After much demand, I have finally got a USB-Boarduino kit! This is a little smaller than the Boarduino but has USB built in and a 500mA fuse. It’s pretty much the same as the Boarduino in all other respects - just plug it into a breadboard for ez prototyping. I presolder and test the USB so its easy to assemble
I figure I should also mention the other stuff I added in the shop:
For my UK, European, and Australian customs I’ve added a multi-country 9V adapter, available with the ever-popular Arduino starter packs
Stacky headers! They are just like every-day 0.1″ headers but the legs are extra long.
These are very useful for stacking Arduino shields!
A USB to serial converter…some people have been having trouble getting a converter that works well with the minipov3 so I have found one that I’ve tested and works well. This one plugs right into a USB port or comes with a USB extender cable.
Play the short video above to see what it looks like with 4 modules
In 1970, John Conway came up with a 1-player game called Game of Life. The Game of Life is a mathematical game that simulates ‘colonies’ that grow or die based on how crowded or lonely they are and is known for the way it creates a beautiful organic display out of randomness.
Here is a design for a simple electronic project that plays Conway’s Game of Life. Make one kit and keep it on your desk, or attach multiple kit modules together to create a large display.
Originally created by Dropout Design, this revision adds a few extra features. You can build the boards from the schematic and open source firmware, or buy full kits from the Adafruit shop. The kit is very easy to make and an excellent first electronics project. It is perfect for workshops since at the end everyone can connect their completed module together.
Features:
Each kit displays a 4×4 grid (16 LEDs)
Connect as many kits as youd like, in any configuration, to create a larger game board
Runs off of 2 AA batteries, but can be easily modified to run off of USB or wall-wart power
On/Off button to save power, also for resetting the display
Automatically resets if the colony has died or stagnated (regeneration)
Want your Arduino to check email? How about sending a twitter (which can then be easily forwarded to a phone via SMS)? Or grabbing data from a website? There are so many possibilites for projects that connect to the Internet to get data, now there’s an easy way to do it with an Arduino.
This shield allows you to add and use an XPort or XPort direct(+) Ethernet module (they cost only US$30-$50) using any 4 pins. All of the TCP/IP stack awfulness is done for you in the module so its super easy to just connect to any server.
Arduino is a great starting point for electronics, and with a motor shield it can also be a nice tidy platform for robotics and mechatronics. Here is a design for a full-featured motor shield that will be able to power many simple to medium-complexity projects.
2 connections for 5V ‘hobby’ servos with high-resolution dedicated timer - no jitter!
Up to 4 bi-directional DC motors with individual 8-bit speed selection (so, about 0.5% resolution)
Up to 2 stepper motors (unipolar or bipolar) with single coil, double coil or interleaved stepping.
4 H-Bridges: L293D chipset provides 0.6A per bridge (1.2A peak) with thermal shutdown protection, 4.5V to 36V
Pull down resistors keep motors disabled during power-up
Big terminal block connectors to easily hook up wires (10-22AWG) and power
Arduino reset button brought up top (Diecimila only)
2-pin terminal block to connect external power, for seperate logic/motor supplies
Having outgrown LaughingSquid (after nearly a year of faithful service!), I’ve moved ladyada.net to ServInt.
One of the neat side effects is that I’m no longer dependent on Amazon’s S3 since even ServInt’s minimal hosting package has more than enough bandwidth to cope with the traffic on this site (currently trending towards a perky 150G/mo)
Of course, if anything’s broked, you should let me know! I think everything should be a bit faster and nicer now…
Tired of all those LCD TVs everywhere?
Want a break from advertisements while you’re trying to eat?
Want to zap screens from across the street?
The TV-B-Gone kit is what you need! This ultra-high-power version of the popular TV-B-Gone is fun to make and even more fun to use. It has 4 ultra-high power IR LEDs for awesome range, we’ve had success from more than 100′ away.
I got these PCB’s last week and now the webpage for it is up & kits in the shop! This is a nifty little Arduino clone kit. With an FTDI USB cable, it is pretty much just like an Arduino but can be plugged into a solderless breadboard for prototyping ease.
* Designed to plug into a breadboard for easy prototyping
* Petite size, only 3″ x 0.8″ (75mm x 20mm)
* All ’standard’ pins are brought out - Digital 0 thru 13, Analog 0 thru 5, ARef, 5V, Ground, Vin and Reset
* Chip comes preprogrammed with my “no-wait” Arduino bootloader
* 2 LEDs, green power and red “pin 13″ just like the Arduino Diecimila
* Available as a low cost kit with standard parts, so its never out of stock
* All through-hole parts are easy to solder
* Reset button
* ATmega168, running at 16.00 MHz, just like the NG and Diecimila
* 6-pin standard ICSP header
* Standard 2.1mm DC jack (just like the original) with 5V regulator to run on 7V-17V power
* 1N4001 diode protects against using incorrect wall adapter
* 6-pin header at the end for a USB-TTL cable
* Auto-reset capability when used with a USB-TTL cable
Third, I have an Arduino Starter Pack which is a bundle of stuff that will get you going with Arduino hacking with ease!
There’s an Arduino, USB cable, proto shield kit, tiny breadboard (goes on top of protoshield), 9V wall adapter, 9V battery holder, and a bag of parts that will get you started with my Arduino Tutorial lessons 0-6
After weeks and weeks of waiting, I got a box of Arduinos! To celebrate I put them on sale, only $33.25 each! Hopefully I can keep them in stock…Check ‘em out here
Summer means tank-tops, air-conditioner installation and new kits!
This kit is something I’ve wanted for a while. Its an all-through-hole USB AVR programmer for a bit over $20, with both 6 and 10 pin cables and a jumper for powering the target board from the USB hub’s 5V power. It can also be used with SpokePOV kits to upload images and configuration (finally!)
A simple open-source USB AVR programmer and SPI interface. It is low cost, easy to make, works great with avrdude, is AVRStudio-compatible and tested under Windows and MacOS X. Perfect for students and beginners, or as a backup programmer.
The project is based off of the USBtiny code & design. The main improvements are: adjusting the code to allow it to act as a SpokePOV interface, adding lowlevel bitbang commands, and addition of a “USB good” LED. Other changes are new VID/PID (to make it official), removing some of the commands, and moving around the pins a bit.
You can build this design using the schematic and firmware, or buy a kit from the Adafruit webshop. Having a full kit available solves the “chicken & egg” problem of purchasing or building a USB programmer that then needs a programmer of some sort to ‘kick start’. (See USBasp, AVRdoper, USBprog)
All the firmware code is distributed under the GPL, the hardware design layout files are CC 2.5 Attrib./Share-alike
