Events

Upcoming events: OHS, TAPR DCC, NYMF

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OSHW summit goodie bag photo credit: adafruit[/caption]

There are three major events of interest to open source hardware and makery folks this month:

I’ll be at OHS and TAPR, but have to skip the NY Maker Faire this year.  I imagine that far fewer folks from OHS will be attending NYMF now that those events are no longer co-located.

Sorry NYMF, but I can’t turn down an excuse to visit my friends in Harvard square.

Electronics, Microcontrollers, Projects

Hexbright Hacking

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The Hexbright is an Arduino-compatible open source flashlight that was the subject of a very successful kickstarter campaign in 2011.

Today I spent a short time working on some custom firmware for it.

My firmware adds two new features:

  • Button presses cycle between modes (low, med, high brightness) as usual, but if you wait longer than CYCLE_DELAY (default 5 seconds) between presses, the next press turns the hexbright off.
  • If the hexbright is left on for longer than AUTO_OFF_MINUTES (defaults to an hour), the hexbright turns off.  Handy for when you prop the light somewhere and forget about it.

You can download my custom Hexbright Arduino sketch here.  If you’re new to the Hexbright, read these well-written instructions first.  You’ll need to install the required USB driver and Arduino board configuration file.

Amazon link: HexBright FLEX, 500 Lumen Programmable LED Flashlight

Kits

Rescue Shield kits back in stock – fix your bricked AVRs!

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A new batch of HV Rescue Shield kits are fresh off the hotplate and ready to rescue your bricked AVRs! You can purchase kits here.

Also, I only have a few Geiger Counter kits left in stock. Things have been pretty busy here lately, so it will likely be a few weeks before I can build more. Get one before they’re all gone!

Both of these kits are great for both electronics newbies and experienced kit builders.

Don’t know how to solder? Learn how today!

Join the resistance.