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This is the second article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. It introduces the for...next command, the…

This is the second article in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. It introduces the for...next command, the wait command, general purpose variables, the symbol command, and the #no_data directive.

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can…

Part 1 in the “How to Make an EFM8-Based Sound Synthesizer” series, which will design a sound synthesizer that can play standard musical notes. We will accomplish this using a low-cost, small-form-factor EFM8 microcontroller in conjunction with a few external components and a speaker.

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the…

In this article I will discuss what switch bounce is and some ways to deal with it. First I will take you through the theory, and later I will show you some ways to handle it in both hardware and in software.

Part 5 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series.

Part 5 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series.

I hear about it all the time: planned obsolescence. People can't believe that their computer parts are already breaking…

I hear about it all the time: planned obsolescence. People can't believe that their computer parts are already breaking and their iPhone started to slow down just days before the next generation of the phone was released. Your TV seems to be programmed to have bugs whenever the manufacturing company wants to push a new product. Companies break their own products to get you to buy more of the same product: light bulbs, phones, batteries, cars, microwaves, computer screens, and even your car key transponder will all stop operating eventually. Either the marketing team or the designers wanted it that way, right?

Learn how to set up the Wunderbar platform to begin building your own IoT apps. This will demonstrate the "Can't Touch…

Learn how to set up the Wunderbar platform to begin building your own IoT apps. This will demonstrate the "Can't Touch This" and "Tell Me When" demo applications to measure WunderBar sensors and perform actions based on them. Some of the major bugs are discussed.

Getting started with PSoC®, the Programmable-System-on-Chip by Cypress Semiconductor for developing and testing embedded systems.

Getting started with PSoC®, the Programmable-System-on-Chip by Cypress Semiconductor for developing and testing embedded systems.

A guideline for proper considerations when making electrical platforms that can be easily, cheaply, and quickly…

A guideline for proper considerations when making electrical platforms that can be easily, cheaply, and quickly manufactured. The purpose and methods of proper board design, validation, testing, and technical support is discussed, from small to large scale production.

This is the first in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. This article covers how to read PICAXE pin-out…

This is the first in a multi-part series on writing PICAXE BASIC code. This article covers how to read PICAXE pin-out diagrams, a circuit for coding practice, and the general program format.

The TrueNorth chip contains one million programmable neurons. 5.4B transistors, and 4,096 parallel and distributed cores.

The TrueNorth chip contains one million programmable neurons. 5.4B transistors, and 4,096 parallel and distributed cores.

Create a smart home by displaying the current salt level of your water softener with the CC3200 and a proximity sensor.

Create a smart home by displaying the current salt level of your water softener with the CC3200 and a proximity sensor.

While focus in electronics is normally on the consumer and businesses, the military has impressive buying power and often…

While focus in electronics is normally on the consumer and businesses, the military has impressive buying power and often uses its financial incentives to spur new inventions.

This article is part 2 of a two-part series that introduces the tools and techniques for programming PICAXE…

This article is part 2 of a two-part series that introduces the tools and techniques for programming PICAXE microcontrollers. Part 1 focused on construction of a test circuit and the AXEpad IDE; part 2 covers the PICAXE Editor 6 IDE.

Graphene, a sheet of carbon atoms that is only one atom thick, could change the future of electronics. It's much more…

Graphene, a sheet of carbon atoms that is only one atom thick, could change the future of electronics. It's much more energy efficient than silicon and dissipates heat faster as well. There's evidence that graphene works even better when it's combined with other polymers, too, making its potential applications innumerable.

Beaglebone Black is the most recent incarnation of the Beaglebone open source hardware platform. For less than $50, the…

Beaglebone Black is the most recent incarnation of the Beaglebone open source hardware platform. For less than $50, the board includes Ethernet, graphics processing, 4Gb of nonvolatile storage, and ports supporting USB, HDMI, and Beaglebone's custom I/O add-ons, called "capes". Here's how to run some simple commands to toggle digital I/O on the board!

Part 4 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series

Part 4 in the “How to Make an Ambient Light Monitor” series

A look at some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry.

A look at some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry.

This is one simple way to control a LED, fan, relay or solenoid with a computer and a PIC.

This is one simple way to control a LED, fan, relay or solenoid with a computer and a PIC.

We've all been there - you've spent hours and hours trying to get that sketch working, but somehow, you're not reacting…

We've all been there - you've spent hours and hours trying to get that sketch working, but somehow, you're not reacting well to time critical events in your system. Maybe it's a wireless peripheral indicating when a packet is ready. Maybe it's an external Flash device signaling when data is ready to be read out. Maybe it's as simple as a button push that you need to react quickly to! But, try as you might, it seems the best way to see these sort of events is to just digitalRead() that pin over and over in your main loop() function until something interesting happens. ...or is it?