We've been busy on our sleigh delivering the tenth edition of Elektor Magazine around the world to newsstands everywhere so you have some great projects and articles to devour as a build-up to Christmas time!

 

If you're lacking in Christmas decorations this year, worry not, for we've got an UltiProp Clock project to light up your home. Counting down the days until you can open your presents will seem all the more festive and magical with the time & date floating in the air, so this project is definitely one worth getting started on as soon as you can.

 

We want to help you be as energy-efficient as possible, so in December's edition of Elektor Magazine we've got two projects that will help you make the most of all those stray batteries you've lying about the house. First off, using the USB-IO24 cable presented in a previous edition of Elektor magazine, we'll show you how to make a USB Battery Tester that will help you to squeeze every last drop out of every battery that you find. Instead of using a complex stand-alone meter, you can put the intelligence of a PC to good use for this, the only thing you need to add is the interface that we outline in this month's issue.

 

Our second project called Joule Robbin' Hood will make sure that you find a use for spent batteries after you've tested them. Using the example of a grow lamp (for the indoor gardeners out there), we'll walk you through creating a circuit that will drain your AA or AAA batteries dry so you can dispose of your batteries safe in the know that they're spent!

 

Alongside these dazzling December projects, we're testing the newly released BeagleBone Black platform and seeing how it measures up against the undefeated champion of the embedded world; the Raspberry Pi!

 

Of course, no Elektor Magazine edition is complete without the staple articles you've come to expect; our monthly Hexadoku puzzle, another scintillating Retronics article and a companion column from Gerard Fonte to boot!

 

Here’s a complete list of what to expect from the latest edition of Elektor Magazine:

• Elektor World

• UltiProp Clock

• Multi I/O for FPGA Development Board (1)

• Home and Office Network Tester 

• USB Battery Tester 

• Enter BeagleBone Black 

• The FlowStone of Wisdom

• Joule Robbin’ Hood

• DesignSpark Tips & Tricks 

• Surfin’ the RPi Wave

• Microgrids 

• Bendix 60B4-1-A AC/DC Insulation Tester (Retronics)

• Hexadoku

• Retronics Personified

 

The December 2013 edition is on sale now in the Elektor web store and in selected bookshops and kiosks (subject to transport delays).

 

Elektor GREEN and GOLD members can download their digital copy from the Elektor.Magazine website.