Multimeters are one of the most essential tools for working with electronics. Learn how to use a multimeter to check continuity and to measure continuity, voltage, resistance, and current. Then, learn some troubleshooting tips and best practices. If you’re new to electronics or just want to brush up on how best to use this valuable tool, be sure to check out this video by @BeckyStern
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – How To Use a Multimeter
If you are curious about connectors, but don’t know where to start, this video will quickly bring you up to speed. Explore the many different low-voltage connector types that you can use in your projects in this video by @BeckyStern
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – The Best Connectors for DIY Electronics Projects
Learn about the different types of Printed Circuit Boards, explore DIY etching techniques, and discover professional manufacturing options like DigiKey’s DK Red service for small batch orders in this video by @BeckyStern.
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – Your First PCB
This year for YouTube Makers Secret Santa, I got Look Mum No Comupter. Sam performs with his modular synth and other cool audio equipment and collects obsolete technology for his museum in Kent UK. We share a love for hacking toys and other ways to use electronics to be creative. I built him an audio sequencer in an old PS4 controller using sounds from his museum’s sample packs.
Materials and tools:
If you’ve ever wanted to make sense of NeoPixels, DotStars, WS2812, SK6812, APA102 and other terminology related to addressable LEDs, you’re in the right place. This episode covers how to tell the difference, and what varieties are available.
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – Guide to Addressable LEDs
Get inspired by some of my favorite electronic artworks and learn my tips from over a decade of teaching design students to build their own functional product prototypes with Arduino.
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – Arduino for Artists
Today I’m making a coin cell battery holder – my first assembled PCB product.
I have been selling purple coin cell battery holders in my LED sewing kit for years. They’re perfect for making a simple circuit, and they have a handy on-off switch so you don’t have to take the battery out to power off your project. Before these boards were available, I would use a surface-mount coin cell battery holder with tiny holes in the metal tabs. I had just enough space to sew a few stitches through those holes with conductive thread. They weren’t designed for this purpose and didn’t have that handy switch, but they were better than the through-hole variety available since those don’t have holes in the tabs at all.
There are a handful of circuits like this on the market that include a coin cell battery clip, a single on/off switch on a PCB, and tabs or holes to connect it to the rest of your circuit, either by soldering to the pad or sewing through the holes with conductive thread. The design I was using in my kit was a knockoff of a SparkFun Lilypad product, an open-source design. I don’t feel great about buying the clones, but I was looking for the best price available for my kits. My version observes the open source license, which means you can download my files too.
To make my own version, I started with that same open source design for the sewable LilyPad CR2032 coin cell battery holder. I used Autodesk Fusion for this project, partially because it’s what I already know how to use, and because the design files are Eagle files, which is the previous name of the software package that was rolled into Fusion. The personal use version of Fusion is free and it has enough features to do all the things I’m going to do today.
(more…)Discover how sensors and electronics have revolutionized vehicles with this hands-on look at all the smarts engineered into your car. From Becky’s DIY diagnostics to an interview with expert car hacker Specters, this is the video to watch if you’ve ever wondered how tech enhances your ride.
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – Automotive Sensors
Electronics and Taxidermy! That’s what’s on the menu for this diorama project collaboration between Emily Graslie and me. In this project, we will build a plywood diorama box and fill it with cityscape features like a brick wall with a dryer vent and LED lighting. Oh, and rat taxidermy. You’d be surprised how much overlap in tools there can be. Check out how many of the tools we need are carried by DigiKey!
Supplies
[DK list https://www.digikey.com/en/mylists/list/7XKTVCR5D6 ]
If you want to build an electronics project but don’t know what microcontroller to choose, this video is for you. Learn the different types of common boards available and how they differ, then see the microcontroller selection process in action as Becky demonstrates what boards she chose for her latest builds.
Full article on DigiKey’s Maker.io – How to pick the best microcontroller for your project
