DorkbotPDX people doing strange things with electricity

Using Elco Jacob's ShiftPWM Arduino Library. Probably the cheapest possible way to drive lots of RGB LEDs!

(EDIT: added PCB files)

EDIT again: documentation is now available here.

After two years of service my outdoor air temperature sensor blinked out last week. Moisture was the culprit as shown here:

moisture leads to failure of ds18b20 sensor

Various readouts in my SensorServer system lead me straight to the problem through a half-dozen layers of software.

Dorkbot PDX would like to welcome you to the latest installment of our semi-regular presentation series:

DorkbotPDX 0x08

• When: Monday, January 30th, 2012 - 8pm
• Where: Backspace ( map)
• Who: All ages -- open to the public
• Cost: Free!

What's happening? Two great and inspiring talks

Sailing the I2Cs with the Bus Pirate

Jared Boone

Jared will be discussing I2C as a bus and protocol, and will demonstrate talking with a few I2C devices. Demos may include interfacing with an off-the-shelf accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, and/or audio codec.

Jared runs a fledgling open hardware business, ShareBrained Technology, where he experiments with devices for audio, time-keeping, aeronautics/astronautics/astronomy, motor sports, and radio.

Remote Reality via Orbduino

Travis Smith

From what started as some pretty colors and cat amusement has grown to take over a walk-in closet and has had visits from all over the world. Have you always wanted to play with a robotic arm in the exotic land of Vernowhere, from the comfort of your couch? Here's your chance!

Tech junkie, traveler, and avid Phish-head. Travis conformed to the corporate mold for 17 years before breaking free to travel and completely geek out. Viva La Dork!

OpenDork

You!

An open-mic session for those looking to show off a project, ask a question, solicit help, or incite collaboration.

Last night I finished assembling and uploading a sketch over USB to Demiduino. At half the dimensions of an Arduino, Demiduino is a small, portable, and affordable Arduino compatible with the Leonardo bootloader.

Learn how to work with surface mount technologies. This workshop is suitable for newcomers to SMT as well as more experienced hobbyists who are looking for a reliable method for building projects using SMT. We will cover the basics of surface mount parts and the tools necessary to work efficiently with them, including a temperature controlled hot plate reflow system which you can build.

Want to add a bit of extra sparkle to your holiday decorations? This workshop is a great place to start. No prior electronics or sewing experience are required.

When: December 18, 2011 from 1-5pm

Where: ADX, 417 SE 11th Avenue

Cost: $25

Register here: http://glowingornaments-eorg.eventbrite.com/

Please bring:

- Scissors

- needle nose pliers, if you have them

Conductive thread, fabric, and electronic components will be provided.

Bytebeats radically reduce the already austere chiptune music to one-line formulas. When wrapped with a dozen more characters of C code these formulas will feed your sound card endlessly. Musicians speak of discovering bytebeats, not composing them. I've used a bytebeat dubbed Crowd as the background score for a one-day film shot yesterday. Note that I include the entire discovery in the film's credits (disrespectfully broken into two lines.)

ByteBeat in the Credits

Kragen has written a good summary of the short history of bytebeat with links to catalogs, videos, analysis and especially interactive tools for exploring them.

Where: ADX, 417 SE 11th, Portland
When: Sunday, November 27 -- 1-5pm