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Sparkfun.com has some good info to. As well as the dev/control boards you'll be looking for

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9038

Funnily enough, you can get some not-quite milspec stuff from these people and they specialise in things like miniature GPS receivers and 3 axis accelerometers. It might not handle the deserts or the tundra but will handle normal conditions without problems. There are even projects that use these for autopilots for model sailplanes and airplanes. Sure the GPS receiver in the Raven may have better interference rejection and be able to use the military GPS channel, but for accuracy you can always use DGPS relative to your base and for interference rejection, upwards facing antennas help a lot.

I don't have firsthand experience; but FTDI says that there are drivers for its USB/serial products for FreeBSD. FTDI based usb/serial converters are reasonably common. Both Sparkfun and Adafruit industries use them a lot with their arduino related products.

Reports also suggest that the PL-2303 is supported in FreeBSD. You can get an adapter based on it from Sparkfun.

It's a nuisance not to be able to just grab anything; but it looks like you do have options.

I always wanted a desktop cellphone.

Here ya go.

Sparkfun carries them, most for over $100
They won't do anything better than GPRS, I can't imagine it's easy to get your hands on a 3G capable baseband sample module without signing at least a couple NDAs (which is why the Freerunner doesn't even have EDGE.) Also, the modules tend to be fairly large, you won't be packing one into a phone any smaller than ones we haven't seen in 10 years.

If you like playing with LEDs, follow the Hack A Day blog. At least once a week, there's a post involving home-brew LED projects, some of them quite massive and/or impressive. For instance,

• a 12-foot long digital wall clock
• the huge GameBoy color display made out of a zillion RGB LEDs

• GPS module - US$60
• Microcontroller board - US$20
• Coding - free
• A GPS bomb trigger for a fraction of the price of an iPhone? priceless

Note, I'm not affiliated with SparkFun in any way. I'm also not condoning terrorist action, just pointing out how easy it is nowadays with cheap and easy access to the necessary technology.

• GPS module - US$60
• Microcontroller board - US$20
• Coding - free
• A GPS bomb trigger for a fraction of the price of an iPhone? priceless

Note, I'm not affiliated with SparkFun in any way. I'm also not condoning terrorist action, just pointing out how easy it is nowadays with cheap and easy access to the necessary technology.

for example

Picking a logic analyzer is a harder problem. A logic analyzer is a device for collecting and reducing many channels of parallel digital data coming in from a device under test. The data reduction part is a hard problem. There's a vast amount of data coming in, and you need to find the interesting/important/wrong stuff. It's really a form of log analysis.

Some logic analyzers are just input devices to PCs. There's an open source logic analyzer program for use with such capture devices. Take a look at this for some USB-based interface hardware. They also offer some units that can emulate a scope in hardware. For a real entry-level product, see this low end unit. There's a demo video.

Cost goes up with data rate and channels captured. If you need to look at 10GHz signals, it's going to cost you. 10 MHz, quite cheap.

What do you want a logic analyzer for, anyway?

I'll build you one for a suitable fee:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8880

Heres a great dissection...Patent my ass, its basic stuff.

Nikepod dissection.
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=41

There Apple. Now everyone knows how it works.
Fark off.

The L series is a typical AT91SAM7 32bit chip that should work with the usual openocd toolset. It does not look like HP is using an RTOS like FreeRTOS which, among other things, has a udp/tcp/ip stack that I like to use on the AT91SAM7X series which contain an embedded MAC (no apple fanbois, thats a Medium Access Controller). The code is using IAR compilers :( so you can't just dive in to using the Gnu arm toolchain without some serious homework 1st creating a makefile and tweeking various files.

The engineers did populate the connectors for the JTAG and provide unpopulated pads for ADC, PWM, SPI, and basic digital I/O, so I would say that anyone looking to get started in embedded electronics could start here, they'd just be locked into using IAR. Also a display is awesome for providing a UI, something most embedded dev kits lack!

Thanks HP, it really is nice that you guys considered the hacker community as customers.

Introducing, the $15 laptop: ... Note the 5-line backlit display ...

I said "laptop-style display". A 5x12 text-only LCD doesn't count. This is (one reason) why the site you linked to called it a "personal organizer" rather than a laptop.

Assembler or C on an 8-bit CPU is no more difficult than any other chip. What's confusing you is the fact that there's no IDEs or libraries to make it quick to put a high-level program together.

That's not "confusing" me, it's exactly what I was referring to. My job involves low-level system programming in C and PowerPC assembly, and embedded CPU design (on FPGAs) is something of a hobby of mine; I'm well aware of the requirements. Programming an embedded system with limited resources and no IDEs, standard libraries, or interactive debugging is a far more demanding task than normal PC application programming, and consequently draws on a much smaller (and thus more expensive) supply of skilled labor.

A pointing device is completely unnecessary. It's used with desktops only because better input methods never caught on.

Pointing devices are an essential part of any modern, general-purpose computer. For symbolic input a keyboard is sufficient, even preferable, but some tasks demand an analogue input device. Could you imaging anyone choosing to enter screen coordinates via a keyboard to operate a graphics package, for example? Or even CAD? The mouse was invented for a reason, and not just because users don't properly "appreciate" the power of the keyboard. However, I am willing to grant that analogue input is likely to be less useful for a UMPC than for a normal desktop system, and may be omitted in this context.

As for network support, I was referring to the standard 802.11 protocols (wired and wireless) for compatibility with existing systems, but if you don't mind breaking compatibility please at least use one of the numerous existing point-to-point systems (such as this 2.4GHz Nordic module) rather than inflicting yet another incompatible wireless standard on an unsuspecting world...

I needed to learn about microcontrollers, and was advised to go with the AVR micros. These tutorials focus on the serious side of electronics, and do it in a light hearted manner. Well worth looking into.

The http://www.arrickrobotics.com/ A-Robot is an excellent beginner's bot. It is rugged (can survive 10 years in a drawer and still function) gets you up and running quickly, and is expandable. A 12V, 2A power output, 3 spare RC servos, and a 40 pin I/O header (that takes an IDE cable) will let you play with electronics. Roger Arrick wrote "Robots for Dummies" that shows one project at a time how to breadboard a peripheral and code for it. Buy everything that's in the T1 kit, but don't get the BS2 - get the BS2e. $400.

The closest second for a beginner's bot is the BOE bot fromParallax. It's based on the same processor. The problem with the BOE bot is that when it breaks, it's dead. It's not really expandable like the A-Robot is. you would have to see the A-Robot (1 ft x 1ft) next to the BOE Bot (6in x 6in) to understand.

For less beginning, and more electronics, check out http://www.ere.co.th./ You are trading BASIC for assembly, and no longer have a beginner's book to guide you. You do have http://www.avrfreaks.net./ The really cool thing is all the peripherals on 16 pin headers, so you don't have to spend 3 days to get a stepper motor to spin. You will be able to bread-board parts too, with 16-pin headers on the boards.

A close second in this field would be the boards that accept Atmel STK-style headers. That's what I use when I'm not building a custom board. I'm too entrenched in 10 pin headers to go to 16 pin headers, though I made some 10-to-16-pin-adapter-boards.

Finally, you could get an AVR board like I use for my projects from http://www.geocities.com/mengjinsu. Meng's boards are great if you know how to stuff PCBs and solder them. I order them by the dozen. Get the ABR chips from http://www.digikey.com/ and the rest of your stuff from there or http://www.mouser.com./ Also, take a look at http://www.sparkfun.com/

Andy Out!

I've ordered a number of "Velleman" kits http://www.vellemanusa.com/ for various projects. They're quite similar to heathkits and others mentioned. The problem with kits like those is that they don't really teach you about electronics so much as they're just good soldering practice. A bit more professional and adult in execution than the wire+spring kits sold by rat-shack but just as empty in the theory it teaches.

If you're really interested in leaning about electronics the first thing you need to do is pick a project, pick something that someone else has already done and posted the schematics and other information about. Then head over to to this website Its the home page for a highschool electronics club but IMO it's some of the best info on the web on the basic theory about how electronics work as well as how to read diagrams, understand components and solder them together, everything you need to get started.

now you've got a project and some basic knowledge head over to a site like SparkFun loads of useful parts and kits to get you started on nearly any project. I order 99% of my parts from Digikey if they don't have it there you'd be hard pressed to find it elsewhere, it's not very beginner friendly though... Mouser Electronics is much more suited for beginners but their pricing is also a little higher and their selection not as good.

I didn't get into electronics until I was in college and I didn't study electronics in college at all. I basically just picked a project and then just did as much research and self teaching as I needed to get it done, then picked a harder project then a harder project until I am where I am today. I've actually had a couple of my custom electronics projects published in magazines and I only started learning this stuff about 6 or so years ago, not even knowing how to solder or what a resistor is. The resources above were invaluable though

Having good equipment is important too. Go to the rat-shack and buy their 15Watt iron, a spring stand with a sponge, some .22mm silver bearing solder, a de-soldering iron, a nice set of helping hands, a nice set of miniature pliers, a nice set of cutters/strippers/crimps, and some 22ga stranded hookup wire. You'll spend about $50 and have pretty much everything you need to tackle any DIY electronics project. You should also consider spending a bit of cash on a good multimeter, which isn't necessary but HIGHLY recommended for troubleshooting or reverse engineering.

Good Luck and have fun :)

But a much, much better option is to buy this starter kit and learn the hot new Arduino instead of the aging Basic Stamp. You'll need to start a junk drawer of components, including resistor assortment like these four kits. Local Amateur Radio HamFests and eBay are both good places to fill out your junk box.

Some good resources:

o The Arduino Home Page
o Peter Anderson's Arduino page (the whole site is great, and most can be adapted to the Arduino)
o Sparkfun Tutorials (and don't miss out on their store that has all the good stuff)
o The Electronic Goldmine is a great resource for odd surplus electronics.

But a much, much better option is to buy this starter kit and learn the hot new Arduino instead of the aging Basic Stamp. You'll need to start a junk drawer of components, including resistor assortment like these four kits. Local Amateur Radio HamFests and eBay are both good places to fill out your junk box.

Some good resources:

o The Arduino Home Page
o Peter Anderson's Arduino page (the whole site is great, and most can be adapted to the Arduino)
o Sparkfun Tutorials (and don't miss out on their store that has all the good stuff)
o The Electronic Goldmine is a great resource for odd surplus electronics.

I highly recommend getting an Arduino board, either an USB or Bluetooth one. They're easily programmable, have 14 digital and 6 analog pins and are quite cheap.
A more advanced board would be this one which is available from Sparkfun (who happen to have all sorts of electronic parts). Comes with an LCD, included SD card reader, 3 axis accelerometer. Wonder if TinyOS runs on it, anyone?
There are lots of cool things that can be done with these boards, google for "arduino projects".
Some nice sites for the electronic geek:
Hackaday
Electronics Lab

Cheers!

Inspired by this thread, I have been thinking about some AoE designs.

My current single channel IDE design consists of
DM9000B + ATmega 8515 + GAL16V8
As the harddisk and the ethernet chip can be made to basically talk directly to each other (with the GAL doing the MDMA handshake), it should be possible to nearly saturate 100Base-T. The ethernet chip can do jumbo frames as well.

To now expand this to several channels, one just has to follow the recommentations about "dual port cabling" from the ATA standard. You can find it as well in Annex C.2.8 of the ATA 4 draft. Given enough drivers and multiplexers, a lot of channels should be possible. One has to weigh the cost of these drivers/multiplexers against the cost and additional bandwidth of more units.

Old small CPLDs might be an alternative to GAL+multiplexer+driver.

Sparkfun has a nice RFID reader for $35 and tags for $2.00. The only problem the RFID has a reading distance of 8 inches. A UHF system is in the thousands of $$.

The 'eye' of that camera could well be the Toshiba $9 http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8668

You can buy 10 of them for $80.

You need to hack everything else around them, though: figure out what 'standard data+I2C interface' is* and how it works, how they can communicate with a 'server' or sorts (one NI to all the cameras and connect all to a PC?) , and you may need to make waterproof cases for [some of] them, too.

I am not sure if I'd be up to it, but it could be a fun project.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C2%B2C

some more prior art:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8492#

A quick google got me this page which shows a disassembled Wiimote. The only wires in there are a pair connecting the rumble motor, the rest is traces on the PCB. No analog sticks either, those are only on the Wiimote addons which probably won't go flying as easily.

Luckily, the company that makes the MP3 IC also makes an OggVorbis IC, that is about the same cost. Of course I don't think it uses exactly the same connections, so you may need to update the schematic of the board a bit as well. But still perfectly doable, if you have the time / knowledge.

Here's a link to the chip:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8300

It's not like anyone is going to implement a CDMA phone from scratch.
You get something like (a CDMA version of) this: GM862 and build the rest of the phone around that.
A quick google turned up this: quad band CDMA module with 1x but no price.

No they're not. This is a cell phone that looks and works like a phone.

Will this do?

Amateurs, here's the real deal http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=287

Or you could get the Port-O-Rotary.

This one has a built in programmer for $27.95, or
This one for $15.95 does not.

Of course, you only need one programmer for multiple projects.
Both the above have serial port and power supply built in, and space for putting your own components in. If you don't need a serial port, and are comfortable with voltage regulators or have a good bench supply, you need basically nothing in support hardware (besides a programmer), just a proto-board.

This one has a built in programmer for $27.95, or
This one for $15.95 does not.

Of course, you only need one programmer for multiple projects.
Both the above have serial port and power supply built in, and space for putting your own components in. If you don't need a serial port, and are comfortable with voltage regulators or have a good bench supply, you need basically nothing in support hardware (besides a programmer), just a proto-board.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=66_68

My phone does use the classic bell ring. Boy is it confusing when someone turns on public television or public radio during a pledge drive--I keep thinking my phone's ringing.

Get your own from the "listen to the ringer" link at SparkFun:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=286

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=66_68

You might like this then. Move over iPhone!

It's the original, no need to train her, she will know exactly how it works but it's a cell phone to! http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=287

I doubt my Grandma would use such a cell phone unless it is rotary dial.

Spark Fun to the Rescue

It's a solder paste applying machine. They put a stencil over the board and drag a squeegee across the top to spread the paste through the holes in the stencil onto the board. You can see the silver-grey solder paste and the squeegee in the picture. Here's how you do the exact same thing at home:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=Ste nciling

Nowadays, SMT devices are soldered using a hot oven or hot air. Back in the day they just dipped the entire thing in solder or used wave soldering, which means the components had to be stuck on. This is no longer necessary, as the board is kept upright and the viscosity of the solder paste acts as a weak glue to keep the components in place until the entire thing is baked.

This device isn't suitable for a phone - it uses far too much power and makes far too much heat (the heat spreader sort of gives this away). Better suited ARM based devices have existed for some time. You can roll your own cellphone already (with efficient parts). The people at Spark Fun have already done it (making a rotary dial mobile phone) - and you can also get the chips there to make your own phone.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cP ath=96 - The Port-A-Rotary

And of course, MMC has already been stillborn for years. It's used by experimenters because the standard is slightly easier than SD to implement, but with dedicated chips to handle the grunt work, there's again no use for MMC. CF is slipping because the zillion-pin connector is too bulky. SD is still going strong with the introduction of SDHC, though the fact that the original standard puked at the 2GB mark is pretty embarassing.

However, USB's speed limit is going to become an issue pretty soon. What would be nice is a physical box size for SATA memory sticks. They're going to happen anyway, but if they all happen with different shapes (like USB memory sticks), you won't be able to design a camera or mp3 player that uses them as internal storage.

I've written to the SATA folks to ask them to define such a physical memory stick standard. If you think it's a good idea, please do the same.

From what I understand, the lack of Ogg support on many players stems less from commercial or legal concerns (patent issues vis a vis Fraunhofer notwithstanding) than from technical issues. Ogg needs more juice to decode, which means needing stronger processors, better means of heat dissipation, and a necessary hit on battery performance. Not that it can't be done, but it requires more expensive components and shorter battery lives.

Because it's currently very expensive (or impossible?) to get chip decoders for OGG Vorbis, because of lack of demand.

VLSI offers their VS1000 Ogg Vorbis decoder (with built in USB and flash interface) for $4 each, quantity 500. No doubt much less in higher quantities. You can get onesies for less than $10 from SparkFun.

Ogg Vorbis is actually a pretty popular encoding for low end embedded devices because there's no licensing involved.

The real problem is with digital music players that also want to be able to play WMA files (which is what Windows Media Player will helpfully rip your CDs to). I suspect that Microsoft leans on the manufacturers a little to make the firmware rather non-cooperative with Ogg, in return for WMA licensing. (This is the case with eg. Samsung YP-T9; the US/Canada firmware only wants to load via MTP, and the provided software doesn't recognize .ogg although the player will play Ogg Vorbis files if they have an .mp3 extension. Reflashing the firmware to the international version lets it appear as a USB storage device and load .ogg files.)

Ogg Vorbis is a great name (or names). Like "MPEG1 Layer 3" is so much better. Anyhow, speaking of the vorbis, here's a Vorbis IC for you.

sparkfun will crank out custom pcb's for $10 setup plus $2.50 per square inch. I design and contract out PCB's for a living and can't find anyone that can beat that price. I use circuit express for my boards, but they cost a *lot* more (although their quality is superb.)

He won't be able to do much with a single-axis gyro. Also I didn't see any mention of an accelerometer, or an altitude sensor. He would be much better off (and save some money) by learning how to solder and use real components instead of the overpriced lego stuff. For example, my current RC autopilot setup uses 2x IDG300 dual-axis gyro IC's and an ADXL330 3-axis accelerometer. Also a SiRF III 20-channel GPS module, a pressure sensor for altitude, and a set of Nordic 2.4 GHz wireless tranceivers. Right now I have everything tied into an ARM7 but a Nano or Pico-ITX might be in my future.

5-axis IMU ($109.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=741
2-axis gyro (use with above to make a 6-axis (double up on one axis) ($69.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=698
Altimeter: ($49.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=8161
GPS receiver, SiRF-III ($55.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=465
And finally, 2.4 GHz 1Mbit transciever to control it ($24.95 each): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=152

Add a GWS slowstick RC airplane ($35) and miscellaneous electronic pieces for a grand total of $370 or so. Not to troll, but I really don't see why people invest so much in doing things in legos when there's so much real hardware out there to play with.

He won't be able to do much with a single-axis gyro. Also I didn't see any mention of an accelerometer, or an altitude sensor. He would be much better off (and save some money) by learning how to solder and use real components instead of the overpriced lego stuff. For example, my current RC autopilot setup uses 2x IDG300 dual-axis gyro IC's and an ADXL330 3-axis accelerometer. Also a SiRF III 20-channel GPS module, a pressure sensor for altitude, and a set of Nordic 2.4 GHz wireless tranceivers. Right now I have everything tied into an ARM7 but a Nano or Pico-ITX might be in my future.

5-axis IMU ($109.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=741
2-axis gyro (use with above to make a 6-axis (double up on one axis) ($69.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=698
Altimeter: ($49.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=8161
GPS receiver, SiRF-III ($55.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=465
And finally, 2.4 GHz 1Mbit transciever to control it ($24.95 each): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=152

Add a GWS slowstick RC airplane ($35) and miscellaneous electronic pieces for a grand total of $370 or so. Not to troll, but I really don't see why people invest so much in doing things in legos when there's so much real hardware out there to play with.

He won't be able to do much with a single-axis gyro. Also I didn't see any mention of an accelerometer, or an altitude sensor. He would be much better off (and save some money) by learning how to solder and use real components instead of the overpriced lego stuff. For example, my current RC autopilot setup uses 2x IDG300 dual-axis gyro IC's and an ADXL330 3-axis accelerometer. Also a SiRF III 20-channel GPS module, a pressure sensor for altitude, and a set of Nordic 2.4 GHz wireless tranceivers. Right now I have everything tied into an ARM7 but a Nano or Pico-ITX might be in my future.

5-axis IMU ($109.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=741
2-axis gyro (use with above to make a 6-axis (double up on one axis) ($69.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=698
Altimeter: ($49.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=8161
GPS receiver, SiRF-III ($55.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=465
And finally, 2.4 GHz 1Mbit transciever to control it ($24.95 each): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=152

Add a GWS slowstick RC airplane ($35) and miscellaneous electronic pieces for a grand total of $370 or so. Not to troll, but I really don't see why people invest so much in doing things in legos when there's so much real hardware out there to play with.

He won't be able to do much with a single-axis gyro. Also I didn't see any mention of an accelerometer, or an altitude sensor. He would be much better off (and save some money) by learning how to solder and use real components instead of the overpriced lego stuff. For example, my current RC autopilot setup uses 2x IDG300 dual-axis gyro IC's and an ADXL330 3-axis accelerometer. Also a SiRF III 20-channel GPS module, a pressure sensor for altitude, and a set of Nordic 2.4 GHz wireless tranceivers. Right now I have everything tied into an ARM7 but a Nano or Pico-ITX might be in my future.

5-axis IMU ($109.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=741
2-axis gyro (use with above to make a 6-axis (double up on one axis) ($69.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=698
Altimeter: ($49.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=8161
GPS receiver, SiRF-III ($55.95): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=465
And finally, 2.4 GHz 1Mbit transciever to control it ($24.95 each): http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php? products_id=152

Add a GWS slowstick RC airplane ($35) and miscellaneous electronic pieces for a grand total of $370 or so. Not to troll, but I really don't see why people invest so much in doing things in legos when there's so much real hardware out there to play with.