MiniDexed quad DAC PCB design for Raspberry Pi 5 #PiDay @Raspberry_Pi

Simple DIY Electronic Music Projects presents the design for a MiniDexed IO board for the Raspberry Pi 5 which supports four GY-PCM5102 modules as described here: RPi 5 Quad Stereo Sound with PCM5102A.

This is based on my MiniDexed Raspberry Pi IO Board including provision for a SSD1306 OLED display, two buttons, MIDI IN, OUT and optional THRU and a rotary encoder.

It includes connections for four GY-PCM5102 modules using the four I2S lanes of the Raspberry Pi 5, but note that it is not intending to use the built-in 3.5mm stereo output of any of the PCM5102 modules but instead will hook up additional 3.5mm TRS sockets to the audio L/R/GND additional pins.

The design allows for either DIN or TRS MIDI sockets. The DIN sockets are mounted underneath the PCB whereas the TRS sockets (if used) will be on top with the other components.

Check out the design in the post here.

Pico MIDI “Pack” PCB and Build Guide

Simple DIY Electronic Music Projects presents the build notes for their Pico MIDI “Pack” PCB Design.

The absolute key, and really the whole point of doing this PCB, was to fit the circuit and two DIN sockets within the footprint of the Raspberry Pi Pico.

I’ve taken inspiration from the Adafruit MIDI FeatherWing I’ve used in the past, but the issue here is that the Pico is one 2.54mm hole spacing less than the Feather. I really wasn’t sure it would fit.

See more about the board here and the build notes here.

DRIFT Recreates Van Gogh’s Starry Night in Arles Drone Show #ArtTuesday

Designboom shared details about this shape-shifting drone display!

DRIFT presents Living Landscape, an exhibition of two immersive and interactive artworks, at LUMA Arles. To mark the opening of the exhibition, the contemporary artist duo staged a drone performance above the museum’s Frank Gehry-designed tower, tracing the movement in Van Gogh’s paintings using their swarming algorithm against the night sky. Titled Electric Sky, the performance is conceived as an extension to the recently-opened group show at the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, Van Gogh and the Stars, which celebrates the return of the Dutch artist’s Starry Night painting to Arles for the first time in 136 years.

Living Landscape brings together two installations, Murmuring Minds and Coded Nature, that explore swarming behavior to reveal the visible and invisible aspects of nature around us. ‘Our interest in forming patterns and our fascination with the sacrifice of our freedom to live inside the social structure—that’s basically what it’s all about,’ Ralph Nauta, co-founder and artist of DRIFT, tells designboom during the opening. ‘Also, our position within these forms, how we react to them, and what they mean to us.’

A 6502 computer using an RP2040 for heavy lifting

Olimex has recently launched NEO6502 an open-source hardware retro computer designed for educational and entertainment purposes, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used for retro gaming.

The board is built around a 65C02 MPU and uses a Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 MCU in a dual-processor configuration. The MOS6502 handles the Apple II, Oric, and Commodore 64 emulators whereas the RP2040 handles everything else including HDMI (DVI) video output using the PicoDVI project.

Olimex NEO6502 board specifications

• Processors
  • Western Design Center W65C02S 8-bit microprocessor @ 6.25 MHz with 64kB RAM, 32kB Graphics RAM
  • Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133 MHz with 264 KB SRAM
• Storage – USB Key (optionally can use SD Card)
• USB – USB-A ports for keyboard and game controllers
• Video output – HDMI port
• Audio – 3.5mm audio jack
• UEXT Port for hardware extensions
• Power – USB-C power supply connector
• Dimensions – 80×55 mm with four 3.3mm mounting holes

As mentioned earlier the board features a two-processor setup that outperforms older 6502-based systems, making the Neo6502 faster and more efficient. Additionally, it has an onboard buzzer that can be used for notifications or as a speaker while playing games.

Read more on CNX Software and it’s available from Olimex.

Giant Glowing Boulders Illuminate Singapore #ArtTuesday

Illuminated boulders evoke the traditional Japnese art of Iwagumi. Here’s more from COLOSSAL:

Iwagumi is a Japanese term that refers to the methodical arrangement of rocks in aquascaping. Usually taking on the form of bold, weighty stones resting among each other in opposition to open, airy surroundings, the distinctive art form appreciates and showcases the humble beauty of rocks. For the tenth edition of the i Light Singapore art festival in Marina Bay, art and technology studio ENESS pays homage to the creative tradition with a major installation titled Iwagumi Air Space.

The monumental work consists of sixteen prodigious rock forms placed within a grassy park, as if transforming the city into a gigantic aquarium. City dwellers wander around the rocks just like marine life exploring nooks and crannies underwater. Towering up to 13 meters high, the tallest structures mimic the upward ascent of surrounding city buildings. And although the visual indication of rugged texture makes each piece seem hefty, the bouldering forms possess a sene of weightlessness, as they are all inflatable.

See more!

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Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!

MoMA Presents: What is Mobile Print Power?

MoMA hosts Mobile Print Power tomorrow! Mobile Print Power is a multigenerational collective that co-create books, prints, and public sculptures with their communities. Using a pair of portable silkscreen printmaking carts, they explore social and cultural situations through participatory art.

Join members of Mobile Print Power for a participatory workshop focused on the collective’s educational process and methodology for creating art in public space. Mobile Print Power will introduce their 10 years of work as a collective through a collection of prints and ephemera, and participants will consider how they can apply these ideas, processes, and concepts to their own art-making practice.