The uBlox GPS-modules are capable of providing various reference clock signals through the TIMEPULSE pin. By default, this pin outputs a 1 pulse-per-second (PPS) signal. For an upcoming project, a GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO), this output had to be adjusted to 100 kHz. Instead of using the manufactuer’s software, u-center, this task is supposed to […]
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Microcontroller
SITOR-B / NAVTEX Test Signal Generation
This article shows how to generate valid NAVTEX message bitstream using an Arduino. The Arduino implements proper CCIR476 character encoding, SITOR-B forward error correction, synchronization and phasing signals. An entry-level function generator is then used as a FSK modulator on 518 kHz where it can be received by a NAVTEX receiver. UPDATE: There also is […]
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Arduino |Automatically Save Variables to EEPROM on Power-Down
A recurring challenge for Arduino projects is that variables are volatile and will be lost completely unless previously stored to some sort of non-volatile storage such as de inbuilt EEPROM. This article shows a minimalistic approach to detect sudden loss of power and automatically store a variable to an EEPROM adress. First I should mention […]
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Diamex Prog-S2 | Arduino IDE
The Diamex Prog-S2 is an universal USB ISP programmer vor various microcontrollers including Atmel AVRs. This article shows how to integrate the programmer into the Arduino IDE There are a few articles on the web that talk about the Diamex Prog-S2 and Arduino. But it seemed to me like they were either outdated or faulty. […]
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Hacking a Strobe Light Controller
Not too long ago I bought some white strobe lights with a strobe controller of Amazon. This exact controller is spread all over Amazon and eBay but only provides strobe patterns that I didn’t particularly like. So it’s time for a hack. The strobe lights I purchased were white in color but they have the […]
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Review: ADSP-BF592 EZ Lite Kit
Blackfin processors from Analog Devices (ADI) precede their reputation. Anyone who has even remotely thought about Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) has come across ADI’s Blackfin processor series. ADI considers the BF592 as the low-cost entry point into the Blackfin portfolio of processors. To make evaluation a piece of cake, ADI offers the BF592 EZ-KIT Lite […]
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Review: STM32 F3-series Discovery Kit
STM’s STM32 F3 series of microcontrollers offer 32-bit performance with DSP functionality. To make the evaluation of this microcontroller easier, STMicroelectronics offers an evaluation board called the STM32F3DISCOVERY. If you have ever wanted to experiment with an RISC microcontroller that comes with special Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capability, the STM32F3DISCOVERY board might just be the […]
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Review: Freescale FRDM-KL25Z development platform for Kinetis L-Series MCUs
Freescale’s new low-cost development platform FRDM-KL25Z featuring Freescale Semiconductor’s ARM® Cortex™-M0+ processor-based high performance, low-power Kinetis L series 32-bit MCUs has launched last Tuesday. Let’s check it out. The FRDM-KL25Z “Freedom” development platform is an extremely inexpensive development board with a Kinetis KL2 Family 32-bit ARM®CortexTM-M0+ MCU [1]. The Kinetis L-Series MCUs promise true 32-bit […]
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Freescale’s Kinetis L-Series ARM® Cortex™-M0+ based MCUs
Freescale announced a new line of ARM® Cortex™-M0+ based microcontrollers, the Kinetis L Series. The MCUs are supposed to offer the performance of a real 32-bit MCU at the price and energy rating of an 8-bit microcontroller. A tight budget and low power requirements used to limit design engineers to 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs. Freescale’s […]
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Microcontroller Controlled Police Strobe Light
Circuits with flashing LEDs and amazing color combinations are pretty popular. This is probably because they are not only simple but one can literally see the results instantly. Let’s have a look at a microcontroller controlled police strobe light using an ATtiny45 from Atmel. LED flashing circuits have been around for ages and probably always […]
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