a bonus, the seller includes an active GPS antenna which supports 3.3 or 5V (though the board itself runs at 3.3V) that will improve signal reception. Compared to passive antennas, the difference can be amazing, especially when indoors or when line-of-sight to the sky is impeded.

If you’ve been looking for a low-power, high-accuracy GPS receiver, or if you’ve been wanting to add GPS discipline to your lab oscillator, this board is a great choice!

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I love LEDs, and I think they make fun additions to projects and badges. One of the coolest uses for LEDs is in interactive art displays. Using this kind of illuminated pixel art can add a creative flair to your space.

The ElectroMage 8×8 LED Matrix is a simple kit for assembling an interactive LED art piece. It’s made up of 64 SK6812 (WS2812/NeoPixel) addressable LEDs arranged in an 8×8 matrix grid of LEDs. The kit comes with the LED board assembled and a 3-pin 0.1″ female header with 140mm long leads for connecting to your favorite controller board, be it an Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, or similar hardware.

The board is only 67.5mm by 67.5mm, so you can set it up just about anywhere. Since the LEDs are SK6812, they can be used with any library or LED controller that supports WS2812 / Neopixel.

Be sure to also check out ElectroMage’s other awesome products to create amazing lighting displays for any occasion.

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Beekeeping can be a rewarding pastime, but how can you assure that your hive’s health is in tiptop shape? The BeeCorder Beta provides beekeepers with the beehive’s weight, temperature, and humidity.

Bees are a vital part of the Earth’s ecosystem. They are responsible for the pollination of an estimated 75% of nuts, fruits, and vegetables that are grown in the United States alone. It is important to keep track of the Beehive’s health, and the BeeCorder makes this possible with accurate data and by calculating the differential over the course of the season.

The BeeCorder Beta is a long-lasting battery-powered WiFi sensor used to measure and store data on a beehive. It was created as a low-cost alternative wireless sensor logging system for hobbyists beehive keepers.

Each BeeCorder Beta is shipped as an assembled unit, just install and configure the WiFi. It includes:

• A 3-foot cable to the internal and external DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor.
• A control module.
• A weight sensor module that should be placed under the hive.
• A 18650 battery holder (with an option to purchase a 9V battery clip connector instead)

Start collecting data and help your bees bee their very best!

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Music and electronics go together like… drum and bass. If, however you’re looking to use the ever-popular WS2812B LED strips with your install, this will normally take some medium-ish level of hacking. Such an install can be a lot of fun and/or a good learning experience

On the other hand, if you just want to start creating awesome light effects to go with your sound, then this Music Visualizer by ‘justcallmekoko’ will create analyzer-based 2-channel LED outputs by simply plugging a few things in. The device is based on the ATmega329 and uses a pair of MSGEQ7s to split the audio into seven distinct frequencies on two channels. Note that you’ll need to include the LED strip itself.

While a YouTube video is “coming soon” as of this writing, the video below details the more DIY version of this visualizer that ‘koko built in 2018. You won’t have to go through this whole process with this product, but it should give you an idea of what you can expect results-wise starting at around the 4:25 mark. More details on the visualizer board’s usage is found on GitHub.

For another take on a spectrum analyzer, we covered this Arduino Nano-based solution back in 2018!

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Granular synthesis is one of the most beautiful, expressive and atmospheric forms of sound generation, using what could be tiny fragments (or “grains”) and playing them back at high speed to give birth to new sounds. The Eskite Granular Synthesizer is one such tabletop synth which will deliver the synthetic backdrop to your aural soundscapes!

The Eskite Granular Synthesizer is based on the Auduino, which is a sound synthesiser created on the Arduino platform – and has its heart in the form of an ATMega328 microcontroller. It creates expressive and robotic tones through the relationship of two triangle waves; interacting and undulating to create FOF (“Fonction d’onde formantique”) synthesis inspired tones.

It features six scale modes including logarithmic, diatonic, C major, C minor, C Pentatonic Major and C Pentatonic Minor. It has a CV input to connect to external gear and create melodies, basslines and textures.

It features 2 filters, each of which have cutoff and resonance control – accompanied by volume and pitch controls. It’s powered by a 9v adapter and features a 1/4″ jack socket to plug into. The Eskite Granular Synth is sold by Oficina de Sonido, who are based in Mexico! See the video below to hear what it sounds like:

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Nixie Tube clocks, temperature/humidity displays, and the like look beautiful, and bring a little bit of joy to our lives. On the other hand, you can check the time and weather on your phone or computer, or possibly even the watch that you wear every day, arguably making them unnecessary.

Taking this one step further, if you enjoy the warm glow of Nixie tubes, but don’t necessarily want another timekeeping device, then this Useless Nixie Device Kit may be just the thing for you. This device claims no temporal measurement services but lists its main function as being “good looking.” You might even say it’s the Derek Zoolander of the Nixie world.

To its credit, the device does look great, with a red and white housing and transparent socket. A red or clear tube can also be included as an option. It comes as a kit—so it does at least have some educational value—and the build process is beautifully photographed in its assembly instructions. When completed, it cycles through the characters with a constant speed.

For other Tindie Nixie Tube options, you might check out the driver board that we featured here, or you can see how I assembled my own Nixie clock in this post.

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WuffWuff, as described on its listing, is a heavy distortion footpedal “that Howls with Harmonics and has plenty of Sustain!” This effects pedal works best with a 12V power supply, and features a single knob to control the volume.

The pedal comes as an assembled and working unit, not as a kit, and as such there’s not a huge amount of info on its product page. You can, however, hear how awesome sounds it makes in the video below. Even those of us that don’t play electric guitar have to really appreciate its bright silver finish—thus, apparently, the SilverBullet moniker—that looks like it would hold up to use at venues commensurate with its really excellent sound.

Of course, if you want to go an entirely opposite direction with your guitar effects production, we featured a blank guitar effects pedal here, allowing you to make things sound exactly the way you want. You might also check out the 528 products listed as of this writing on the expansive Tindie sound section—worth a browse just to see what’s out there!

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Ah, USB Power Delivery, my favourite part of the new USB-C specification. Finally, high-speed charging through reversible USB cables! It’s great to see more hackers using USB PD in their USB-C designs, and this is a nifty little charging upgrade for Lenovo Thinkpad laptops. The downsides of older laptop charging systems are having a proprietary cable, and the fragility of barrel connectors over time. Using USB-C as a laptop charging cable is a great idea, which many modern laptops have started to incorporate. But why not bring that new technology to existing laptops?

Many laptops end up with broken or worn-out charging cables (you should see mine — it’s a big mess of heat shrink and hot glue). A replacement power supply from the manufacturer can be as much as $150! Using third-party power supplies is possible with some manufacturers, but my Dell laptop has a secret serial connection to the charger, which it uses to query and find out if the charger is genuine. If it doesn’t respond, or if the cable breaks (grumble grumble) the laptop will run at a reduced clock speed, and it won’t charge the battery. What a pain!

Luckily, Handy Tools of Taiwan has created this replacement module that converts a range of laptop charging ports to USB-C. It is aimed at the Thinkpad X220 and X230, but there are a variety of different Lenovo laptops that use the same power connector. Be sure to check the power rating of your existing power brick and order the correct replacement! You will also need to pick up a USB-C wall adapter that supports Power Delivery at the voltage and current your device needs. These are becoming more common, and prices are falling, so that shouldn’t be too difficult! Note that Handy Tools also offers a similar replacement module for another range of Lenovo laptops. Very cool!

If you are curious about the Power Delivery spec, I highly recommend checking out the USB Implementer’s Forum PDF about Power Delivery. It’s amazing to me that they have released this spec for free — no yearly fees for access to their specs! This enables hackers like Handy Tools to easily create devices which can interface with existing USB PD chargers and take advantage of their flexible output voltages.

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Competitiveness is one of my stronger qualities. I’m still trying to decide if that’s a good or bad thing. My close friends and family may favor the latter. While I contemplate my penchant for winning, check out this hilariously named competitive speed game on Tindie!

The ButtSnap, yes that’s the real name, is a simple competitive speed game meant to be played by two players. This product is a mini PCB with two buttons, one for each player, and three LEDs, the center LED is the trigger used to indicate the start of the game, the two outter LEDs indicate which play has won the round.

The game is played by each player placing their thumb/finger on a button. Once the trigger LED flashes on, the fastest player to press their button wins. The winner is shown by their LED lighting up.

The game features randomly timed rounds and bonus rounds where the player who presses the button the most times wins. Fun fact: the speed of the flashing of the trigger LED during this bonus round is set to the same speed as the current world record for button pressing!

Players can check the game’s score as well as the high score. The ButtSnap is powered by a CR2032 battery, which is included.

Harness your inner competitor and grab a friend to see who has the best reflexes.

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