Generate Your Own QR Codes

Quick and easy QR code generation.  Choose the URL, the message, the Contact vCard or the map you want to link to!  Then choose the colors you want and hit generate.  Check it out:

http://myqr.co/

Here is one we generated for our main site.  Download a QR code reader app on your smart phone and scan it!

 

BrainBlox: Foam Prototypes

Great for prototyping.  You can never have enough foam!

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/home.php

http://univfoam.com/

BrainBlox: Get your H-Bridge on

Want to enforce total control over that DC motor that has been bad mouthing you for the past week?  Build yourself an H-Bridge (motor controller) and dominate.  With a little time and not too much money you can do just that.  Here is a great tutorial:

http://www.robotroom.com/BipolarHBridge.html


Here is an H-Bridge one of us made.  An Arduino is controlling a small DC motor through an H-bridge.  The analog signal (pulse width modulation) being sent to the motor is also output on the LCD screen and is controlled via a potentiometer (variable resistor).  When the potentiometer is rotated the analog signal changes between 0 - 255, is output on the screen and dictates how fast the motor spins.

BrainBlox: Nitinol and Flexinol

Nitinol and Flexinol aka: Muscle Wire, Memory Wire, Smart Wire

A movie's worth a jabillion words.  Here the failed cousin of Q from James Bond gives you an overview on this material's characterstics.

Q's Cousin on Nitinol

NOVA has a great video on the subject as well.

NOVA NITINOL


You can buy it HERE.

BrainBlox: HD44780 LCDs

Here are the best resources we have found for learning how to use HD44780 LCDs (standard small LCD screens).

This article is REAL OLD AND CRUSTY but REAL APPLICABLE AND CRUSTY.  Definitely a good read just to get you understanding how these LCDs actually function.  Note: with an Arduino you will not actually have to bang the bits but this is what's happening behind the scenes.

http://lcd-linux.sourceforge.net/pdfdocs/lcd1.pdf
http://lcd-linux.sourceforge.net/pdfdocs/lcd2.pdf

From there you can put one to use by snapping it up on Adafruit and following the tutorial.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/181

Buy it at the link above and then following the tutorial.