November Swag Bag: Double Freebies

Last week I won the weekly trivia quiz from Tier1Automation, and came dead last in the 43oh Halloween competition with my Jack-O'-Launchpad — but still won the booby prize of 2 MSP430 Launchpad v1.4 PCBs. The freebies arrived in the same post. Good times!

Bike Handlebar Hack

Now here is a real hack. As in, something that can be accomplished by hacking, with a hacksaw. Although in fact it was an angle grinder that I used to streamline my handlebars, lopping off 13 cm (5" or so).

Bike Rack From Scrap Fence

Something had to be done with the heap of bikes in the garage. Fence panels welded along the edges made for a quick and cheap solution.

Stripboard PID Arduino Shield, Part 4: Thermocouple Interface

The diagram shows how to connect an Adafruit MAX31855 breakout board to the stripboard Arduino PID shield. Vin should connect to the 5V pin and DO, CS, and CLK to A0, A1, and A2 respectively. Connect a K thermocouple in the screw terminals. If the temperature reading goes down when it should go up, switch the thermocouple wires around.

Stripboard PID Arduino Shield, Part 3: Serial Interface

The graphical user interface allows every feature of the Arduino PID controller shield to be governed remotely via the serial interface. A powerful additional feature is the ability to set multi-stage temperature profiles for applications where the set point changes over time.

Stripboard PID Arduino Shield, Part 2: Firmware

Install the code base for the stripboard Arduino PID shield and get started using it as a standalone temperature controller.

Stripboard PID Arduino Shield, Part 1: Hardware

This easy-to-make shield converts your Arduino into a full-featured PID controller.