I can confirm this.  I see I_CACTUS's new tune in the music tab, but when I click on it I'm taken to a page with all his music on it rather than the song itself.  I cannot reach the page his new tune is played from.

82

(33 replies, posted in Circuit Bending)

First off, if you are buying this iron to do electronics work, do not buy a gun-type iron.  They are primarily used for larger, heavier connections that soak up a lot of heat.  One of those bad boys would peel the traces off a PCB before you could say "what's that smell".

Your best bet is a soldering pencil in the 25 to 40 Watt range.  If at all possible, avoid off-brand or Radio-Shack brand irons.  They are typically referred to as "wood burners" by serious electronics guys.  Their temperatures fluctuate wildly during use and they are cheaply made and thus will not last long.  Temperature control is almost a necessity, but BitPop's temperature-fixed iron will definitely be better than no temperature control at all.

Personally, my favorite iron is the Weller WESD51 Soldering Station.  Definitely the most comfortable iron I have ever used.  Of course, the only irons I've used are it and a 35W Radio-Shack wood-burner.  It's $130 at Amazon.com, and unlike the wood-burners, it should last you for years if you take care of it.

83

(36 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Thanks for the space.  Really appreciated.  Let's just hope I can put it to good use.

84

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

I'm not quite sure yet, really.  I want to make something myself, but not being a chip musician, I don't really know what you guys really want or need.  I did find this open-source MIDI sequencer that may be useful.

85

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Rei Yano wrote:

crap. how many are left? I cannot buy one just yet since my vehicle needs work but after that if I have enough left I would like to snag one.... fuckin subscribe button DOES NOT WORK at 8bc.....

I still have 8 more to build.  I recommend subscribing to this post as well, as I'll be using it to announce more stuff for sale, hopefully not just ArduinoBoys.

I love this question!  I've been learning some of this in my Digital and Analog Communications class.

This is a perfect example of what is called the Gibbs phenomenon.  It's what happens when a square wave is passed through a low-pass filter.

In the above picture, we see the waveforms of two low-pass filters.  Any signal that falls underneath the large peak at the center of the graph is allowed through.  Ideally, no other wave component is allowed to pass, that is all waves that fall outside the central peak are filtered out.  However, you can see where the low-pass filter still exists outside the main filtering frequency.  Higher frequencies that we want filtered out are still slipping past, generating the diminishing sine wave you see at the top and bottom of the square wave.  As we make the low-pass filter narrower, the Gibbs phenomenon also gets smaller, but can never be made to disappear.

Basically, it's a technical limitation and a fact of life that really has no effect on you unless for some bizarre reason you need a completely clean square wave.

You can also see the Gibbs phenomenon in your DMG square wave there.  Notice how the wave seems to extend beyond it's logical point and ripples ever so slightly before settling back down into the primary wave?  The DMG square wave appears to be on a very narrow low-pass filter, resulting in a very small Gibbs phenomenon.

EDIT: additionally, the Gibbs phenomenon can be seen in the generation of square waves themselves.  You can generate a square wave by combining multiple sine waves together, with the result being a square wave exhibiting the Gibbs phenomenon.  The greater the number of harmonics (the number of sine waves you are combining), the smaller the Gibbs phenomenon.  If you want, I can try to teach you the math, but I'm afraid I barely understand it myself.

87

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Shipped all but one of the domestic orders (got a bad address for an Amherst, MA customer).  While I was at the post office I picked up some customs envelopes and a book of stamps.  I'll be shipping the international orders soon, perhaps tomorrow, and will get to work on those requests for PCBs as well.

EDIT: took me long enough.  Little-scale was kind enough to lend me some server space to store my ArduinoBoy files, including schematic, board layout, bill of materials, extra copies of the code and mGB ROM, a few design notes, etc.  I hope to fill that chunk of server space with all sorts of open-source designs (hopefully more than a few of them my own), but for now, enjoy.

88

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Actually, this batch is not yet done.  I still have 8 more here on my workbench.  Problem is I ran out of mounting screws to fit the PCB inside the case.  Hopefully I will have the parts to finish them in a week or two.  Meanwhile, all 17 completed ArduinoBoys have been sold and will be shipped to their new owners in a couple days.

89

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

I bought the boards through a company called Gold Phoenix.  They specialize mainly in prototype production: small volume.  I ordered a 155 square inch board (that is, they would try to fit as many of my 1.9 inch by 1.45 inch boards onto a single 155 square inch board), sent in my money and my fabrication files, and waited a week or two.  I was expecting one sheet with about 47 boards, each one valued at about $3, but instead I got 3 sheets with 49 boards each and only 5 defective boards.  Each viable board is about $0.88.  The other $2 is for an envelope and some stamps to send the boards.

90

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Only three left.  Don't worry, though.  I will be making more.

Also, those photos you guys wanted to see.  Sorry it took so long, but my camera takes horrible close ups.  Be glad that my roommate's camera phone doesn't have the same problem.


91

(106 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Trash80's world-famous ArduinoBoys, as built by Anthony "scienceguy8" Gilberti, are now for sale here.

I currently have 17 units on hand.  They are $50 for domestic shipping, $58 for standard 6 to 10 day international shipping, and $71 for 5 day international shipping.  First come, first serve.  Don't worry if you miss them this time: I still have 9 more to build and there will most likely be yet another batch coming down the pipeline.

I will also be selling some extra printed circuit boards to those who are interested.  Boards will be about $3 on an individual basis, but if you want a whole bunch of them I'm sure we can work out a lower price per board.  Contact me at [email protected] about boards.

EDIT: currently sold out.  Will make more.  Read entire topic for details.

92

(17 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

That has got to be the largest free-form circuit I have ever seen.

93

(3 replies, posted in Bugs and Requests)

How about one more forum category for those of us involved in the development of hardware and software?  "Research and Development" could be where people could discuss what they have worked on, what others might want to see, troubleshooting bizarre problems with new designs, collaboration on open-source designs, etc.  Basically, anything not yet ready for human consumption can be discussed here.

94

(23 replies, posted in General Discussion)

low-gain wrote:
Russolo wrote:

well its not strictly for chip but how about Renoise

coupled up with some low-bit samples and (maybe) some plug-ins. and you're good to go. :-D

Better yet, throw in some physical hardware controlled by MIDI, like a SID station or a MIDINES while you're at it.