If you have seen my previous blog entry, you'll know I have been playing around with an ATtiny85 for an upcoming project (more on that later...). Using an Arduino (or, in my case a Xino from Ciseco) is easy enough, but when a sketch needs lots of tweaking to fine tune it, it means the ATtiny spends most of its time going in and out of the breadboard. So I decided to build a dedicated ATtiny programmer
One of the most appealing things about the Arduino and ATmega328 is their size and simplicity. After working with desktop and server computers for years I just loved how a small little chip could be programmed easily to achieve things that I cannot get a full blown computer to do. I have never been a computer programmer though, but I know they don't interface with the 'real' world too easily. If a 28 pin micro controller is good, wouldn't an 8 pin micro be even better? Well, I started to research the ATtiny85 and discovered that it is almost as good as its big brother in some situations. But best of all, it can be programmed from the familiar Arduino IDE
Those of you that read my blog regularly, either at the main sowen.com site or through feeds at planet.nottinghack.org.uk, may have noticed I've been very…
I've been working on a few Arduino projects recently that will hopefully result in varying levels of home automation. The effect so far has been to stick a box here, plug this in there, and dangle a wire from over there, with a general haphazard (with emphasis on the 'hazard' bit in some places!) outcome. If this is to work with any degree of success, it needs some more permanent infrastructure. It needs power. It needs internet connectivity. It needs to be centralised. It needs easy access to things I want to monitor and/or control. It needs to be tidy and out of the way, but easily accessible. There's a shelf in my cloak room that meets most of those criteria, so this weekend I started getting it prepared;
These days displays are all digital readouts or multifunction LCD screens that give you indications of pretty much everything that's going on. What seems to be lacking though is a good old fashioned analog dial with a needle pointing at a number. Of course, a dial is normally limited to a single use, but I wanted to see if I could make something that's the best of both worlds.
As regular followers of the blog will know, I love Arduinos and all the stuff they can do. Those that know me will also know that I don't love Christmas, particularly the seasonal decoration stuff. So this project was a nice mix of the two! I decided to make myself some Arduino powered Xmas lights that vary their 'chase' speed based upon how close people are to my house. Intrigued? Read on...
