Fred

It seems that Farnell (Element 14) and TI have been working on a LiPo BoosterPack. eStore Press release

I'm not sure a "sweep movement" clock will work for this. Even if you randomise the timing and the second hand moves at varying speed, you won't get the desired slightly unnerving irregular tick. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I took another peek inside the units. The box that does the switching of the heating circuits had a MSP430F5659 on the reverse of the board that I couldn't see until I took the PCB out. The remote temperature sensor had a MSP430F5635 and a CC1101 and a small solar panel that apparently is enough to power it even with fairly low indoor lighting. I've very impressed with both the product and the company's service. They got a new firmware build to fix my DNS issues built and remotely deployed to me within a day.

Yes, it's Stellaris. I made a guess for the title of the thread as I hadn't taken a look at that point. I'm sure the processor (now Not Recommended for New Designs) is well up to the task. (Original post edited.)

A chat with one of the embedded engineers is the reference for the processors. I popped open the main unit to find a LM3S9997 and a CC1101. The remote box doing the switching has a CC1101. I couldn't see a MSP430 but there is a shrink wrapped module that may contain it. There's also a remote temperature sensor with a solar panel on it. I haven't opened that up. Comms between the 3 units is apparently 6LoWPAN. It's a commercial product so not open source. I'll mention this forum to the developer. He may be able to share some info. I've seen a friend's unit in action, but mine refuses

I'm all signed up. I'm in the UK but happy to be paired up with anyone. @@Rei Vilo - Fischertechnik! I used to have a load of that when I was a kid.

I was going to suggest a tree shaped PCB, but then you'd lose the button presents. As it is looks fine. I did a "learn to SMD solder" thing at a Maker Faire recently and they had boards that took TH or SMD components. SMT LEDs might look better on the tree, so you could design a board that takes either. I think it will look quote good as the trunk.

I just got a really nice Tado home heating control system. It can be accessed remotely, detects when you're there and looks really slick. Sort of like a Nest, but seems much better - more substance rather than just styling. http://www.tado.com It's currently in beta in the UK and whilst trying to identify a couple of wrinkles (due to my crappy Sky router) I got chatting to one of the developers. The reason I mention it is that it's apparently using a MSP430 and a TI Cortex-M3 (which I assume is Tiva but could be wrong). [Edited - it's a Stellaris LM3S9997, not a Tiva]

If you're after something simple for the kids, how about something like this? Maybe a snowman version with an orange LED carrot nose or Rudolf the red nosed reindeer. http://www.makershed.com/Learn_to_Solder_Skill_Badge_Kit_p/mkls01.htm Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Printing electronics always sounds great until you look at the details. I'm guessing that it's mostly sales pitch because the reality isn't all that impressive. I'd love to be proven wrong but I'd guess that the ink is not all that conductive, quite expensive, and hard to get accurate thin traces. Whilst this indeed very cool, I doubt it can compete even with toner transfer for home PCB production. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I've ordered a few similar things from Hong Kong eBay sellers over the years. I wonder how they can do things so cheap and still include shipping. Not had a problem yet. It does normally take a couple of weeks and I've had to chase a few times, so don't them use for anything you need in a hurry.

I just got a very cheap (about $20) eBay USB microscope for inspecting my SMD soldering - the low end of the ones zeke linked to. I must admit it's really useful and I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of the image. Maybe I'm easily pleased, but if if you've not got a microscope at all and are wondering then I'd suggest you go with the cheap option and see if that's enough for you.

With regard to 1, I asked something similar on 43oh and was recommended to use an amp such as LM386, TDA2822M or LM4871 http://forum.43oh.com/topic/3947-low-power-audio-for-kids-toy/

At the very least it's impolite to join a forum and use your first post to promote another. Maybe if you have lots of Stellaris expertise to share with us, you could start by doing that here.

The string snapped? That sounds like grounds for disqualification to me. ;-)

PM'd you my address. It was fun to enter and great to get a couple of votes. Congratulations Mike. If I remember in time, I may do something like the @@t0mpr1c3 glowing eyes for the hedge outside my house next year. Maybe with some pager motors for vibration so it seems like something is moving around.

I looked at the Saleae a while ago, but ended up going with the cheaper 4 channel Ikalogic Scanalogic - good value but obviously limited primarily by the number of channels compared to the Saleae ones.

The last thing I remember destroying was a BBC Micro when I was 12 (about er... 30 something years ago). I managed to short 30V AC through the ground and nuked every IC on the motherboard. Since then I don't think I've blown up anything more than a few LEDs or transistors. Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk

You've inspired me. We're not that big on Halloween over here in the UK, but getting more into it. I'll do something a bit bigger next year but this year I'll copy you. Unfortunately all I have is a pathetic little squash about 4" in diameter so no even big enough for the LP. Looks like that NetduinoGo I purchased last year might get used at last! It has a separate RGB LED unit.

I'm amazed that nobody else has that one! I think I'm smoke free when it comes to MSP430s so far...

It's the one that came with the toy. I just swapped the 5mm red LED and battery for a bright RGB one that's connected to the Launchpad.

@@t0mpr1c3 Nothing's lame if you had fun and learnt something along the way.

OK. My projects in. http://forum.43oh.com/topic/4532-animated-darth-vader-build-monitor/

I'd like to donate something. I've been collecting toys lately and I'm lucky enough to have a 3D printer and a laser cutter. I'd be happy to print/laser something. The winner can email me the design for what they want. I'll make it and ship it.

At work we use Continuous Integration to build and test our code as we check it in. It helps catch problems early and ensures we keep code standards up. We were using CruiseControl.NET but have now moved to TeamCity. Anyway, this is no use unless people take notice of broken builds and this was starting to slip. I decided that something fairly visible (but not too annoying) was needed. After spotting a Lego Dath Vader toy torch it seemed like a good solution. The standard toy has a button on his chest that is used to switch on some while LEDs in his feet. There was also a red LED and a AAA