Tindie

The DS-M Analog Drum Synth Module is a fully featured drum synth for your modular synth patches, able to emulate almost every drum sound imaginable! This complex and modifiable module is easy to fit into your setup, providing a range of perfect percussion sounds from crisp snare hits to boomy kick drums.

The DS-Ms interface is easy to understand and use – featuring clear labels and high-quality potentiometers for each control; so you can get straight to making music! It features controls for LFO Rate, LFO Amount, Sensitivity, Colour, Sweep, Decay, VCO and Mix to craft your sound. With features including VCA-like trigger inputs and trimmer-adjustable attack, this module allows for precise creative controls of your synth parameters.

Featuring 1 volt per octave CV and gate outputs, you can combine this module with a wide variety of modular gear – or use a MIDI to CV converter to connect it to your other hardware. The joy of modular synthesisers comes from the vast array of setups you can create – use this module to experiment and expand upon your synth repertoire!

Designed and produced by Synthrotek, an independent electronics manufacturer based out of the United States, this device has gone through a lot of testing and refinement. Joining Tindie in mid-2021, Synthrotek are making a name for themselves in the DIY modular community – and are a great maker to support!

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EMG, or electromyography, is a method for detecting, recording and analyzing the electrical activity of skeletal muscles. An electromyograph detects the potential energy generated by muscles when they are activated either by the brain or by external electrical fields. It has a wide variety of uses; helping to diagnose neuromuscular diseases or other disorders of motor control.

EMG is split into two methods — needle EMG and surface EMG. Needle EMG uses electrodes that are inserted directly into the muscle, producing much higher accuracy and is typically used in medical settings where accuracy is extremely important. Surface EMG uses electrodes stuck to the skin, which can help test muscle functionality and can also be used to control prosthetic limbs.

The Muscle BioAmp Shield is a device designed for surface EMG, used to analyze and record muscle movements. With this shield, you can take human-machine interaction to the next level! This device could enable new accessibility tools for computer users. It can also be used in physical therapy settings, to help people undergoing rehabilitation detect when they are activating the correct muscles.

EMG devices are typically quite expensive, as they are medical grade diagnostic devices. But with a simple Arduino shield like this, you can be conducting EMG experiments and collecting data for a fraction of the cost of a professional EMG machine. Note that results depend on your placement of the electrodes. It’s important to understand the musculoskeletal layout of the body in order to place the electrodes in the correct spot to measure a particular muscle.

This shield could be a great tool for science teachers covering biology. Show your students how their brains control their muscles by sending electrical signals that they can see with their own eyes! You’ll need an Arduino of some sort, as well as a 9V battery. The shield comes with 15 stick-on electrodes, but it’s very easy to buy more online. Remember that electrodes should only ever be used once, and discarded afterward – treat them like sterile medical products!

Have fun, and get bio-hacking!

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The standard for theatre and stage lighting is DMX-512, a nearly 40-year old standard for controlling stage equipment over big, chonky connectors. It is essentially the MIDI of lighting, and that means oversized, expensive controllers. The Pocket Koala is the small, pocketable solution to testing out strings of DMX lights, without the overheards – except if we’re still talking about lights.

The Pocket Koala uses four buttons and four faders (or linear pots, if you’re of that persuasion) to control 256 DMX channels. A small OLED display splits everything up into four channels of 64 banks, with global and correlated color temperature available at your fingertips. Power is provided through a USB-C connector, and output is done using an RJ45 connector. Of course, the Pocket Koala may also use an XLR output with an adapter.

Compared to the lighting rigs you’d find in the back of a venue that rival the largest mixing decks, the Pocket Koala is minute at just 95mm across. Yes, it can actually fit in your pocket, but still has all the power to test a set of DMX512 lights!

The Pocket Koala is a product of Digital Cool, a Tindie seller out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. While they’ve started their creator journey with some PCB reference coasters, their current work, including a very small battery-powered dev board, is getting better and better.

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With the price of printed circuit boards dropping an of magnitude over the last decade, it was inevitable transformers and coils would make their way into copper coated prepreg fiberglass. The natural consequence of this is, of course, a Musical PCB Tesla Coil that throws sparks without the need to wind coils of copper wire.

The Musical PCB Tesla Coil has two modes, square wave and audio. The frequency of the square wave is controlled by a simple 555 timer, but the audio mode is where things get interesting. The audio mode modulates the duty cycle of the square wave mode, allowing any audio to be played over ionized air.

Instead of connecting your phone to tens of thousands of volts through an aux cable, this tesla coil uses a Bluetooth module to send audio to the tesla coil. That’s a convenient addition and makes it possible to play any audio over tiny desktop thunderbolts.

The Musical PCB Tesla Coil is made and sold by EDISON, based in Toronto, Canada, with the documentation and theory of operation available on instructables. You can check out their store for their latest designs and watch the demo of the PCB Tesla Coil below:

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Who wants to tell the time from a conventional clock or watch, when a servo-powered word clock is available? Well this wonderfully colorful Servo Wordclock DIY Kit is the ideal solution to technical timekeeping, giving you the opportunity to build your own lavish word related timepiece!

As the time passes by you’ll find it magically appears before your eyes in colorful lettering, covering all of the permutations the day brings. Loaded with 114 servo motors this word clock has been refined to be easier to put together than the first incarnation off the back of a complete redesign – most notably reducing the components from around 80 pieces to around 300! The clock has WiFi on board and has it’s time updated via NTP server so you can be sure it’s in the right place.

The source code, BOM and design files have all been shared by its creator, to give you an idea of what to expect – the project can also be found over on its Hackaday projects page. The Servo Woodclock DIY Kit is sold by Twisted & Tinned who are based in Germany – selling a fine selection of tech treats! See the video below to watch it in operation:

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This sci-fi inspired CPU Odometer memorialises every single turn of your CPU with its retro-styled fourteen digit counter. Watch the numbers rise during more intensive computing moments and slow down when idle, giving real-time feedback on how hard your computer is working.

This device counts the number of centiseconds your CPU cores have collectively spent computing, and displays it to you in ‘seconds spent computing’. Able to count up to 1 trillion, this odometer will keep ticking for a very long time – excusing an AI uprising, of course.

This odometer comes with a USB cable that allows it to plug straight into the motherboard, and you can choose to purchase it with a 5.25″ drive bay mounting bracket for clean installation into your computer case. Designed for Linux PCs, this device comes fully assembled with three different LED colour options to suit any computing setup.

With its retro sci-fi looks and genuinely useful function, this is a product that suits many different situations. Whether you want to discover the intimate details of your computer’s processing or dress up your setup, this unique CPU odometer fills the role wonderfully.

TurboLEDz is an independent electronics manufacturer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Beginning as an indie game developer before setting their sights on product design, they’ve set out with the brilliant goal to bring back diagnostic LEDs to PC cases!

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Step up from the virtual pets of the past, and evolve your Tamagotchi into this realistic bionic pet! Emotionally responsive and equipped with three senses – the MarsCat can play with toys and respond to your voice! Its adorable design and sophisticated programming make it the perfect modern household companion.

Just from looking at the MarsCat, you can see the quality and care put into the design. Made of high-quality plastic and rubber, it is surprisingly large and has a charming presence that will enchant any visitor. Arriving fully assembled, each MarsCat is unique and grows its personality based on how its new owners treat it.

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If you’re looking for retro gaming accessories and products for vintage computers, then Tindie has you covered. Evidenced in part by the likes of this Slow Mole Famicom Cartridge, a fully-featured homebrew video game made in Sweden; now available in physical format!

Slow Mole was designed and developed by Erik Rosenlund, and has music by Linus Rosenlund. It’s a game, they say, which makes everyone a speedrunner – so you can expect frantic action, intricate sections and fiendish puzzles awaiting your Slow Mole self! The unique PCB cartridge design comes with gold print on the underside – with LEDs attached to illuminate through the board when the console is switched on. As well as designing and producing the game, Erik has also individually signed each one! This one of a kind homebrew game is sure to be prized in your gaming collection, alongside the Marios and Donkey Kongs of this world!

It has even been reviewed by HackInformer magazine who summariesed their in-depth review by saying: “I honestly love Slow Mole. It could truly be a game that could’ve come out in 1989 and won the hearts of people all over the globe”. A huge endorsement if ever I heard one!

Slow Mole for the NES/Famicom is sold by Slow Mole Studio who are based in Stockholm County, Sweden. Check out his youtube channel for some in game footage, and watch the teaser trailer below:

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Drone synths are the lifeblood of any electronic performer, providing an audio bed and atmosphere upon which to jam, create, and marvel. The Nandamonium Double Drone – Eurorack Module is a new six-voice drone synth, capable of creating everything from monumental subsonic and searing high frequency laser sounds!

In addition to the 6 tunable squarewave voices, this drone synth offers a built-in delay for tripped out repeats and ethereal echos – by controlling the rate, feedback and mix of the effect. It has two CV inputs which can ofcourse change the outputted pitch as well as being used to  create lo-fi rhythmic effects. The unit measured 35HP wide, 22mm deep, and uses standard 3.5mm sockets for interacting with other gear. In addition to the conventional controls, you’ll find a Warp switch (which acts as a bright, small speaker tone control), as well as a blast switch to introduce a wave of maximum feedback into the circuit – hold onto your hat!

The Nandomonium is sold by Synthrotek who are based in Troy in the USA. Their store is jam packed with modular goodies, so if you’re not familiar with them, you’re in for a treat! Hear (and see) the unit in action in this extensive video from the makers:

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The Hackaday Prize is back for 2022! For the better part of a decade, our friends at Hackaday have been challenging makers and creators the world over to create something that matters. They’ve accomplished a lot, and this year will be no different.

This year the Hackaday Prize is taking on the task of Saving the World, and they’re challenging makers from around the globe to create the technology that will solve climate change. There are tens of thousands of dollars in prizes, going to the best solutions dreamt up by a world of makers. There are more than $100,000 in prizes and a residency at the Supplyframe DesignLab up for grabs, so get making!

Like previous years of the Hackaday Prize, there are a series of challenges asking you to create solutions to save the world. They are:

Planet-Friendly Power

This challenge asks you to lower the cost of clean energy, either through energy harvesting or through improvements in energy storage. Think of a solar-powered pump pushing water uphill for energy harvesting at night. Yes, the gravity battery is a great answer to planet-friendly power. This challenge is open from March 29 through May 1, with the finalists announced on May 15th.

Reuse, Recycle, Revamp

Projects for this challenge facilitate recycling or reuse of material that would otherwise end up in the waste stream. Got a plan to turn plastic waste into 3D printer filament? This is the challenge for you! This challenge is open from May 1 to June 12, with the finalists announced on June 26th.

Hack It Back

Entries for this challenge add new capabilities to older electrical gear to keep it useful. For instance, did you know you can build a powerwall out of thousands of discarded laptop batteries? This challenge is open from June 12 to July 24, with the winners announced on August 7th.

Climate Resilient Communities

This is a challenge to design devices that help communities be more resilient to climate change or collect data from the environment for changes in local infrastructure. Some communities (and states) ban red-light cameras, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use a Raspberry Pi and Machine Vision to catch everyone flying through a red light! This challenge is open from July 24 to September 4, with winners announced on September 18th.

Save the World Wildcard

Got an idea that will save the world? This is the challenge for you! Build something that creates a more promising future for us all. This challenge is open from September 4 through October 16, with the winners announced on October 30th.

To launch the 2022 Hackaday Prize, Hackaday is hosting a YouTube live stream all day tomorrow, starting at 8:00 AM PT and going until 2:30 PM PT. Topics will include Radical Ideas to Save the Planet with Bill Gross Founder and CEO of Idealab, The Next Industrial Revolution We Need with Cesar Jarada professor at the University of Hong Kong, and Helping the Planet Through Open Source Hardware with Alicia Gibb, Lee Wilkins, and Claire Cassidy from OSHWA.

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