Cheap logic analyzer (ELSA100)
by superfro on Aug.17, 2010, under Tool Shed
I recently purchased this logic analyzer. It’s a clone of the Saleae logic analyzer. Available for 50$ here with 10 mini grabbers. It appears to perform exactly like the Saleae except its noticeably larger. It even uses Saleae’s software. It does ship from over seas, and might take a little while but it did arrive, and had free shipping.
The cable that ships with it doesn’t have wires broken out for the power supply pins, but it appears there are 2 extra pins, 3.3v and 5v power sources. I’ll have to see about adding 2 more pins to the connector to utilize them. The factory cable has 8 logic wires, and 2 grounds, but the connector has lots of extra spots for wires, extra grounds and those power supply pins.
Anyway, you can’t beat the price. Oh it’s also supported by Sigrok, an open source logic analyzer that is multi platform.
IKEA weekend light fixture hack
by superfro on Aug.08, 2010, under How-Tos
In my sons nursery, we have the changing table against the wall. The problem is the only light in the room is in the middle of the room from a ceiling fan. So basically while your changing him you are blocking the light with your body.
So me and the wife went looking for a light to add to his changing table, we found one at IKEA that we like but it’s a ceiling mount light with 3 individual 35 watt flood bulbs, with cartoonish fish as the housings. I’m not about to drill a hole in the ceiling and install a wall switch (as the instructions state it’s supposed to be installed), so we looked around for something else but nothing caught our eye.
I decided to just get this fixture, and hack it.
In the lighting section of IKEA they have some DIY lamp kit, I just needed a cord since I’m going to be plugging this in the wall, and they’re pretty cheap. So I grabbed the neon green one since it looks cool.
First thing I did was open everything up to see what we are dealing with…
Netduino Unboxing and Tutorial
by Squintz on Aug.01, 2010, under How-Tos, Netduino, Soup, Unboxing
You can purchase the Netduino from our Amazon Store for $34.95!
Hmm… What is a Netduino? Check out the next video from our Netduino Debut Tutorial for a demonstration!
The Netduino looks like an Arduino and it’s even compatible with the existing Arduino protoshields. However, it’s a completely different beast which can be programmed using Microsoft Visual Studio C#. Oh… It’s also Open Source. Pretty cool eh!
Harford Hackerspace at Betascape 2010
by Twerpling on Jul.21, 2010, under Happenings, Projects, Soup
Betascape was this previous weekend and Harford Hackerspace was on hand with robots, lightning bug jars, and general awesomeness. We setup early Saturday morning between Baltimore Node and the First Lego League representatives. The day was spent forging various cardboard blades with crayons and stickers with various children blacksmiths quietly honing their craft. All in all we gave away approximately 50 swords to young lads and lasses who, no doubt, brought these mighty cardboard weapons to bear against a variety of fiends.
The previously mentioned Baltimore Node was there demonstrating various projects such as air powered rockets and some sort of power tool drag racing. Set up across from us was The Digital Media Center from Johns Hopkins demonstrating cloth circuitry and teaching others about cloth circuits. The National Electronics Museum was setup in the back with some kind of robot (which I did not see). Various other people included a company demonstrating a 3D picture taking technology, Bryan Dolge with a makerbot, as well of a bunch of gamemakers in the game making section.
CNC v1.5 revision update
by solovus on Jul.11, 2010, under CNC, Projects
We are currently in the process of revising our CNC design since the Y/Z axis was eating its rails over time due to slight alignment issues. We decided to upgrade the bearings in general to avoid the problem in the future. The x-axis seems to be working fine, so we are going to leave it alone for now. The revision includes CNC cut pieces instead of hand cut pieces (using table saws and drill presses). We also did a major upgrade to the bearings and went with ACME-type lead screws to minimize backlash and improve accuracy. We updated the stepper couplings to the lead screws to make future maintenance easier. The redesign is expected to be complete within the month.
Oobleck Demo v2
by solovus on Jul.08, 2010, under Uncategorized
We have decided to upgrade our Oobleck demonstration since it seems to be wildly popular. Our goals were to go bigger and reduce noise output. One 15″ subwoofer and donated amp later we were done. It is a much simpler, larger, and quieter design than our previous demo. Videos will be posted soon.
LED Fireflies in a Jar (v1.0)
by superfro on Jul.08, 2010, under How-Tos, Projects, Soup, Videos
Me and my wife recently had our first child. I’ve been trying to come up with some projects I can do for the kid. Well, around this time of the year the fireflies go crazy around my house, so we came up with the idea to do led fireflies in a jar. It should be something cool for him to stare at and is easy to build.
Schematics, C source code and hex file are available here on our wiki. If you want to build one it should only take about an hour.
I’m planning on making a version 2 with some changes, stay tuned for that one.
Sugru FTW!
by bsom on Jun.25, 2010, under Projects
Look what the postman brought us today! Not sure what we’re going to do with it yet, but it could have a cameo in an upcoming project… If you’re not familiar with Sugru, check it out here.
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto
by solovus on Apr.29, 2010, under Happenings, Meetings, Projects, Soup
Robot Fest 2010 has come and gone. Some of the many interesting exhibits this year included the pneumatic rocket experience provided by the Baltimore Node, the many Lego Mindstorms projects, Maker Bot demonstrations, various art demonstrations, and a fashion show.
Make coverage and more pics here.
We’d like to thank everyone that stopped by our exhibit to view the Oobleck demonstration, PIC micro-controller LED arrays, the hand-powered Arduino random movie quote generator, build some cardboard robots, or just hang out and talk electronics. We had a great time and we hope to see everyone next year. Our next event will be at ArtScape in Baltimore. In the meantime, feel free to come by and do some hacking on one of our open hack nights.
iRobot Roomba Winner!
by Squintz on Apr.28, 2010, under Contest, Raffle, Soup
Congratulations Eileen Barnett!
Eileen is the winner of Harford Hackerspace’s first ever raffle and she is the proud new owner of an iRobot Roomba. She also received Hacking Roomba book.
When we first contacted Eileen she thought we were pulling her leg. Once she overcame the initial shock and realized she had actually won, Eileen got even more excited.
We would like to send a special thanks to everyone who supported Harford Hackerspace by purchasing a raffle ticket and visiting us at RobotFest 2010 for the drawing.
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Welcome to Harford Hackerspace!
We are currently operating out of Baltimore, MD (21206). Sorry for any confusion! Stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed. See ya around!
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Recent Comments:
- Supabiola Adrean said “Ahh! That\’s great idea for today. I will use this article for the prototype of my new project, thanks a lot. I will bookmark you website in my good place...”
- Heidi said “I love this, thanks. I am always looking past what things are to what they can be, but i have to say, it makes shopping exhausting some days.
Good job.” - Squintz said “Nice Job! Can’t wait to see v2.0”
- bsom said “Those are two-part mixtures, this is a single part. This cures into a silicone rubber-like texture, most other dry in to a rock hard plastic.”
- Squintz said “How does this stuff differ from JB Weld’s KwickWood Putty or other similar puttys?”
