Henri Keinonen

VFD Schematics & code witchcraft

Posted on2013-08-31T14:46:55+00:002014-01-29T11:35:32+00:006 Comments

I have yet published basic schematics and code for display project. Atmega 16 work as display controller. It will read data from uart serial port, place it to text buffer and simultaneously multiplex display trough segment voltage buffers and huge digit shift register. ASCII text is converted to segment data and font can be created with computer program. Read More …

Small nixie clock firmware update

Posted on2013-08-26T16:46:47+00:002013-08-26T16:48:39+00:00Leave a comment

GitHub codestuffthing for firmware, now 1.3 version with better alarm light handling and user input needed to reset 88:88 error.

VFD Time!

Posted on2013-08-14T00:31:15+00:002014-01-29T11:36:11+00:0014 Comments

Hello, I’m Ketturi Fox, and I’m addict. Yes, I have VFD addiction, Vacuum Fluorescent Displays, I mean. I have big box of them, waiting for appropriate project (which probably will never come). This time I found big nice displays from old digital scale.

Inside crystal

Posted on2013-07-16T13:51:33+00:001 Comment

I found an old crystal oscillator from my junk bin, and tough it would make interesting teardown. It is much bigger than new ones, but it works just same way as its little brothers.

Shall we look inside? Read More …

Was this uploaded yet?

Posted on2013-07-16T00:16:26+00:002013-07-16T13:54:10+00:00Leave a comment

Can’t remember if there are any pictures showing ~ready sate. Still ticking accurately. Could add more functions and maybe battery backup for alarm, but it is very good alarm clock at now so might be left as it.

What’s up? -Nothing special

Posted on2013-06-20T01:06:33+00:002013-07-16T14:01:21+00:00Leave a comment

I have not been lately active at all. Sorry. I have not done much on electronics, just lied lazy in home. But I have some small updates. Read More …

Oh the irony

Posted on2013-06-07T12:46:03+00:002013-07-16T13:59:42+00:001 Comment

Oh the irony. “Waste from electric and electronic equipment”, does this imply waste is going to China, or that electric equipment coming from China are waste straightforward? x)

Programming xmega with usbasp & avrdude

Posted on2013-05-11T13:53:28+00:002013-05-12T11:01:41+00:004 Comments

Few days ago I got package from Helsinki Hacklab. Some generic component stuff and a couple Atmel xmegas and breakout boards for them. Nice bit more powerful MCU’s than normal atmegas & attinys, but they eat only up to 3.3v, so better not to kill them with 5V logic. Luckily most 5v logics detect 3.3v as high, and their higher output can be lowered with resistor divider. Programing these xmegas also differ from their li’l brothers. Xmegas use PDI, which is kind of two wire system, constant clock signal and data I/O. I did not have expensive atmel programmer, so I improvised cheap ~2€ programmer using usbasp and avrdude using these patches. Read More …

Debian and stuff

Posted on2013-04-27T15:10:57+00:002013-07-16T14:04:22+00:00Leave a comment

I have had little problem with operating systems. I haven’t found any I could like or use. After Ubuntu 9.10 lost it’s support, and next versions of *buntu distros were all bloated and ugly. Back then I did not have needed knowhow to use other linux or unix systems, so I stuck back to Windows. Anyway I have been experimenting with different OS’s for while now, NetBSD(I can’t get X working), FreeBSD(I can’t get gpu drivers working), Mint(bloated), Xubuntu(still bloated and xfce is terrible) and Haiku(which seems nice but is still heavily incomplete). Only operating system I could get working and bear was Debian Squeeze, because it still have lovely gnome 2, only desktop environment I ever have liked. Read More …

Unitrex 1200 and lesson

Posted on2013-04-19T01:17:04+00:002014-01-29T11:41:53+00:001 Comment

Yesterday I found an old calculator from e-waste center, which caught my attention. At first glance I knew that this was not ordinary VFD or LED display desktop calculator. So I stuffed it into my bag and scurried back to home with my precious find. At home I plugged the calculator into the wall socket, which I probably shouldn’t have done. Of course it did not work. But no worries, what could I could not fix? Read More …

Nixie clock firmware

Posted on2013-04-14T22:35:46+00:002013-05-13T17:55:43+00:002 Comments

Firmware for clock is in publishable condition at last. Now all major functions are implemented and no bugs are (yet) found. But there will be likely future versions with slight fixes and features. And yes, it is made with basic, terrible, horrible and not 1337 at all, but it was easier and I could ask help from friend who have similarly constructed clock. There is also slight chance that I will translate this to avr gcc, but it would be big job, because it have not all functions and stuff. Read More …

3×4 Keypad

Posted on2013-04-12T20:18:29+00:002013-04-20T00:02:25+00:00Leave a comment

Keypads are easy way to input information. I made one from old electronic calculator, and it may be used in SID synth. Read More …

Dual buck converter

Posted on2013-04-10T19:19:31+00:002014-01-29T11:45:21+00:00Leave a comment

I had boring day, and was too lazy to do school works, so what else I could do but electronics? For next project I need power supply and due to poor efficiency of linear regulators, I choose to make an another switching regulator.

And there is the blurry picture. Similar construction to the nixie clock’s power supply, but this time double. Read More …

Vintage 7-Segment displays

Posted on2013-03-17T18:33:38+00:002013-04-19T23:58:53+00:00Leave a comment

I found some old HP/Agilent LED displays. They are common anode type, and have DIP 14 packages. I haven’t seen these before in real life, and I think these are beautiful little displays.