Tag: XRF

XRF radio

Hacking bathroom scales with an Arduino – PCB

Bare scales PCB
Bare scales PCB

A few weeks ago, I started work on internet connected bathroom scales, and I finally received my custom PCB’s to finish the job. I discovered that most digital scales use strain gauges to calculate the amount of weight on them, meaning there is almost no mechanical movement making them perfect to interface with.

The set of scales that I purchased handily had the Wheatstone bridge markings on the PCB silkscreen, which made connecting up the ADC nice and easy. Continue reading Hacking bathroom scales with an Arduino – PCB

Making a radio controlled tank – Part 2 – PCBs

With the mechanics somewhat decided on, the control circuitry was the next on the list. After ‘mastering’ radio control, temperature sensing and internet connectivity, I was pretty well versed with the Arduino ecosphere, and felt pretty comfortable making my own PCBs with the help of OSHPark.

I felt the tank needed multiple separate boards, not only to compartmentalize functionality but to work around the maximum board size in the free version of Eagle I was using to design the circuit boards. After much deliberation, I settled on 4 boards; control, connectivity, LED, and power.

Continue reading Making a radio controlled tank – Part 2 – PCBs

Sofa LEDs

While on a 48 hour long drink/blackout, the idea was posed that the sofa should have under lighting. Seemed like a reasonable request. With the installation of a projector, the room had to be kept as dark as possible. A few dented shins and it was evident that some kind of low-level lighting was required. Jump to having 2 large pieces of MDF cut to 10mm narrower to the sofa outline and we’re half way to victory. Looking through Ebay it was easy to find LED strips that would be sufficient to wrap around the perimeter of the MDF; it was just a matter of controlling the colours.

sofa-under-lights

Continue reading Sofa LEDs