Category Archives: microcontrollers

Biosignal Amplifier Ready for Plug-and-Play

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Mirage335 Biosignal Amp Host Schematic (detail)HacDC’s biohacking group has developed a new, ultra-low-noise biosignal amplifier and released it under the GPLv3.

The Mirage335 Biosignal Amp makes brainwave (EEG), heart (ECG), and muscle (EMG) detection all possible without reconfiguration.

Mirage335 Biosignal Amplifier Setup

Lead designer, mirage335, writes:

This system is geared for maximum performance close to theoretical limits. Ideally, the lower noise floor allows us to confirm the presence or absence of weak biosignals, especially electroencephalography signals, when they become difficult to detect with other systems.

Analog (direct-to-scope) and USB (direct-to-computer) outputs are provided. USB functionality is provided by an Arduino compatible ATMega32U4 and LTC2440 24-bit Analog-to-Digital converter.

EEG and ECG (Wikimedia Commons)

    Other features:

  • USA companies provide all parts, including circuit boards
  • Safety oriented architecture. Multiple isolation barrier and surge suppressor layers.
  • Active electrodes, wet and dry designs.
  • Extreme common-mode rejection measures.
  • Lowest noise amplifiers, based on new thermal noise research.
  • Future proof. Modular SATA data cable architecture provides smooth upgrade paths.
  • Isolation amplifier. Safe, high-resolution analog output for lab equipment (eg. oscilloscopes), sound cards, microcontrollers, and ADCs.
  • USB support, based on ArduinoDAQ (ATMega32U4 + LTC2440).
  • Efficient, high-order IIR biquad filters notch out 60Hz, 30Hz and high-frequency noise, right at the embedded microcontroller.
  • Wide supply voltage support. +/-6V to +/-15V
  • Resistor programmable gain. 13000x default.

Mirage335’s effort was supported by these members of our biohacker group, contributing to the design, testing, and funding of this versatile device:

  • Shawn Nock
  • Sharad Satsangi
  • Stuart Washington
  • The Real Plato
  • Logan Scheel

Usage instructions are available on the wiki.

Complete schematics, PCBs, BOMs, 3D printable enclosures, firmware, USB driver software, and documentation hosted on Github:

Additional documentation is available on the project’s webpage.

Join the HacDC biohacking community’s mailing list: https://groups.google.com/a/hacdc.org/forum/#!forum/meat

NPR Segment on ArduSat features HacDC Summer School!

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NanoSatisfi's ArduSatHacDC’s Summer School 2013 was featured a few days ago in a NPR story by Geoff Brumfiel about the upcoming ArduSat launch. ArduSat is an Arduino-enabled satellite that you can buy time on to run your own Arduino-powered extra-terrestrial experiments that make use of the nanosatellite’s “STANDARD sensor package.” Read more about it and listen here (includes workshop photographs by NPR’s Heather Rousseau):

Tiny Tech Puts Satellites In Hands Of Homebrew Designers

ArduSat image 2013 © NanoSatisfi, Inc

HacDC Summer School 2013

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Attendees at Summer School 2013 kickoff kit-buildHacDC Summer School 2013 is doing a whiplash, 4-workshop tour of physical computing using Arduino, Processing and Sparkfun’s Danger Shield. A group of curious attendees, many from non-technical backgrounds that range from law and philosophy to the arts, have learned to solder by assembling the Danger Shield (DS). The DS is an ideal learning project and fits in perfectly with the free series’ exploration of physical computing. It has a variety of input/output devices and is well suited for simulating the kind of sensing and control of the physical environment that makers need for their home brewed projects and media art.
Soldering during Summer School 2013 kickoff kit-build
The workshops have covered soldering, the basics of Arduino programming and interfacing, a crash course on programming in the astoundingly great environment of Processing, and next week’s closing workshop will tie it all together when they will use the DS via Arduino to manipulate live video capture.

This popular series was designed and developed by a handful of HacDC members and we hope to eventually offer it online. It will complement a curriculum on physical computing with a follow-up workshop series on microcontroller programming and a lead-in series on basic electronics. Join our MeetUp Group to stay informed about future sessions.

Feel free to visit HacDC if you want to learn about all aspects of DIY electronics and programming, or to work on your own projects. We have a range of equipment that can help you make stuff!

Awesome photos by doubly awesome HacDC member, MissionControl! (Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Jimmie Rodgers stopped in to Microcontroller Monday

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Jimmie Rodgers (https://jimmieprodgers.com/) came by the space on Monday and gave us a demo of some of his cool Arduino projects, his kit business, and just generally hung out.

For those of you who don’t know, Jimmie is the man behind the Open Heart charlieplexed LED hearts and the LOL shield, which are pretty cool Arduino shields that he’s been selling through the Maker Shed. Either of these kits would make a neat learning-Arduino platform, IMO, and give you a fun finished project in the end.

It was great having him in the space! Thanks Jimmie!