Open Source Hardware, Makers and STEM tutorials

Batocera: the operating system for retrogaming

Batocera logo

There are more and more fans of retrogaming, that is, all those retro or classic video game titles that never go out of style. That’s why there are also more and more developers creating projects to meet the needs of these passionate users. An example of these projects is precisely Batocera, the operating system that I will present in this article.

In other articles we have already commented on this interesting topic, such as the best emulators for the Raspberry Pi board to create your cheap gaming machine, or some other devices and components that you can use as drivers (joysticks) or controllers for this type of arcade machines typical of the arcade machines of the 80s and 90s. If you are interested in the subject, I invite you to continue reading this and those other articles to learn more…

MQTT: an open network protocol and its importance in the IoT

MQTT network protocol IoT

Remember the name MQTT, since it is a network communication protocol type M2M (Machine to Machine) that will sound quite a lot. It is becoming quite popular thanks to the new era of the Internet of Things (IoT). Also, it’s an open protocol, which gives a lot of advantages.

In fact, it has become one of the central pillars of the IoT, as it is quite good in devices with some transmission limitations like these. The acronym MQTT comes from Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, an open standard from OASIS and ISO (ISO/IEC 20922) for network communications and that is usually executed over the famous TCP/IP.

NOOBS: operating systems for your Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has been developing its project to launch new board models and also to improve the software, among its efforts are also the official operating systems that you can install on the SD card of your SBC. One of those efforts is embodied in the project known as NOOBS.

In June 2013 this NOOBS application arrived on the web, and you’re going to love it if you have a Raspberry Pi and want to try out several operating systems without the hassle of having to remove one to install another from your SD memory card. This project makes it easy for you to have them all and select the one you want to boot with…

LiPo batteries: the secrets of these lithium batteries

There are a lot of batteries as you learned with the article about the battery CR2032. You should also know by now that there are modules for Arduino like the TP4056 which is specific for charging batteries. Now, in this new article you will learn more about LiPo batteries. That is, a specific type of lithium battery that is gaining a lot of fame in the market together with the Li-Ion.

I also recommend you to take a look at the article about the battery charger IMAX B6, in which I wrote a section about the most important types of batteries, accumulators and batteries with their differences, advantages and disadvantages. That might help you to understand what is going to be discussed here about LiPo batteries.

Arduino Leonardo: everything you need to know about the development board

Arduino has various plates, various flavors with which to satisfy different needs. One of the best known development plates, together with the Arduino UNO, is the Arduino Leonardo. This board with programmable microcontroller hides one of the most powerful features of the board line if compared to some of its sisters.

Of course, this official board of the Arduino Foundation is compatible with all electronic components that we are going to show in other posts. This way you will have the freedom to combine the Leonardo board with many components to create the most varied projects you can imagine.

WS2812B: the magic RGB LED strip

WS2812B RGB LED strip

You probably need to add some color to your DIY projects. For this purpose, many makers use the famous WS2812B RGB LED strips, with which you can achieve varied color control and quite attractive lighting effects for your projects. Of course they are fully compatible with Arduino boards, so you will have no problem when trying to integrate them.

You can find them in lengths of 1 meter, for example, although they can vary depending on the type of density of LEDs per meter they have. For example, there are from 30 LEDs to 144 LEDs. However, if you need longer lengths to obtain a larger surface, you also have other options on the market such as RGB panels of LEDs or you can always use several strips .

Nema 17: all about the Arduino compatible stepper motor

Nema 17

We have already analyzed everything about the stepper motors that you can use with your Arduino projects, but there is one of those engines that stands out from the rest of the models like the Nema 17, since it is a very precise engine with several applications, among them replacing the broken engine of some 3D printers.

With this stepper motor you will be able to control very precisely the rotation of its axis to make precision movements and thus control the movement of your machine or robot. And in this guide you will get all the information you need to know it closely and start working with it.

Arduino Nano: everything you need to know about this development board

Arduino Nano

Arduino Nano is another version where you can find the famous Arduino development board. It’s small, but don’t be fooled by its size, it hides a lot of possibilities. It’s like a real Swiss Army knife in electronics. You can use it to create a lot of projects where it’s important to keep consumption and size in check.

Like all Arduino and compatible plates, it has similarities with its older sisters, although it also has certain technical characteristics that are unique and different from the others. In this article you will be able to see all those similarities and differences in order to understand everything you need to know about this board and start developing your own DIY projects with Arduino Nano.

Home Pinball: how to become one of these entertainment machines

Pinball casero

Now that it’s time to be home, to be confined, you can get a homemade pinball machine so you can hang out. You have several options to achieve this, as I will now tell you and making use of everyday development boards such as Arduino or the Raspberry Pi. Maybe you still have certain devices at home for it and enough material to get your hands on it as a good maker.

If you don’t have the ingredients for this recipe, you can buy them online without any problem. These services will remain active during these weeks of confinement by the coronavirus. Therefore, the material will be guaranteed so that you can distract and isolate yourself from what is happening in these difficult times. And once the project is complete, you’ll be able to play a few games with your loved ones…

Lilypad: all about the small Arduino board

Arduino Lilypad

There are several “flavors” of Arduino, so to speak. Besides Arduino UNO and his big brother Arduino Mega, there are more of these boards. Some of them have very specific characteristics to satisfy all possible needs of the makers. This way they will adapt to all kind of DIY projects. A different one from the above mentioned is Lilypad.

Lilypad is a small open source development board and with some features similar to the board Arduino UNO base, but whose size has been reduced considerably so that it can be adapted to embedded projects, low power consumption, small devices where reducing size is important, and even for home wearables .