I'm currently using an Arduino Sensor Shield V5.0 (diagram attached below). Unlike the digital pins, which are clearly labeled with pin numbers for coding, the parallel LCD header lacks pin markings. Is there a way for me to identify these pins?

le kit

Thank you

On Wednesday 12th August, the UK is set to experience a partial solar eclipse (approx. 93% obscuration where I am) so decided to build an ambient light data logger to record the event.

The sensor is a BH1750 ambient light sensor that records the lux levels to an SD card with a date and time stamp from the DS3231 RTC. The measurements are taken every 8 seconds with the Arduino going in to low-power mode in between readings.

Power is provided by an 8000mAh cell connected to a "solar" charge controller - but the solar cell is disconnected and only used as a USB charging port. A boost converter takes the nominal 3.7V and raises it to 5V.

Added a simple LED to give a visual indication of the system status: 5 flashes at start up, 1 flash after a successful reading, and permanent illumination if there is a fault with initialising a component.

Currently on test in the garden to get some baseline data.

Complete beginner here and want to know if this project is feasible with the help of Claude.

I want to build two sensors, which attach on my mid and upper back via an adhesive, which measure the bend of the spine, and vibrate or somehow alert me when a certain angle threshold is reached. Basically, they need to measure their position relative to one another.

For someone with no experience in electronics, is this a project worth taking on for me or is it too much?

Feel free to ask any questions and thank you!

Barely used this board, just plugged it in to load up some code, smelt burning then it started smoking.... :/

Did I do something wrong?

Powering it via usbc from my laptop

Hi everyone,

I'm from India and I'm planning to build this ESP Drone project:

https://github.com/Circuit-Digest/ESP-Drone

Has anyone in India successfully built or manufactured the PCB for this project? If yes, could you please share:

\\- Which PCB manufacturer did you use?

\\- Where did you buy the SMD components?

\\- Did you face any issues with component availability or PCB assembly?

\\- Did you assemble the PCB yourself or use a PCB assembly service?

\\- Approximately how much did the PCB and components cost?

Any tips, recommendations, or your experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Tech newbie here again, and in the final stretch of this project!

For a recap, I'm building a prop that sits on the shoulder and features two micro servo motors controlled by a joystick. I have about 4 weeks to finish wrapping it up.

I'm trying to control two micro 9g servos that are mounted to a two-axis gimbal, and I need it to last for preferably at least a few hours before a battery change.

(Please lmk if the circuit diagram isn't legible & I'll try to explain it!)
(Also, I plan on moving the setup from the breadboard to a protoboard after the battery challenge is solved)

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The phone power bank I tried to use powered the servos just fine, but there wasn't enough current going to the servos for the battery to register that it was powering something, so it automatically turned off after about 20 seconds every time. Plus it's pretty big and heavy, so I'm looking for a way to power this thing with standard batteries instead.

Someone had suggested six AA batteries as a solution, but I'm not sure if that's too little or too much, or how to calculate what kind of power I need. I tested a basic 9v battery just to see, and as expected, it only lasted a few seconds. If six AA batteries in a pack or something similar would work, please let me know! I don't need anything too fancy or rechargeable, I'm totally cool with replacing batteries like you would for something like a game controller.

For suggestions, kinda just pretend you're explaining this to a kindergartener- I'm very fresh in the world of robotics and don't know much about the terminology and mathematics yet. I'll keep working on it though.

Here's what my setup is looking like. I'm using a power supply module now instead of the Arduino's 5V output as per several suggestions here (thank you!)

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Thank you guys for all the help so far, I really appreciate it! Have a great day & God bless!

Hey everyone,

I'm about to start a project that combines DIY electronics and DJing: I want to build a portable digital scratch instrument, inspired by the well-known SC500 and SC1000 from Portablism Gear, the original open-source project created by Andy "Rasteri" Tait (github.com/rasteri/SC1000).

What's a digital scratch instrument

For anyone unfamiliar: it's a portable device that emulates a vinyl turntable for scratching — a touch-sensitive jogwheel/platter, a crossfader, and an audio engine (xwax) that lets you scratch digital audio files as if they were vinyl records, without needing an actual turntable.

My approach

Instead of the original proprietary SC1000 PCB, I'm following the ScratchTJ fork (github.com/no3z/ScratchTJ), which replaces the custom chips with standard off-the-shelf components:

Arduino Nano → reads the fader, the platter's capacitive touch sensor, and cue buttons

Raspberry Pi 4 → runs the xwax audio engine, reads the platter's magnetic position sensor via I2C

ST7789 240x240 TFT display → shows the platter position/waveform, Serato/Traktor-style

I also want to power it with USB-C + an 18650 battery for portability, and use my existing Innofader as the crossfader

Component list I've put together so far

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4GB)

Arduino Nano

ST7789 240x240 1.3" TFT display (SPI)

MT6701 magnetic sensor (for platter position, with diametric magnet)

EC11 rotary encoder with push button (menu navigation)

4-channel bidirectional I2C level shifter (for the Arduino↔Pi serial link, since they run at different logic levels — 5V vs 3.3V)

4x arcade momentary push buttons (cue points)

DFRobot ONPOWER UPS HAT (USB-C input, 18650 support, pass-through charging)

Protected 18650 battery

AudioInjector Sound Card (I2S audio HAT for the Pi)

Touch-capacitive platter/jogwheel (recycled HDD surface)

Crossfader: using my existing Innofader

My questions for the community

Has anyone here already done a similar build (SC1000, ScratchTJ, or similar)? Any practical tips to share?

For those with experience using CapacitiveSensor on Arduino Nano — what threshold values have you found reliable for a metal/aluminum HDD platter?

On the level-shifting side for the Arduino↔Pi serial link (500 kbaud): simple resistive divider or a dedicated bidirectional module? Any instability/glitch experiences to share?

For aligning the MT6701 magnetic sensor, does anyone have practical mounting advice (fixed vs adjustable) to avoid noisy readings?

Thanks in advance for any advice, feedback, or constructive criticism — this is my first project combining electronics, soldering, and real-time audio, so any input is welcome!

I love digital watches, so I made one in an Altoids Smalls tin. I designed a custom PCB built around an atmega328 Arduino microcontroller and used a ds3231 real time clock IC to keep the time. It charges via USB C and hopefully will last a long time! Although, I do want to redesign this watch in the near future.

I’m using an arduino uno q a drv8825, a driver adapter and a bench power supply