CrackedConsole

An ESP32 Controls This Cylindrical OLED Display

July 28, 2021 by CrackedConsole

YouTuber maker.moekoe built this ESP32-controlled “circular” display using eight OLED screens.

The vast majority of displays have a rectangular 16:9 aspect ratio, or 4:3 for older TVs and monitors. But we’re starting to see more unusual aspect ratios and even screen shapes become more common. Some newer smartphones have ultra-widescreen aspect ratios and round displays are the norm for smartwatches. A square may be the most efficient form, because it doesn’t waste any rows or columns in the matrix, but people like more unique shapes. YouTuber maker.moekoe took that idea to the extreme when they built this ESP32-controlled cylindrical screen.

Casting Aluminum for the Home from a Simple 3D Print

July 28, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Returning to the foundry, I cast an aluminum wall hook. The design of the hook had to take into consideration how it would be cast. Every face had to taper perfectly for the pattern to actually release from the mold!

The Raspberry Pi Pico-Powered Pico MIDI (H)Arp Turns Nearby Wireless Signals Into Music to Your Ears

July 28, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Driven by MicroPython on a Raspberry Pi Pico with Pimoroni Pico Wireless add-on, this music generator plucks Wi-Fi signals from the air.

Pseudonymous electronics and music enthusiast Kevin, of Simple DIY Electronic Music Projects, has shown off a Raspberry Pi Pico-powered MIDI project with a difference: It generates music based on nearby Wi-Fi signals.

The project was inspired by a 2015 device dubbed the MIDI Arp, which used an Arduino Nano board and a Microchip ENC28J60 Ethernet shield to turn address resolution protocol (ARP) requests into music — played through a Roland MT-32 synth module.

Modem Turned Into a MIDI Guitar Sort of: GuitArnet

July 27, 2021 by CrackedConsole

GuitArnet is an Arduino-based simple MIDI guitar with pitch, power chords and minor pentatonic connected to Ableton Live through MIDI.

Researchers Proclaim Breakthrough in Full-Color Low-Power ‘Electronic Paper’ Displays

July 27, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Taking an existing design and flipping it on its head, this new display type offers extremely low power draw yet high-quality colors.

A team from the Chalmers University of Technology claims to have made a breakthrough in sunlight-readable full-color displays, developing an ePaper display capable of “brilliant colors” — at a very low power draw.

“For reflective screens to compete with the energy-intensive digital screens that we use today, images and colors must be reproduced with the same high quality. That will be the real breakthrough,” explains Marika Gugole, doctoral student at the Chalmers University of Technology. “Our research now shows how the technology can be optimized, making it attractive for commercial use.”

Arduino Analog Keypad Mozzi Synth

July 26, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Back when I was messing about with LDRs I made the comment that there are many different kinds of sensors you could use to replace potentiometers in a synth. Having now had a play with analog keypads, I thought they’d be a fun thing to try. The conclusion – it works, but I’m still deciding if it is in anyway useful!

Control Your Displays with the Arduino_GFX Library

July 26, 2021 by CrackedConsole

The Arduino_GFX library is a versatile option that works with a wide range of displays and Arduino-compatible boards.

Adding a display to your microcontroller project is a great way to show logged data, a device’s status, and much more. There are a lot of affordable displays on the market that connect to development boards, including those made by Arduino. Those displays most often connect through an SPI, I2C, or parallel data connection. But microcontrollers don’t have plug-and-play display drivers like a computer; you have to program the microcontroller with exactly what bits and bytes to send to the display to draw the desired pixels. That isn’t a trivial undertaking, but libraries can help. The Arduino_GFX library is a versatile option that works with a wide range of displays and Arduino-compatible boards.

This Insect-Sized Robot Has the Same Agility as a Cheetah

July 25, 2021 by CrackedConsole

UC Berkeley engineers developed a robot that can traverse complex terrain and quickly avoid obstacles.

Most insects and spiders climb walls and walk on ceilings through sticky footpads, allowing them to stick on surfaces. UC Berkeley engineers used the same electrostatic adhesive concept to develop an insect-sized robot with similar swerving and pivoting capabilities as a cheetah. As a result, the robot can travel through a maze while avoiding sudden obstacles.

Klipper input shaping – A leap forward in high speed AND high quality 3D printing [Rat Rig part 4]

July 25, 2021 by CrackedConsole

I’ve wanted to build a top shelf 3D printer kit for a while, and now I present part 4 of the Rat Rig V-core 3 series. In this video we try out input shaping using an accelerometer, which was my primary motivation for building this machine. It didn’t disappoint and in my opinion represents a major step forward for 3D printing.

In this fourth episode, we also cover questions and comments from part 3, basic calibration, pressure advance and high speed test prints.

Befinitiv’s Digital Film Cartridge Adds a RaspberryPi to an Old Film Camera — with Great Results

July 22, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Using a 3D-printed housing, a Raspberry Pi Camera Module, Raspberry Pi Zero, and LiPo battery, befinitiv has given an old camera a rebirth.

Pseudonymous maker “befinitiv” has shown off a Raspberry Pi-powered upgrade for film cameras, turning them into digital cameras capable of stills, video, and even live-streaming — albeit with considerably different zoom from their stock designs.

“This was state of the art 50 years ago,” befinitiv explains of a Cosina Hi-Lite film camera. “Back then, of course, you shot your films or photos on these films, and this was rather expensive back in the day — but today it’s even more expensive and a bit cumbersome.