Tindie

At a very young age, I learned the value of an adapter. It’s very rare that electronics easily connect to one another, doubly so when you’re working with devices from two different eras.

To this point, if you are someone who has a vintage BBC Microcomputer around, you know that its RS423 port can be cumbersome if you’re trying to interface with a modern PC.

This capable adapter lets you connect your BBC Micro’s RS423 port to a PC USB port. This allows you to transfer files from your PC to the microcomputer and vice versa at modern speeds.

It comes with a 500mm cable that leads to a 5-pin “domino” DIN plug for the BBC Micro. The other side is a mini-USB socket to receive a standard USB cable from the PC.

It also works with the full range of speeds available on the RS423 port, including 19200 baud. You can find the full manual online in PDF form as well.

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Two things any successful party requires are flashing lights and good music. Everything else is icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned. Specifically, those lights should have a pattern that matches or complements the music.

Hex-O can take care of this for you. It takes two matte black PCBs in the shape of a hexagon and adds in 8 back-soldered RGB LEDs in a circular pattern. The LEDs are driven by a programmable SAMD20 microcontroller, while the other PCB has a CR2032 battery holder.

You’ll need to assemble the device when it arrives using the M3 Hexagon spacers provided. Due to shipping restrictions, you will also need to provide the ubiquitous CR2032 coin cell battery, but these are small obstacles on your way to making some amazing LED light patterns.

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Weird and out-there synth sounds are forever the flavour of the month in the experimental electronic world, but it’s also imperative to have an instrument play in tune when you need it to behave. Owners of the MFOS Sound Lab Mini-Synth can now convert their device into a finely tuned instrument using the newly released Sync Mod Board, adding more accurate control over the pitch playback of the synth compared to the original version.

The Sync Mod Board is a small PCB which attaches conveniently to the main board, having removed a couple of existing components. Once this is done, you have access to a tigher sync between VCO1 and VCO2, as well as a drastic improvement to the tracking ability of VCO2 – meaning the same instrument suddenly becomes a lot more playable.

The circuit is based on Ray Wilsons original modifactions to the SLMS circuit, but takes out much of the re-wiring, meaning you’re less likely to interfere with the original board and its native behaviour. This modification is compatible with all SLMS machines with the original Sync circuitry – Surface Mount/Eurorack versions between 1.0 and 1.3. See the guidelines here for all the instructions on whats required.

The SLMS Mod ships from France by Electronic Things… And Stuff, check out their store for more amazing electronic products!

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In my travels I have some seen some truly amazing projects that use RGB LEDs to create incredible effects. Some are big, some small, but they always make an impression.

The EspRing is a new 12-bit neopixel ring that uses ws2812b RGB LEDs, but here’s the big news: it also includes an ESP8266 12E module built right into the design. The result is a neopixel ring with an onboard microcontroller, which removes an extra step towards your own personal light show.

The LEDs are individually addressable, so you only need one data pin from the microcontroller, along with VCC and GND to run a bunch of them. You can even control the color and brightness of each pixel.

Combine this with WiFi support from the ESP module, and you can even change effects or reprogram it remotely.

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Video game controllers started out simple, but they’ve become wide and varied over the years (Microsoft’s Kinect, anyone?). This is due to technology’s progress, of course, but it’s also a product of new and interesting ideas from the engineers who design them.

The Crazy Circuits Kit lets you bridge the gap between these two ideas by building your own NES controller that uses materials completely different from the original design.

The kit comes with everything you need to build a controller. The circuit parts are ready to use out-of-the-box, so there’s no soldering or preparation needed. The laser-cut components are a good place to start, but you can go beyond the design and turn any conductive object into a button, thanks to the included Touch Board.

When I say any conductive material, I mean it. The kit mentions many strange choices like dough, ink, or even cups of water. To make things even more interesting, the parts are compatible with LEGO and similar brick-based building blocks.

For those who want to explore circuitry, design, or even just the world of gaming controllers, this kit is a perfect fit.

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In this image are the store names of sellers who are attending, and some who couldn’t come, but still contributed to the #TindieSurprise!

Last year was my first Hackaday Superconference, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. For those who were in attendance, you may recall the Tindie meetup we had that featured both sellers and members of the community, along with their hardware and projects.

This year, Tindarians are coming to Supercon in an even bigger way. Our meetup makes its triumphant return, multiple sellers and friends of the community are doing some awesome talks, and we even have a surprise in store for those who are coming.

Tindie Meetup at Supercon 2019

First and foremost, be sure to set a reminder for our Tindie meetup this year. Join us at 4:10PM on Saturday in the workshop area between the Supplyframe DesignLab and LACM.

Bring your demos, hardware you want to swap, or whatever project you’re currently trying to make time for. Who knows, you may find the inspiration you need to get it done.

Talks and Demos From Fellow Tindarians and Friends

When you’re not attending workshops or hacking this year’s badge, keep in mind that several prominent Tindarians and members of the community are hosting talks and demos throughout Supercon:

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Sequencing a synth is integral to getting a classic electronic sound, and with the two of them married together in one box, you can achieve instant New Order or Rex The Dog – just add drums! The Sismo Iter Analog Synth is a mini tabletop analog synth with two 8-step sequencers to create noodling melodies, sparse bleeps and deep bass undulations. It has square and triangle waveforms, similar to the classic Roland TB-303, for hard edged sounds or softer harmonic waves depending on what you need.

The sequencers send CV and gate data to the analog oscillators for serious monophonic playback – with controls for each note step, tempo, speed and LFO depth, with outputs for audio and CV. The Iter is able to conjure and control sounds from rhythmic elements to ambient noises and chunky synth stabs. It’s beautifully designed and housed in a wooden case with high quality components used throughout, finished off with a sleek looking front panel.

The synth comes fully constructed and is available in two colours, powered by a 9-12 V DC center positive supply (not included). It’s in the featherweight category weighing in at 350g and measuring 11.5cm x 10cm x 8cm.

Check out more products from Sismo Synths here who are shipping it from Portugal.

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Most IoT projects require some sort of display. It could be for tracking scores, monitoring the price of bitcoin, or any other type of real-time data. While some projects require a complex display, sometimes you just need something simple and elegant to get the job done.

In the spirit of this, the Tickertape Retro Display offers a fully built solution that plays well with just about every platform. The fully assembled module is compatible with Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, and others.

The vibrant 12-segment LED display is easy to hookup to all kinds of microcontrollers with an I2C interface and libraries for all the devices listed above. Those extra segments offer a lot more flexibility than 7-segment displays which are limited to traditional HEX characters. It works with 3.3v and 5v projects and includes multiple brightness settings as well. The display comes fully assembled, so the only thing you need to provide is a microcontroller to get started.

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The trend in electronics for the last few decades has always been to make things smaller. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to turn the trend on its head and make something bigger. A lot bigger.

Robert Fizsimons brought a Giant Arduino Starter kit to commemorate his first Maker Faire as an exhibitor back in 2012. Everything about it was scaled upward in size by ten times. Since the LEDs themselves were portable, he started bringing them to other Faires and people always asked when they could buy one.

LED for scale

The massive LEDs even made an appearance at Maker Faire Rome in October of 2019. Hackaday’s Editor in Chief, Mike Szczys, even hinted at the idea that Robert could bring these novelty LEDs to his Tindie store.

The wait is finally over. Those who are interested can purchase their own Giant LED on Robert’s store, but don’t be surprised if they’re sold out. The first batch was 40% off as part of a Beta Testing Sale, and they were sold out before you could say “Light Emitting Diode.”

Beyond the novelty of a massive LED, the process by which they are made and still manage to function like a traditional LED is truly fascinating. You can read all about Robert’s journey to selling them on Tindie on the store page, and he also did a video series on YouTube showcasing how they were made, the first of which is below:

While they are still sold out as I write this, those who are interested can sign up for a waitlist on the store’s page to be notified when they’re back in stock.

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Portable equipment and projects rely entirely on the stability of their batteries to remain active and functional. With that much pressure on one aspect of the hardware, wouldn’t it make sense to have something watching the battery’s back?

The Battery Saver Breakout (BSB) features the MAXIM MAX1614 high-side NMOSFET switch driver, which provides battery power-switching functions in portable equipment.

It also features a 1.5%-accurate low-battery comparator which is able to identify low-battery conditions and provide an early warning to the system’s microprocessor or even disconnect the battery from the load. This prevents deep discharge or damage to the battery. All of this, and it even implements reverse current protection as well.

It’s also possible to use this device for projects powered by DC power supplies and regulators. With power being the common denominator in practically every project, a little extra protection could go a long way.

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