Оживляем автоинформатор из подмосковного автобуса

Приветствую всех!
Так уж вышло, что при наличии у меня немалого количества артефактов из мира транспорта, у меня до сих пор не было той штуки, с которой у многих ассоциируется этот самый транспорт, — той самой коробочки, благодаря которой мы слышим легендарное «Осторожно, двери закрываются». Ну что же, самое время восполнить это упущение.
Итак, в сегодняшней статье поговорим об одном из первых массовых отечественных автоинформаторов. Узнаем, как работала эта штука и какие неожиданные технологические решения есть внутри. Традиционно будет много интересного. Читать дальше →

Ламповый дисплей для компьютера, часть 5: коллектор, видеоусилитель и изображение

Рад приветствовать всех, читающих уже пятую часть цикла статей о ламповом дисплее для компьютера, в которой можно рассмотреть долгожданный результат проделанной опытно-конструкторской работы. Прежде чем перейти к такому описанию, кратко напомню содержание предыдущих частей:
Часть 1 – обзор существующих концепций для построения необычных дисплейных устройств и выбор своей собственной Часть 2 – запуск ЭЛТ и фокусировка электронного пучка в ней Часть 3 – описание блоков синхронизации и кадровой развертки Часть 4 – описание финальной сборки блока питания и блока разверток, получение растра на экране
Читать дальше →

Cynthion Design Work Completed

Note: This is a crosspost of a Cynthion update on Crowd Supply: https://www.crowdsupply.com/great-scott-gadgets/cynthion/updates/cynthion-design-work-completed

We are happy to say that early this month we completed the design work for Cynthion! This milestone is the culmination of yet another three months’ worth of work. Since our October update we have:

revisited the EMC testing lab for another round of pre-compliance testing,

used the EMC testing results to improve signal integrity on Cynthion and produce another hardware revision,

ordered another revision of the Cynthion enclosure prototypes,

designed and ordered prototypes of the Cynthion packaging,

produced another Cynthion hardware revision to fix minor issues,

rearranged the Cynthion schematic,

updated documentation in Cynthion-related...

Minimal Fab Special Award

In November of last year, I participated in the Minimal Fab Design Contest for SemiCon Japan 2023. You can find more about my submission and Minimal Fab in this previous blog post.

At the time I wasn't expecting too much, it was already fun to submit my design.

Shortly after, I was informed that I would receive the Minimal Fab Special Award for my design! The organization comittee was even so kind as to send me the certificate and a wafer.

It's a wafer with the Minimal Fab mascot made of Au/Ti/Si substrate. What amazes me the most is just how tiny it is 🤩️

Due to...

Ламповый дисплей для компьютера, часть 4: блок питания, строчная развертка и первый растр

Краткое содержание предыдущих статей цикла:
Часть 1 – обзор возможных концепций и постановка задачи Часть 2 – запуск ЭЛТ и фокусировка электронного пучка в ней Часть 3 – построение канала синхронизации и блока кадровой развертки
В этой части будет рассказ о тех электронных узлах, которые я создавал дальше, а именно — описание окончательного оформления блока питания, переделки источника высокого напряжения кинескопа, строчной развертки и получения первого растра.
Читать дальше →

Bus Pirate 5 is here!

Bus Pirate 5 is the latest version of the multi-tool hackers trust since 2018. RP2040-based, color LCD, 1-5volt power supply and IO buffers, and more! Firmware, hardware and a fresh new forum are hosted at BusPirate.com, which I rescued from spammers a few years ago.

The software on this server (Dangerous Prototypes) is seriously outdated and there’s a load bearing laptop somewhere in the config, it was easiest to start over with all the latest tools. Soon this site will be ripped to a flat file/static site and archived.

Analysis of the Gen2 Addressable RGB LED Protocol

The WS2812 has been around for a decade and remains highly popular, alongside its numerous clones. The protocol and fundamental features of the device have only undergone minimal changes during that time.

However, during the last few years a new technology dubbed “Gen2 ARGB” emerged for use in RGB-Illumination for PC, which is backed by the biggest motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan. This extension to the WS2812 protocol allows connecting multiple strings in parallel to the same controller in addition to diagnostic read out of the LED string.

Not too much is known about the protocol and the supporting LED. However, recently...

Outage January 21st

We regret to inform you that we are currently experiencing an outage in our main cluster. We are currently actively investigating the cause of this issue. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience during this time.

Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist

Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist to Accelerate Development of Next Generation Art and Handwriting Machines

Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman of Evil Mad Scientist named CTO and COO of Bantam Tools 

PEEKSKILL, N.Y, January 16, 2024 — Bantam Tools, the desktop CNC manufacturer that builds exceptional computer controlled machines for innovators, is excited to announce the acquisition of Evil Mad Scientist, the designer and manufacturer of popular computer-controlled drawing and handwriting machines that provide versatile solutions to artists and educators. Dr. Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman, co-founders of Sunnyvale, California based Evil Mad Scientist, will move to Peekskill, New York, headquarters...

Revisiting Candle Flicker-LEDs: Now with integrated Timer

Years ago I spent some time analyzing Candle-Flicker LEDs that contain an integrated circuit to mimic the flickering nature of real candles. Artificial candles have evolved quite a bit since then, now including magnetically actuated “flames”, an even better candle-emulation. However, at the low end, there are still simple candles with candle-flicker LEDs to emulate tea-lights.

I was recently tipped off to an upgraded variant that includes a timer that turns off the candle after it was active for 6h and turns it on again 18h later. E.g. when you turn it on at 7 pm on one day, it would...