Ok, so I've got a project planned: I recently bought a car without fog lights, so I thought of fitting some [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/301322493974?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1426.l2649"]RGB LED strips[/URL] to the front bumper. I'd also like to control it with an Arduino, so I assume I'd need a kind of driver to provide the power for the lights. But so far, I haven't been able to find an appropriate driver, and I know I could easily make a circuit to do it, but I think having someone make me a PCB is out of my budget, and having a breadboard in my car is out of the question. I'm also looking for a cheap arduino board to control this.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46057151]Ok, so I've got a project planned: I recently bought a car without fog lights, so I thought of fitting some [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/301322493974?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1426.l2649"]RGB LED strips[/URL] to the front bumper. I'd also like to control it with an Arduino, so I assume I'd need a kind of driver to provide the power for the lights. But so far, I haven't been able to find an appropriate driver, and I know I could easily make a circuit to do it, but I think having someone make me a PCB is out of my budget, and having a breadboard in my car is out of the question. I'm also looking for a cheap arduino board to control this.[/QUOTE]
Be warned, in some countries its against the law to have LEDs on your cars. and it may be even more against the law to have coloured ones.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46057151]Ok, so I've got a project planned: I recently bought a car without fog lights, so I thought of fitting some [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/301322493974?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1426.l2649"]RGB LED strips[/URL] to the front bumper. I'd also like to control it with an Arduino, so I assume I'd need a kind of driver to provide the power for the lights. But so far, I haven't been able to find an appropriate driver, and I know I could easily make a circuit to do it, but I think having someone make me a PCB is out of my budget, and having a breadboard in my car is out of the question. I'm also looking for a cheap arduino board to control this.[/QUOTE]
What is your budget? You can get a PCB made for something like $10-$15 IIRC.
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
[url]https://oshpark.com/pricing[/url]
[quote]$5 per square inch, which includes three copies of your design. For example, a 2 square inch board would cost $10 and you’d get three copies of your board. You can order as many copies as you want, as long as they’re in multiples of three.[/quote]
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;46057317]Be warned, in some countries its against the law to have LEDs on your cars. and it may be even more against the law to have coloured ones.[/QUOTE]
Are you sure about that? I mean, most car manufacturers use LEDs, both strips and bulbs on their cars.
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Leestons;46057326]What is your budget? You can get a PCB made for something like - IIRC.
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
[url]https://oshpark.com/pricing[/url][/QUOTE]
Oh, I had no idea it was so cheap, thanks!
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;46057317]Be warned, in some countries its against the law to have LEDs on your cars. and it may be even more against the law to have coloured ones.[/QUOTE]
In Slovenia it is illegal to have neons (and LEDs too) underneath like this
[IMG]http://www.travelvivi.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Car-lights.jpg[/IMG]
How does an FTDI breakout board come dead on arrival... I feel my luck is awful currently.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46057397]
Oh, I had no idea it was so cheap, thanks![/QUOTE]
[url]www.Hackvana.com[/url] also has good offers. 20$ for 10 5x5cm boards.
Wow, that's cheap. You guys wouldn't know how I could best mount a small LCD display and buttons on a plate that would fit in my ashtray too?
[QUOTE=Gulen;46057890]Wow, that's cheap. You guys wouldn't know how I could best mount a small LCD display and buttons on a plate that would fit in my ashtray too?[/QUOTE]
Depends how big your ashtray is:
[img]http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_slideshow_large/hirst_4.jpg[/img]
I am not familiar with the unit 'ashtray' what is 5 ashtrays in cubic mm?
Yeah it would be nice to know what car you have, or even better what size the ashtray is.
I don't have the car here, so I can't measure it, but I can get a cubby that looks like this:
[t]http://www.twinsaabs.com/9-5_repair/lights/images/cconsole_ashtray_tab.jpg[/t]
Which I think is the best way to go about it, since the actual ashtray is so tiny. This is from a 01 Saab 9-5.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46058106]I don't have the car here, so I can't measure it, but I can get a cubby that looks like this:
[t]http://www.twinsaabs.com/9-5_repair/lights/images/cconsole_ashtray_tab.jpg[/t]
Which I think is the best way to go about it, since the actual ashtray is so tiny. This is from a 01 Saab 9-5.[/QUOTE]
Do you have access to a 3d printer? If so, you can mount the PCB using a 3D printed holder onto which you mount the PCB with an LCD and buttons. Put button caps on the buttons and it'll look great.
No, not really.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46058355]No, not really.[/QUOTE]
Any local hackerspace?
I guess the closest we'd get to a hackerspace around here is... my basement, so no.
[QUOTE=Gulen;46058499]I guess the closest we'd get to a hackerspace around here is... my basement, so no.[/QUOTE]
I feel ya, closest hackerspace here is two hours away.
You could see if a blanking plate is available for that part of the dash. Then you could just cut out your holes and mount it, and it would look almost like a stock feature.
[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;45971290]Most likely, without a proper schematic it's a pain to diagnose boards (and board tracing is a bitch to do). [/QUOTE]
A trick we've come up with where I work is to photocopy both sides of the board you want to draw, then tape the two sheets back to back. Armed with your trusty multimeter, just ring things out to see where they go, and when your trace passes through the board, you poke a pin through your paper copy to see where the trace continues.
[QUOTE=pentium;46028685]So I have two power transistors. Both were in a circuit which received a reversed DC voltage (which blew a 7805 elsewhere in the circuit). Need to confirm if they have blown or not. It's a ZTX213 and ZTX650. Not really easy to replace unless I want to substitute with TIP31C and TIP32C's.
In diode check mode my DMM reads nothing between collector and emitter both ways, a reading between of .057 between collector and base both ways (that MUST mean it's blown) and nothing both ways between base and emitter on the 650.
The 213 reads nothing between collector and emitter both ways, a reading of .680 one way between collector and base and a reading of .681 one way between base and emitter.[/QUOTE]
If you have access to an oscilloscope, an [URL="http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/Octopus.htm"]octopus[/URL] is a very handy tool for checking the status of PN junctions. They're very simple to make; requiring only a transformer and a few resistors.
[QUOTE=Chryseus;46012710]No, if you're referring to something like the LM317 there is an internal 1.25V reference which maintains regulation, so if you ground the adjust pin you're going to get ~1.25V out.[/QUOTE]
Right but if you were to use one as an error amplifier in a buck supply, would that be fine?
[editline]24th September 2014[/editline]
I'm convinced it would be I just don't want something to melt when I put a load on it
Anyone know where i can purchase these?
[IMG]http://www.com-tra.de/img/p/temp_sensor.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Subby;46078435]Anyone know where i can purchase these?
[IMG]http://www.com-tra.de/img/p/temp_sensor.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
Potentially this [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Conditioner-Connector-Thermal-Temperature-Sensor/dp/B00AUB8KR4"]Amazon[/URL] one.
Moderns CPUs work at around 3Ghz, overclocked even 6-8Ghz.
This means cooper can transfer frequencies at around 8Ghz...
But when you really think about it, CPUs work with square signals not sine signals, and for square signals you need higher order frequencies.. does this means that cooper can transfer frequencies higher than +80Ghz?
[QUOTE=Fourier;46080941]Moderns CPUs work at around 3Ghz, overclocked even 6-8Ghz.
This means cooper can transfer frequencies at around 8Ghz...
But when you really think about it, CPUs work with square signals not sine signals, and for square signals you need higher order frequencies.. does this means that cooper can transfer frequencies higher than +80Ghz?[/QUOTE]
Properly designed striplines and microstriplines can easily work at hundreds of GHz.
[QUOTE=Chryseus;46081100]Properly designed striplines and microstriplines can easily work at hundreds of GHz.[/QUOTE]
Heh cool, didn't knew that :) Do you know the upper limit?
[QUOTE=Fourier;46081479]Heh cool, didn't knew that :) Do you know the upper limit?[/QUOTE]
There isn't really an upper limit as such, although it gets more difficult the higher you go requiring more advanced techniques, practical limits currently extend up to around 1THz.
[url]http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-53007/l/embedded-pi--a-triple-play-platform-for-raspberry-pi-arduino-and-32-bit-embedded-arm[/url]
How drunk was the designer of this........
Ok, so I'm using a multimeter on this small motor I got (still on the disassembled toys bits) and it's beeping and there is a current, but no movement. The motor is copper coils surrouned by two (I assume opposite) magnets. Since there is a reading and the magnets are not defunct, I assume that the copper coils should be making a field and rotating, but they're not. Any suggestions? Not sure why it's not working and this is the most major part before I can actually do what I'm working on.
Not enough voltage would be my guess.
Is the toy broken?
I don't know, I took it apart a while ago. LEDs from the toy still worked so I was hoping the motors would. It's pretty late right now so I'm going to work on it again tomorrow. Thanks for helping guys :)
