Checking your car battery life, debugging circuits, and finding that pesky short are all super useful functions that can be performed with just one awesome tool: the multimeter! First of all, what the heck is a multimeter?? Excellent setup question! It’s a handheld device with bunch of different electrical meters — hence, multi-meter! Measuring voltage,…
A survey questionnaire come to life! Use (nearly) any object to gather helpful data through an interactive, engaging, and fun multiple-choice survey. This project uses the Makey Makey microcontroller in combination with a Raspberry Pi computer to read in participants’ survey choices and save the results in a text file. Planning & Design! This…
Walking across large, metal pipes in search of urban adventure, my inner voice joked, “Hey, magnet shoes would be handy right about now.” Well, no arguing with that! Off to build my very own magnetic shoes! This tutorial gives an overview of my build process for a magnetic boot prototype in hopes of inspiring you…
Build a portable gas monitor to check for dangerous levels of hazardous gases in your home, community, or on the go and prevent your friends from lighting a cigarette during a gasoline fight.* This tutorial shows you how to build a web-connected “canary” monitor for three hazardous gases: Liquid Propane Gas (“LPG”), Methane (aka natural gas),…
Visualize all those mysterious electronic signals with an oscilloscope! Learn how to build and use a super simple $30 oscilloscope perfect for electronics hobbyist applications. It’s also a great way to get started using some of the fancier oscilloscopes! Reading and Changing the Oscilloscope Display Every oscilloscope has a window that displays the voltage output…
Bring science fiction to life with a personalized light-up outfit! EL wire is a delightfully futuristic-looking luminescent wire that has the added benefit of staying cool, making it ideal for wearable projects. Combining sensors and a microcontroller with EL wire allow for a wide range of feedback and control options. This project uses the SparkFun…
Wearables are an awesome, relatively new extension of circuits. Conductive threads & fabrics make it easy to attach components like LEDs and sensors to clothing/accessories. Plus, they are a super fun introduction to electronics! These LED earrings were designed b/c I wanted a wearable that was simple, unique, and could be built by-hand w/ available materials….
