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Controlling a Toaster Oven with a PICAXE - Part 2

Controlling a Toaster Oven with a PICAXE - Part 2

Soldering surface mount components by hand can be done, but reflow soldering in an oven is much quicker and produces more consistent results. Building a microprocessor controlled reflow oven is well within the abilities and budget of many hobbyists.


Embedded PID Temperature Control, Part 2: Board-Level Integration

Embedded PID Temperature Control, Part 2: Board-Level Integration

This article covers the firmware that allows the EFM8 microcontroller to communicate with the DAC and the MAX31855.


Projects Feb 03, 2016 by Robert Keim
Controlling a Toaster Oven with a PICAXE - Part 1

Controlling a Toaster Oven with a PICAXE - Part 1

A toaster oven can do more than just make toast; guided by a PICAXE microcontroller, it can make a sweet reflow soldering station.


C-BISCUIT: A Robotics Platform for the Hacker and Hobbyist

C-BISCUIT: A Robotics Platform for the Hacker and Hobbyist

This is the beginning of a multi-part, multi-author series on how to build your own robotics platform called C-BISCUIT, an acronym for Collaborative Bot with Integrated System Core, Unmanned Interactivity, and Telemetry -- based on the Wandboard Quad computer.


Projects Jan 25, 2016 by Patrick Lloyd
Design a Color Sensor with Measurements Displayed via an RGB LED Module, Part 2

Design a Color Sensor with Measurements Displayed via an RGB LED Module, Part 2

Learn how to collect and process RGB data generated by the BH1745NUC color sensor IC.


Projects Jan 23, 2016 by Robert Keim
Design a Color Sensor with Measurements Displayed via an RGB LED Module

Design a Color Sensor with Measurements Displayed via an RGB LED Module

Display colors by precisely controlling the intensity of red, green, and blue LEDs.


Projects Jan 22, 2016 by Robert Keim
Building Raspberry Pi Controllers: IR Remote Event Counter

Building Raspberry Pi Controllers: IR Remote Event Counter

In part 4 of this Build Raspberry Pi Controllers series, the reader will learn how to build an IR Remote Event counter using littleBits.


Projects Jan 19, 2016 by Don Wilcher
Custom PCB Design with an EFM8 Microcontroller

Custom PCB Design with an EFM8 Microcontroller

Tips and techniques for incorporating EFM8 microcontrollers into your custom hardware.


Projects Jan 18, 2016 by Robert Keim
Measure Thermocouple Temperature with the MAX31855 and a PICAXE

Measure Thermocouple Temperature with the MAX31855 and a PICAXE

Whether for cooking or reflow soldering, a thermocouple is often the best choice for a high temperature sensor. The MAX31855, a PICAXE-08M2, a serial LCD, and a few lines of code will do the trick.


LED Chaser… With a Twist!

LED Chaser… With a Twist!

Build an LED chaser with a little twist: we'll be using a microcontroller and an LCD along with the usual 4017 counters.


Hack Your Toaster Oven to Become a Thermocouple Measurement System

Hack Your Toaster Oven to Become a Thermocouple Measurement System

The intuitive, step-by-step procedure presented in this article will help you to successfully perform reflow soldering in your toaster oven.


Projects Dec 18, 2015 by Robert Keim
Download Your First Program Using ARM mbed and KEIL MDK V5

Download Your First Program Using ARM mbed and KEIL MDK V5

The FRDM-K64F is a development platform which utilises the MK64FN1M0VLL12 microcontroller. This tutorial includes how to download a simple blinky example onto the FRDM-K64F using the ARM mbed online IDE and KEIL MDK. Details of the GPIO module configuration are included.


Projects Dec 17, 2015 by Elliott Smith
Build a PICAXE ESP-01 Wi-Fi Communicator

Build a PICAXE ESP-01 Wi-Fi Communicator

A PCB for a Wi-Fi communicator using a PICAXE 08M2 and an ESP-01 module driven by interactive code makes a handy setup for data collection and IoT reporting.


Introduction to the Manually-Controlled Toaster Oven Reflow

Introduction to the Manually-Controlled Toaster Oven Reflow

With the help of a DIY thermocouple measurement system, you can use a cheap toaster oven to accurately reproduce a reflow-soldering temperature profile.


Buck Converters and Their Cool Applications

Buck Converters and Their Cool Applications

The buck converter is a ubiquitous DC-DC converter that efficiently converts a high voltage to a low voltage efficiently. Efficient power conversion extends battery life, reduces heat, and allows for smaller gadgets to be built. The buck converter can be used in lots of cool applications.


PCB Layout Style Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Design

PCB Layout Style Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Design

This article discusses style mistakes in PCB layout that can make assembly and debugging PCBs difficult. This is vital for designers!


Design Your Own Controller for a Solder Reflow Oven

Design Your Own Controller for a Solder Reflow Oven

In the last installment, we built the hardware to control an AC waveform with a TRIAC as the first step in a DIY solder reflow oven. This tutorial continues the project by showing you how to set up the low-level hardware to measure temperature, read the zero-cross detector, drive the TRIAC, and print to the serial terminal using a USART.


Projects Nov 17, 2015 by Patrick Lloyd
Practical PCB Layout Tips Every Designer Needs to Know

Practical PCB Layout Tips Every Designer Needs to Know

This article contains practical PCB layout tips that can help your PCB projects work correctly and reliably.


Control Your AC Mains with a Microcontroller

Control Your AC Mains with a Microcontroller

Learn how to put together your own toaster oven controller with a handful of inexpensive, through-hole parts. The emphasis is on safety, low price, and minimal modification of the toaster oven.


Projects Nov 09, 2015 by Patrick Lloyd
Build 9 Simple, Low-noise Linear Voltage Regulators Using the Same PCB

Build 9 Simple, Low-noise Linear Voltage Regulators Using the Same PCB

What linear voltage regulator circuits lack in efficiency, they make up in simplicity and low noise. Here's a scheme for 9 voltages from 2.5V to 15V on the same PCB design.