Your latest purchase

Whew! I know sometimes it takes longer to get here than other places- but that's ridiculous..

I just got the MAX7219 order... LOL.

8 5V Isolation Relay Module Optocoupler Driver Module 10A/250VAC, 10A/30VDC w/diode freewheeling protection, short response time.

4 Arduino Ultrasonic Module HC-SR04 Distance Sensor

6 SD modules way cheaper than any I've seen on eBay.

2 BlueTooth modules configurable as master or slave. They do sell non-configurables for less.

2 6-axis gyro + accelerometer modules.

8 IR remote receiver modules. At the price quoted I got extras. If I didn't, I'd need them.

2 20x audio amps and 2 200x that I can't tell apart by looking at them.

With registered shipping from HK and Paypal fee, $68.40 total.

intel i7 3770k
8 gb ddr3 2400 ram
ATI 7950 3gig video card

to upgrade my AMDfx 4170, 8 gig ddr 1866 ati 6870

now I have a phenom II 720x3 with 4 gig of DDR2 1066 and a geforce 9600GT to sell off

]:smiley:

Do you run flight sims by any chance?

no

Sounds like a nice Skyrim setup.

Another oddball item arrived today, a 75 foot Siecor Gold fiber optic cable. Two strands, tiny stuff. I got it on one of those 99 cent bids.. mainly because I haven't played with optic fiber and seventy five feet of it for a buck was a no brainer.

So, what exactly can I misuse this for? :grin:

focalist:
So, what exactly can I misuse this for? :grin:

Dog leash for the digital age? Strangle your wife with them and take her life insurance money? I have no idea; the fibers are so small that they aren't capable of much light output. I fiddled with some but never had much luck in the blinky light department.

Well the fiber cable may be a nice strong silicone rope :slight_smile:

However, I did finally land a good multimeter:

Amprobe AM-1250 True RMS Multi-Meter (used, tested good)

!E9s2fB+2)BRZdcU(Pog~~60_57.JPG)

Part of my latest DealExtreme order:
1 PIR module, including lens and electronics --- $3.50
1 28-pin ZIF socket --- $2.80

Yes, a ZIFduino is in the future works.

mouser.com is selling TLC5916IN LED drivers for 94 cents each (in quantities >= 10). I just picked up two fists-full.

Bought a couple of freetronics mega protoshields and stack header sets . A delight to put to use.
Returned the Duratech soldering station that stopped working after 1 day :fearful: and replaced it with the Dick Smith one. Still seems to be working after day #2.
0.7mm solder melts a little quicker, a big help.

Nearly finished this project so bought the Experimenter's kit to have some fun...

Picked up a Beaglebone black this evening :slight_smile:

Also received a big bag of various components from Tayda Electronics, arrived 10 days after I made the order.

Long ago I had local geek friends and sometimes we would chip in as a group and buy a bunch of something that was cheaper in quantity. I know that's not a bright idea over the net but I also know that if enough people want a thing at a better price then one person has a chance to get rid of excess after buying a bundle.

I've done this locally in my poor neighborhood with MP3 players and it worked fine but those were all people I knew who did buy from me at cost when the players came in. I didn't get stuck and everyone got factory refurb Sansa players for $12 ea just in time for Christmas giving. Same player new at WalMart was over $30. Part of my aim then was to raise awareness about prices and group action, poor don't have to be so poor, but that did not get through so well as the only pro-active one was me even after making the point.

So I am here now and there's an item that when 100 are bought costs 5 Euros each but when less than 100 are bought costs 20 Euros each. It's an audio module that I believe could work well and easily (I struggle with some others< STILL) with or without an MCU. I plan to get one to test and if it's what I think, figure out how to buy 100. I know someone who will want 20 and I will want 5 to 10 but the rest, I need to see if there will be takers after the units arrive, knowing that shipping won't be free.

http://www.vlsi.fi/en/products/vs1000module.html

VS1000 Module provides a quick and low-cost way to add high-quality analog stereo output to a system. It has industrial qualification and long term availability that makes it attractive for many applications.

Plays audio from micro-SD card or internal SPI Flash (or both)
Can be customized, both firmware and content
Can copy audio content and update firmware from micro-SD card to internal Flash
Triggered via USB, UART or IO pins
Line-out or headphone stereo analog outputs with SNR>90dB (A-weighted)
High-performance license-free Ogg Vorbis decoder
Supports variable bit-rates and many sample rates
Plays from internal Flash up to 20 mins, play time can be extended to several days by using micro-SD card
Firmware customization tool VSIDE is available for free
Single power supply 3.4...5.5V, Note: IOVDD is generated from internal regulators, IO pins are not 5V tolerant!
Low-power operation
Industrial temperature range

Note that the IO pins are 3.4V only, need voltage leveling to use. But it has USB and UART IO which I'm pretty sure that USB is always 5V and I think (please help here!) that UART is the same 5V as our serial and software serial.

Anyhow this is just to see how the idea is received.

Would be willing to go in on a minimum of 5, maybe 10. Would be willing to help with the hardware as I am not confident on the software. PM me and we can exchange emails.

GoForSmoke:
Note that the IO pins are 3.4V only, need voltage leveling to use. But it has USB and UART IO which I'm pretty sure that USB is always 5V and I think (please help here!) that UART is the same 5V as our serial and software serial.

No. From the datasheet...

Voltage at Any Digital Input Min: -0.3 Max: IOVDD+0.3 1 V
1 Must not exceed 3.6 V

It looks to me like the chip / board takes a 3.9 V to 5.5 V supply which is regulated to 3.6 V. I think it would interface well with a 3.3 V board.

@GoForSmoke, what is the minimum number you want to deal with?

I would have to find a way to get 100 at 5 Euros each plus any shipping.
That's already stretching it. I won't be asking for money up front.

If someone else with deeper pockets that wants a majority of the pieces wants to do the buy then I would hope to buy from them.

Looking on the web just now I see 5 Euros is US$6.42. I think that it packs a lot for that price.

Arduino will run 8 MHz on 3.6V won't it? I'd also be looking at if these things can simply be hooked up to button circuits as stand-alone.

I think that a guy like you would also be interested in a book like this:
http://www.vsdsp-forum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36

The book compiles together a lot of information, which otherwise would be difficult to piece together from different sources, such as datasheets, application notes and C header files. For example, it tells how to use all of the 22 input and/or output pins of the VS1053. The book explains the structure of the VS1053 audio path and teaches how to write VSDSP interrupt handlers in both assembly and C language. All of the examples use VSIDE, with step by step guide on how to obtain, install and use the graphical development environment.

In my current ongoing state it would put me to sleep but maybe some day again I could use the like of it.

Here's a VS1003 module for 10 euros.

Yes, I have already only I spent closer to 5 buying factory-direct. You know code and wiring that works for those by any chance? I don't. My docs are the chip datasheets and app notes that don't tell the module board so I have the same trouble that many do.

But that's not all. That unit has no SD or internal flash at all though yes, a better chip.

10 Euros for that as opposed to swinging a deal to get complete packages for 5 Euros.....

I also have 2 of those VS1003 modules. I've found several Arduino libraries and code for that module but I can not get it to play an mp3 from an SD card. I can get it to work in midi mode though with the library from Maniacbug. (Maybe we should start a new topic about the module.)