Blog Posts

wb8nbs created an Si5351 powered signal generator.

This compact signal generator is packed into a tin that’s just slightly bigger than the ones those curiously strong mints come it.  It uses a breakout board with Si5351 and a TCXO from Etherkit.com.  A TCXO (Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator) allows for very accurate frequency.  The unit brings out all three signal outputs, individually programmable for frequency (500 Khz to 160 Mhz), sweep width and limited level control. There is a Teensy LC for control using Si5351 libraries from Jason Milldrum NT7S. The battery and charger are out of a cheap cell phone booster.

You can read more about the project on wb8nbs’s blog.  A zip archive of the code for the project as well as a schematic can be found here.

Sebastian Tomczak made a simple, but cool drum machine using a Teensy-LC.

Code for the project is available here.

Michael Diesing (forum user Joegi) built a solar powered chairoplane model.

Inspired by a chairoplane model  he already owned that only worked on bright summer days, Michael made this improved version that works even in winter.  He did this by creating a circuit where two solar cells charge 2 5F, 3V super capacitors.

Freeside, a hackersapce in Atlanta, built a 10-foot tall infinity mirror.

They did a great job documenting the build in this video.

This impressive build features a 7 x 4 ft infinity mirror mounted in a 10 ft tall archway.  They used WS2812 addressable LEDs driven by a Teensy to create the infinity effect.

Barkus Labs made a cool LED graduation hat.

Using a 32×32 neopixel display, a Teensy 3.2, and a bluetooth module, he was able to make the display programable via a smart phone.  He has an additional video showing the code for the project as well as a link to a Google drive with the code.

His build inspired Sirrom0206 to build an LED graduation cap for a friend’s son.  He posted a video about the build here.

 

Alex Glow made some pretty cool light up Merlin Armor.

This carbon-fiber armor has an LED underbelly.  It uses NeoPixel LED strips to run light animations.  The armor pieces can be made to mix and match.  All pieces hook up to a battery back and micro-controller – both of which Alex made some 3-D printed holders to wear on a belt.

The LEDs are mounted so they face towards the skin to create an under-lit effect.

Code for the project, as well as the plans for the 3-D printed utility pockets, can be found on Hackster.IO Project page.

LeoneLabs created PixelBrite, a study in pixels.  This amazing build is more than a light table.  It’s a digital Lite-Brite, minimalist light sculpture, a disco light, a sound reactive light show all rolled into one.

With batteries and a slot for and SD card to stream patterns without a computer, PixelBrite can act as a standalone light.  You can also plug it into a MIDI controller and have a interactive light show.

The Instructible page on the project is well worth reading.  It’s incredibly detailed and contains not only build details (like a complete bill of materials spreadsheet) but some information on color theory and display science as well.

The project is open source with the code available on GitHub.

Johan Berglund created this MIDI wind instrument that’s lightweight and fun to play.

It pressure sensor, capacitive touch keys, and pitch bend joystick to make a very expressive instrument.

More information can be found on this Tindie page where is was sold for some time, this project page (with lots of info and videos), and on the Tindie blog.

TeensyWI MIDI Woodwind

The project’s source code and documentation is on github.

Rick Van Melis created Trees of Life, a beautiful and interactive art installation that allows visitors to connect with the 2 trees and bring them to life.

The art installation features over 9,000 LEDs controlled by 8 Teensy boards using the Fast LED library. Each tree is a separate system. It has 6 hands and 12 ‘arteries'(LED-Strips) 2 out of each hand. These start at 1m50 and go 5 – 7,5m high.  Basically when untouched the tree and its arteries are in a restful idle animation. Users however were able to wake up the tree by placing their hands on the “hands of the tree” (hand shaped touch pads), when this happens the 2 arteries connected to the corresponding hand will start pulsating with ‘energy’.

Jarkko built this MOD sound file player using Teensy 3.1 and resistors for analog output.  This video shows how great it sounds!

He published the complete source code on github.