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Photo stories have proved popular on Electronics Weekly since we launched them last year, and I thought Gadget freak deserved a place in the gallery sun...Continue reading "Photo Story - Classic Gadget Freak projects" »
Fancy taking the latest Circuit Challenge?
We like to hear about retro-East German electronics on Gadget Freak - see Hans' Nixie clock takes a step back in time - and here is another, the Soemtron Calculator.Continue reading "The Soemtron Calculator from East Germany lives on" »
Thanks to reader Tim Asquith for sharing this project to enable correct charging of batteries: he has modified a Timeguard TG85 Dawn to Dusk Sensor to a 1 to 24 hour NiCad battery charger timer adaptor."I have grown up using NiCad batteries and with proper use they least a long time," writes Tim. "Fully charge to total discharge, no over charge, no half charging. Most household handheld equipment, like small vacuum clearers, have NiCad's but have no real control over charging times."
Continue reading "From Dawn to Dusk Sensor to Timer Charger" »
The best way to get the very latest Gadget Freak posts as soon as they are published? RSS!
Continue reading "Let the latest Gadget Freak posts come to you, with RSS" »
Time for the monthly roundup, looking at the most popular posts on Gadget Freak, to see what your peers have been reading in February.
Continue reading "Most read Gadget Freak posts in February" »
Continue reading "iPod nano Altec Lansing Speaker Docs competition" »
Ahead of the imminent March / April competition, here is another themed collection of posts. A bit recondite, this one, but regular readers have probably noticed a few musical references creeping into Gadget Freak posts over the years.
Time once again for a choice pick of gadgets from the latest CE crop...Continue reading "Gadget of the Week: USB 3.0 SATA Dual HDD Dock" »
For those seeking circuit design inspiration, a new Design Idea has been uploaded to the site, on the topic of expanding the I/O of a pin-limited microcontroller.The prototype display uses Kingbright's SC52-11EWA high-efficiency LEDs, which emit 2000 to 5600 µcd at a forward current of 10 mA. The driver is a 12-stage NXP 74HCT4040 binary counter or a 74HC4040 version for a lower power supply.
Continue reading "Circuit Design Idea: Drive 12 LEDs with one I/O line" »
Having one of those days? Work driving you mad? Just can't seem to find the time to visit Gadget Freak as much as you would like to?
Well, don't stress, help is at hand. If you can't come to us, we'll come to you!
You can now sign up for the Circuits newsletter to ensure you receive the latest and greatest Gadget Freak news, hot and fresh, straight into your inbox!
Signing up only takes a second and then you can sit back and relax as we do the rest.
Continue reading "Sign up for the Circuits-Gadget Freak newsletter" »
We've all been there. You wake in the middle of the night, it's still dark, but you are not sure how many precious hours you have before work (or minutes, even, in the winter). 
Time for the monthly round-up looking at the most popular posts on Gadget Freak, to see what your peers have been reading in January. Continue reading "Most read Gadget Freak posts in January" »
Ah, Steampunk. We love the fuggy, Victorian-inspired retro-futuristic reworkings. Cast an eye, for example, on this modified iPod Nano (1st Gen). A Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-inspired eye-pod, geddit?"The "eye-Pod" can be worn on the wrist via the leather cuff, or placed on it's custom Victrola base. All functionality of the iPod remain intact and a hidden USB cord retracts from the base to either a wall charger or your computer. There are hidden pressure plates that when touched send a strobing "static charge" into the quartz crystals on either side of the magnified viewing portal. Music can be heard either through the Victrola horn or though a portable personal hearing apparatus."Apparently, it features in a Steampunk exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, at Oxford University.
Continue reading "Steampunk iPod Nano and Nintendo Gameboy" »
What shall we use to fill the empty spaces?...Keep people as pets, race dogs, train rats, fill the attic with cash, bury treasure, store up leasure, but never relax, at all...Empty Spaces, Pink Floyd (The Wall)
Want to take control of your gadgets or household systems, via your mobile? Read on...Thanks to the GSM technology, inexpensive cellular telephones and the SMS (short message service) messages, it is now possible to build a gadget that fills these needs. Using the serial port incorporated in the mobile telephones. it is possible to design an SMS remote controller systems.
Continue reading "Head-mounted video system runs on Linux" »
It's time for the January/February Gadget Freak compo! It's now kindly sponsored by DigiKey.
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Bernard on The Soemtron Calculator from East Germany lives on: Searching using Centronics did not find
Teek on The Soemtron Calculator from East Germany lives on: That looks like it might fit a 32 pin ce
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