February 26, 2011, 4:40 pm
Arbitrary waveform generators come in handy when troubleshooting digital and analog circuits. Most commercial arbitrary waveform generators are very expensive due to the functionality and very high bandwidth they offer. But for typical uses among hobbyists, the requirements are generally pretty low. Building a very basic arbitrary waveform generator is actually quite simple using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) chip and a microcontroller (MCU). Here I will show you one such waveform generator using Linear Technology‘s LTC1450 DAC and ATmega328 programmed with Arduino libraries. Continue reading ‘Arbitrary Waveform Generation with Arduino’ »
February 20, 2011, 7:13 pm
I started this project a while ago. My intention was to adapt a toy remote controlled vehicle into a generic robotic platform, which would enable me to do some experiments with robotics. To make the platform more generic, I came up with the following requirements: Continue reading ‘Building a Robotic Platform’ »
February 12, 2011, 8:16 pm
I was looking for some parts a couple of weeks ago and came across an old TV flyback transfomer, so I thought I would build a project with it. Continue reading ‘Yet Another Flyback Transformer Project’ »
February 7, 2011, 10:08 pm
After I wrote this guide on how to build an ultrasonic range sensor from scratch, I have received many comments and questions. A couple of readers have emailed me stating that this sensor works great by itself, but somehow when put onto a robotic platform it sometimes returns random range data. Continue reading ‘A Sensitive DIY Ultrasonic Range Sensor – Update’ »
February 1, 2011, 8:26 pm
I am in the process of converting a remote controlled toy vehicle to an autonomous robotic platform. My initial thought was to just get rid of the existing circuit and add on my own. But after analyzing the control circuit further, I realized I could save some effort by just reusing what was already in place for the movement controls. Continue reading ‘Multiplexing the Drive Circuit’ »