#DIYHardware

[adafruit]

Espressif programmer test success! 💻✨🔧

While developing boards, there are oftentimes we want to program ESP chips without going through the onboard USB port; this adapter will help us (and others) do that! It has a CP2102N USB-serial chip

https://www.digikey.com/short/bm7n3p5z

...with RX/TX signal LEDs and two transistors wired up to the DTR/RTS line for the 'esptool standard' reset procedure technique. The output IO, plus a 3.3V 500mA regulated output, is available on a socket header, so you can plug wires in for quick programming and debugging. You can use this for everything from an ESP8266 up to the ESP32-P4! Here, we are testing it with a HUZZAH ESP8266 breakout board

...one of our first Espressif chipset products.

[computersoftwaresblog]

Exploring the World of Hardware: Types, Importance, and Tips 🔧💻⚙️

What is hardware? 🤔💻

What’s the real magic behind your gadgets? 🤔✨ It’s not just the apps or software—it’s hardware, the solid backbone like keyboards, CPUs, and screens! 🖥️⚙️ These physical components bring your tech to life, turning code into action. 💻⚡ Without hardware, your digital dreams would just be ideas floating in cyberspace! 🌌🛠️

Types of Hardware 🔧💻

Input Devices 🎹🖱️: Keyboards, mice, scanners—your hands-on tech controllers.

Output Devices 🖥️🔊: Monitors, printers, speakers—turning data into sights and sounds.

Storage Devices 💾📂: Hard drives, SSDs, and USBs—your digital lockers.

Processing Units ⚙️🧠: CPUs and GPUs—the brains behind the operations.

Communication Devices 🌐📡: Routers, modems, and network cards—your connection wizards.

Hardware is the backbone of every gadget! 🛠️✨

Importance of Hardware 🔧💡

Foundation of Technology 🏗️💻: Without hardware, software is just a dream.

Speed and Efficiency ⚡️⏱️: Faster hardware = quicker tasks and smoother performance.

Durability and Reliability 🛠️🔒: Strong hardware ensures long-lasting performance.

Supports Innovation 🚀💡: New hardware fuels the next big tech breakthroughs.

Connectivity and Communication 🌐📡: Hardware keeps you online, always.

Enhances User Experience 😎🖥️: Good hardware = better gaming, browsing, and work performance.

3 Fun Facts About Hardware 🤯🔧

The First Computer Weighed 30 Tons! 🏋️‍♂️💻: Early computers were massive—imagine one taking up an entire room!

Your Keyboard Holds the Power! ⌨️⚡️: Every key press is a tiny electrical signal that controls your device—your fingers are the real wizards!

Hardware Ages Like Fine Wine (Sort of) 🍷🖥️: While software updates are fast, your hardware can keep chugging along for years if treated well!

Hardware Maintenance Tips 🛠️💡

Keep It Cool! ❄️💻: Overheating is the enemy! Make sure your device stays chill with proper ventilation and cooling systems.

Clean Those Ports! 🧹🔌: Dust and grime love to sneak into your ports. A quick clean-up can save your device from performance issues.

Don’t Overload It! ⚖️📱: Running too many apps? Your hardware needs breaks! Don't push it to the max—give it some space!

Upgrade for Speed! 🚀🔧: Sometimes, upgrading RAM or swapping an old HDD for an SSD is the magic trick for a speed boost!

Power Down Properly! 🔌💤: Shutting down correctly ensures your hardware stays happy—no sudden crashes or surprises!

[ceciladepierre93724]

Wooden Toy Trucks Woodworking Projects Whether youre updating your kitchen or outfitting new cabinetry, selecting the right drawer slide can seem like a daunting task. How do you choose from all the options? Read about some tips and tricks here! #rocklerlearn #learncontent #rocklerhowto #drawerslides #diyhardware

Wooden Toy Trucks Woodworking Projects

Whether youre updating your kitchen or outfitting new cabinetry, selecting the right drawer slide can seem like a daunting task. How do you choose from all the options? Read about some tips and tricks here! #rocklerlearn #learncontent #rocklerhowto

[kourtneyachille68313]

Wooden Toy Trucks Woodworking Projects Whether youre updating your kitchen or outfitting new cabinetry, selecting the right drawer slide can seem like a daunting task. How do you choose from all the options? Read about some tips and tricks here! #rocklerlearn #learncontent #rocklerhowto #drawerslides #diyhardware

Wooden Toy Trucks Woodworking Projects

Whether youre updating your kitchen or outfitting new cabinetry, selecting the right drawer slide can seem like a daunting task. How do you choose from all the options? Read about some tips and tricks here! #rocklerlearn #learncontent #rocklerhowto

[adafruit]

Open Hardware month continues, there are over 2,905 open source hardware projects certified, currently Adafruit has 790 certifications, will we hit 800 by Halloween?? SCARY! 🎃👻🕸️🧛‍♂️🧟‍♀️🍬😈

[adafruit]

The first test for our WLED board codename "Sparkle Motion" 🌈💖💡 … 🐇⏳🌌

We got our WLED-friend PCBs today, and we only made one mistake: the wrong resistor on the 3.3V feedback line. Now that it's fixed, the board seems to work great with the latest version of WLED

We are checking all 4 signal outputs with this handy 256-LED grid that sits on our desk. Next, we will test the onboard IR receiver, USB PD, I2S microphone, extra I/O pins, and I2C. We'll also do an Arduino IDE board definition in case folks want to use it as a generic ESP32-to-LED-driver board. We're calling the board "Sparkle Motion" for now, but if you have other naming ideas, let us know - if we pick your name, you get a free board

Sign up, coming soon.

[adafruit]

Desk of Ladyada - Tariff Talk! ASK AWAY! 📦🌎💸

We're doing the show tonight or Tues, so much is going on. Lots more questions came in too! Post yours before we go live…

This week was not a big week for engineering because we're neck-deep in tariff management! We had a video on Wednesday about the first round of tariffs announced—they have since been ratcheted up to 20% + 125% = 145% minimum on products from China and Hong Kong. "Retaliatory" tariffs on products from other countries have been paused, but there's still a 10% global tariff.

Then on Friday, it looks like some HTS codes

were "exempted" temporarily

Let's take a look at the CBP (link) and the exempt tariff codes

and see how they might apply to the kinds of stuff we use to do our electronics engineering.

The Great Search - How to Source Tariffed & Non-Tariffed Items on DigiKey

https://www.digikey.com/short/2nb7nzb3

Since this is the topic of the day, we'll be looking at how to purchase an item from DigiKey with tariffs in mind. DigiKey is a free trade zone, which means that if you're not in the USA, you will not have to pay additional tariffs on goods that are re-exported. However, for USA destinations, the new tariffs can add a significant cost if the component has its last manufacturing step in China.

Let's use the example of a simple I2C-controlled temperature sensor to see how our sourcing decisions may be impacted by tariffs.

[adafruit]

The Great Search - How to Source Tariffed & Non-Tariffed Items on DigiKey 📦🌎💸 https://youtu.be/I-eD6FSM0bU

[adafruit]

Raspberry Pi 5 / RP1 chip support for Neopixels with Python bindings coming soon 🎉💡🖥️🌈🐍

Hot off the PIO-presses, our resident Jepler created a Python binding for the Raspberry Pi 5 that lets us use the RP1 chip

on the 5/500 series boards to drive Neopixels using PIO. This is great because we can now use Neopixels

and friends on the latest Pi boards, and we can use any pin because PIO is not limited by underlying peripherals. You do need the latest kernel and firmware, so it is not quite ready for prime-time, but once piolib

is more readily available, we'll be able to have folks test this out.

[adafruit]

TPS65131 Split-Output Booster Supply

Generating a negative voltage over -5V is kinda annoying: most chargepumps max out at 5V inversion, and ones that can double-then-invert like the MAX232 aren't high current. We bumped into the TPS65131

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texas-instruments/TPS65131RGER/1672464

while working on our Floppsy design

- we need -12V to bias the Apple Disk ][ drive control system. It's a combo buck and boost: give it 3~5VDC and give you up to -15V and +15V output. The split supply part is particularly nice because you'll want +-12V or +-15V for analog projects. This standalone power supply breakout has two mini trim pots to help adjust the output voltages on both sides so you can have as little as +/-6V and up to +/-15V. With the 2A internal switches, you'll get a fair amount of current on either rail.

[adafruit]

Feather RP2350 boards are being tested and are close to shipping 🪶🍇

Our RP2350 Feather design is finally inching closer to release in the adafruit shop - having fixed a clock delay bug that was causing 50% of our boards to not boot, we've now got the tester working well and able to program and test boards in about 8 seconds. Now that we know the hardware is in good shape, we'll fabricate more and get this first set of 150 pieces into the shop. sign up to get first dibs!

[adafruit]

DVI output adapter for RP2350 Feather HSTX port 🔌🖥️💡

The RP2350 Feather has an FPC output connector for accessing the HSTX - high-speed transmission - peripheral. This lets us drive DVI displays really easily! Today, we got the prototype PCBs for our HSTX to DVI adapter board; after connecting up a 22-pin FPC cable, we can test out DVI driving via CircuitPython. With HSTX, we don't need to overclock or use PIO, and there's a lot more RAM on the RP2350, so we can easily do 320x240 with 16-bit color and have plenty of SRAM left over. It would be neat if we could do DVI from the PSRAM as a framebuffer at some point for really big displays!

[adafruit]

A CSI or DSI switcheroo-ifier 📷🔌🔄🕹️🔬🔎📡💻👥🛠️

On the Pi Compute IO board and Pi Zeros theres a camera connector that is 22 pins and 0.5mm pitch, whereas the classic Pi's use 15-pin 1mm pitch. what if you want to switch between the two? this lil open-source hardware doo-dad will do it. here we're testing it by connecting a Pi 3 to a 'mini spy camera' modules that would normally go right onto a Pi Zero https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=spy+camera and it works! we're going to also try it the other direction, and then order the PCBs & boards.

[adafruit]

Desk of Ladyada – Marchintosh on Fruit Jam 🍎💾

Ladyada tests final TLV320DAC3100 boards for Fruit Jam, revises the PCB, and explores Jepler’s pico-mac. Also designs a USB-C CC resistor fix board. For the next rev, she hunts an 8-ohm PCB-mount speaker under 0.8" for onboard beeps.

[adafruit]

Desk of Ladyada - festival of light-related PCB designs ✨💡🎨 https://youtu.be/2T8HyBvQX_Q

[adafruit]

Adafruit on the Open Source Hardware Association Show and Tell event – Oct 2nd, 6:40 PM EDT ⏰🔧🌍 https://adafruit.com/openoct

Adafruit will be part of the Open Hardware Association’s Show and Tell on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024, at 6:40 PM EDT! Right before the Adafruit weekly Show and Tell, and ASK an Engineer! It’s a triple header of open-source! You’ll be able to watch and participate live.

So! Please join the Adafruit team live as we discuss latest projects, share how open-source has shaped our cause and business, and showcase some of the incredible things that have been open-source hardware certified! You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at our new Adafruit factory in Industry City, Brooklyn, NY – USA and the tools we use!

This will part of the OSHWA open-hardware month 24 hour livestream where you can check in with open-source creators and groups around the world to celebrate all things open! Lee and Sid will be there from OSHWA to host, and answer any viewer OSHWA related questions. Looking forward to seeing you there!

If you do open-source hardware, you can send a super-clear signal that you are serious about it and certify it! There are 2,871 certified open-source hardware projects at certification.oshwa.org, Adafruit with 784 certifications represents 27.31% of all open-source hardware certifications, currently in the #1 spot and we’re hoping to reach 800 by the end of October for Open Hardware month! Will we do it? We will see! We hit 777 certified open-source hardware projects August 16, 2024!