December 08, 2011

New device: Hall Effect and Proximity Sensor Module

The Hall Effect and Proximity Sensor Module is a versatile and tiny device, great for sensing magnets or other physical objects nearby:


Applications include detecting shaft rotation: put a magnet on a rotating shaft and then use the Hall Effect Sensor to count / measure the frequency of rotation, giving you RPM. The module also includes a very handy "triggered" LED, so all you need to do to test it is apply power and watch the LED! Great for debugging your project while getting it sorted.

There's example code and a wiring diagram on the Hall Effect Magnetic and Proximity Sensor Module Quickstart Guide.

December 08, 2011

TronixStuff review of our modules

John Boxall of TronixStuff fame (one of the best sources of Arduino tutorials anywhere!) has just posted a quick review of a whole bunch of our new modules. Included in the review are even a couple of videos, including this one showing our RGB LED Module displaying different colours:

He also combined a couple of modules, like in this video where he used the Light Sensor Module to control the frequency of a tone being driven to the Sound & Buzzer Module:

Check out John's review here:

http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/review-freetronics-module-family/

December 05, 2011

New device: Microphone Sound Input Module

Detecting sound opens up a whole range of possibilities for your Arduino, so Marc designed our new Microphone Sound Input Module to provide two outputs: one providing the raw audio waveform, and one providing the sound pressure level (SPL).

The two outputs provide independent access to either the raw signal waveform (the MIC output) or the sound pressure level (the SPL output) to provide maximum flexibility in your projects. If you want to process the audio waveform directly you can use the MIC output, or if you just want to detect sound level (for example, to detect noise above a certain threshold) you can use the SPL output.


You'll notice that near the top right corner is an LED labeled "DETECT", which is linked to the SPL output and illuminates proportionally to detected sound pressure. Perfect for quick visual feedback that it's picking something up. To verify that the module is working you can just supply power and make a noise - you'll immediately see the response on the LED!

See how to hook it up in our Microphone Sound Input Module Quickstart Guide.

December 02, 2011

EtherTen / Siri hack by Marcus Schappi featured in the Sydney Morning Herald

Marcus Schappi (from Freetronics reseller Little Bird Electronics) recently demonstrated a neat little hack where he intercepted DNS requests from an Apple iPhone 4S to send Siri queries to a proxy server, allowing it to hand off the event to a Freetronics EtherTen and control house lighting. This morning it was picked up by journalist Ben Grubb and featured in the Sydney Morning Herald!


Check out the story on the SMH site:

Aussie hacks Siri to automate home

Great work Marcus!

December 02, 2011

New device: Addressable RGB LED Module

At first glance the RGB LED Module looks trivial: it's an LED on a PCB, right? Look closer though and you'll see that it's far more than that.

It uses a high-brightness RGB (Red/Green/Blue) LED, which means that you can generate all the colours of the rainbow. On the back of the board it includes a WS2801 constant-current multi-channel LED driver with built-in PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) outputs, allowing you to set different brightness levels on each output independently and have them hold that illumination level without requiring any PWM outputs from your microcontroller.


Cooler still, the WS2801 can be daisy-chained so that you can serially address a whole row of RGB LED modules off just two digital I/O lines from your Arduino.


Check out the details including example source code to drive it from an Arduino in the RGB LED Quickstart Guide.

December 01, 2011

Impromptu in-store Arduino display at Jaycar Newcastle

This is one of those things that fall into the "pure awesome" category. We just received photos of an in-store display created by staff at Jaycar's Newcastle store, combining a Freetronics Eleven with a temperature sensor, an LCD module, a solderless breadboard, and a couple of other miscellaneous parts:


How cool is that? Actually, the display can give you the technically correct answer to that question:


It even offers words of inspiration to customers:


Whoever it was that set up the display: if our paths ever cross in the future, remind me that I owe you a $FAV_BEVERAGE.

December 01, 2011

New device: Sound and Buzzer Module

The new Sound and Buzzer Module is quite versatile, and can be used for either input or output.


Piezo elements have an obvious application as sound-generating devices, and by connecting the module to a PWM output on your Arduino you can generate tones. However, with the inclusion of a 1M resistor across the terminals (pre-fitted on the module for convenience) it can also be used as a knock sensor. Just connect the module between GND and an analog input and you can detect sharp bumps, taps, or knocks!

Examples are provided in the Sound and Buzzer Module Quickstart Guide.

November 29, 2011

New device: Humidity and Temperature Sensor

The new Freetronics Humidity and Temperature Sensor Module is very handy for environmental monitoring, combining both temperature and humidity readings in a single unit.


Readings update every two seconds, with +/-0.5C and 2-5% accuracy. Perfect for logging data in your house, office, or server room, or even for building your own thermostat to control a heating or cooling system.

Connecting the sensor takes just one data pin on your Arduino, and we've provided a handy tutorial to get you started: see our Humidity and Temperature Sensor Module Quickstart Guide for details.

November 29, 2011

New device: Shift Register / Expansion Module

Another new device that's just hit the shelves is the Shift Register / Expansion Module, which gives you a convenient way to drive additional output lines if you start running out of I/O on your Arduino.


Using just three I/O lines on your Arduino you can control eight outputs, and you can even daisy-chain multiple modules together to drive even more: with two modules you can drive 16 outputs with those same three I/O lines!

To see an example of how to hook it up and sample code to drive it, check out the Shift Register / Expansion Module Quickstart Guide.

November 29, 2011

New device: Logic Level Converter Module

Another brand new device is the Logic Level Converter Module. Many of the most interesting sensors and devices are only available in 3.3V or even lower voltage versions these days, which can be a problem if you want to connect them to a 5V microcontroller such as an Arduino. This module easily connects different logic voltage levels together for bi-directional communication on up to 4 channels, allowing you to use low-voltage sensors with a 5V microcontroller.


The module acts as a "bridge", linking high-voltage and low-voltage parts of your project together so they can happily talk to each other. See how it can be used in the Logic Level Converter Module Quickstart Guide. Best of all they're dirt-cheap at only $6.95, so it's worth having a spare around in your parts drawer just for those frustrating times when you have an Arduino in one hand and a 3.3V device such as a GPS module in the other, and want to convince them to be friends and play nicely together.