Let’s think of the last time you sent data without wires. We’re not talking WiFi here, but plain optical signals. Free-space optical communication, or FSO, is an interesting and easy way to transmit signals through light beams. Forget expensive lasers or commercial-grade equipment; this video by [W1VLF] offers a simple and cheap entry point for […]
Who would’ve thought a cheap AliExpress emergency light could be packed with such crafty design choices? Found for about $5, this unit uses simple components yet achieves surprisingly sophisticated behaviors. Its self-latching feature and decisive illumination shut-off are just the beginning. A detailed analysis by [BigCliveDotCom] reveals a smart circuit that defies its humble price. […]
We all know and love the humble seven-segment display, right? And if you want to make characters as well as numbers, you can do an okay job with sixteen segments off the shelf. But if you want something more art-deco, you’ll probably want to roll your own. Or at least, [Ben] did, and you can […]
Vintage hi-fi gear can be very attractive, particularly compared to modern stuff. However, when this stuff starts getting into its third or fourth decade after production, things start to wear out. Chief among them—the little incandescent bulbs that light up the dials with such a beautiful glow. [Piffpaffpoltrie] was suffering just this problem on an […]
Let’s say you’ve got a fun little organization that does things together under a collective branding or banner. Maybe you want to celebrate that fact with some visually appealing signage? Well, that’s pretty much how [Jack] of the Purdue Hackers felt, so he and the gang put together a sizable logo sign to advertise their […]
Volumetric displays are simply cool. Throw some LEDs together, take advantage of persistence of vision, and you’ve really got something. [Nick Electronics] shows us how its done with his neat little volumetric lamp build. The concept is simple. [Nick] built a little device to spin a little rectangular array of LEDs. A small motor in […]
[bitluni] seems rather fond of soldering lots of LEDs, and fortunately for us the result is always interesting eye candy. The latest iteration of this venture features 8 mm WS2812D-F8 addressable LEDs, offering a significant simplification in electronics and the potential for much brighter displays. The previous version used off-the-shelf 8×8 LED panels but had […]
[Igor] made a VU meter with LEDs using 8 LEDs and 8 comparators. This is a fast way to get one of 8 bits to indicate an input voltage, but that’s only the equivalent of a 3-bit analog to digital converter (ADC). To get more bits, you have to use a smarter technique, such as […]
Let’s say you’re going to a music festival. You could just take water, sunscreen, and a hat. Or, you could take a rad glowing witch’s staff to really draw some eyes and have some fun. [MZandtheRaspberryPi] recently undertook just such a build for a friend and we love how it turned out. The concept was […]
When it comes to making things that glow, there are two ways to stand out from the crowd. You can make something very big, or something very small. [DIY GUY Chris] has done the latter, producing a tiny LED cube that he says is the world’s smallest. As is so often the way, the build […]