Make:

• How to build a modular AVR synth
• HOW TO - Make a USB remote control receiver
• DIY: UV Light Box
• DIY Automatic ball launcher for dogs made from an old scanner
• Magic mirror lets you paint on your reflection in real time
• Dizzy - an aware kind of robot

Posted by: Spiffed on May 15, 2008 at 8:41 AM

I wanted to make it known there are nearly 100 of these in stock now.

To everyone who tried to buy one during the wee-hours this morning (or before about 11:30). If you were getting checkout errors, I'm very sorry. PayPal's express checkout broke, and it wasn't even my fault. Everything's cruising along just fine now.

Is there a simple cheap way to make a non-computer input for this? I am trying to figure out how to build a nursery call sign for my church bc they charge 3-400 for a new one and I know it's just simple circuits. A phone pad would be ideal, but dials for each digit would be ok too.

Posted by: macetech.com on May 15, 2008 at 1:17 PM

Michael: The main point of this kit is to enable USB connection. Seven-segment displays are quite easy to interface to a microcontroller with no computer involved, and you should be able to find a number of examples or products for this; the hard/unique part of this project was USB.

Posted by: Spiffed on May 15, 2008 at 4:34 PM

A multi-digit display with a keypad for setting the number ought to be a fairly easy task for a simple PIC or the ever popular Arduino.

The goal here was to let you do it with your PC, without mucking around in PIC/AVR land first.

This is pretty similar to something Ive been working on which is a 4 digit i2c controlled display: http://www.lighter.net/products/digidisplay/

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