Tindie

Once you get past LED-like power levels on your microcontroller or single-board computer project, you’ll need a more robust way to control things. Transistors and/or mechanical relays can be appropriate in many situations, and while this type of relay is well proven and, they are relatively slow, and eventually wear out.

Solid-state relays, however, isolate two circuits via an LED signal, This means they can switch loads much faster than the mechanical variety, without mechanical movements that wear out over time. They also don’t make any noise like the electromecanical variety, which can be important in some situations.

For an easy way to use 8 of these relays—at the cost of only two of your IO pins—this 8 Channel I2C Solid State Relay Module presents an attractive option. 8 SSRs are lined up on the board, and each can be used to control up to 2A of AC current. LEDs indicate the status of each SSR module, helpful in troubleshooting situations.

Relay output pins, along with an I2C header ( GND, SDA, SCL, and VCC) are broken out with screw terminals. This means that installation can be accomplished without breaking out the soldering iron, perfect for home automation or even industrial automation applications.

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Long road trips are inevitable. Most adults can keep themselves busy with portable devices or smartphones, but what about the kids? If you’re looking to unplug on a long car or train ride, you may decide to bring out a board game, but this presents a problem: how are you going to roll dice in a moving vehicle?

Hammes Hacks ran into this problem when their nieces and nephews kept losing their dice beneath the driver’s seat. And so, the Tiny Dice Kit was born. This SMD soldering kit combines an ATTINY 13 using charlieplexing, and 14 LEDs to create the faces of two dice.

While it is not Arduino compatible, the code comes preloaded onto the microcontroller. You can upload code as needed using a Bus Pirate, an AVRisp mk II or something similar. It may not be a problem you have all the time, but I think we can all agree it’s about time dice went digital.

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There are plenty of uses for a reliable GPS tracker, but in order to fully realize them you need two things: a wide range and a long battery life. The LGT-92 Dragino LoRaWAN GPS Tracker seeks to fill both of these roles by offering a combination of an Ultra Low Power STM32L072 MCU and a SX1276/1278 LoRa module into one device.

The inclusion of a 9-axis accelerometer that’s controllable by an MCU allows you to also tweak the energy profile for a variety of different purposes. Thanks to the LoRa wireless tech, users are able to send data across massive distances using low data-rates.

The ultra-long range spectrum allows for easy communication and protection from interference while also keeping power consumption low. The device is powered by a 1000mAh Li-on battery which, combined with the proper programming, will allow the device to last for weeks or even months depending on the use case.

The LGT-92 is open source, based on STM32Cube HAL drivers, with plenty of libraries available for quick and easy development.

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Every Modular musician needs a way of putting all their sounds together in one place, to balance the levels of a mix and send it to a stereo output for playback or recording. This superb 8HP Eurorack mixer is newly released and does exactly that – taking up a mere slither of your precious rack real estate, with a skiff-friendly shallow design to boot!

The concept for this mixer is simple; it has inputs for four sound sources, which can be either mono or stereo. It’ll normalize the right channel to the left to ensure you have a perfect balance between the sounds. Each input has an attenuation knob which allows you to adjust the volume from minus infinity to 0dB – with the same control for the output signal (pictured in blue).

Inside the box you’ll get the mixer (obviously!), a power lead and 4 screws to attach it to your case. If you’re starting out in modular, this is an ideal start to mixing a minimal setup which does the job simply and elegantly. It’s the first product from Canada-based JPSynths but we’re hoping for more very soon!

You’ll find more details on the product page.

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Spinning your own development board is quite the undertaking, but sometimes it’s easier to have a board ready. This ESP32 LCD development board combines a 1.8 inch color LCD, two buttons, an analog stick, and a LiPo battery. The ability to upload firmware via microUSB or OTA using Arduino IDE or MicroPython also makes it easy to get started.

The board also comes pre-loaded with the Demo sketch for Arduino. All of the code, schematics, and board files are also freely available. You can find 3D printable case files with a switch lever, should you choose to build a case for it.

With everything included here, you can dive right into coding and hardware integration. One potential use is to turn the board into a remote for your IoT devices, but the sky’s the limit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbyghr4hM7w

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When a maker creates something unique and interesting for the purposes of a gift, odds are people will want to buy it. That was exactly the case for the creator of the MagicCube. After crafting one of these lights for a Christmas present, people asked for the opportunity to purchase their own.

The design is based on an Arduino Nano, along with a few other modules. By leveraging an accelerometer and 3 WS2812b LEDs, all it takes is a quick tap to make it change color. Two taps will turn the light off as well. Satisfying and functional!

There are several colors to choose from for the base, and two kit options. One kit includes the full setup, including the PCB, accelerometer, firmware, battery, switch, base, and enclosure.

Alternatively, the other option offers just the PCB with accelerometer and firmware if you prefer to create or 3D-print your own enclosure. You’ll find assembly notes right here, so you’ll have everything you need to make a MagicCube of your own!

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Supercapacitors are fascinating devices, able to charge and discharge many more times than a traditional battery, and at a much higher rate. Conversely, they’re much slower than traditional capacitors, meaning that they’re not appropriate for use in filtering applications—so definitely not saviors for the impending cap’ supply apocalypse.

This means that short-term energy storage is where they excel, leading to the question of how to charge them. If that’s been stumping you, then be sure to check out the Meerkat Supercapacitor Charger. This device is meant to feed electrolytic double-layer capacitors—ELDCs—of 10F or more, and can accommodate 2.5 and 2.7V styles.

The device uses adjustable maximum power point tracking, or MPPT, to optimize charging under input voltages from 4.5V to 16V. This makes it ideal for solar charging applications, or other scenarios where input voltage is variable or unknown. Reverse polarity protection on the input is included, and a trio of LEDs indicate whether the charger is connected to the power supply, and whether it’s charging or finished.

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Pocket sized synths are great for making music on the move and give you access to big analogue sounds at an affordable price. The Rakit Metal Synth does exactly those things, with enough features to be a stand alone unit, as well as options to sync it to external modular gear and process incoming instruments.

The Rakit Metal adds an edge to your drums with 3 distinctive sounds – a metallic cymbal-synth, external audio input and sizzling white noise. Control the impact and sustain of the hit using two decay pots, while switching between Low Pass and Band Pass filter types. The Polivox-inspired filter is tough and raw, with numerous controls to give you expansive filter sweeps, chunky percussive chops and high end resonant zaps!

The Metal is available pre-made and as a kit to solder yourself, with easy to follow instructions guiding you through the construction and how to get started making noise! Hook it up to a sequencer for CV control over and triggering and filter cutoff – or run it through some effects for a world of sci-fi effects.

Visit Rakits Tindie store for more fantastic devices and hear what the Metal sounds like in the video below:

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Standing desks have become incredibly popular, and for good reason. Sitting for long periods of time can have long-term effects on your health, so if you work at a computer each day, the ability to stand and work is extremely valuable.

The IKEA Bekant standing desk is a popular option, but it lacks memory positions. One Tindarian set out to fix this problem by creating a replacement controller, and the Megadesk was born.

This AVR-based, open source drop-in controller give any IKEA Bekant standing desk the ability to move your choice of preset heights. This controller will allow you to create as many as ten memorized positions.

The Megadesk targets the factory enclosure so it maintains the original look look and feel of the desk design. Assembly instructions are available on the product page, along with a guide on how to program unique positions into the controller’s memory.

Whether you’re sitting or standing, this handy controller will ensure the desk sits at a height that keeps you comfortable throughout the work day.

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We all remember the first time we released the “magic smoke” due to an error on our part. While it may be a funny story now, one fellow Tindarian accidentally released it from their amateur radio that used the diode/fuse method of protection. All of this, and they were 15 miles from civilization.

With no spare fuse in sight, that one mistake where they hooked it up backwards put them in quite a precarious situation. Fortunately, this inspired them to make something better and thus the Reverse Polarity Protection board was born.

You can place the RPP board into a small radio or any other piece of equipment. It uses the P-MOSFET method, which allows it to act as an open circuit when the polarity is backwards. It also offers much less loss than a diode when the polarity is forward. There’s even a red and green LED to indicate when your polarity is correct or reverse.

There are several variations to choose from, ranging from a fully assembled kit, to just the parts. We all make mistakes, but with this board, at least we don’t have to pay for that magic smoke.

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