Welcome to Elektor Lab Notes! Every few weeks, Elektor Lab engineers and editors will post updates about new design projects, tech news, engineering tips, and more.
Welcome to Elektor Lab Notes! Every few weeks, the talented engineers and editors in the Elektor Lab will post lab notes and updates about new design projects, interesting industry news, and helpful engineering tips, tricks, and insights. Feel free to share your thoughts in the Discussion section at the bottom of the page. We'd love to hear from you!
Mathias Claussen (Engineer/Editor, Elektor)
Below I share some lab notes about interesting articles and projects that I came across in June. I also offer a few notes about my work, which I think you will find useful. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at @ElektorMathias.
DOOM on the IKEA trdfri — Fake or Real?
While we've seen DOOM run on printers and coffee machines, and some efforts have been made to get it on a DSO, what about a lamp? Yes, a lamp — those things that usually produce light — can run DOOM, at least that was written for a short time on https://next-hack.com. Interrestingly the article has disappeared short after release, so if you would like to see it, you need to use the Internet archive. All traces on hackaday.io, youtube, next.hack.com and github have also been removed as of 15/06/2021 and leave us with the question what happened. Another question: Was this real?
Raspberry Pi Pico VGA Graphics Library
Miroslav Nemecek has created a VGA library that will enable graphics generation on the Raspberry Pi Pico that can turn it into an arcade gaming machine. Images are rendered on the fly based on sprites loaded from RAM. It can produce up to 1280 x 960 pixel resolution in 8-bit color output mode. Head over to his website to have a look on the current project status. If you would like to see the library in action, check out his demonstartion video. With the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect this may form an interesting platform for gaming and other applications.
Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect
ESP32-C3
We did a first test with the Integrated Development Enviroment (IDF) on Platform.io and feel that it is not yet ready for primetime. While the ESP32-C3 is a powerful replacement for the ESP8266 and it has lots of peripherals form its bigger brother, the ESP32, the current revision has some issues with USB and getting the IDF up and running is still a bit buggy. We hope to be able to get the next silicon revision with bug-free USB debugger and serial interface included in the chip working as intended. If the stability will improve, a hands-on may follow soon.
Interested in the Parallax Propeller 2?
Check out my article series, "Hands On the Parallax Propeller 2." I cover Propeller 2 basics, and I show you how to access GPIO and get a UART up and running. Also a first introduction into the SmartPins is done. Also comming up will be an interview with Chip Gracy, designer of the Propeller 2 and Founder of Parallax.
P2 eval
LoRa-E5
The LoRa-E5 module by Seeedstudio offers a STM32WLE5JC Cortex-M4 MCU with embedded LoRa transreceiver. This little module can be hand-soldered to your PCB if requiered and takes care of most parts requiered to get up and running. Currently, we try to prepare a small BOB that will allow to use this module standalone or to be combined with a system like a Raspberry Pi. The BOB will be available on the Elektor GitHub page so you can have a sneak preview on what we are designing.
Clemens Valens (Engineer/Editor, Elektor)
Rapid Prototyping
On June 10, 2021, I moderated an informative webinar with Keith Donadio from Microchip Technology about "Rapid Prototyping Bluetooth Low Energy Android Apps Using MIT App Inventor." It introduces an online class you can take for free at Microchip University. MIT App Inventor is a nice way to quickly create an Android app.
Dev with RP2040
95% of my time goes into making videos and writing articles, but I try to squeeze in some development whenever I can. I am now figuring out what I would use the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller for instead of an MCU that I already know.
Labs Projects
As the moderator for the Elektor Labs platform, I review new projects every week. Here are a few recently added or updated projects that I highly recommend:
This month was mostly review-time with three items to test and try out. Here are some lab notes:
PCBite
In 2019 we already had reviews of the Sensepeek PCBite tools for hands-free measurements on (SMD) printed circuit boards. This time I got my hands on a set with hands-free oscilloscope probes. Nice stuff, which is definitely recommended.
LCR-T7
The second review is about the LCR-T7 Multi-function Component Tester from JOY-iT, which, among other things, is excellent for testing and identifying discrete semiconductors. The complete review — like that of the Sensepeek PCBite — will be published later this year.
CNC Router
The test of a CNC router was less successful; I encountered a technical problem, so we decided not to include this kit in our webshop (for the time being). We are looking into this with the manufacturer to see if the issue can be resolved. The machine did look very promising, also in terms of price.
LISN for EMC/EMI
I also wrote an introduction article for a project that Elektor developed together with Würth Elektronik: a DC Line Impedance Stabilization Network (LISN) for EMC/EMI pre-compliance testing. The project itself will be published later this year and a (partially assembled) kit of the LISN will be offered in our web shop. I would also like to mention the EMC webinar that Elektor will organize together with Würth Elektronik and Rohde & Schwarz: this will be announced on our website and in the E-zine as soon as the date has been determined.
Jens Nickel (Editor-in-Chief, Elektor)
CO2 Meter
Some time ago, I got a mail from some professors at the University of Applied Sciences in Elektor's hometown Aachen. They have developed a CO2 meter for schools, which can be used to have a hint if the ventilation is good enough, not only during the pandemic. Because it is intended that the pupils can assemble the parts themselves for educational purpose (and to keep it cheap), the engineers had the idea to use clamps for wiring, instead of soldering. Would I like to have a kit, they asked? I liked, and so they sent me a packet. I have to admit that I have thrown away a piece of carton which was inside by accident. And that was a pity, because that carton was dedicated to form the housing later. But the thing with the clamps worked well, and so a CO2 meter is now in use to also give me a sign when I should open the window of my home office. Will we report on the project at Elektor? Yes, for sure. Stay tuned on elektormagazine.com!
Streaming
Unfortunately, I can only spend a little amount of my time on developing (which is, to be honest, more “tinkering” in my case). But some weeks ago, I got inspired by my colleague Mathias, who used a Raspberry Pi and the new Raspberry Pi cam to stream some live pictures to a computer in his network (will be published in September edition of Elektor). I am also dedicated to streaming, using OBS studio or expensive stand-alone hardware, and so I began to research. I found some projects to stream live video to the usual platforms such as Twitch. Then I began to develop on my own (using a lot of spare time...). In the photo, you can see a first prototype based on a Raspberry Pi 4. It can stream an HDMI signal to a Twitch account, when the button is pressed. All is powered by the power bank in front. The project is far from being ready for publication, but I already had a lot of fun while learning!
C. J. Abate (Content Director, Elektor)
June was a busy month at Elektor. Below are some highlights and lab notes.
Popular Articles
Here is a list of some of the most popular articles that we posted online:
"Start Playfully with RISC-V: How to Run Quake 1 on a Microcontroller": Want to take your first steps with RISC-V-based MCUs? Elektor engineer Mathias Claussen runs Quake 1 game on a RISC-V-based microcontroller. https://www.elektormagazine.com/articles/start-playfully-with-riscv
"Magnetic Levitation the Easy Way": Elektor engineer Luc Lemmens dives into the topic of magnetic levitation. In this article, he covers an interesting levitation project, including the schematic, assembly, and adjustment. https://www.elektormagazine.com/articles/magnetic-levitation-easy-way
"World Ethical Electronics Forum (WEEF)": The World Ethical Electronics Forum (WEEF) will feature in-depth talks and debates on a wide range ethical issues facing engineers and electronics companies. https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/ethical-electronics-weef
"Circuit Shorts: The Electronic Component Shortage": Concerned about global electronic component supply issues? Check out Saar Drimer's thoughts about the long-term ramifications. https://www.elektormagazine.com/articles/circuit-shorts-electronic-component-shortage
Elektor on Social
In addition to the various electronics projects and articles that our team has worked on, we posted quite a bit on social media. Don't forget to follow us and share your lab notes.
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