MusiCubes:
The Software
Two weeks ago I finished up the electronics of the MusiCubes controller. So now it’s time to discuss the software side of things. Buckle up, and get ready for the long ride!
Train Automator:
Writing the Software
After finishing the electronics it is time to work on the software. Since the train automator runs on an Arduino Nano, it’s time to fire up Visual Studio Code and start typing some C++.
Activity Board:
Bake me some Pi!
Now that most of the firmware is all set an done, it’s time to start working on the final part of the Activity Board: the Raspberry Pi display interface.
MagicMirror:
Mirror, Mirror on the wall ... What will happen this fall?
With over a hundred contributors, more than 1750 commits, and literally hundreds of 3rd party modules, the MagicMirror project I started years ago still doesn’t fail to amaze me. Time for a quick update!
Electrocard:
Writing The Software
Now that the hardware part of my Electrocard is done, it’s time to start working on the software side of my electronic business card.
The Recursive LedControl Counter
2 weeks ago I posted a small clip on my Instagram which showed a MAX7219 counter demo. Using this 8 digit, 7 segment display is pretty straight forward, but some people asked me how I printed the incremetal counter, since the MAX7219 LedControl library only allows you to print one digit at a time …
Quiz Time:
Quiz Time. Again!
A few years ago I introduced a new Christmas Dinner tradition: we play a quiz to test the attendees knowledge of the news facts of the past year. How many gold medals did we win during the Olypics? On what day did Trump win the election? And who won the Eurovision Song Contest? This year I improved the Quiz experience with the help of some maker magic …
MagicMirror:
Empowering the MagicMirror² Ecosystem.
With the launch of MagicMirror v2, the foundation was laid for the creation of the MagicMirror² ecosystem. But to be honest, I could have never hoped that so many enthusiasts would develop and release their own MagicMirror² modules. Time to create some order in the chaos.
MagicMirror:
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who has the biggest of them all?
When I initially started my Magic Mirror project, it was just to see if it was possible. It was never meant to be an open source project, let alone a commercial project. When the project eventually got more famous, it wouldn’t take long for the first commercial opportunities …
Behind my computer ...
Most of my blogs are about my physical projects, my tools like my 3d printer, my Rigol power supply and scope and my beloved soldering iron. But, truth to be told, most of my time is spent behind my computer. Today I’m going to give you a rundown of tools and ingredients I use the most when working on my Mac.
MagicMirror:
The Toon MagicMirror Module
A few weeks ago I got in touch with Eneco, one of the biggest energy suppliers of Holland and makers of the Toon smart thermostat. They were pretty excited about my Magic Mirror project and had a nice challenge for me.
The NeoDisplay
As most of the Arduino tinkering makers, I have some NeoPixels LEDs in my drawers. Especially the 8x8 NeoMatrix is a beautiful piece of illumination. But till now, I didn’t have any good use for it yet. Time to make it a bit more useful!
Automatic Curtains:
Preparing for Development
With the fully operating hardware, it is finally time to start working on the real firmware for my automatic curtain motor controllers. The current firmware is quickly thrown together and contains a few annoying bugs which need to be solved. To make the development process a bit easier, I made a small development unit, allowing me to test and debug my software without the need of closing and opening my real curtains.
MagicMirror:
MagicMirror², a huge announcement.
When I built my MagicMirror 2 year ago, I could have never predict the popularity of the project. With over 2,5 million pageviews on my blog, 1250 stars and almost 500 forks of the GitHub repository and a growing list of MagicMirror builders, the MagicMirror project deserves some extra love. Time to announce something awesome!
HomeSensor:
Connecting my house to MQTT.
With the new hardware ready, I continue to rebuild my Home Sensor system. Last week I replaced the Raspbery Pi for an ESP8266, this week I’ll be working on the new protocol my Home Sensor will be using.
Automatic Curtains:
Prototyping complete!
After playing around with the latest version of PJON, I finally found a good way for Arduino to Arduino communication. And with some test-code up and running, it was time to implement it in my automatic curtain driver.
The iOS 3DPrinter
I love OctoPrint! The open source web interface for your 3D printer. But although they claim to be responsive, OctoPrint almost unusable from your Mobile Phone. Time to create an iOS app for it. A great reason to give Swift 2 a try.
When the heat hits the fan ...
After building the Enclosure for my Lulzbot Mini 3D Printer, I started to worry my Printer wouldn’t like the built up heat. Although higher temperatures are usually an improvement for the print quality, it might affect the hardware. To prevent this, I decided to add a temperature regulated cooling fan.
Development Candy: My list of goodies.
A while ago, I wrote a blog post about my most beloved ingredients I use in my electronics projects. Today I share an other list of daily used ingredients: my most used development environments.
ESP8266 Made Easy!
As you might have noticed reading my recent blogs, I became pretty enthusiastic about the $4,- ESP8266 Wifi module which includes a programmable MCU allowing you to create stand-alone wireless awesomeness. The only problem was, programming this beauty was a bit odd. That all changed this weekend!
Our Office OPIrator
While most of the stuff I built, has no particular use, once in a while I built something that solves a real issue. In this case, it solves the lack of a phone operator at Xonay Media Headquarters.
Annoying Dishwasher:
The Azure Dishwasher
After I discovered the awesome little ESP8266 Wifi module last week, I spent some extra time to check out how suitable this module is when I want to use it in an ‘Internet of Things’ environment. Or, to be more concrete: Could I use this module to connect my Annoying Dishwasher directly to the internet, without the use of the XBee & Raspbery system?
Anonymous Reinventors of The Wheel
While cleaning up my drawer with my Secret Stash of Ingredients, I stumbled into my beloved NeoMatrix 64 pixel LED board. While this board is an awesome toy for light effects, it could use some added features, like the displaying text. Reason enough to write a NeoMatrix extension for the Adafruit GFX Library.
Meduino: my first medical application.
According to Philips, healthcare engineering is where the big money is. So hey, why not built a medial application myself? Ever since I was a child, my posture isn’t the way I would like it to be. I tend to stand like a 90 year old crooked guy. Let’s built something to change that!