As Good Buck Would Have It
This week, we introduce two new Buck Regulators, a new load cell, and two new interface cables to help you with your next GNSS/GPS project!
Hello all and welcome back to another Friday Product Post here at SparkFun Electronics! This week, we have five new products to show off so let's get to what they are! We start the week with two new Buck Regulators rated for 3.3V and 1.8V operations. We also have a new load cell (or strain gauge, for some) with an attached hook that allow for some pretty unique applications. Finally, we are going to wrap the week with two new interface cables to connect SMA to TNC. Let's take a closer look!
The SparkFun 3.3V Buck Regulator Breakout features the AP3429A from Diodes Inc., a 2A step-down DC-DC converter with an input voltage range of 2.7V to 5.5V. This full-size, 1in. x 1in. version of our buck regulator boards is configured to provide a regulated 3.3V output (from a 3.9 to 5.5V input voltage range), which is controlled by an EN (enable) pin. To dissipate excess heat, a 0.6in. x 0.5in. copper pad is provided to attach a heat sink to the bottom of the board.
The SparkFun 1.8V Buck Regulator Breakout features the AP3429A from Diodes Inc., a 2A step-down DC-DC converter with an input voltage range of 2.7V to 5.5V. This full-size, 1in. x 1in. version of our buck regulator boards is configured to provide a regulated 1.8V output, which is controlled by an EN (enable) pin. To dissipate excess heat, a 0.6in. x 0.5in. copper pad is provided to attach a heat sink to the bottom of the board.
This straight bar load cell (sometimes called a strain gauge) can translate up to 10kg of pressure (force) into an electrical signal. This particular load cell comes attached to hardware that ends with a hook. This allows you to easily install and hang your load cell. Each load cell is able to measure the electrical resistance that changes in response to, and proportional of, the strain (e.g. pressure or force) applied to the bar. With this gauge you will be able to tell just how heavy an object is, if an object's weight changes over time, or if you simply need to sense the presence of an object by measuring strain or load applied to a surface.
This is a 10 meter (33ft) long Male TNC to Male SMA cable with injection molded stress-relief boots. This is an excellent cable for connecting one of our RTK development boards to a high quality 'UFO' style GNSS antenna. It's long enough to connect to an antenna on the roof to one of our GNSS receivers. The TNC connector allows the cable to be connected directly to an antenna reducing the number of adapters and thus keep signal degradation to a minimum.
This is a 300mm (1ft) Male TNC to Male SMA cable with injection molded stress-relief boots. This is an excellent cable for connecting one of our RTK development boards to a high quality 'UFO' style GNSS antenna. Able to withstand harsh environments and field-use, it's long enough to connect to a device located on a monopole or tripod without having too much extra cable.
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! We'll be back with more new products next week so make sure to check back then. Happy hacking!
