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The venerable ATtiny85 or 13A are fantastic little chips. They are especially useful for migrating Arduino projects that only require a few pins to a cheaper and smaller form factor. If you are making multiples of such a project then this ATtiny programmer could be very useful.

Using the Arduino IDE and an Arduino Nano, this programmer from ArnovSharmaMakes can be loaded with up to six ATtiny MCU’s which can then be flashed. The six DIP 8 sockets are set up in parallel with the SPI bus on the Nano and, once filled, you can burn a bootloader and flash code to them using the Arduino as ISP. Of course, you don’t have to have all 6 slots filled, you can use this for any number up to six!

Check out the video after the break in which the creator not only walks through the programmer but also covers how to set up an Arduino as ISP programmer and how to upload a boatloader and a sketch to an ATtiny.

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The RC2014 mini is a Z80 based retro computer kit that traditionally runs Microsoft Basic or the SCM Z80 monitor ROM. The RC2014 Mini CP/M Upgrade Kit converts the RC2014 Mini into a machine using the CP/M operating system and opens up a new (old) world of possibility!

There is a lot of software out there for CP/M, most notably some classic games! Beyond the entire Zork series we spotted some classics like Lunar Lander and for the discerning retro gamer you might even be able to track down Computer Stocks and Bonds! Aside from gaming, CP/M is rich in programming languages like Pascal and BBC Basic and there are also productivity suites available should you wish to relive early word processing!

The kit is a 4 layer PCB and all the components are through hole mount, apart from the compact flash socket which is SMD but comes presoldered to the board. Adding the kit to the mini essentially creates a CP/M machine with 64k of RAM, pageable ROM, and, rather brilliantly, compact flash storage. A 128 MB compact flash card is included and CP/M is preinstalled on the card.

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The 555 chip is iconic and timeless and we have featured many products using the 555 over the years. What caught our eye with this kit was that it enables the builder to explore the three most common application modes of the 555, astable, monostable and bistable.

This kit is all through-hole components which makes it very friendly for those who are new to soldering. It uses jumpers on header pins which can be swapped into different positions to enable the three basic modes of operation. With variable resistors to adjust the timers and LED outputs, there’s a lot you can learn from learn this little kit. Combining those features with it’s reasonable price makes it this a great option for those delivering electronics education or more practical soldering workshops.

If you are interested in the 555 we have blogged about lots of 555 related products before from simple 555 flasher kits to “The Smallest Ever 555 Circuit“!

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Mobile music making is on the rise with programs to make a complete track available for phones and tablets – as well as specialist samplers, synths and standalone grooveboxes. The Cardboard Expression Pedal is a superb way to interact with your device, bringing real-world established controls to making music beyond the touch screen. It’s the first pedal of its kind, with compatibility for the Apple iPhone and made from 100% renewable sources!

The Cardboard Expression Pedal is an ingenious device, made completely from cardboard and comes flat packed to assemble yourself. The iPhone slips snugly into a dedicated enclosure (pictured below) and uses the tilt sensors to pick up your footwork. There’s a free iPhone app called MIDI Expression Pedal which allows you to play expressively with any model of iPhone from the first generation SE model upwards. We’re sure the Nintendo Labo and Google Cardboard have influenced this durable musical joy! 

The pedal sends MIDI via Bluetooth or WiFi giving you control over thousands of music making applications for iOS. At a time when the environment and earths ecosystem are under threat, it’s refreshing to see these kinds of designs on the market.

The Cardboard Expression Pedal is sold by Beat Bars who are based in Poland and have many interactive musical devices. Check out the video below to see the assembly happen!

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With the advent of 3D printing, thermal inserts have become a go to device when a strong threaded connection is needed. If you are regularly using this technique, this thermal insert rig  from NH Design Works is going to increase accuracy, speed, and safety.

For the occasional user, many deploy a soldering iron to heat and press the small brass inserts into a sized hole. It can, however, be a challenge to keep the insertion vertical relative to the part and there’s an increased risk of dropping a hot brass insert into your lap! An experience not to be repeated!

Curing these issues, this rig comes with a variable temperature heat source meaning adjustments can be made for insertions into different plastics. The pressed element has a spring return and can be rotated around the vertical axis to position accurately. The base of the station has tee slots meaning you can attach jigs and guides to aid operations and speeding up repeat jobs for batch processing. It comes with a range of insert tooling for #4-40 and for M3 inserts and tooling for other sized inserts are available.

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Well, the festive season is pretty much upon us and to celebrate we want to raise the Christmas cheer by showing a range of products anyone would be happy to find under the tree (or perhaps in the tree) come Christmas morning!

First up, although not strictly a Christmas item, we couldn’t resist this picture of a Pwnagotchi resplendent in it’s Santa hat! The Pwnagotchi is a serious pen-testing tool wrapped up in a super cute AI interface. The Pwnagotchi’s wellbeing is maintained by feeding it WiFi networks and whilst we think this would make an excellent stocking filler we urge you to consider a Pwnagotchi is for life, not just for Xmas!

Moving into more familiar fair there are lots of small Christmas themed electronics kits that can either be assembled and used as decorations or could be a great gift for the electronics people in your household. First up is the Christmas -3- PCB by Brian Lough. This lovely looking kit creates a multicoloured animated flashing tree using a pre-flashed ATtiny13a and a stack of 0603 LED’s. The LED are mounted on the reverse of the PCB and create a great battery powered diffused lighting effect. As an extra bonus Brian is donating $1 from every sale to help Team Trees plant 20 million trees.

Sticking with flashing festive kits, Ryanteck have produced this cheerful snowman kit. Using 12 RGB LED’s the SnowPi is suitable to pair up with any microcontroller using 6 IO pins, but for a nice simple Christmas project it has a screw mount to slot it onto a BBC Microbit. A perfect companion gift for someone exploring microcontrollers!

If you prefer you Christmas blinkables a little more wearable how about these fabulous cubist Christmas tree earrings? Fully assembled these cute conifers sparkle and blink their LED’s for 3 minutes on the press of a small button.

Of course if you want earrings as a Christmas gift, they don’t have to be Christmas themed and we have plenty of geek chic jewellery available. A popular Tindie choice is the range of solar harvesting jewellery such as these gorgeous pendant earrings from Bobricius.

Whilst we are talking about non-Christmas themed items, there are lots of great kits and tools that can make nice gifts for the geek in your life! A simple but useful tool we spotted is this Logic Probe Pen Kit which we think would be an excellent stocking filler, although we definitely wish you a bug free Christmas!

We could list more and more ideas from our amazing community of makers but a good way to seek out those perfect gifts is to search Tindie for everything tagged Stocking-Stuffer or Christmas. We hope you find the perfect gift for under your tree and would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas from all of us at Tindie.

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(Amazing art thanks to Joe Kim!)

The holiday season is here, and while this year has been a weird one, we won’t let it stop a happy holiday event! Join all of your friends from Tindie and Hackaday for this virtual meetup!

While I’m sure we all are missing in-person get-togethers, the Remo platform is pretty neat way to interact virtually. Some of you may remember that Hackaday used Remo for the community Bring-A-Hack at Remoticon last month. It features tables and seating areas for up to eight people, which offer participants the chance to enjoy smaller conversations.

The Holidays with Hackaday and Tindie meetup will be December 15th at Noon Pacific. You can register ahead of time on Remo, and be sure to check out the event page on Hackaday.io.

Come hang out and share your latest projects, check out what other people in the community are working on, and catch up with friends! We hope to see you all there!

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We expect modern devices to have smart connectivity as standard now, linking phones to household devices, LED lights and even sound systems, but in the past things were not so simple! This Hifi Bluetooth Stereo Module is a descrete way to bring any speaker system or hifi up to modern standards, enabling you to sync your wireless devices to play your music loud over the ether!

This little devices has a tonne of features to enable you to play music on hifi systems and vintage speakers! It has a built in amplifier so can be connected directly to speakers themselves, with an option for passive (unpowered) or active (powered) output. It’s loaded with features and measures only 16mm x 16mm, so is easily small enough to fit inside and function perfectly within your precious JVC RC-M90!

The device comes as a mostly-constructed kit, including a screwdriver, with the hard work done for you and no soldering required. There are details on the product page for various speaker setups and options for powering the unit so please consult these before hooking up your vintage equipment.

The Hifi Bluetooth Stereo module is sold by IC Station who are based in China, with loads of nifty audio/visual gadgets to choose from!

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The Holiday season is here once again and we want to say happy holidays from Tindie! One particular holiday that’s right around the corner is Hanukkah! For those who are unfamiliar, this year’s Hanukkah begins at sunset on December 10th.

In celebration of this holiday, let’s take a look at a few Hanukkah themed products available on Tindie!

Hanukkah Menorah – Soldering Practice Kit

If you’re looking to brush up on your soldering skills over the holidays, check out this light-up Hanukkah Menorah kit from Four Bit Industries. This soldering kit features 100% through-hole components for ease of use, double-sided circuit boards with plated through-holes, nine light-up LEDs, and it’s powered by a 9V battery.

The makers of this soldering kit also created detailed instructions for assembly, it’s perfect for beginners!

Electronic Menorah Model I — KIT

Check out this other fun electronic Hanukkah Menorah kit! This product is a PCB Hanukkah Menorah that features nine LEDs instead of candles. The creator, South Berkeley Electronics, originally designed it for friends and family and folks really enjoyed it and suggest they share it with others.

This neat product has some special features such as a “Scanner mode”, and is powered by a microcontroller so it’s ready for hacking! Order it as a kit for the fun of putting it together and practicing your SMD soldering.

The kit will come with the controller chip soldered on the board, but everything else is up to you to solder. It’s also available fully assembled if shoppers prefer. The maker also created a larger version of this product the Electronic Menorah Model II — KIT.

Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating the holiday from everyone here at Tindie!

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Mid/side processing is a technique used to place audio frequencies into familiar areas of the stereo field, with low-end bass occupying the mid (middle or centre) and higher frequencies being sent to the side of the mix. The Mid Side (LRMSMSLR) Eurorack module is a modular device to not only split stereo signals into mid/side but also back to stereo, for a sound more in tune to human hearing.

The LRMSMSLR Eurorack module is simple in it’s design, eliminating the need for precise stereo mixing of frequency bands when mixing. Mid/Side is a technique developed in 1934, which actually precedes the ability to make and playback stereo recordings – with the aim to enhance the acoustic `space’ of a recording. Find out more about the technique here and find out some of it’s creative uses here. The LRMSMSLR will mix audio signals and has DC coupled inputs and outputs – so is also suitable for mixing control voltages in interesting ways.

The module uses professional quality amplifiers with low noise levels to process the signal clearly, with minimal colouring of the original sounds. You’ll find documentation and a datasheet on the sellers website for happy mid/side mixing!

This is the first product sold by LRR Audio who are based in the USA.

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