New Product Post
We are really excited as the Shenzhen Mini Maker Faire is only a few days away. In Chinese we call it 制汇节 which roughly translates to make gather festival. We are really proud to be sponsoring this event. We see it as an opportunity to highlight the local talent and products and bring a little flair to the global Maker community. We can’t wait to see all of the diverse groups of people gather and share their innovative ideas. In preparation for the fair, we’ve received a large number of new products, and we’ve been busy restocking a few more.
First up is Dragrove, an OpenWrt WiFi gateway. This is a great product that incorporates a lot features into one compact form factor. Dragove marries the open ousource flexibility and WiFi capability of Dragino with the monitoring and controlling features of the built-in Arduino compatible daughter board. It gives you the option to send data generated via your Arduino board over the internet with ease. In addition, it includes Grove interfaces for off-the-shelf integration of sensors and actuators and a Bee socket for adding networks like XBee, etc. There’s no limit to what you can do, and it will take you further than you expected.
For those radio buffs we have the PLL FM(88~108MHz) Stereo Audio Transmitter Module and the PLL FM(88~108MHz) Stereo Audio Receiver Module. The transmitter module transmits voice and/or music signals wirelessly to FM radios or receivers, while the receiver module receives the voice and/or music signals. The beauty of these items is that you aren’t limited to a single frequency or several predetermined frequencies; you have the whole range of FM signals between 88 – 108MHz at your disposal. What’s more, the modules include the PLL (phase-locked loop) system for frequency stability, and they’re very small, so they’re perfect for integration into your stereo or radio applications.
From Wayne and Layne who brought you the Video Game Shield Kit, we have four new LED kits. The Blinky Grid Blue and the Blinky Grid Red kits include 56 LEDs to manipulate for simple animation or text. Or if you would like to add a bit of motion, we have the Blinky POV Blue and Blinky POV Red kits. These kits maximize the space on your PCB by using POV, persistence of vision. POV creates an LED scroll effect with only one column of LEDs. All of these kits require no special cables or programming knowledge. There’s even a tutorial to help you design and upload messages to your Blinky Grid kit or Blinky POV kit.
No need to stress over figuring out simple collisions anymore. Forget the accelerometer and complex collision detection algorithms; use the Grove – Collision Sensor. This stable, omni-directional sensor works on the simple premise of creating a pulse every time a collision is detected. The onboard circuit processes the pulse to reduce the jitters and make the signal more stable. If you’ve ever wanted to add this feature to your project, no you can with ease.
Last week we talked about the 2xAA Battery Holder. This week we have a similar item, the 2 x AA Battery Holder with On/Off Switch and Slider Cover. Like our standard battery holder, it’s also a great companion for your portable projects, and it has a couple of really cool features that make it unique. The case is made of clear plastic, and includes a slide-on cover. The pre-attached leads are also sheathed in clear plastic, so that you have a very streamlined and sexy look. Plus, the On/Off switch is a convenience that can’t be beat.
We have a new product in Shenzhen 2 U, our online electronics market. The Magnifying Glass with LED is a great tool that fits in your pocket. It has two lenses with different magnifying strengths to help you see the small lettering on micro-chips or the fine print on PCBs. If the light is dim, there’s no need to worry, as this magnifying glass has a white LED to help you out.
For those of you who missed out on the LED Strip and EL Wire offerings in Shenzhen 2 U, we’ve received a whole new shipment of products. In addition, we’ve updated the spec information, so that everything is a bit clearer. With all those great colors and accessories, it’s time to stock up.
That’s all for now. Until next time, keep on making.
(written by Erin Linke)
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