Adding a USB power port to a switch for IoT

UPDATE: You can find a brief entry on Adafruit blog, thanks!!!

UPDATE: You can find this project on Instructables webpage: http://www.instructables.com/id/Add-a-USB-Power-Port-to-a-10100-Switch/

Hi all! After some time out, due some hard work, I’m here again with a ‘one weekend’ project (in my case, with three childs. Sure it can be done in one afternoon!). I want to start some projects with Arduino and IoT, so the first things I need is an Arduino board, an Ethernet shield and a switch to connect it to the net. Also I need a power supply for the Arduino board, and I think that, better than a external USB AC wall adaptor or power supply, is modify the switch to add it a USB power port that can power the Arduino board. I’ve got at home a TP-Link TL-SF1008D, a simple 8 port 10/100 Mbps switch. So, let’s go to open it and add it the USB port!

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jechavarria is named Site of the Day on EEWeb

Today, the site EEweb features this web “Engineering Site of the Day”. For me is an honor appear on this category, and a great recognition of my work in the electronic world. So, thank you!!

EEWeb

“EEWeb is a premier Electrical Engineering Community for hardware designers. Focus areas of  EEWeb include PCB Design, Analog Design, RF, Power Management, Embedded, Test & Measure, and Components.

Engineers can setup their own profiles to post technical articles and projects, and also network with other engineers in the community based on interest.

The aim is to recognize the best technical websites in the world.

They aim to create a meeting point where engineers from across the world can come; a space for debate; a place to share knowledge and experience.”

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SIM900 USB Communication using MCP2200

Hi all! Here’s the new project where I’m working a couple of days. Since I develop the SIM900 module and test it, I don’t work with it. Also, I’ve got at home some samples of the MCP2200 USB bridge that I want to test it. So make an USB interface for this board was the perfect idea! This allows to use the SIM900 board with a PC, Raspberry or similar, with the plus of no need external power supply or control signals. Just plug the USB cable on the board and start communicating with the world!

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Phii: The app that transforms your road information into safety for everybody

Guadalajara, Spain (May, 2015) – INSPIDE has officially launched “Phii”, its first Android mobile app which will also soon be available on the iPhone. An app exclusively designed to avoid traffic accidents.

Although the number of traffic accidents in Spain has been steadily decreasing since 2001, last year still ended with 1,131 fatalities. Phii was born to help reduce that figure, providing safety to all those involved in traffic, and paying special attention to the most vulnerable ones, such as cyclists and pedestrians.

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LAMPAN Ikea

Hacking a LAMPAN Ikea lamp

UPDATE: This project appears on Hackaday’ Blog. For me it’s an honor, I only can say tanks!!!

This project starts a few weeks ago. My six years old daughter usually sleeps with a light on in her bedroom. Talking with her, we decide to hack her LAMPAN Ikea lamp to make some improvements, including a manual RGB controller to set the light colour, a timeout to turn off the light after 30 minutes without changes and a bluetooth connection to control the lamp with a smartphone or tablet. So, if you continue reading  the post, you’ll see what we develop! Continue reading

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PIC18F2550 breadboard

PICnano breadboard based on PIC18F2550

UPDATE: Thanks to Rando, now you can order this PCB on OSH Park. Thanks!!

UPDATE: If you’re interested in mount the board yourself, now you can download the Bill Of Materials (BOM). Happy welding!

Hi all! With a bit of delay, here’s my last work, a PICnano breadboard based on the PIC18F2550 microcontroller. I have in mind a new project and I want to use an small board, like the Arduino Nano board. This new project is battery powered (3,7V Li-Ion battery). After checking the schematics of the Arduino Nano, I see that the microcontroler is powered at 5V. Of course, I can unmount the linear regulator (U3) that is on the board, and bypass the VIN to the microcontroller power supply. But I think it’s funny try to develop a new module when you’ve access to the microcontroller power supply! Also, I want to work with PIC microcontrollers after many years, so here’s what I design!

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RPi Python Board

RPi Board, a board to learn Python with the Raspberry Pi

UPDATE: This board appears on Adafruit’s blog. I’m very happy with this, it’s a great recognition and I only can say Thanks!!!

I’m continuing working with Juan Brito and Danny Macancela from the blog Desafio Ecuador, developing new boards to bring near the technology and programming languages. Our last work is a board to use with the Raspberry Pi and focused to learn Python. The board has the basic elements to start with this language. Also, with the develop of the PCB we remove the wiring, avoiding troubles with connections, inversion polarity…So with this board you only focused in the software develop, because the hardware side will work!

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Prototyping Board to use with IP55 box

DSC04972Normally, when I start a project, I use prototyping boards to mount the components and develop the software. When the project is finish, I always have the same trouble: in witch box or enclosure I put the electronics? If you don’t have this in mind at the start of the project, it could be a serious problem. In these years, I discover that is more easy to first find and enclosure and then develop the electronics that do it backwards. Also, I usually develop systems for both indoor / outdoor, so protection against rain and humidity usually it’s a must. For these reasons, I decide to find a good enclosure and develop a prototyping board to use with it. In this post you’ll see the results!

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BeagleBone Black Board Dimensions

BB_OUTLINE

In the last months, I make some boards based on the BeagleBone Black board (three at this time!). In these projects, I only develop the hardware platform, the carrier board where it will be mounted. For the develop of this kind of boards, mechanical information provided by the manufacturer is very important, and enough in the most cases. In the case of the BeagleBone Black board, this info is included in the Reference Manual: BBB_SRM. But I don’t find some interesting distances that I need for my boards, so I take a board, I measure it and here are the results.

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K4S, a Keyboard for Arduino to use with Scratch

wDSC03591

Update: In element14 communinty says this project is awesome!

This project starts a few months ago. Juan Brito, author of the blog Desafio Ecuador, contacted with me to talk about Scratch and the opportunities that gives this programming enviroment in the world of education. In his own words:

I and Danny Macancela are convinced that increase the quality of education in schools and colleges do not require big budgets by governments. This ideal of change has led us to develop this project to teach children mathematics and programming. Children can learn maths with fables. The aim of this project is the search of the human talent growth, which starts in the classroom. As Fritjof Capra says, ‘Today we have the knowledge, technology and financial resources to build a sustainable future. All we need is the  political will and leadership’

From here, I also want to thank Danny Macancela for his illusion in the project and its economic support.

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