BYO Keyboard kit

2021-Jun-16, Wednesday 05:15 pm
The BYO Keyboard kit I backed on kickstarter arrived. Time for some soldering.

How about 19 minutes of unedited real-time soldering, with a camera that is struggling to maintain continuous auto-focus with a pancake lens? There's some nice, relaxing music. On repeat. It's a chill time. (Okay, I didn't realise the camera was wobbling so much. It's my very first time. Lots to learn.)

( Video )

But after soldering we have to program it. It's Circuit Python, which means updating the version on the device with the newest one for your board (ItsyBitsy M0), by double-pressing the Reset button and dragging the file onto the disk. And then downloading the libraries to match that version. Extracting the zip, and drag-dropping the libraries you need onto the disk. (More on the libraries here.) One day I'll remember all that without looking it up.

I went for the keypresses demo script, so now I'm sending lost 1s-6s into my computer. Success!



BYO Keyboard kit, with Media keycaps, soldered and programmed
Photo by [personal profile] chebe

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Seasonal LED kits

2014-Feb-05, Wednesday 12:40 am
At TOGs birthday party (you weren't there?! You missed awesome cake!) rob showed me a new kit he's come up with for February.

( Soldering kits )

Completed LED shamrock circuit board, viewed from an angle to highlight the LEDs reflecting in the gloss surface

LED shamrock plaque, angled to show LEDs reflecting
Photo by chebe



*dusts off hands* Back to working out some Arduino problems...
  • Current Mood: amused
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Learn soldering and circuits kits

2010-Apr-05, Monday 11:24 pm
I've been learning to solder. Not out of thin air, I had learning aids.

( Three kits within... )

And added bonus? The solder that came with the first kit was enough to do all of them, and even have a tiny bit left over. So, now that all my circuits work successfully I guess I can claim to be able to solder. Not the prettiest work you've ever seen, but certainly functional. Onwards, and upwards.
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Electrical kits: Glow Beadwork Bracelet

2010-Feb-08, Monday 09:01 pm
I actually thought I was getting something else when I ordered this from MakerShed. Don't ask me how, but what I saw in that photo was three large round beads, with surface mount LEDs inside, covered with, and strung together with a kind of crotchet. What it actually is is a cuff of satin and netting, with regular, small, LEDs under three pieces of (flat) beading work. Not to my own personal taste, but weirdly it is growing on me.

( Details and pics )

Overall this kit took me 9-10 hours (a third of which I spent on the beading alone), which is quite good value in my opinion. And overall it's a good idea; the light from the LEDs is diffused and refracted through the translucent seed beads. Also, I like the idea that an item can look good in both day and night, without having to sacrifice one. A good exercise.
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Electrical kits: LED Art

2010-Jan-28, Thursday 03:38 pm
I have recently seen the wisdom of following specific projects before trying to create your own from scratch. And as I am currently trying to find time to learn about electronic components, circuits, and soldering, I thought I'd try a couple. Seems the quality varies greatly. I bought a couple of kits from MakerShed, including the LED Art Kit, from blinkybug. This is what you get:

( Pic and vid )
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