collinslab

How-To: LED VU-Meter Necktie

Check out Becky's latest wearables project over at adafruit. With special guest appearance by Collin Cunningham.

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Saturday March 2nd, 2013 2:40 PM

Collin’s Lab: DIY Contact Mic

It's amazing what a little disk can do … when it's layered with piezoelectric crystals. Piezo disks are impressively sensitive to vibration and can easily be adapted to work as...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday December 20th, 2011 10:00 AM

Categories: Electronics, General, Music | 69 Comments

Schematics are the functional diagram of electronic circuits. With so many designs available on the web, understanding how to read schematics can unlock a world of possibilities for the electronics...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday November 15th, 2011 7:30 AM

Categories: Electronics, General | 8 Comments

Circuit Skills: Infrared Light, sponsored by Jameco Electronics

Infrared light may be invisible to the human eye, but its usefulness in the world of electronics is easy to see. From simple object sensors to wireless data transmission, IR...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday November 1st, 2011 7:30 AM

Categories: Electronics, General | No Comments

Collin's Lab: Electronics Tools

I've amassed a decent collection of tools since I started working in electronics - some useful & some that seemed useful at the time of acquisition. Not surprisingly, it's the...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday October 4th, 2011 9:30 AM

Categories: Electronics, General, Tools | 21 Comments

Collin's Lab: Atari Punk Console

A true classic for DIY synth makers and circuit benders, the Atari Punk Console can kick out some ear-catching square waves. It's easy to build and a lot of fun...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday September 13th, 2011 9:30 AM

Categories: Electronics, General, Music | 24 Comments

Circuit Skills: Power Supply, sponsored by Jameco Electronics

The requisite starting point for anything electronic - you won't get much blinking, buzzing, or processing done without a power supply.

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Tuesday August 30th, 2011 9:41 AM

Categories: Electronics, General | 26 Comments

Circuit Skills: Fiber Optics, sponsored by Jameco Electronics

Not all electronic signals are communicated via electricity. By transmitting information in the form of light, we can avoid many limitations inherent to traditional wiring. And on top of all...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Thursday July 7th, 2011 3:01 PM

Categories: Electronics, General | 4 Comments

Collin's Lab: Switches

Easily overlooked, but elemental to electronics hardware, the manually operated switch is the simplest of electromechanical devices -- and likely the most familiar. While the most basic switch is... well,...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Monday June 27th, 2011 9:16 PM

Categories: Electronics, General | No Comments

Circuit Skills: PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), sponsored by Jameco Electronics

Another clever trick from the world of electronics – Pulse Width Modulation is a simple method for controlling analog devices via a digital signal. It’s also a very efficient way...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Wednesday June 1st, 2011 7:30 AM

Categories: Arduino, Electronics, General | 13 Comments

Collin's Lab: Brainwave Beats

Measuring brainwaves is not just for neuroscientists anymore – new affordable consumer level EEG devices ( & even some toys) do a respectable job at measuring tiny voltage pulses given...

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Thursday May 5th, 2011 6:30 PM

Categories: General, Music, Science | 27 Comments