The NE555 was designed in 1970 by Hans Camenzind and to this day remains an incredibly versatile chip. Jeri Ellsworth and Chris Gammell have put together a 555 design contest. There are 5 different categories and many prizes. including a Protostack ATMEGA168 Development Kit and USBASP Programmer. Entries are due March 1st and will be...

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I've been waiting for this book for quite some time, and was delighted when it finally arrived. Written by Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings it describes how to build 14 different arduino projects, everything from a simple Appliance Remote Control to a Vehicle Telemetry System. The projects covered in the book include Appliance Remote Control...

Jonathan Oxer at Practical Arduino did a video review of our Atmega8 development kit earlier this week. I really like his idea about adding a dedicated area on the board for a power supply.

When you were a kid, you may have made a lemon battery for a school science project. These are very simple to make and involves inserting dissimilar metals into a lemon. Typical materials are copper staples and zinc plated nails. This combination usually gives you 0.7V and a few milliamps. The chemical reaction that happens...

Ever wanted to drive you etch-a-sketch from your computer, well one guy did and this is how he did it! The concept is pretty straight forward. The interface to the notebook is via a parallel port, there are a pair of stepper motors that turn the knobs on the etch-a-sketch, and an ATMEGA8 sits in...