What an Eclectic Week!
We have a rather unique slew of new products this week including Qwiic PIR Kits, a Satellite Transceiver Breakout, GNSS-RTK Accessories, CNC Machines, and more!
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another Friday Product Post here at SparkFun Electronics! As the title of this post states, we have a pretty eclectic assortment of products this week that offer plenty of options to a great many people. We start the week off with two versions of a Qwiic PIR Kit and a new Satellite Transceiver Breakout that utilizes the Swarm mini-sat constellation. Following that, we are going to take a look at three new desktop CNC machines from our friends at Carbide 3D and a GNSS-RTK Accessory Kit! That's not all, because we also need to show you the new XLR Interface Board from IQAudio, two Raspberry Pi Pico kits from Kitronik, and a 16MP camera module from Arducam. Phew...that was a lot. Let's jump in and take a closer look at all of them!
The SparkFun Qwiic PIR Starter Kit (1µA) and (170µA) each come with just the basics of what you need to get started working with passive infrared (PIR) sensors. Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors are great for detecting motion in a small area around the sensor. The SparkFun Qwiic PIR uses an EKM-series PIR sensor from Panasonic® paired with an ATTiny84 to interact with it using I2C with the Qwiic system. The EKMB-series PIR sensors are optimized for small movements to offer motion-sensing options for battery-powered and continuously-powered applications.
Looking for a low-cost way to send and receive data messages via satellite? This is it! With a clear view of the sky, the SparkX Swarm M138 Satellite Transceiver Breakout allows you to send and receive short messages. It works anywhere in the world, including the polar regions, far beyond the reach of WiFi and Cellular networks. It is perfect for a variety of low-bandwidth use cases: from connecting people and tracking vehicles, ships, or packages, to relaying sensor data for agriculture, energy, and industrial IoT applications. The built-in GNSS receiver makes it perfect for many tracking applications.
As a reminder: SparkX products are rapidly produced to bring you the most cutting edge technology as it becomes available. These products are tested but come with no guarantees. Live technical support is not available for SparkX products. Head on over to our forum for support or to ask a question.
These are the Nomad 3 Bamboo, Grey HDPE, and White HDPE versions, highly capable and durable CNC machines created as a small package fit for your desktop. Make high-quality 2D and 3D parts out of non-ferrous metals, hardwoods and plastics from a machine about the same size as an conventional or 3D desktop printer.
With GNSS you are able to know where you are, where you're going, and how to get there anywhere on Earth within 30 seconds. This means the higher the accuracy the better! GNSS Real Time Kinematics (RTK) has mastered dialing in the accuracy of their GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou constellation modules to just millimeters. The SparkFun GNSS-RTK Accessory Kit gives you just what you need to start using your RTK board for your project.
This the IQAudio XLR Interface Board from Raspberry Pi. This board is perfect for those wanting to work with peripheral with a 3-pin XLR connector. The board features a balanced pair of 3-Pin XLR connectors that connect directly to the appropriate pins on the 40-pin header on the Model B, B+, A, A+, and Zero Raspberry Pi lines.
The Kitronik Autonomous Robotics Platform for Raspberry Pi Pico is a fun and hands-on introduction to buggy robotics. The easy to follow booklet provided with the kit guides you through all of the steps required for you to take control of your robot. The Robotics Platform has been designed to grow with you and provided additional servo and ultrasonic sensor connectors for more advanced projects. This buggy requires a Raspberry Pi Pico with pin headers attached.
The Kitronik Smart Air Quality Board for Raspberry Pi Pico provides a complete air monitoring and reporting solution for the Raspberry Pi Pico. The wealth of onboard sensors and connection points allow you to log, store and display data effectively with the Pico filesystem and an OLED screen. There are also connection points for external devices, such as analogue sensors, servos, motors, and heater pads.
Based on the 16MP Sony IMX519 sensor, this new, low-cost camera module gives all Raspberry Pi users every bit of power they need to build future-proof projects. Though the camera boasts two times the resolution of the V2 (16MP), the exciting new feature is autofocus!
That's it for this week. As always, we can't wait to see what you make. Shoot us a tweet @sparkfun, or let us know on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. Please be safe out there, be kind to one another, and we'll see you next week with even more new products!
