Tindie

There are lots of RGB options available, but this compact & well-designed 10-watt RGB module caught my eye. An integrated, stylish heatsink has the LED mounted directly to it, dissipating all the heat generated without making the module too bulky. With integrated drive and control electronics, it’s an all-in-one package that’s easy to interface with TTL serial. Built-in overheating protection allows an optional fan to kick in to keep the unit cool.

I noticed in the listing that there’s another control method called ByWire. I hadn’t heard of this protocol (and having taught a class on serial protocols, I like to think I know my protocols!), so I contacted RagingBits to ask about it. Turns out it’s a protocol they’re developing for simple control of devices like this over the same lines that power the device. By switching the polarity of the voltage supplied to the device, messages can be sent in one direction. The control side uses an H-bridge, and their store will have an example controller listed soon, so keep an eye out!

On the receiving side, all that’s needed is a rectifying bridge and a way to detect which polarity is being sent at any given time — not difficult to do with modern microcontrollers. Of course, because this device can also be controlled over serial, you can easily connect it to an ESP32 and control it with MQTT for home automation. I also pictured having a simple control panel with R, G and B rotary encoders and a global brightness slider. This could then be used for photography or art installations! 10W of LED power is quite a lot, and that can easily be used to light up a large area.

In any case, if you need a bright RGB LED with all the bells and whistles, then make sure to check out the listing!

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We’ve been watching this tiny Raspberry Pi Pico-based step sequencer project from Tod Kurt develop online and quite frankly it’s awesome! If you hanker after building your own Tod is now offering a short run of the PCBs for sale to help you on your way.

When fully assembled this tiny 8-step sequencer pumps out both USB MIDI and Serial MIDI over a 3.5mm TRS Jack. As such it’s perfect for composing patterns using your favourite synthesizer hardware or hooking up to your laptop for virtual sound sources. It looks perfect with its 80’s era step switches with integrated LEDs which, if we close our eyes, we can imagine clicking gloriously!

Although this is just the PCB, Tod has thoughtfully collated all the parts into a BOM and even supplies a link to a Digikey cart with most of the parts. All the code and hardware are open source and the 3D printed enclosure designs are posted on Printables.

If this project catches your eye but you don’t have a synth to connect it to, you could do much worse than check out Tod’s other projects. The MacroPadSynthPlug turns an Adafruit MacroPad RP2040 kit into an awesome and versatile synthesizer, for example, and he has many other equally cool products!

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The Raspberry Pi Camera V2 is an excellent choice for all kinds of projects. The options are endless: from creating your own point-and-shoot camera to an automated movement-detecting nature camera to a neural net fuelled machine vision enabled robotic visioning system.

However, to increase the quality of your imaging, as any good photographer will tell you, you need decent lighting. This LED flash module from Pi-PLC.com seeks to do just that.  The PCB frame holds 16 LED’s around the perimeter with the cutout centre section being a perfect fit for the Raspberry Pi V2 camera. You have some options for the LED’s with a choice of white, red or Infrared which we could imagine being used to make some rudimentary night/low light vision systems.

The flash module can be driven directly from a 3.3V GPIO or you can hook it up directly to a 5V supply with a pair of header pins supplied. Looking through the product images it appears to cast a very bright light and, as a made-to-measure device, looks smart when combined with the camera.

Finally, Pi-PLC offers some volume pricing discounts so if you are looking for a flash system for your next Raspberry Pi-based Tindie product this could be a great option!

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If you often work with the Raspberry Pi Zero/Zero W, and you want to make your projects stand out with a professional-looking, DIN-rail mountable case, then this Prototyping Board for Bud DMB-4774 boxes is a great option! Bud Industries makes all sorts of different boxes in different configurations; this particular box is mountable on a DIN rail, has spots for connector blocks to be plugged in, and also has a front faceplate that can be customized with controls, displays, and just about anything the user needs to interface with.

The board itself has a Pi Zero footprint in the middle, with plenty of protoboard-style connected rails to make interfacing with chips and voltage rails easy. Also thoughtfully included are mounting holes so you can positively attach the Zero to the board, and not rely on either soldered connections or headers alone.

A 2×10 IDC header breakout at one end of the board is another great feature. This would make interfacing with a front panel board much simpler, as 2×10 ribbon cables are easy to purchase and/or make. The Bud DMB-4774 is available from all popular distributors, and there are other boxes in the same range that are much bigger or smaller (though this board was made specifically for the 4774). Putting your project in a box like this can give it a nice, neat appearance while simultaneously protecting soldered connections and circuitry!

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner (already? Wasn’t it just Christmas?!) — if you have a partner or perhaps a cute hacker at your local hackerspace has caught your eye, let them know your circuits are energized by their presence with these adorable Circuit Candy Hearts!

Each one is a small circuit that requires assembly. They come with a CR2032 and a keychain ring for display. But there’s no reason you couldn’t turn it into a necklace or bracelet! With five different designs to choose from, you’ll be able to find the perfect one for your nerdy love. Or, maybe you’re feeling a bit spiteful this year; Alpenglow still has you covered with their PS I Hate You design (which you could also use if you’re feeling particularly tsundere). You can also buy all five designs at once if you have a polyamorous relationship or you just want to brighten the day of your family/close friends!

So whether you’re feeling warm or cold on the 14th, let your feelings be known with these excellent, adorable candy circuit hearts! With Valentine’s day only two weeks away, be sure to order soon so they show up in time.

UPDATE: Alpenglow has since added Black Circuit Candy Hearts which are just as adorable but focus on self-love (and cats!).

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In addition to writing for Tindie’s blog, I also maintain a store here. While I couldn’t buy a jet with my earnings, or even a new car–though maybe a scooter–It’s a nice source of bonus income, enough to help facilitate projects that I’m compelled to create.

Beyond the money, however, it is really an amazing feeling to be able to supply useful devices, primarily to others who, I assume, make other interesting things with my devices. It’s like I get to send out care packages to people who I typically don’t know, but whom I’d most likely get along with fabulously.

So, as seen below, it made my day when I got a great review on my (now retired) original JC Pro Macro auxiliary keypad. It actually made me a little sad that I was retiring the system, even if an improved version has been available for some time.

Good Review–Excellent, Bad Review–Be Informative

If you’re thinking about selling something here on Tindie, I’d encourage you to do so. It can be an incredibly rewarding experience, especially when you get positive feedback. As a customer (which I am as well), remember that the entities you’re buying from are real people, who most likely aren’t earning their living at it. Be generous with your praise, and you’ll be able to spread good feelings far and wide–across the globe in many cases.

As a bit of a side note, if you’re an analytical person (like myself), and/or have been trained to think a certain way, you may consider a 3 out of 5 rating as nominal, 4 as better than expected, and 5 as amazing and nearly unobtainable. In the world we live in, however, it seems that 5 typically means “met expectations” according to most people’s way of thinking. If you like something and think it’s good enough to make others happy, don’t be afraid to give it a 5-star review!

Finally, if you do have negative feedback, consider dealing with it privately as appropriate, and whatever channel you use, be sure to be specific enough that the seller can improve. I’ve certainly learned a lot since starting my seller journey, especially about shipping.

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

On a related note, I’ve written for Tindie for (what I’m told is) six years now, and have a huge amount of admiration for the platform and the people that work here. Straddling the line between insider and outsider as a contractor, my view is perhaps a bit rose-colored; however, Tindie really feels like more of a community than any other “online shop” with which I’ve done business.

That being said, for a variety of reasons–largely having to do with time restrictions–I’m stepping away from writing for the Tindie blog. I’d like to give a big thanks to the excellent editors, co-writers, and staff that I’ve been able to work alongside. I wish them a huge amount of success in the future. As for me, I’ll maintain my JC Devices store here for the foreseeable future, and you can ping me on Twitter and/or follow me on YouTube if you are so inclined.

So I’ll say “So long and thanks for all the fish,” sans the disaster predicted by the dolphins in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe. Thanks for a great experience, and may Tindie continue to be an awesome place to buy and sell indie hardware!

Editors note: Jeremy will be sorely missed! It’s been a pleasure working with him, and we definitely recommend checking out his store. We wish him well in his future endeavours, and will save a seat at the writers’ table in case he ever has time in the future!

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With the massive uptick in remote working there is a corresponding leap in the amount of remote monitoring that companies are deploying to make sure the work is getting done. Whilst we aren’t advocating that you shirk your duties, we love the technological responses we see to this situation, such as this Busy Bee Mouse Jiggler.

Once plugged into a USB port the Busy Bee Mouse Jiggler shows up as an ordinary mouse on your system. It then, at a rate of once every 2 minutes, moves your mouse cursor just five pixels one way and then back again. This incredibly subtle movement is enough to stop, for example, a screensaver kicking in, or for a workers status to be shown as idle, albeit if you’re working on a remote desktop session you need to leave the mouse active over that active window.

It works across Mac OS, Windows and Linux and doesn’t require any drivers to be installed to operate. This is the second iteration of this device and is pretty discreet in that it’s been built into a pretty standard looking pen drive form factor, if that’s not a concern of yours, you can also buy the original version which is a simpler slot in USB PCB design.

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While a keyboard and mouse work well for general computing tasks, if you really want to get your button-mashing on, then you need a stick setup with buttons and a joystick. Unfortunately, not all of us have $250 or so sitting around to spend on such a device, so we stick with our keyboards, or perhaps a cheap gamepad, and call it a day. The MixStick PCB 12key Compact USB Arcade Controller PCB, by Ryan Bates of Retro Built Games, allows one to instead build a mash-up between a keyboard and a hundreds-of-dollars arcade setup.

The board has space for 10 keys on the left, and and 10 on the right, plus mounting points for RST/auxiliary buttons, and LED lighting. These two boards can be split for custom ergonomic arrangement and soldered together as needed, and each side features a set of mounting points for fight stick keyboard mounting.

Documentation on the build is available on GitHub, and the video below shows how everything is set up. It’s designed to work with the DaemonBite firmware by MickGyver, running on an ATmega32U4 Pro Micro. Of course, if you’re not into gaming, one could certainly see this/these PCBs repurposed as a custom HID for standard computing, or perhaps it could even be set up as a chording keyboard.

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Bringing modern USB charging to older devices that never supported it has been popular lately. This fantastic little board adds USB-C charging and audio to your Game Boy Advance SP.  The design is exceedingly clever — the castellated pads have been lined up perfectly to connect to the pads from the existing proprietary connector, making installation very easy. Of course, you also need the tools to remove the existing connector before installing the new replacement. Still, with solder wick or a vacuum desoldering station this shouldn’t be too difficult — just remember to be gentle as there are many fine traces that can be dislodged if you’re too rough.

Having a modern USB connector on older devices like this is very handy. You no longer have to keep track of a unique, proprietary USB cable, and you can just use whichever chargers you already have for charging your phone and/or modern consoles! The added bonus of having audio out on this connector means you can use straight-through USB-C to Audio cables (the ones without DACs inside) to listen to music. With a USB-C splitter, you could even charge the device while using headphones at the same time!

While you’re in there, you could also take the time to replace the existing (likely tired) battery with a brand-new replacement. If you’re a Game Boy Advance fan, we have many other cool products to check out that will bring some flair to your GBA!

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As the world moves towards being more and more data-driven, being able to verify the numbers you’re being charged for can offer peace of mind. And in Europe, where energy prices are climbing, an easy solution to checking your own energy consumption and using that data for your own decision-making has a lot of appeal to the clever maker. The Micro Teleinfo V3.0 is a timely update to a long-standing project that offers a USB adapter for the Teleinfo energy meters in France.

The Micro Teleinfo board has gone through a number of updates over the years, and its simplicity and small form factor are the clear results of those iterations. Setup requires running just two cables to I1 and I2 on the meter, and the blue LED should light up, indicating the Teleinfo signal is being received! All the code and required serial commands are available here on the project’s Github, along with plenty of detailed walkthroughs for integrating this into python-based projects.

There are a few different options for this board available in the listing as well, with choices between the type of connector, and different PCB styles. Charles is a maker from Montamisé, France, and has a number of other Teleinfo-related boards available. Be sure to check where they ship to before hitting that purchase, so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises!

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