Earlier in the week, we attempted to update the NBitWonder site to shiny, new, and exciting NBitWonder2.0. The site update worked, but left a number of important functionality issues unresolved. In light of this, we have decided to revert the website back to the original WordPress framework (for now). Hopefully issues will be resolved at some point in the future, and we will be able to have NBitWonder 2.0, but for now, we’ll opt for the stable, reliable 1.0 version of the site. We regret any trouble this may have caused to our viewers.

For the time being, http://nbitwonder.com/ is being redirected to http://nbitwonder.com/blog, the home of the website blog for the forseeable future. The forum and wiki are both available as well, and links to them have been placed in the navigator bar. Please feel free to come join our community and contribute!

NBitWonder has been accepted as an exhibitor for Maker Faire North Carolina! At the event, we plan to showcase the various projects we have thus far completed and to spread the word about our community. The Faire will take place on Saturday, June 18, at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh-Durham, from 10am to 5pm. The Maker Faire: NC site has more details about how to get there.  While you visit their Web site, please check out the list of exhibitors.

We hope to see you there!

Big Announcement!

We do a fair amount of open source hardware here at NBitWonder, and, as such, it was desirable that we have a full-featured site (not just blog entries). So, the powers that be got together and improved the website to NBitWonder v2.0, featuring a forum. It’s BRAND SPANKING NEW and will be a community where people can discuss topics, NBitWonder related and otherwise. So head over to the forums, sign up, and join the discussion today!

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NBitWonder started out back in October 2009 as a simple html website. A few months later, in December of 2009, we upgraded the website to v1.0, which was based on WordPress. The site has served us well the past year and some change, but, like all good things, our needs have grown, and so it is time to make the site even better.

Tomorrow, we will be working to implement version 2.0 of the website, which will hopefully go smoothly. We ask for your patience as we implement the site upgrade, and then you can come to check out NBitWonder v2.0!

Forget Bejeweled and Bloons, fellow super nerds, there’s a new flash game in town, and if you play it, you just might learn something. Reader and fan Jeff tipped us off to several engineering flash games available over at Zachtronics Industries. Of particular interest is the flash gameKohctpyktop, in which you are an integrated circuit designer and have to design various chips using only metal and p-type and n-type silicon. Among the other electronics titles is the game Ruckingenur II, in which you reverse engineer circuit boards. Check them out, and, if you like them, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

(Thanks Jeff!)

This post was last modified on July 18th, 2011 at 11:50PM EST

In part 1 of the Mac OSX tutorial series, we installed X11 and fink on the system to enable open source hardware packages. Now, with that taken care of, it’s time to install PCB layout software.
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We here at NBitWonder have used Eagle3D to mock up projects prior to having PCBs produced (see an example here).  In the case of Ben’s ECE477 senior design project at Purdue, it actually saved the embarrassment of using an unintended package for the microcontroller.

The new release version includes better integration with POVRay, the back-end program that actually creates the rendering.  Check it out!

(via DangerousPrototypes)

I was browsing the web the other day when I came across this (via Dangerous Prototypes):

I stumbled upon this large collection of senior projects at Purdue and thought that there might be something you might like. These are great because they are fully documented projects. Its good to use to get a fresh idea or new outlook on a current project.

Being Purdue Electrical Engineering alumni, Ben and I are not only familiar with the above website, but personally contributed to two of the projects there. You can find my senior design project here. Ben, having recently graduated, doesn’t have his project archived yet, but will soon have his project added to the senior design archive. Until then, a temporary link is available to his project site here.

Update:  With the new semester, Ben’s project Web site has been archived here.

2010 was a great year here at NBitWonder. It was in December of 2009 that we switched away from our original website layout to our current , far more aesthetic layout. Since then, we have made tremendous progress on our site and projects. So, without further ado, let’s look at some of the highlights of 2010:
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