{"id":1306,"date":"2019-02-26T19:42:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dubinko.info\/blog\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2019-02-28T14:47:47","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T21:47:47","slug":"new-maker-project-retro-name-badge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubinko.info\/blog\/2019\/02\/new-maker-project-retro-name-badge\/","title":{"rendered":"New maker project — retro name badge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you played pinball in the 80s, you know about 16-segment LED displays. They existed in the narrow technology window after mechanical switches and alarm-clock-style 7-segment displays, but before full dot-matrix displays or full video were feasible with off-the-shelf computer hardware. There’s something geekily charming about these old displays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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16 segments allow all alphabetic characters to be rendered…for the most part.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So naturally, I wanted to have a name badge made from these for FOGcon<\/a>, which was 8 weeks away when I started this project. I would, in 8 weeks, conceive, design, construct, and debug a name badge based on this technology. With a professional printed circuit board. And a custom-programmed 32-bit microcontroller. All powered by a USB power bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find all kinds of electronic gadgets on Indiegogo<\/a> and Tindie<\/a>, but these pitches are always shown in the rosiest light. Seldom do you get a real-time view into a project, including all the little missteps and backtracks that are part of any maker project. Well, watch on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out these videos for progress, starting with the schematic, revising it, creating a printed circuit board in KiCad, and revising it, then sending it off to get created, writing the code, and final assembly and debugging. Fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 1: https:\/\/youtu.be\/Esr7ikmgImk<\/a>
Part 2: https:\/\/youtu.be\/cYLeGpnjSIM<\/a>
Part 3: https:\/\/youtu.be\/CNB7D1jDIEs<\/a>
Part 4: https:\/\/youtu.be\/fbUxU1KzbI<\/a>
Part 5: https:\/\/youtu.be\/23AohMFF5ZY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the parts in a playlist<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I ordered the PCB in a 10-pack, there are going to be extras to give away to Patreon<\/a> and YouTube subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please subscribe to my channel<\/a> for the latest progress! -m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you played pinball in the 80s, you know about 16-segment LED displays. They existed in the narrow technology window after mechanical switches and alarm-clock-style 7-segment displays, but before full dot-matrix displays or full video were feasible with off-the-shelf computer hardware. There’s something geekily charming about these old displays. So naturally, I wanted to have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1183,18],"tags":[1235,226,1234,1206,83],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electronics","category-hardware","tag-badge","tag-electronics","tag-kicad","tag-led","tag-maker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t