Tinkerlog

Back in March I published my first instructable called Programmable LED. The idea was simple, have a device that is able to record and play back light sequences. Light sequences are recorded with an LDR, a light dependent resistor and played back with an LED.
After a while some users at Instructables began to rebuild, modify [...]

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I just finished the tengu clone on a prototype board. Here are some pictures.

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When I first saw Crispin Jones Tengu, I was sure, I must have one. If you don’t know tengu and don’t want to follow the link, it’s a small face, made of LEDs, that reacts to music and sound.
It did not take long until I decided to clone this funny little device. All it needs [...]

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I recently switched from Windows to OS X. I bought a MacBook and I already love it.
The downside is, that I have to build up the complete environment to program AVR microcontrollers again.
This is a write up of things to install and confiure to get the tool chain up and running.

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After some trouble with my SMS sending routine I am finally able to show some working code.
Features so far

Displays menu via serial port if attached to PC
Can run unattended or interactively for debugging
Fetches GPS positions and sends them via SMS every two minutes

If the circuit is powered on, the following sequence will be executed:

Boot up, [...]

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Two weeks ago I posted about how to interface an AVR microcontroller to a Telit GM862. You can read it here: Interfacing an AVR controller to a GPS Mobile Phone.
That post got listed on Hack-A-Day, Engadet and Makezine among many others! w00t! Thanks for posting and reading it, I really appreciate it.
This post will show [...]

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Update: Part II Using Google Maps with a Mobile GPS Tracker is online.
My goal is to build a kind of a mobile tracker. There are many different use cases you can think of but one of the obvious is a device, that is able to report where it is. This device can be [...]

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This post will give you a short example how to read and write EEPROM, and how to use flash memory as storage.
When you are jumping into programming microcontrollers many things are new and uncommon. At least to me as I used to develop in Java. This snippet may save you some time when you start [...]

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I searched the web for a cheap method to let the ATmega respond to sound. My knowledge in analog circuits is very limited, but what I do remember, is that you can not attach a electret mircophone to a controller pin. The signal of the microphone is just too small and has to be amplified. [...]

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I was always fascinated by the emergence of patterns. One I like most is the synchronization of hundreds or thousands of fireflies. First they flash randomly but after some time and influencing each other, they flash in sync.
The rule behind this is very simple. All fireflies have nearly the same frequency for their flashing, but [...]

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