All posts by andre

Arduino USB Infrared Remote Receiver for Kodi

This project uses an Arduino Pro Micro to receive button presses from an old IR remote you might already have and sends keyboard presses via an emulated USB keyboard. I’m using this to control Kodi, but you could use it to send keyboard commands to any program. Hardware used Arduino Pro Micro, like this one … Continue reading Arduino USB Infrared Remote Receiver for Kodi

Arduino interface to MPU9250 / MPU9255 gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass

This post is a quick introduction to get an MPU9250  gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass module (so called 9 axis) connected and talking to an Arduino. I’m using a 5V Arduino Nano, because the description of this module says that it is 5V tolerant. Markings on chip is: MP92 / W864A1 / 1410   The library I … Continue reading Arduino interface to MPU9250 / MPU9255 gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass

Arduino ST7735 SPI 128×160 TFT Display Module

A quick guide describing how to hook up an ST7735 128×160 SPI TFT display to your Arduino and get the library to display something. Here is a link to the module you can purchase at BangGood: Smart-Electronics-1-8-Inch-128-160-Serial-SPI-TFT-LCD-Module-Display-PCB-Adapter-Power It came packaged in in an anti-static bag with a label indicating that it uses the ST7735S IC: … Continue reading Arduino ST7735 SPI 128×160 TFT Display Module

Upgrading Sonoff Wireless Smart Switch Flash Memory (ESP8266)

I’ve been playing around with the ESP8266 based Sonoff Wireless Smart Switch and I really wanted to upgrade the flash from the 1MB it comes with to 4MB so I can re-program it over wifi. I’ve already got custom firmware running on it, but I don’t like the idea of opening it op and hooking it … Continue reading Upgrading Sonoff Wireless Smart Switch Flash Memory (ESP8266)

PnP Super Animals Card Reader Barcode Generator

In this article I attempt to decode the barcode used for PnP’s “Super Animals” cards. It was done mainly as a learning exercise, and to play some sounds for my 2 year old son with the scanner. Scroll down to the bottom if you’re only interested in the generator. EDIT 2017-04-25: Just a quick note, … Continue reading PnP Super Animals Card Reader Barcode Generator

Programming an ITEAD Sonoff Wireless Smart Switch (ESP8266)

I purchased some of these wireless smart switches from ITEAD, but didn’t like that you had to use their app and cloud server to use them. They use an ESP8266 microprocessor, so I wanted to see if I could re-program it to load my own firmware. You can also pick up a similar module from … Continue reading Programming an ITEAD Sonoff Wireless Smart Switch (ESP8266)

Grafana and InfluxDB quickstart on Ubuntu

This quickstart assumes you know how to install Ubuntu and access it through a terminal (command line). EDIT: There seems to be a bug with the latest stable version of Grafana (2.6) and running on a headless system such as the one I’m describing here (Ubuntu Server). This bug causes icons not to be displayed in … Continue reading Grafana and InfluxDB quickstart on Ubuntu

Solderless method to connect ESP-12 module to breadboard

The ESP8266 ESP-12 module has a 2mm pitch, making it difficult to use on a breadboard with a 2.54mm pitch. Usually you are required to solder the module to a breakout board first. This is just a quick ‘hack’ to connect the module to a breadboard for some testing without soldering it to a breakout board … Continue reading Solderless method to connect ESP-12 module to breadboard

Raspberry Pi Pinout Diagram

Pinouts for the Raspberry Pi P1 header, showing pins that can be used for general purpose IO. I used some online sources to get the naming for the pins (source list at the bottom of this post). Some of the power and ground pins were initially marked as ‘do not connect’, but it has now … Continue reading Raspberry Pi Pinout Diagram

Raspberry Pi and Arduino via GPIO UART

NOTE: This is an older post, and instead of using a CD4050 it might be easier to use a bi-directional level shifter module. In an attempt to get my Raspberry Pi talking to my Arduino I’m exploring various different options. The first was to just use the USB connection, but that was too simple. So, … Continue reading Raspberry Pi and Arduino via GPIO UART