I hope that all of our U.S. friends enjoyed a fun Fourth of July celebration.  My Fourth was very exciting as we celebrated with good old-fashioned firecrackers which I hadn’t had the opportunity to do since I was a child.  Firecrackers, as you may or may not know, originated in China over a thousand years ago.  They are now used by people all over the world to celebrate holidays and festivals, such as Chinese New Year, Diwali, Purim, and many others.

So while I was out celebrating Independence Day, my colleagues were preparing for the new release of our XBee PCB Antenna – S1 (802.15.4) and our XBee Pro PCB Antenna – S1 (DigiMesh 2.4).  They are new and improved versions of our discontinued XBee Chip Antenna S1- (802.15.4) and XBee Pro Chip Antenna – S1 (DigiMesh 2.4).   These XBee modules now come with PCB antennas as opposed to chip antennas which allows for a more compact design, and you still get the same benefits of reliable data delivery and minimal power requirements.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with these XBee products, the XBee PCB Antenna – S1 (802.15.4) is a great module for low-cost, low-power wireless sensor networks.  It uses RF line-of-sight technology, can transmit up to 300 ft (90 m), and operates at 2.4 GHz.  While the XBee Pro PCB Antenna – S1 (DigiMesh 2.4) is for battery dependent wireless connectivity using the DigiMesh protocol.  It also operates at 2.4 GHz and offers network stability through self-healing and self-discovery.

As promised, Dangerous Prototypes has come out with a new acrylic case kit in their Sick of Beige Basic Case campaign.  The Bus Pirate v3.6 Acrylic Case v1 (DP6037) has been constructed to fit one of Dangerous Prototypes’ main products, the Bus Pirate.  Like all offerings in the Sick of Beige line, it is made out of clear acrylic and easy to assemble.  Have a Bus Pirate and sick of beige too?  You need one of these.

That’s all for now.  Until next time, keep on making.

(written by Erin Linke)

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