For those who remember the late 1980-90s, the words Soundblaster and Adlib are synonymous with top of the range games; sporting vividly realistic music and expansive sound effects. Running the Yamaha YM3812 Chip, these soundcards generated the soundtracks to many a childhood, and 30 years on, there’s still a lot of love for the FM sound.
The YM3812 was used in soundcards and early keyboards thanks to its diverse and high fidelity (at the time) sound replication. Its two-operator FM chip was capable of producing nine channels of sound as well as percussion! Each operator has its own ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release) envelope, and gets its signature sound from the generation of four distinct waveforms.
The OPL2 Audio Board gives you the opportunity to play back and listen to this classic sound generated as it was back then. Simply plug it into the back of your Arduino or Raspberry Pi! It comes in kit form, with a clear inlay card featuring detailed instructions on putting it together. Follow the read me guide for getting it going on your preferred hardware, and within minutes you’ll have it made and ready to relive the biggest tracks of the 80s!
There’s a wealth of information available on the YM3812, I’d highly recommend this video from the excellent .8-Bit Guy for more information.
Tindie seller NWMaker takes us back to a simpler time with the concept behind their stylish LED pin, Wanderer. It’s a childhood rite of passage to catch butterflies or raise caterpillars until they undergo metamorphosis and let the butterflies go free. Part of the beauty of butterflies is the nostalgia of simple times. Wanderer is a wearable pin that channels this concept with blinking LEDs across the surface of the PCB.
The lights blink like it is flying, and they will display a random pattern when the exposed wire tips of the antennae touch. Pin it to your jacket, backpack, or anywhere else you like to show off your pin collection. The kit comes in three options:
Kit: if you’re able to solder a 0.65mm fine-pitch SMD chip
Half-assembled: if you are confident in soldering through-hole components
Fully-assembled: if you want everything done when it arrives
By choosing one of the first two options, you can also use Wanderer as practice for your soldering skill. Take a look at the video below to see this unique pin in action!
Bitmi is a hand-made velocity sensitive drum pad, powered by USB and ready to control your favorite VST instruments over MIDI. If you’re a drummer looking to trigger samples, or a producer in need of some real-world interaction, the Bitmi is just what you need.
Plug the Bitmi into the USB port on your computer, and it’ll send MIDI notes to your DAW or sampler; triggering the sounds at the exact velocity you hit the pad at! Drum fills, rolls, flams and drags can all be achieved, with the nuances of your playing translated over a phenomenal 128 levels of velocity.
The Bitmi body is made of CNC-machined wood, lacquered for a durable and tough finish. The rubber pad is designed to be quiet, as well as offering a springy rebound action for a natural feel. Each one is hand-assembled and tested before shipping from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
No driver software is required, simply plug-and play using your existing drumming software — Battery, Addictive Drums, EZDrummer, BFD to name a few. It’s easily portable, measuring 220mm in diameter, 30mm high and a weight of 1.2kg. It comes with a USB cable and locking nut as well as a one year warranty.
See the video below for more about what Bitmi can do! Tindie sellers have all kinds of MIDI equipment waiting for you, take a beat and check out what’s on offer.
Are you an electronics nut? By my unofficial estimate, approximately 81% of the people reading this would qualify, and the rest are simply trending that way. Given this “statistic”, it’s only fitting that my latest Tindie seller interview is with the Mahesh Venkitachalam, who runs Electronut Labs. If his name sounds familiar, you may also recognize him from his book Python Playground that he published in 2015.
Mahesh’s background is one that many of us can certainly relate to, as he worked in the software industry for over 15 years before branching out on his own. After quite a bit of blogging and the aforementioned book, he formed Electronut Labs as a business that designs and sells open source hardware. His company, which has grown to a team of 6 engineers, also takes on consulting projects with a specialization in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.
If you do visit the “ENL” Tindie store, you’ll notice that there is a wide variety of complexity in the products that are offered. The snapVCC for instance, gives you access to 3.3V and 5V as a connector that snaps into a 9V battery, while the hackaBLE is more involved as a tiny nRF52832 BLE development board with an ARM Cortex-M4 processor. Mahesh explains the variety of products by noting:
Our products are steadily increasing in complexity, which is a reflection of my own progress in understanding various aspects of manufacturing electronics hardware. [He adds that his] goal is to create useful hardware which is well designed — both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. Our snapVCC regulator is on the desks of many a maker, and our BLE boards are being used by several companies for prototyping their products.
It’s neat to see one’s knowledge and product complexity increase. It’s also important to note that without the right source of power, your project isn’t going anywhere. In fact the snapVCC is currently their most popular product. It’s both simple and something every electronics tinkerer needs. While you could whip up your own 9V power supply, I’d personally rather buy something than re-invent the wheel (or solder things together) again and again!
Mahesh has been following Tindie since its inception, but it wasn’t until July 2017 that he had “something to sell” and opened his storefront. He ranks the best thing about selling on Tindie is its international reach and the fact that you can sell a product worldwide without much overhead. He also notes that there’s a certain community aspect to Tindie that allows us to share ideas, whether it means purchasing a certain product or inspiring another.
International shipping, however, can certainly be a challenge. Mahesh is based out of India, and he notes that shipping electronics there can be difficult due to various bureaucratic policies. This has been improved by partnering with a US distributor, which he ships to in bulk and they in turn ship out orders as needed. He notes that most of his orders come from the US, but that they also seem to have a following in the Nordic countries.
As far as other thoughts on this platform, Mahesh says:
I think Tindie gives creators a good alternative to crowdfunding, without the risks, delays, pressures, and financial overheads. It allows you to take your hobby to a business at your own pace in an honorable way. These days, if you are looking for a development board for a new chip or sensor, you are more likely to find it on Tindie rather than the usual suspects like Sparkfun or Adafruit. It’s hard to for any individual company to keep up with a global market supplied by enthusiastic individual creators.
That really illustrates what we’re all about. We certainly love the service and innovation that larger companies bring to the market, but Tindie acts as something different: a conduit for individuals and small companies to put their specialized goods in front of the world. There’s little risk whether you are able to sell a few of your product or thousands.
It was a pleasure to find out more about Mahesh and Electronut Labs, and we wish them lots of success in the future!
The 2018 Hackaday Prize is well underway, and we’re currently in the Power Harvesting Challenge. This challenge asks you to build a module that can source some or all of the needed energy for your project from an alternative source. Think solar,thermal, wind, ambient light, inductive coupling with power lines, etc. These builds can help reduce or even remove the need for batteries or wall power.
Tindie seller Citrus CNC Store is working on a low-cost automatic pick and place feeder and entered it into the robotics challenge. The pick and place machine is a valuable resource for building electronics.
The end goal here is to create a fully featured pick and place machine at a mid-range hobby 3D printer price point, with support for at least 20 automatic tape feeders and loop control of every motion related component. Check out this project on Hackaday.io.
Another Tindie seller who owns the proto-Phi Store is working on a modular design for a soft robotic gripper.
The design is for soft robotics fabrication and emphasizes the molds and subsequent actuators. The current method combines the softness of a silicone actuator and a 3D plastic exoskeleton.
These aren’t the only Tindie sellers participating in this year’s Hackaday Prize. Take a look at these other robotics projects from our talented makers:
Ethical hackers, also known as “White hat” hackers, are people who help companies find and fix vulnerabilities in their systems. To do this, they perform a series of tests, one of which is a penetration (pen) test. During a test like this, they will attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in the network and application security, among others.
By running these kinds of tests, companies can ensure their data remains secure from actual hackers with malicious intent. A pen-testing tool like the USB Snake Box is perfect for testing these kinds of exploits.
This particular design is based on the USB Rubber Ducky from Hak5. Once the device is plugged in, it acts like a keyboard and flash drive. This gives you the ability to type at speeds beyond anything humans can do by using a text-based code language.
The device uses Python to interpret the inputs. The USB Snake Box acts as a USB Drive to change any code you’d like. There are 4 buttons for executing scripts of your choosing, and a 3D printed case to cover the electronics.
The idea came about when Tindie seller The Maker Cat wanted to buy a Rubber Ducky but realized the price was too much. By leveraging Arduino and Circuit Python devices with USB keyboard functionality, they could simply make their own.
The seller also encourages buyers to contact them if they want to change the color or add something new to the open-source design. This device is intended solely for research and educational purposes.
I grew up playing video games, and I plan to play them long into the future. Every gamer has, at some point, in their lives, dreamed of building their own console or programming their own games, but have you ever done it?
If you haven’t, now is the time to make that dream a reality. Duinodrive is a DIY retro game console that you build, play, and even program yourself. Tindie seller Pereira Electronics describes it as a “retro Atari.”
A quick look at the features shows that this kit isn’t messing around:
Composite video/audio out
Support for two controllers
FTDI programming header
16Mhz clock speed and 32KB of Flash
128×96 black & white resolution
NTSC and PAL compatible
Arduino compatible
The kit comes with all the parts you need to assemble the console, along with a USB FTDI programming cable, an RCA cable, and an ethernet cable to connect controllers. There are already some games available, but you can develop your own as well.
The console has a dedicated website with tutorials on how to build it, upload games, program them yourself, and download any Duinodrive games others have made. The entire console is also built around Arduino compatibility and developer environments.
A large range of Arduino sensors is also compatible out of the box. Take a look at the video below for a look at a game for the console called Starfield.
Firewalla is a device from the Tindie seller of the same name that gives you a smart internet security solution for your home network. The device is only about the size of a quarter, but it allows you to protect your network from cyber attacks, block ads, control internet usage, and even helps keep you safe when you’re on public Wifi.
Cybersecurity isn’t something we think about every day until something happens to us. Years ago, I was hacked. The event was both costly and eye-opening. We’re more vulnerable than we realize when we’re online. Even if you have the most secure passwords in the world, things like privacy are also an illusion when you’re browsing the web. Having a bit of help securing what goes on with your home network can deliver some peace of mind in this area.
Despite being so small, Firewalla packs an impressive amount of hardware into the device:
Quad-Core 1.0 ghz ARM CPU
100 Mbit Software Packet Processing
512 Megabyte DDR RAM
16GB MicroSD storage
A smartphone app gives you complete control over the network at any time. A built-in VPN server also gives you privacy when you’re outside your home. The device is easy to install as well. It only needs a power supply and a connection to your router via Ethernet.
Both the hardware and software is open-source and offers deep insight into all the traffic in your network, all the way down to the I.P addresses. The full kit comes with the device, cables, and a US power supply.
Recently released on Tindie, this Eurorack/Doepfer Power Distribution Board is the ideal solution to deliver power to your modular synth, if you’re handy with a soldering iron. The unit has 21 module power connectors and will fit easily in a 84HP unit as well as larger cases.
The board comes as a single PCB, and requires 21 shrouded sockets (8×2 IDC, 2.54mm pitch) and 8 spade connectors to complete the build (links are included on the project page). Once you’ve sourced the extra parts, this through hole PCB makes it easy to put it together and assemble. Shrouded connectors are used to ensure your equipment is protected from accidentally connecting power in reverse.
The board measures 16″ (403mm) × 1.3″ (3.3mm) × 1.6mm and will work in conventional Modular systems as well as the Doepfer originals. Each of the connections feature -12v, +12v, Ground, +5v, Gate and CV signals to connect to your gear, distributing power for more modular mayhem!
Whether you’re new to the modular world, or a seasoned veteran, you’ll always need power in order to make noise! The board is for sale by Jacob Barss-Bailey another one of our San Francisco based Tindie sellers.
Audio amplifiers are all around us. They are essential in the home, in portable form, and in the studio to raise up the volume of instruments, microphones, and speakers — retaining the original sound characteristics and keeping background noises to a minimum. Here at Tindie, we have an extensive range of unique amplifiers for various audio applications and we know the choice can be daunting, so let’s have a closer look at whats on offer, what they do, and what purpose they serve:
Preamps
A pre-amplifier is designed to raise the volume early in the signal chain, to make it loud enough to play back comfortably or record later on. You’ll find them in microphones and guitar pickups, to bring usually quiet real-world sounds into the studio as faithfully as possible! A good quality preamp will add volume, while minimising noise and distortion from the incoming sound; which are crucial in the early stages of amplification.
Tube Amplifiers
A tube (or valve) amplifier amplifies an incoming signal like any modern amplifier, but enriches it with a warm vintage character we associate with classic recordings from the 1960s and 70s. Made using vacuum tubes, these amplifiers were commonplace in guitar amps, stereos and radios from the 1930s onwards, but come the 1970s it was the end for the tubes in commercial amplifiers. The invention of silicone transistors displaced vacuum tubes to make equipment portable and low cost. A resurgence for that sound has been re-kindled in recent years, with many audiophiles seeking the rich, natural tone which tubes offer, not made possible with digital amplifiers. Aside from the sound, they also look great!
Headphone Amplifiers
You may have worked this out for yourself! This kind of amplifier is designed for use with headphones, to amplify the signal from a computer, portable music player or smartphone — especially useful as many modern devices have a low-level output. A headphone amplifier will enable you to listen at a higher volume, but will also provide you with a much more dynamic, full sounding output which is ideal for larger, high fidelity headphones.
Tiny Tindie Amplification
The winner of Tindie’s smallest amplifier has to be the eeZeeAmp, which is about the size of some pocket change, but still features everything you’d expect to control. A close second goes to Tymkrs Amplify Me, and the Amplify Me Clean both barely bigger than a 9V battery but capable of big things, as seen here:
Experimental Amplifiers
The beauty of DIY electronics is out-of-the-box ideas which can lead to experiments beyond the familiar. A good example of this is the Experimenter’s audio amplifier kit which comes with an amplifier complete with audio inputs, speaker and built in breadboard to test out your projects. How about a hearing amplifier for people who are hard of hearing? The one designed by Heilingch was made for his father who suffered with hearing difficulties. Some include high-tech features, for example the CleanAmp 2 which eliminates the thump sound created when most amplifiers are powered on as well as delivering efficient sound replication, avoiding inaudible frequencies.
To Kit or Not to Kit?
Many of the amplifiers featured here come as DIY kits to solder yourself – doing so will bring you a greater understanding of the electronics and more than a smidgen of pride as you admire and show off your supremely loud music to friends, family.. and neighbors1! If you’re a guitar player – try the Guitar Mini Amplifier Kit from Nightfire electronics for example. If soldering isn’t for you, you’ll find a slick selection of pre-made devices to suit your needs — check each product page for details.
Avoid the Loudness War!
Look after your hearing and you’ll enjoy a lifetime of music, conversation and birdsong, so enjoy amplified sounds within reason! Give your ears a break from loud sounds, don’t crank the volume needlessly and protect the hearing of younger people whose hearing may still be developing. Stay enjoying music together forever!
There we have it, amplifiers for all applications — big, small, home or studio. Head over to Tindie’s amplifiers section to browse the full range.
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If you do visit the “ENL” Tindie store, you’ll notice that there is a wide variety of complexity in the products that are offered. 
It’s neat to see one’s knowledge and product complexity increase. It’s also important to note that without the right source of power, your project isn’t going anywhere. In fact the snapVCC is currently their most popular product. It’s both simple and something every electronics tinkerer needs. While you could whip up your own 9V power supply, I’d personally rather buy something than re-invent the wheel (or solder things together) again and again!
