Author Archives: Glen

Building a DIP Switch USB Stick Using the Microchip PIC16F1459

Tired of editing XML and JSON files to store configuration settings for your hardware or software? What if we could go back to using DIP switches for configuration settings? Well, with the DIP switch USB stick, you can! No more … Continue reading

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The Scramblepad Hardware and Protocol

I first saw a Scramblepad on the door of an office building I worked at while in high school in the late ’80s. I always wanted to own one or to make my own based on seven-segment LED displays but … Continue reading

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Building a Simple RFID Door Access Controller

In this project, I build what is quite possibly the world’s simplest (and least intelligent) door access controller to let me open and close my garage door using my mountain bike helmet. We’ll take a look at my motivation for … Continue reading

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USB Knob Box Doubles as a Blackmagic Designs Camera Remote

I have a Blackmagic Designs Micro Studio Camera I wanted to use as a webcam for video conferences. Even with a 16mm sensor, it has better quality than any small sensor webcam. The only issue is all the exposure and … Continue reading

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The Interesting Multiplexing Scheme of the Grass Valley Series 300 Crosspoint Switch Panel

After reverse engineering parts of a Grass Valley Kalypso video switcher control panel and after making a YouTube video describing how I modified a Grass Valley Series 300 transition logic panel to be a USB peripheral, it was time to … Continue reading

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USB Panel Meters Enclosure and Windows 10 App

In the first part of this project, I acquired four round HUA SO-45 10 mA analog panel meters and built a board to control them over USB as a vendor-defined USB HID device. The next steps in this project are … Continue reading

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Converting More Vintage Grass Valley Hardware to USB

In this project, I convert two panels from a vintage Grass Valley video switcher into general-purpose USB input and output devices without modifying the original panels. This project required both reverse engineering the hardware and deciphering the software protocols used … Continue reading

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Converting a Vintage Grass Valley Button Panel to USB Using the Silicon Labs EFM8UB1

In this project, I convert a set of illuminated push buttons from a vintage Grass Valley video mixer into a custom vendor-defined USB HID peripheral. Like the USB analog panel meters project, this project uses a Silicon Labs EFM8UB1 microcontroller … Continue reading

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Building a Set of USB-Controlled Analog Panel Meters Using the Silicon Labs EFM8UB1

I’ve always liked the way these little HUA SO-45 analog panel meters looked, but, given the long lead times from China, I’ve never ordered a set. This fall, I changed my mind and finally decided to order a set. While … Continue reading

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The Single USB RGB LED

This project is a single RGB LED that is controlled over USB using a command line interface from a serial terminal window. A PIC16F1459 microcontroller implements the USB communications device class (CDC), processes the commands received from the user, and controls a single APA106-F8 8mm round RGB LED. Continue reading

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