Pedal-Pi, Simple Programmable Guitar Pedal

September 12, 2017 by Anool Mahidharia 26 Comments

For several years, [Ray] and [Anna], the team behind ElectroSmash, have been smashing audio electronics and churning out some sweet DIY audio gear. This time around, they’ve built Pedal-Pi — a simple programmable guitar pedal based around the Raspberry-Pi Zero. It is aimed at hackers, programmers and musicians who want to experiment with sounds and learn about digital audio. A lot of effort has gone in to documenting the whole project. Circuit analysis, a detailed BoM, programming, assembly and background information on related topics are all covered on their Forum.

The hardware is split in to three parts. On the input, a MCP6002 rail-to-rail op-amp amplifies and filters the analog waveform and then a MCP3202 ADC digitizes it to a 12-bit signal. The Pi-Zero then does all of the DSP, creating effects such as distortion, fuzz, delay, echo and tremolo among others. The Pi-Zero generates a dual PWM signal, which is combined and filtered before being presented at the output. The design is all through hole and the handy assembly guide can be useful for novices during assembly. The code examples include a large number of pedal effects, and if you are familiar with C, then there’s enough information available to help you write your own effects.

Even if you don’t plan on building one, technical background such as the Basics of Audio DSP in C for Raspberry Pi Zero, Using MCP3202 ADC with Raspberry Pi Zero and PWM Audio on Raspberry Pi Zero ought to make for interesting reading. Check out the video after the break detailing the build.

If you’d like to check out some of their earlier work, check out 1WAMP, an Open Hardware Guitar Amplifier and pedalSHIELD, an opensource Arduino Guitar Pedal.

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Stunning Fake Polaroid Camera Performs Magic

August 31, 2017 by Anool Mahidharia 39 Comments

It’s high time us Muggles got our hands on the hardware used to take Magical Photographs as seen in The Daily Prophet. The first pioneering step in that direction has been taken by [Abhishek] who built this moving picture taking polaroid-ish camera, which he’s calling the “Instagif NextStep”. It’s a camera that records a short, three second video, converts it to GIF and ejects a little cartridge which displays the animated photo.

This amazing piece of hardware has been painstakingly built, and the finished product looks great. The nice thing about building such projects, in [Abhishek]’s own words, is that “it involves a bunch of different skill sets and disciplines – hardware, software, 3D modeling, 3D printing, circuit design, mechanical/electrical engineering, design, fabrication etc that need to be integrated for it to work seamlessly.”
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Add A Second SD Card To The Pi Zero

August 5, 2017 by Lewin Day 20 Comments

The Raspberry Pi Zero is a beautiful piece of hardware, fitting an entire Linux computer into a package the size of a pack of gum (don’t chew it, though). However, this size comes with limited IO options, which can be a complication for some projects. In this case, [Hugatry] wanted extra storage, and devised a smart method to add a second SD card to the Pi Zero.

The problem with the Pi Zero is that with only a single USB port, it’s difficult to add any other storage to the device without making things bulkier with hubs or other work arounds. Additionally, the main SD card can’t be removed while the Pi is running, so it makes sense to add an easy-to-use removable storage option to the Pi Zero.

It’s quite a simple hack – all that’s required to pull it off is a few resistors, an SD card connector, and some jumper wires. With everything hooked up, a small configuration change enables the operating system to recognise the new card.

Overall it’s great to see hacks that add further functionality to an already great platform. If you find it’s not powerful enough, you can always try overclocking one.

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Get Up Close To Your Soldering With A Pi Zero Microscope

April 26, 2017 by Dan Maloney 57 Comments

Do your Mark 1 Eyeballs no longer hold their own when it comes to fine work close up? Soldering can be a literal pain under such conditions, and even for the Elf-eyed among us, dealing with pads at a 0.4-mm pitch is probably best tackled with a little optical assistance. When the times comes for a little help, consider building a soldering microscope from a Pi Zero and a few bits and bobs from around the shop.

Affordable commercial soldering scopes aren’t terribly hard to come by, but [magkopian] decided to roll his own by taking advantage of the streaming capabilities of the Raspberry Pi platform, not to mention its affordability. This is a really simple hack — nothing is 3D-printed or custom milled. The stage base is a simple aluminum project box for heat resistance and extra weight, and the arm is a cheap plastic dial caliper. The PiCam is mounted to the sliding jaw of the caliper on a scrap of plastic ruler. The lens assembly of the camera needs to be hacked a little to change the focal length to work within 10 centimeters or so; alternatively, you could splurge and get a camera module with an adjustable lens. The Pi is set up for streaming, and your work area is presented in glorious, lag-free HDMI video.

Is [magkopian]’s scope going to give you the depth perception of a stereo microscope? Of course not. But for most jobs, it’ll probably be enough, and the fact that it can be built on the cheap makes it a great hack in our book.

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Turn That Pi Zero Into A Streaming Camera, Step-by-Step

March 26, 2017 by Donald Papp 30 Comments

What makes [mwagner1]’s Raspberry Pi Zero-based WiFi camera project noteworthy isn’t so much the fact that he’s used the hardware to make a streaming camera, but that he’s taken care to document every step in the process from soldering to software installation. Having everything in one place makes it easier for curious hobbyists to get those Pi units out of a drawer and into a project. In fact, with the release of the Pi Zero W, [mwagner1]’s guide has become even simpler since the Pi Zero W now includes WiFi.

Using a Raspberry Pi as the basis for a WiFi camera isn’t new, but it is a project that combines many different areas of knowledge that can be easy for more experienced people to take for granted. That’s what makes it a good candidate for a step-by-step guide; a hobbyist looking to use their Pi Zero in a project may have incomplete knowledge of any number of the different elements involved in embedding a Pi such as basic soldering, how to provide appropriate battery power, or how to install and configure the required software. [mwagner1] plans to use the camera as part of a home security system, so stay tuned.

If Pi Zero camera projects catch your interest but you want something more involved, be sure to check out the PolaPi project for a fun, well-designed take on a Pi Zero based Polaroid-inspired camera.

Hackaday Links: March 26, 2017

March 26, 2017 by Brian Benchoff 39 Comments

PoC||GTFO 14 is now out. It’s a 40 MB PDF that’s also a Nintendo Entertainment System ROM, and a Zip archive. Pastor Laphroaig Screams High Five To The Heavens As The Whole World Goes Under. Download this, but don’t link – host it yourself. Bitrot will be the end of us all.

[Photonicinduction] is back. The guy best known for not starting an electrical fire in his attic has been working through some stuff recently. He got married, went to India, and he’s going to try to blow a five thousand amp fuse. Good on him.

There’s a certain segment of the Internet that believes the Raspberry Pi Zero doesn’t exist. The logic goes something like this: because I can’t buy a Ferrari right now, Ferraris don’t exist. Now there’s a new and improved website that checks if the Pi Zero and Pi Zero W are in stock: thepilocator.com. It checks a dozen or so online stores for the Pi Zero and Pi Zero W. Guess what? They’re mostly in stock.

[bxcounter] built a PC case and holy crap this thing is incredible. This case is made out of Paulownia wood, and is made up out of fifty pieces held together with magnets. This thing is hand-carved and looks fantastic. Inside is a Mini-ITX motherboard, an i3, a Gigabyte ITX-sized 1060, and an SSD. It’s no powerhouse, but then again it’s not overkill, either. This is a fantastic addition to any battlestation.

As most hackerspaces do, the Omaha Maker Group had a storage problem. Previously, members used plastic totes someone picked up as surplus, but these totes were in short supply. Banker’s Boxes are a better idea, but how to store them? A box case. This ‘bookcase for boxes’ holds 21 standard Banker’s Boxes and only uses two full sheets of MDF in its construction.

The Best Pi Emulation Console You Can Build

March 19, 2017 by Brian Benchoff 16 Comments

By far the most popular use for a Raspberry Pi is an emulation console. For an educational device, that’s fine – someone needs to teach kids how to plug a USB cable into a device and follow RetroPi tutorials on the Internet. These emulation consoles usually have one significant drawback: they’re ugly, with wires spilling everywhere. Instead of downloading a 3D printed Pi enclosure shaped like a Super Nintendo, [depthperfection] designed his own. It looks great, and doesn’t have a donglepocalypse hanging out the back.

The biggest factor in building an enclosure for a Pi Zero is how to add a few USB ports. There’s only one USB port on the Pi Zero, although if you’re exceptionally skilled, you can solder a hub onto the test points on the bottom of the board. This stackable USB hub solves the problem with the help of pogo pins for the power and USB pair. It’s only $17 USD, too.

With the USB and power sorted, [depthperfection] set out to design an enclosure. This was modeled in Fusion360, with proper vent holes, screw bosses, and cutouts for all the ports. It’s designed to be 3D printable, and with a little ABS smoothing, this enclosure looks great.

For software, [depthperfection] turned to Recallbox, a retrogaming platform that also doubles as a media player. It’s simpler than a RetroPi installation, but for playing Super Mario 3, you don’t really need many configuration options. This is a great project that just works and looks good doing it. The world — and the Raspberry Pi community — needs more projects like this, and we’re glad [depthperfection] sent this one in.