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SparkFun will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th to support our team in being able to go out and vote! Orders placed after 2 pm MT Monday, November 4th will ship on Wednesday, November 6th. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Before we get started, don't forget that we are currently offering $10 off orders over $40 with the promo code RETROSPARK. Just enter it as checkout to get the discount!
We're back once again with a few new things to brighten your week. Well, maybe that's a bit optimistic, but there's SOMETHING on this list that someone's been wanting to buy. Check it out.
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The summer months are always a bit slower for us around here. If you're wanting more stuff to check out, you might want to look at our new tutorials over on the Learn site.
If you need a high-resolution triple axis magnetometer, check out the HMC6343 breakout. The HMC6343 is a fully integrated, high-end electronic compass module that can compute and give you a heading direction that’s accurate within a couple degrees. It is tilt compensated and is calibrated to handle magnetic distortions.
We have a new revision of our RFID breakout PCB this week. We've just cleaned up the board a bit and made it easier to use and a bit smaller. This can be used with the ID Innovations RFID modules like the ID-12LA and ID-20LA. The PCB makes it easy to use the modules with a breadboard or just connect wires to.
We have ANOTHER pack of addressable LEDs. This time they're 5mm PTH with clear lenses. They come in a 5-pack and use the popular WS28xx protocol found in so many addressable LEDs now. We also have these with diffused lenses, and in a larger 8mm diameter.
And lastly, we have some new bearings for our Actobotics products. These flanged bearings fit into the large holes in the Actobotics channels, allowing you to run shafts through them. They now come in 2-packs.
That's it for this week. Of course we hope to see you back again next week for more new stuff, see you then!
I'd really like to see some kits for the Actobotics product line. IE, beginner, intermediate, advanced / small medium large kits. This way, I can buy a collections of components, then expand off that base kit I purchased.
We are working on a few, the toughest part is deciding what people expect out of a kit when there are 400 possibly components to get. What kinds of things are you looking to build?
I'd love an Actobotics app in which you could input a design of your project and the app tells you what Actobotics parts you need to create it.
They don't have to be a kit like you make a sku with a boxed product. Just make a list on the website for a given item, with either a click that puts it all in our basket (awesome) or links to each component. One kit I want is a channel based camera slider with stepper control.
This isn't a bad idea either - maybe a link to a predefined set of "wish lists" off the individual product pages - something to help those just trying to figure out what's what. Typically though, when I buy in bulk/ kit format, I can see a small cost benefit.
I actually wouldn't put too much thought into it. Think of the Craftsman mechanics tool sets - you have the basic to every single item in it. Start with some smaller kits. Something like how they do with Tetrix: http://www.pitsco.com/Robotics/TETRIX
I think having complete kits is some what of a gamble. I think Sparkfun should have guides to building something. Like an arm, 4/6 wheeled robot, even up to a CNC frame. Sparkfun supplies most of the components to build these. Once you post online guides, you can go from there and supply a kit for the most popular one. This way, you don't risk too much. I can't believe I am telling a company this, but over the years seeing Sparkfun grow, I don't want to SF lose a dime. Sparkfun is a top contributor to the open source community and don't want to see that changed.
What I would like to see is start with basic moving robot kit, or maybe a mechanical arm kit. Both with a little bit of extra hardware to place sensors, etc. Then maybe add on kits so you could put the 2 together, or make the moving robot into some sort of figure, like a bear, alligator, or who knows what.
Can I get one with an extra long beard hair too? (1:14)