57 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
layout: post
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title: "Two Small Projects"
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subtitle: "Audio and Arduino"
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tags: [electronics]
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###Breadboard Arduino
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I didn't really like the arduino when I first heard about it. It
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was vastly overpowered for any task I saw it used for and with the
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interpreted coding it seemed little more than an expensive waste of
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processor cycles.
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Then I went and bought one anyway, and I am happy to admit that I was
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wrong to think it useles. I remember opening the box, and ten minutes
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later I had used it to solve a problem which had been bothering me for a
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week. Now I'm thinking of getting a third one.
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The one I use the most is an Arduino nano, which can be seen sitting on
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my breadboard in this photo from a previous post
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This placement worked well, but I kept thinking about the big open area
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just to the left of the Arduino...
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So, one day I brought out the dremel and... perfect fit!
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To the sides are an IC holder I split in half and soldered on the back.
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It was a bit tricky to avoid melting the plastics, but I think it turned
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out allright.
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Finally, heres a picture of it in use for studying the timings of an SD
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card for my Z80 computer.
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###Mac mini headset adapter
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I use a Mac mini (mid 2011) as my main desktop computer. I wanted
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to connect a headset to it for skyping, but found out that the only
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connections are Audio out and Line in.
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The Audio out port, however, allows you to connect an
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iPhone headset and use its microphone with the computer.
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That gave me an idea, and after some searching I found
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[this](http://benttronics.blogspot.se/2009/05/audio-breakout-cable-for-i
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podiphone.html).
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Once again I heated the soldering iron and got this:
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Let me tell you, that four-pole connector is one tight fit.
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The top two connectors are wired in parallell and allows me to have both
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my speakers and my headset connected at the same time. It's easy enough
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to just turn off the speakers when I don't need them and I wont ever
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have to dig around behind the computer to connect the headset.
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