First off, a quick note about classes. All of the SparkFun class offerings have been moved from the SparkFun website, to the SparkFun Education website, learn.sparkfun.com. So if you are looking for an electronics class, head over there! Now back to regularly scheduled programming...
Hello everyone. Another week has passed and it's time to talk about the new products for this week. First, here's this week's video with my top picks.
Vimeo link can be found here.
Now that we have all three of our tool kits back in stock, and in the new packaging, choosing the right one should be easy!
The Beginner Tool Kit gives you everything you need to get your feet wet with electronics and soldering. It includes a basic soldering iron, some solder, wick, and a few other tools.
As I said in the video, we make mistakes from time to time. Our PCB supplier sent us these lovely purple PCBs for the DC/DC converter. Unfortunately, we don't use the thin, purple LilyPad PCBs for them. Somehow they made it through production, testing, and to receiving before we noticed they weren't right. The good news is that they work, and are ever-so-slightly thinner than the standard version. These purple DC/DC converters are great for supplying up to 5.5V at 6A to your project, in style.
With the Arduino Leonardo coming soon, why not get a jump on messing around with the ATmega32U4? We have it in the TQFP package, which isn't so scary once you get the hang of it. The ATmega32U4 is currently used on our Pro Micros, as well as the FIO V3. Now you don't need an ATmega8U2 or FTDI chip, you can just use the single ATmega32U4 for everything!
We finally have the ProtoSnap LilyPad E-Sewing Kit back in stock! And this version comes with a fabric swatch (like the TechStyles Kit) so once you're ready, you can snap everything apart and start sewing it into a design. In addition to the fabric, it includes a set of needles, some thread, and a coin cell battery.
And lastly, we have the RedBoard Breadboard Kit. This kit replaces the Breadboard Arduino Compatible Parts Kit. Basically, it's a bunch of parts that you can breadboard and make your very own Arduino compatible microcontroller. Look for more RedBoard products in the future!
Thanks for reading. Check back next week for more new products. We should have some pretty cool stuff next week, so be sure to see what we have.
I laughed so hard! "purple, this is purple"
I wonder if there will be a major overhall of the retail site to look more like the learn.sparkfun.com site in the near future???
New link for classes, huh? I can't find any classes there or events (like the Summer Semester class or the AVC). Is the new site not quite up yet?
Re: adjustable temp vs non adjustable temp. (A constant and consistent temp that is appropriate for good flow and wetting with the chosen solder is more important)
When soldering one should not increase the temperature of the iron when soldering larger thermal masses. This is a common misconception and a good way to burn up components due to excess heat. The reason is that people confuse Heat and Temperature which are not the same. instead leave the temperature of the iron constant and use a more appropriately sized tip such that the needed thermal mass of the iron better matches the thermal mass of what you are trying to solder.
Arduino Leonardo!? I've been waiting for months!
How does AVC fit in with the class switch to learn.sparkfun.com?
Wasn't the retail pro mini new this week?
Yeah it is... Robert fix that.
Fixed. No longer on the new list ;-) It just got a picture update and got accidentally refreshed on the new list.
Don't worry Rob I'm Red/Blue colorblind and I thought it was pink too, LOL ;)