Adafruit Weekly Editorial Round-Up: VL53L1X to VL53L4CD QT breakout, Build a Three button Foot Switch, E-Paper Picture Frame and more!
ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP
We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.
One nice thing about standardizing on Stemma QT is that it makes it super easy to swap chips out when new versions appear. Here we are reworking a VL53 breakout to remove the older chip and replace it with a VL53L4CD https://www.st.com/en/imaging-and-photonics-solutions/vl53l4cd.html which is a new time of flight sensor from ST. this one has lower range, only up to 1.3 meters instead of 4 meters BUT it can do much closer reads, as little as 1mm away, so it could be useful in some situations where the sensor could bump up against what it is trying to sense – video.
Build a retro input device that types the numbers you dial
The rotary phone dial is the pinnacle of user interface for satisfying, slow number entry! Originally designed for dialing phone numbers, you can now re-purpose this beautiful piece of machinery as a USB number pad to use with your computer or mobile device.
With the KB2040 Kee Boar and a bit of CircuitPython code, you can read the mechanical dial pulses and convert them to USB HID number key messages. You can also modify the code to type letters, or go even further and make your phone send MIDI messages.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New Python Releases, an ESP32+MicroPython IDE and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
