Around The Web

Corner Case: 90-deg turns for WS2812

NeoCorner from josh.com
NeoCorner from josh.com

If you’re working with the WS2812B and need to turn corners, you’ll want to check out this NeoPixel Corner adapter PCB from josh.com. It’s a pretty simple board. I came across it as a solution for an upcoming lighting project.

In josh’s example, he used a CNC to mill the PCBs. If you’re using one-sided FR4, that might work well. You’ll want to double-check thicknesses if you want to use OSHPark or similar.

You can check out the full write-up here or the NeoPixel Corner Board project GitHub.

On a related link, this document explains differences between WS2812 and WS2812B.

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Around The Web

Makers keep your eyes out for these 8 “Trash” Types

Dumpster diving can be a rewarding experience for a maker. You never know what components you might be able to recover from electronics otherwise discarded. What can be hidden inside of an “obsolete” box? Motors? Sensors? Capacitors?

Older technologies like VCRs and Scanners can be a treasure trove of stepper and servo motors. Under-powered, by today’s standards, computers probably have cables that can be re-purposed into your current project.

Be on the lookout with Make Magazine’s list of 8 types of “trash” you’ll be lucky to score.

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Around The Web

Cool learning resource: KEMET Engineering Center

Whether you are an engineer with enough experience to be called a graybeard or a novice that keeps grabbing the wrong end of a soldering iron, there is one component that eludes everyone working in electronics.

It’s the humble capacitor.

A seemingly simple device, turns out, to be incredibly complex. While the basic electrode-dielectric-electrode structure sounds simple, the materials used in that structure drastically changes the characteristics of the device.

[featured-image]KEMET Engineering Center Screenshot, Courtesy of KEMET Corporation.[/featured-image]

There’s a new website created by KEMET Electronics which aims to educate all levels of engineers about the ins and outs of capacitors. They call it the KEMET Engineering Center.

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Reviews

Review of EMSL’s XL741

When you need to buffer the output of an R-2R ladder or an RC filtered PWM signal, an op-amp is a single chip option. Unlike a discrete NPN transistor like a 2n3904, there is a lot going on inside of an LM741—or any op amp for that matter.

What if you could look inside of the op-amp? Wouldn’t it be cool to see how many transistors make up these small chips?

Put your electron microscope away. The XL741 from Evil Mad Scientist Labs is perfect for the job. I built one of these super fun solder kits and compared it to a real 741.

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Hands-On

Periscope demo: Pros and Con

After fighting bugs, bad connections, and burned out chips your project is working–or even done. The next step? Record a video, edit it, and upload it to YouTube.

Too many steps? Then maybe you just want to do a Periscope demo. Within seconds, you can be broadcasting your project to the world.

This past weekend I tried my first couple of scopes. The first Periscope “demo” was me soldering together a Three Fives from Evil Mad Scientist Labs. The others periscope demos were 3d printing related.

When it comes to a hardware project demo, I see some challenges. Check out these five things to watch out for and, if you’re interested, you can watch my soldering Periscope demo.

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