A number of sensors are powered via 12 Volts. Some, however, need 5 Volts. To power a remote DHT11 temperature sensor, I created a 12V to 5V sensor circuit. This is the wiring diagram: Get the Fritzing code for it HERE. The DHT11 needs 5 volts, ground and data. It plugs into …
Category: Informational
Sep 02 2017
4 Character 7 Segment Display
I built another handy circuit to ‘house’ a 4 character 7 segment display. It looks like this: Basically it just ‘breaks out’ the 16 pins of the display with two 8 pin female headers. Pins 1-8 are connected to the header at the bottom and pins 9-16 are connected to the header at the top. …
Jul 03 2017
ESP8266 DIY Programmer Cradle
If you have been reading my posts lately, you will notice that I have been working a lot with the ESP8266 wireless module. To make it easier to work with, I made an ESP8266 DIY Programmer Cradle. Here is what it looks like (without and with the ESP8266 plugged in): …
Jun 30 2017
MicroPython WebREPL on Android
I created an app (apk) to run MicroPython WebREPL on Android. Imagine you have your ESP8266 (with the MicroPython firmware) in some location where the only access to it is via a wireless connection. If you need to access and change/control it, you will need WebREPL. Of course, a wireless enabled laptop would get access …
Jun 28 2017
ESP8266 MicroPython Firmware
To enhance the capabilities of the ESP8266 there are various firmware packages available. In my last post, I showed how to install NodeMcu which uses eLua. I am a big fan of the Python programming language, so I was very happy to see a Python version for the ESP8266. The ESP8266 MicroPython Firmware is available …
Jun 23 2017
ESP8266 Custom Firmware
If you would like to go beyond the basic features in the ‘default’ ESP8266 firmware, it is possible (and relatively easy) to create your own ESP8266 custom firmware. With ESP8266 custom firmware, your possibilities for interaction with connected devices are almost endless. The reason why is that you can now connect pins on the ESP8266 …
Jun 01 2017
Best Kept Secret
Yes, it is an ambiguous topic. No, I don’t think it should be hidden, however, the fact that this topic does not seem to garner much press could mean it has been a best kept secret. The “best kept secret” is the programming language Forth. For reference, take a look at “A Beginner’s Guide to …
May 22 2017
How to convert an STM32F103C8T6 into a Black Magic Probe
There are several tutorials on the internet showing how to convert an STM32F103C8T6 into a Black Magic Probe. Unfortunately, none of them worked for me. So, I decided to write this post in case others run into the same problem as I did. The problem I ran into was the memory size of the STM32F103C8T6 …
Apr 13 2017
ARM Cortex M3 STM32F103C8T6
It’s amazing what you can get in a microcontroller board these days for just over $2. For example, just search ebay.com or alibaba.com for the key word ‘STM32F103C8T6’. You will see the links to an ARM Cortex M3 STM32F103C8T6 development board for just over $2 US including shipping (usually from China, so it may take …
Feb 12 2017
PIC Assembler Coding
I became re-interested in Microchip PIC assembler coding recently. I hadn’t really used it for a number of years (since before 2009). The ‘C’ language is usually efficient enough and easier to code for most projects I do. I used one of my DIY PIC18F4550 Pinguinos for experimentation. As you might guess, I decided to …
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