Combining new, old, and even older, this Nixie tube clock adds several Interesting features that are not normally seen together. The clock itself is constructed with a beautiful hardwood case, and displays time on four Nixie tubes in 12 or 24 hour format. It’s most obvious feature, however, is a dimmable Edison bulb that protrudes from the top of the housing, giving the device a vaguely steampunk feel.
The very modern part of this clock/lighting assembly is how it’s set. Instead of fiddling with buttons to coordinate it visually with another clock, you can simply connect to it with your smartphone via a BLE connection. This allows you to synchronize time, as well as dim the Edison bulb as needed. Since it’s using Bluetooth, no internet connection is needed and if you need to set it up in a remote location, that won’t be a problem.
As of now, the setting app is only available on Android, but an iOS version is under development and should be released in a few months.
We’re so excited it’s almost SCaLE 16x time again and both Tindie and Hackaday will be there!
SCaLE is the largest community-run open-source and free software conference in North America. It is held annually in Los Angeles, this year it’s at the Pasadena Convention Center on March 8th-11th.
If you’re into Open-Source and Linux, you’re going to love it too.
SCALE is short for the Southern California Linux Expo. This year the expo will host 150 exhibitors, along with nearly 130 sessions, tutorials, and special events.
The Tindie and Hackaday team will be in the expo hall throughout SCaLE 16x at booth #217, so come say hi and pick up a Tindie Blinky Badge kit.
Friday at 7:00pm we’ll be hosting a #Badgelife Birds of a Feather (BOF) session in Room 104. Please RSVP on Eventbrite.
Head over and register for either a $20 Expo-Only Pass, or you can use the code ‘HACK’ to get 50% off the Full-Access Pass. The discounted $42.50 ticket gets you in for all four days of programming at the Southern California Linux Expo.
PocketBeagles, unless you’re referring to the adorable hound they are apparently named after, are single-board computers the size of a key fob, featuring half a gig of RAM and a one gigahertz processor. While we sometimes look past just how amazing systems like this are, if you grew up in the 1980s and 90s, you probably remember power like this at one point being mind-blowing in a full-sized computer.
Nonetheless, boards like this and their kind are now quite common, and hacker Microwavemont has come up with an addition that makes the PocketBeagle even more exciting—an extension board that adds 2 or 4 USB ports, as well as a fingernail-sized 64×32 pixel OLED display controlled via an I2C interface. The device plugs in on top of the base board as a “cape” and allows you to plug in all manner of accessories into it, and view what’s going on via its shockingly small display. Be sure to check out how great the display looks in the video below:
If you like this idea, but don’t need an OLED display, he does offer a version without it. On the other hand, the price difference between the two models is only $4, so adding a little screen would be tough to pass up!
While I have the pleasure of reviewing a multitude of interesting devices writing for Tindie, few products jump out quite as much as this one in the sense of it being something that hackers have needed for years, but never thought to ask for—a Nixie tube driver board! Yes, that’s right, now instead of coming up with your own custom circuitry or buying a kit or even a fully assembled model, you can use these exixe boards to control a Nixie tube with 3 wires via SPI.
Since they’re individual modules, you could arrange them however you want for a unique display powered by an Arduino, ESP8266, or many other devices. The boards come in two different versions shown below. The board on the left accommodates an IN-14 tube, and the board on the right is used with an IN-12.
Of course there is one small catch in that Nixie tubes need 170VDC to operate properly. These boards don’t supply that, so you’ll need to turn to a Nixie power supply module that can be had for less than $10 plus shipping. As powering each one individually would add expense and bulk, this seems like a good tradeoff.
While this could unleash a flood of creativity in the Nixie display department, if you’d like more of a head start with your creation you could turn instead to the MSP430 Nixie tube clock kit. It includes everything you’ll need to build your own clock besides a power supply. As seen in this writeup, I built one of my own, which was a lot of fun and it looks great!
If you need a digital watch there are numerous options that you can for little more than $10, some which even include the data or a calculator! On the other hand, your smartphone has this functionality built-in, so how your watch looks, and that it’s able to give you the time more quickly than pulling out your pocket computer are what matter in a timepiece.
For something that shows off your love of circuits with several components visible on the face, and displays the time in bright LEDs, the DECKO LED watch is a great option. It’s awakened with a double tap or by turning it, and when active it displays time by sequencing the LEDs clockwise from the 12:00 position to indicate the hour and minute.
It can be purchased as a complete watch, or if you prefer it’s available as an assembled circuit board only. Battery life varies from around 6 months to over a year depending on how much you check it, and if you’d like it to exhibit different functionality, the board has 5 contact pads to program its SAMD21 chip. Re-programming is mostly unsupported though, so you’re on your own if you go that route!
Ever need something that you can wear to make yourself much more visible to those around you, like when jogging or riding a bike? If so, then this USB-rechargeable RGB LED bracelet is just the thing.
While there are certainly other lighting solutions for pedestrians, this one has several interesting features to set itself apart. First, it can automatically sense motion to turn itself on and off to conserve battery power when not needed. Second, it features a row of extremely bright RGB LED modules, allowing it to display over 15 flashing patterns in all colors of the rainbow to signal your presence to others nearby.
Of course, safety applications are the first thing that pop into one’s mind with a device like this, but simply being able to find friends at a concert or similar where cell phone reception can be spotty would also be a great use. Alternatively, if this doesn’t have the features you’re after, it’s possible to make something similar, or even mod the actual bracelet itself to do your bidding!
For another take on this type of bracelet, you could also print out a hard shell for your device, similar to what’s seen in this Hackaday.io post. While it might not be as good for running, it could work better in circumstances more appropriate for traditional(ish) jewelry.
Ted Yapo had a small problem. As an amateur atronomer and astrophotographer, he needed a way to mark his expensive equipment so that he wouldn’t trip over it in the dark. Glow-in-the-dark materials were out because of they only glow for a short time, and glow sticks were also less than ideal because of their single-use nature. Tritium light sources would be perfect, barring the small details that they’re radioactive, expensive, and in the US only a few uses are allowed, most are prohibited by law.
So Yapo instead came up with an LED light that can run for not 20 hours, or even 20 days, but 20 years on a single CR2032 coin cell battery!
It does this with painstaking attention to the components use. By carefully regulating the current provided to the LED with PWM outputs from a PIC12LF1571 the amazing low-power performance is possible. It can be setup to either intermittently shine relatively brightly, or produce a constant glow if that’s what you prefer.
The device is for sale on Tindie via the Kontakt store. This seeler is not Yapo himself, but is part of the team on the Hackaday.io project. Since Yapo has open-sourced the design, this is entirely acceptable as he explicitly notes.
Yapo also has very good instructions on how to build one on the linked Hackaday.io page, though you likely won’t save any money sourcing things yourself unless you need to build quite a few of them.
Retro Raspberry Pi systems are really fun builds for the incredibly inexpensive single board computers. You could start from scratch, or for a leg up on a “no frills multi system emulator that fits in your pocket,” the Game Boy Zero provides a quick and easy head start.
The image above shows many of the choices Eugene has provided for his design. It is available as just a PCB with your choice of three different colors. From there, choose which components you want sent along with the order. There’s even a fully assembled option if you only want to work on soldering your Raspberry Pi Zero to the board before the gaming begins.
As shown in the image below, it can even be housed in a nice layered plexiglass case. This enhancement isn’t currently for sale, so you’ll need to make or source this yourself based on the design found here.
You can see the device’s creator, Eugene Andruszczenco, going over how to install an optional USB soundcard to the device in the video below, giving you a good idea of the size and feel of it. He’s got a lot more videos on this playlist, so be sure to check them out if you’re thinking of buying one of these or even building something similar from scratch.
What an incredibly creative gaming controller! TWANG is a 1D Arduino-based dungeon crawler, inspired by Robin Baumgarten’s Line Wobbler build. In it, you control your character, a dot, across a strip of RGB LEDs, avoiding obstacles and slaying enemies by “twanging” an accelerometer, which is mounted atop a door stop spring. As shown in the video below, it’s a lot of fun, and the accelerometer/spring control method is especially innovative—perhaps ripe for other implementations?
You can build your own TWANG game based on these instructions, but for a head start on your own 1-D gaming experience, Bart Dring has come up with an Arduino Mega shield specifically for this purpose. This shield lets you attach the needed components to it via screw terminals, for an easy to set up and reliable gaming experience.
The kit comes with the needed accelerometer, speaker, and even a door spring, averting a trip to the hardware store. You will, however need to provide an LED strip, 3D-printed parts, and an Arduino Mega for control. And no, an Uno won’t work here, as the TWANG firmware is too big to fit on a ATmega328P microcontroller.
It’s the most heart-themed day of the year: Valentine’s day. Whether you planned ahead, or you find yourself unprepared to bestow an appropriate gift on that special someone, it’s never to late to give a gift — or to treat yourself to one!
Here’s a look at some of the unique gear found on Tindie that will help you tell that special someone you love them. Pro-tip: If you did forget to secure a great gift, order now, give your loved one a picture of the kit and apologize for delayed shipping. You can relive the holiday once your package does arrive!
Heart-Shaped Led Chaser Kit
Everything is better with blinking LEDs! This heart features an array of 10 little lights that chase each other around a heart-shaped PCB. There are lots of uses for this little ornament, whether as a piece of jewelry or attached to a bouquet of roses. It uses a 555 timer and a decade counter to make the blinky lights go round and round.
Heart Gears
This “steampunk and sciency” heart-gear assembly is set up to turn its different lobes, deforming the heart until it finally returns to form when turned enough. This gift would make a great last-minute option, as it can also be 3D-printed based on files found here.
Solar Blinking Heart Does It With No Battery
LED chasers are nice, but if you’d like to forgo the battery, this heart pendant takes care of things via solar power. It can even function via indoor lighting due to its ultra low power design!
Heart-Rate Break Breakout
What says hearts/Valentine’s Day more than a pulse oximeter and heart-rate breakout board? This device lets you obtain this data and pass it to a microcontroller via I2C, letting you devise your own heart-based gift using only a few wires!
I Heart Tech T-Shirt
This “I HEART TECH” shirt shows off your passion for tech in a red t-shirt emblazoned with a golden heart-shaped circuit board. Foil glasses are, of course, optional.
Double Heart Blinky LED Kit
Let’s be honest, Valentine’s day (and every day) for hackers is all about blinking lights. This blinky solder kit is by far the most involved on this list, and features 85 LEDs arranged in a hearts/arrow pattern, all powered by an STC12C5A60S2 microcontroller. This gives it the ability to produce 15 animations, and even has a buzzer for playing your sweetheart’s favorite tunes!
Don’t have that special someone in your life right now? You could always buy one of these items in anticipation so you’ll be ready when the time comes, or simply get one for yourself, a family member, or a pet. While Fido might not act like he appreciates wearing a blinking badge around his neck, we’re sure he doesn’t mean it. If this type of thing does look interesting, but you didn’t see quite what you’re looking for, we have even more stuff available with a search for the term “heart”.
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more.
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More.
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
Image Source: 
You can build your own TWANG game based on 
