• Building an ATtiny ISP from a Xino

    If you have seen my previous blog entry, you’ll know I have been playing around with an ATtiny85 for an upcoming project (more on that later…).  Using an Arduino (or, in my case a Xino from Ciseco) is easy enough, but when a sketch needs lots of tweaking to fine tune it, it means the […]

  • ATtiny Micro Programming With Arduino IDE

    One of the most appealing things about the Arduino and ATmega328 is their size and simplicity.  After working with desktop and server computers for years I just loved how a small little chip could be programmed easily to achieve things that I cannot get a full blown computer to do.  I have never been a […]

  • Arduino Control Room

    I’ve been working on a few Arduino projects recently that will hopefully result in varying levels of home automation.  The effect so far has  been to stick a box here, plug this in there, and dangle a wire from over there, with a general haphazard (with emphasis on the ‘hazard’ bit in some places!) outcome. […]

  • Modern Twist on Analog Dials

    These days displays are all digital readouts or multifunction LCD screens that give you indications of pretty much everything that’s going on.  What seems to be lacking though is a good old fashioned analog dial with a needle pointing at a number.  Of course, a dial is normally limited to a single use, but I wanted to […]

  • Arduino Powered Ikea Xmas Lights

    As regular followers of the blog will know, I love Arduinos and all the stuff they can do. Those that know me will also know that I don’t love Christmas, particularly the seasonal decoration stuff. So this project was a nice mix of the two! I decided to make myself some Arduino powered Xmas lights […]

  • Xino Basic Build

    This week I… Built a Xino Basic for Atmel as sold on http://shop.ciseco.co.uk This is sold as a kit that anyone with even the most basic of soldering skills can put together. This is just about the cheapest way to get an Arduino compatible board that fits the standard Arduino shields. It also boasts a […]

  • Xino Dice

    A couple of days ago I got a Xino board like this one. Not is this about the cheapest way to get an Ardunio compatible microprocessor, but it has the benefit of a nice little prototype area on board too. So, although it fits standard Arduino shields, many simple projects can be completed on just […]