So, as many of you noticed yesterday, we moved our product posts from Thursday to Friday. It gives us more time to get them ready and also gives you more time to watch them over the weekend. For our first ever Friday New Product Post, we've got a lot of really great products. I kid you not, these are some of the best products we've announced!
Hopefully next week we'll get around to collecting some of the 'cutting room floor' footage from this week's video. We actually did build the treadmill and it's not only a lot of fun, but also incredibly scary.
We get a lot of requests for custom engineering work. So, instead of getting into special engineering projects, we just decided to make one product that will fit everyone's needs. The All-DoF does just this. It combines every sensor and development platform we make into a single easy-to-use board. Check out the description for a full list of features.
Rotary encoders can come in handy when you don't want a knob with a limited range. The rotary encoder breakout board gives you visual feedback of the encoder's position by using a ring of LEDs. The LEDs can be customized and are controlled over an SPI interface through a TLC5925 shift register. We have them in blue, red and green.
All electronic hobbyists need a good soldering iron. And what better way to learn soldering than our new Soldering Iron Kit! This kit includes all you need to build your very own soldering iron. The kit does require some basic through-hole soldering, which is perfect for using your new Soldering Iron Kit that you just built.
The Spectrum Shield is based on the same IC as the Colorganic Spectralizer, the MSGEQ7. Using your Arduino, you can read the representative analog voltage of 7 different frequency bands on your stereo audio signal. You can use it for all sorts of fun things, as you can see from the video above.
Nothing is more frustrating than making a silly mistake and smoking an IC. There isn't much you can do except just replace it. Thankfully, through years of research and development, we've come up with a simple product that can put the magic blue smoke back into those dead ICs. The Magic Blue Smoke Refilling Kit can get those blown ICs working again with ease.
Many of us have either an Andriod phone or an iPhone. The amount of technology crammed into modern cell phones is impressive these days. The Audio Jack Modem allows you to run a simple app and use your headphone jack as a data modem. Check the product page for the Arduino library and some example code.
We've had the LIS331 IC for a little while, and now we have a breakout board for it. This ultra low-power triple axis accelerometer has an I2C and SPI interface making it easy to use in your next project.
We have a new revision of the LilyPad Simple board. We've removed the ISP header and added an onboard battery charging circuit. So now you don't have to remove your battery to charge it.
We have a parts box that's slightly larger than our other one (used in the beginner parts kit). The box has 4 rows and removable dividers so you can customize the box to suit your electronic hoarding needs!
These pliers can get into places where other pliers can't. These can be useful for tight places, or when tweezers just aren't strong enough. They have the same spring action as our flush cutters as well as the same soft grip.
Adding to our collection of XBee Series 2 modules, we now have a 2mW module with an RPSMA antenna. Check the product description for an explanation of the difference between Series 2, 1, and 2.5.
We've been selling our GPS shield for quite some time now and we've never carried an appropriate coin cell battery holder, until now! This basic 12mm coin cell battery holder solders directly to the back of the GPS shield and gives you battery backup with the use of a 12mm coin cell battery. It can also make an awesome robot monkey head.
Well, there you have it, our first Friday New Product Post. Hopefully the extra day wait was well worth it. Thanks for reading and watching and we'll see you again next Friday.
I think you guys are inhaling a little to much of that blue smoke. MRI tests all around!
Best. Video. Ever.
Agreed!
A heartfelt thanks for making products that can be used by those with wheat sensitivity.
You're welcome. It's really all about the SparkFun customer community, though. We've had a lot of requests for gluten-free products as of late, so we pretty much HAD to listen.
Yes, thank you. I am gluten sensitive, so everytime I log on to the sparkfun website or get any sparkfun products, I come down with awful cramps... But now its gluten free! Thanks so much everyone!
What about those with lactose intolerance? I've been waiting for SparkFun to sell lactose-free solder for more than three years now!
On another topic, that rotary encoder breakout board has got to be an April Fool's product.
I will be ordering two soldering kits, so that I can build each one with the other.
Did you know the rotary encoder breakout is REAL?!?!?!
How many takes did it take to get that down without cracking a smile?
I have a feeling that you will be moving the new product videos back to Thursday next week. There was only one reason to have it on Friday this week.
actually, we ARE keeping it on Friday. We wanted it to run through the weekend every week. It just turned out to be a good week to switch to Friday :-)
Halfway through that video I had the same thought.
You should make a add-on for the All-DoF that includes a sonic screwdriver and a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator. That should then handle all the universal and trans-dimensional needs for all sparkfun customers.
Quick! To the TARDIS!
I got the Blue Smoke Kit as I have an Arduino Pro 3.3v that I plugged directly to a 440 volt 3 phase breaker box. I figured it would have more power that way. Nope. So anyway, I figured I could bring it back to life.
Then I thought... wait... why don't I use it on a NEW Arduino, and make it twice as powerful? That worked great! Now it has 64K of Flash and runs at 32 Mhz. The power of 2 Arduinos!
Can I just get the smoke shipped to me in Tanker Trucks? I'll need a lot to boost an Arduino into a sentient state.
:O :O :O Ive been dying to find a way to put the blue smoke into my chips again. I had this one amp and it blew- I dont know what went wrong, but anyways I got a sample of the smoke, and had it chemically analyzed, and I look forever for a way to make the smoke, but I just cant find any! Now I have a way to resurrect my chips! *Btw, the chemical compounds are made of radioactive funobtanium, a hint of blue dye, and a pinch of basil. Dont ask me why.
No, but seriously, I watched the entire blue smoke vid and believed it for a min, started getting skeptical, and then looked at the comments and remembered the date :)
Does the ALL-DOf come with a titmouse?
I hope you haven't tried resurrecting Dave with the Tetragrammatron phase inductance :) !
Tetragrammatron phase inductance?
Must be April 1.
It uses 'magic blue smoke' and You call shenanigans on the smoke concentrator?...
Errr... I hate April Fools Day. It jumped the shark years ago.
OK, had to stop the vid to post this after 18 seconds... First there's the shot of the break room and I think, "Hmmm?" Then there's Rob and what appears to be a 'stolen moment' and Rob turns... "Oh hi." oh no... Is this? Dave walks in, YUP! A porno!
Cool, cool, cool, harvesting energy....I've been had...
However, if you guys had figured out a way to harvest energy, you guys could change your name from Sparkfun to Sparkwin.
Um, they do: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9946
Damn you Rebecca Black....
"We've had the LIS331 IC for a little while, and now we have a breakout board for it."
Link for the breakout board is the same of the LIS331, this is a mistake or is part of the fun?
Sparkfun has 820,898 units to sell in 2,039 active products.
Come on guys! Lets help them :)
By the way, if you got to sell all those units, your profits would gross $4.359.028,83
What a number guys, congrats for such a great company.
The softmodem is an awesome thing. Most of the Hobbyists will love it because of two reasons. Arduino and Android !!!!!!!!!
What happened to the egg?
I really hope the New product post on Friday wasn't part of the April fools joke.
The reason for moving it to Friday - So we have more time over the weekend to view the video and products - Makes a lot of sense and is a very good reason to move it to Fridays.
The Soldering Iron Kit was the funniest one. I wasn't paying attention at the time until I noticed you saying you needed to buy a kit so you could build your kit lol.
No turboencabulator?
You do know by having New Product Post on Friday, I and your other Monster Customers can’t get their new toy until after Wednesday the next week. If I place my order after looking at your Friday Product post, means Sparkfun won’t be able to ship my order until the following Monday. Which means the earliest I could get my new Toy would be Wednesday. Talk about Sparkfun with draws. My paws are already shanking.
haha, Thanks Sparkfun for your 'Amazing' product post. I'm not going to lie, so yes.. you had me believing you for a second... But then , I too realised what the date was yesterday. :P
Thanks
lol love the circular dependency on the soldering iron kit!!
The videos should be cut up & shown on the product pages.
hahaha took my ages to work out the April Fools jokes, nice one xD
The All-DoF is the perfect datalogger to throw into the mouth of an active volcano. My project is to measure the depth of the lava by measuring heat and pressure. Can the All-DoF power harvesting feature convert the heat and pressure into enough electrical power to power a protective electroendothermic heat shield? I imagine this could run for years, and once it reached the center of the Earth it could continue to operate forever, providing a communication link from one side of the Earth to the other. I would like to make the first geo-centric satellite at the center of the Earth.
And im also starting to think the All-Dof board is fake... and it sounded so promising!
Nice, but I like my product posts with more kittehs pleeze:
http://hackaday.com/2011/04/01/sparkfuns-has-da-kewt-kitty-parades-of-stuf/#more-39174
I ordered the Soldering Iron kit, but then I realized I would need another to build the first one! But now they're on backorder with no option to order them!
When will they come off backorder so I can order one to build the one I already have coming?
To Words: Radioshack Firestarter
So are the pliers, coin cell holder, and accelerometer breakout april fools jokes too?
No. Just look at the product pages. If it's "Out of Stock" and "Not available for backorder" then it's an April Fool's joke. If you can order it then it's a real product.
This morning you were able to order the April Fools items, but since we sold all 50 All-Dofs and had another 14 on backorder we put a stop to it so we didn't spend the rest of the day fixing peoples order.
All your base are belong to us
The cake was a lie! So was the All-Dof!! And the blue smoke kit! :(
Thanks for getting my hopes up spsrkfun, though this is the only time you have dashed them...
Oh, and by the way, all electronics products are better with sparkles!! Presentation is key. :)
Are any of the products actually real? first one is fake, but the rest seem somewhat plausable
Even the Magic Blue Smoke Refilling Kit???
I love it!
I noticed that the ONLY thing NOT included in the soldering iron kit was the SOLDERING IRON! (It's really a soldering station power supply kit). If you wanted us to fall for the joke you should have fixed that.
You have to make your own from scratch.
April's fool ;)
Wow! That video sets a new standard for "smartasness", which is a quality similar to the "magic smoke".
Sure, but does the All-DoF have a dongle-arm to handle sinusoidal deplenuration? When will SparkFun start carrying Retro-encabulators?
I love the nesting with the soldering kit that requires soldering.
edit: It just occurred to me... how did they make the very first soldering iron, without first having a soldering iron? Creationism vs Soldering Evolutionism...
BTW that gag about the pliers is hilarious! Seriously, pliers with soft grip and spring action. That's so fake!
The All-DoF is definatly cheaper than a Turbo-Encabulator, by about $58,999,999,980.79, what a bargain!
I would like to see one included in the All-DoF though.
tweezers pliers gag- what you talking about? I have three of them in my house and they are great. Glad to know where I can get more if the tip breaks on one of them. Just keep them away from the girls in the house; you will never see them again, if they get hold of them. I still don’t know why I find them in their makeup kit.
I think the irony might have been lost here...
it's just the first version. we have a revision in the works to correct some of these issues.
Will the revision be available last week?
Hopefully, the next version will include temp and light sensors, which are mysteriously absent. Are you going to make this available in lemon-scent as well?
Median Transverse Copulation Device: Is this for the Male-to-Female unit? Sounds like a strange 'marital aid'.