A few days ago the Hackaday Prize 2021 was announced. It became clear to me relatively quickly that I would like to try to submit a few of my projects […]
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Category: Electronics
HowTo: pxlBlck – Build your own pxlBlck_CassetteLamp
MP3 players, smartphones and USB sticks with 128GB and more memory are now part of everyday life. Storing and transporting music has therefore never been easier. About 30 years ago […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect the APDS-9960 gesture sensor to the ESP8266 / ESP32 and read its values
The APDS-9960 is a sensor that can be connected to a microcontroller such as the ESP8266 via the I2C bus. With the help of the sensor it is possible to […]
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News: PCB-Entwicklung – I2C_mtrDrvr V1.0, servoDigitCtrlr, pxlBlck_multiPCB, XGZP6847_adapter and nanoPxl V1.4
At the moment I am working on a few PCB projects in which I would like to give you a little insight here. 🙂 All of the boards presented in […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Set up password protection, save and restore configurations
I am not sure whether ESPs can really be abused to set up a botnet. Either way, you shouldn’t neglect the issue of security, even with the small ESPEasy devices. […]
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HowTo: 3D printing – Build a solder fume extraction hose incl. funnel
I also needed a suitable hose system to build my solder fume extraction system. After a little trial and error, I decided to use the standard exhaust air hoses. These […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect VL53L0X / VL53L1X distance sensor to the ESP8266 / ESP32 and read its data
The VL53L0x or its sister / brother, the VL53L1X is a very precise and relatively inexpensive laser distance sensor. With this, distances can be measured almost at millimeter-accuracy. In one […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect the BME280 / BMP280 to the ESP8266 and read its data
The BME280 is one of the sensors that I use in almost all of my projects. With this sensor one can not only measure the temperature. The air humidity and […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Configure MQTT server on the ESP8266 and subscribe to topics
ESPEasy can read out a large number of different sensors and / or control actuators (see also ESPEasy – Sensors & Actuators). With the help of the “Rules” it is […]
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HowTo: 3D printing – Build a servo-controlled 125mm butterfly valve
I recently built an extraction system for my soldering station and the chamber of my 3D printer. The built extraction system has two connections. One of them sucks the air […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect a rotary encoder to the ESP8266 and evaluate it
Especially if your own circuit has a display to show values, the next step is often to connect an interface option. You can connect buttons or switches. A relatively cool […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect the PCA9685 PWM port extension to the ESP8266
The PCA9685 is quite a practical IC. This is connected to the microcontroller (e.g. ESP8266) via I2C and can then control up to 16 individual PWM channels. You can control […]
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HowTo: Arduino – Build your own arduino timer “time_timy” to visualize a time period
The 3D printed housing of the “pxlDigits” was initially not intended to be “just” a 7-segment display with WiFi. Originally I used it to build a kind of timer from […]
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HowTo: Electronics – Build seven segment LED digit called “pxlDigit” from WS2812 LEDs
For another project I urgently needed a relatively large number to indicate a duration. From this this small “sub-project” emerged. Because with the 3D printed frame described here and a […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Connect an LDR to the ESP8266 and read its value
There are some situations in which connecting an LDR to an ESP makes sense. In this way, the brightness in a room can be measured relatively easily and for little […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Build your own pxlBlck_RingClock
The pxlBlck_RingClock is very similar to the pxlBlck_SlotClock. It is also built using a 1 × 60 LED matrix and can display the time according to the same scheme as […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Build your own pxlBlck_8x8
The pxlBlck_8x8 was one of the first members of the pxlBlck family. Thanks to the few parts and the prefabricated WS2812 8×8 LED matrix, it is set up fairly quickly […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Build your own pxlBlck_Pot
The idea for the pxlBlck_Pot is heavily inspired by a design that Lukas (@i_am_lukas) had created. He agreed that I can use his basic design. Thanks again for that. 🙂 […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Build your own pxlBlck_SlotClock
The pxlBlck_SlotClock consists of a 1×60 LED matrix. It can display the time in the same way as an analog clock. The colors of the individual hands can be adjusted. […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Design icons, transfer them to the pxlBlck and display them
I started developing the pxlBlcks because I was looking for a way to stay informed about events in the SmartHome. There are now two options integrated into the pxlBlck plug-in. […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Install and configure the pxlBlck plugin
The pxlBlck plugin for the ESPEasy framework is the “software counterpart” to the pxlBlck platforms. With the plugin you can easily control the built-in LED matrices and with the help […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Commands to configure the pxlBlck
The pxlBlck plugin and the functions of your pxlBlck can be configured in two different ways. One possibility is to configure most of the functions via the plugin’s web menu. […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Configure and display animations
With the pxlBlck you can be informed about events in different ways. One of these possibilities is to be able to display previously set icons. Unfortunately, this option only works […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Configure watch faces and screensavers
The adjustable dials differ from the type of LED matrix used. Unfortunately, this is the case because different LED-matrix sizes allow or do not allow different dials and screensavers. In […]
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HowTo: pxlBlck – Automatic setting of the display brightness via LDR
If you not only want to stay informed about events with your pxlBlck and also use it to display the current time, then it might be you noticed that a […]
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pxlBlck – An IOT/SmartHome information system
pxlBlck is a system of hardware and software to set up an information system for the SmartHome. Various software and hardware options are available. Thanks to the integration in an […]
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HowTo: ESPEasy – Activate NTP time retrieval from the Internet
Thanks to WiFi and thus (often) an internet connection, an ESP8266 or ESP32 programmed with ESPEasy also has the option to retrieve the actual time. In order for this to […]
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HowTo: Electronics – Build waterproof 12V fairy lights yourself
For a camping trip I was looking for a cheap and bright fairy light. This should be waterproof and bright enough to illuminate the tent properly. It would be perfect […]
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HowTo: Electronics – Encapsulate electronics waterproof with epoxy
During the construction of a chain of lights, I was faced with the problem of how to get this chain of lights waterproof. Ultimately, I built the electronic components, which […]
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PCB development – hubCtrlr, miniFloorLamp and nanoPxlV1.3
Lately I’ve been working on various PCB projects and I would like to introduce a few of them here. i2c_slider_75 With this PCB I want to reduce the wiring effort […]
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