Nick Poole
Member Since: March 1, 2011
Country: United States
There's a free, online conference happening this weekend where you can learn all about the current state of open-source ASIC design tools.
The great thing about open source software is that when you want a new feature, you can just add it!
It's Pride Month and I've interviewed a few of our customers to find out what — if anything — being gay has to do with being a maker.
When SparkFun got a shipment of 1:8 scan rate panels, it fell on me to make them work with the wrong library.
I just finished writing the first of several EAGLE web utilities, let me introduce you to Buzzard Label Maker!
They say, "play stupid games, win stupid prizes," but the joke's on them: I love stupid prizes.
I decided to convert an old inspection light into a rechargeable mobile blacklight, and played with some other types of UV light while I was at it!
The first two of our Google Calendar-integrated Raspberry Pi meeting room signs are installed by their respective rooms. So how is it working out?
Find out what it was like building the Skimmer Scanner app and distributing it through the Google Play store.
Let's look at those tried and true IoT projects that just keep on coming back (with good reason!)
In this next-to-last installment of the Digital Pantry project, we do some enclosure fabrication and build our own vacuum molding table!
With 50 billion IoT devices projected to join the web by 2020, whose platform will they be on?
Learn how to build beautiful GUIs on your connected Raspberry Pi projects using NWJS (formerly Node-Webkit)
New year, new you! Let's explore the technology behind e-cigs, vapes and other vapor-based smoking cessation solutions.
Building a set of speakers from goat skin and connecting them to a network media server
Catching 'Em All can drain your smartphone battery; let's see if we can fix it in style!
Maker/hackerspaces that are leading the charge to make STEM fields less alienating for LGBTQ+ makers.
Today we learn about etching PCBs at home, on the cheap and quick! We even get a little fancy with it!
Experiments in weatherproofing electronic circuits by forcing them through an unmodified document laminator.
Reverse engineering a $30 MaKey MaKey derivative with good intentions (but no attribution)
RP2040 Thing Plus Hookup Guide
January 21, 2021
Want to take a stab at advancing your programming skills? Check out the Thing Plus - RP2040, with the first microcontroller from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This guide will get you started working with the RP2040 and programming in MicroPython and C/C++.
Industrial Fiber Optics Hookup Guide
January 20, 2021
Learn how to get started with our fiber optics breakout boards
LoRaWAN with ProRF and The Things Network
July 3, 2018
Learn how to make a LoRaWAN node for your next long range IoT project and connect it to the internet with The Things Network!
Atto84 Hookup Guide
June 26, 2018
A bare minimum Arduino compatible breakout using a ATtiny84 for integration into your small projects!
Rotary Dial Kit Assembly Guide
June 22, 2018
Put together your Rotary Dial Kit and light it up with our Arduino example code!
Nuclear Battery Assembly Guide
June 8, 2018
How to put together your BYOT (Bring Your Own Tritium) Nuclear Battery Kit!
Wireless Motor Driver Shield Hookup Guide
August 17, 2017
Get started with the SparkFun Wireless Motor Driver Shield!
Reading and Writing Serial EEPROMs
August 11, 2017
EEPROM is a great way to add extra memory to your microcontroller project. Wait 'til you see how easy it is to use!
Getting Started with the GeoFence
August 1, 2017
How to get started using the GeoFence GPS Boundary Widget and GeoFence Software.
Addressable LED Strip Hookup Guide
November 23, 2016
Add blinking lights to any holiday decoration with our Holiday Lights Kit using WS2812-based addressable LEDs!
Red Box Robot Hookup Guide
November 23, 2016
Turn an iconic SparkFun red box into an obstacle-avoiding robot.
ESP8266 Powered Propane Poofer
March 15, 2016
Learn how Nick Poole built a WiFi controlled fire-cannon using the ESP8266 Thing Dev Board!
Making Music with the FreeSoC2
August 14, 2015
Create a synth keyboard with the FreeSoC2 from SparkFun.
FLIR Lepton Hookup Guide
March 26, 2015
See the invisible world of infrared radiation using the FLIR Dev Kit and Raspberry Pi.
Teardown: DDC Mobile X900
June 3, 2014
Nate picked up a bricktastic phone in China. Let's take it apart!!!
Interactive Hanging LED Array
April 10, 2014
Learn how we converted 72 lightbulbs into an interactive LED array for our conference room.
Teardown: Misfit Shine Activity Tracker
April 3, 2014
A quick tear down of the popular fitness tracking device, the Misfit Shine.
Build an Auduino Step Sequencer
March 6, 2014
Make a Step Sequencer using an Arduino, the Auduino firmware, and a handful of hardware.
Nest Protect Teardown
January 15, 2014
See the inner-workings of the new Nest Protect in this SparkFun Teardown.
Recreating Classic Electronics Kits
January 13, 2014
100-in-1? 500-in-1? It's up to you when you build your own Science Fair style experiment board!
pcDuino Crowdsource Kiosk
January 9, 2014
Getting People to do your job for you (badly) with some chocolate and a pcDuino!
Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
August 12, 2013
Learn the basics about LEDs as well as some more advanced topics to help you calculate requirements for projects containing many LEDs.
The Uncertain 7-Cube
March 8, 2013
The Uncertain 7-Cube is a non-committal, less-than-helpful, but also entirely honest fortune teller. Simply ask it a yes or no question, give it a nudge, and the 7-Cube will dutifully inform you that it doesn’t have all the facts and doesn’t feel comfortable making a guess.
-
Nice catch, I hopped in and clarified some of the language
-
Do you mean is there a pin somewhere that toggles during a smoke or CO event? I didn't look for one at the time, I wasn't even able to get a shell over the USB interface so I didn't hack on it very much.
-
Nice catch, fixed!
-
Sorry about the delay, the github repo and docs are up now!
-
Thanks!
That's an interesting point about the Qwiic connectors. I, too, am annoyed by SMD connectors because they have that problem. The SMD-only Micro-B was the worst offender I can remember. Micro-via stitching is a great idea. I've used it on my own boards in the past (I think I even mentioned it in my 2020 Supercon presentation on PCB construction techniques!)
Have you had problems with the Qwiic connectors coming off? I haven't run into it yet, but I can see how it would happen. If it's a genuine problem, I can start a conversation on our side about adding vias and anchor pads to the connector footprint.
Thanks for the feedback, as always
-
Hey! Long time, no see! Nate's been keeping me busy with R&D and I haven't really had any occasion to write a post. I'm still lurking, though. Maybe I'll have more things to post here soon from SparkX!
-
Sorry about that, the repo was still set to private. It should work now.
-
Hey! If you're having trouble with the CH340C pulling on the serial lines, you can clip the legs.
However I never experienced problems in testing. As long as you're not trying to drive the CH340 at the same time, it shouldn't interrupt the serial operation. If you think about it, the same was true of all early USB Arduino boards when using the hardware UART.
-
Excellent re-use of the beating heart in a jar project enclosure. I was hoping someone would give that little cabinet a second life. I spent literally dozens of minutes crafting that!
-
This turned out fantastic. I might just make one!
