Digilent Analog Discovery 2 from SparkFun!

The Digilent Analog Discovery 2 is a USB oscilloscope and multi-function instrument that allows users to measure, visualize, generate, record, and control mixed-signal circuits of all kinds. Developed in conjunction with Analog Devices and supported by Xilinx University Program, Analog Discovery 2 is small enough to fit in your pocket, but powerful enough to replace a stack of lab equipment, providing engineering students, hobbyists, and electronics enthusiasts the freedom to work with analog and digital circuits in virtually any environment, in or out of the lab.   The analog and digital inputs and outputs can be connected to a circuit…

Using LEDs as Light Sensors

Using an LED as a light detector is nothing new. However, it seemed like a cool trick that deserved some more love, as it can be done with an Arduino and a single LED. I’ll briefly go over the science involved, and then give a couple of example projects.  

SparkFun 3D Printed Tattoo Machine

Today on Tech Talk Tuesday, we’re gonna talk about tattoo machines! If you’ve seen me on the site before, you’ve probably noticed that I have a few tattoos and I’m not the only one. In fact, almost half of all adults between 26 and 40 have at least one tattoo. Turns out they’re not just for sailors anymore! That being said, most people aren’t aware that the modern tattoo machine was essentially invented by our old friend (or nemesis?) Thomas Edison.   You see, in 1876, Edison patented a device which he called a Stencil-Pen. While the first iteration of…

SparkFun 9DoF Sensor Stick

The SparkFun 9DoF Sensor Stick is an easy-to-use 9 Degrees of Freedom IMU. The Sensor Stick deftly utilizes the LSM9DS1 motion-sensing system-in-a-chip, the same IC used in the SparkFun 9DoF IMU Breakout. It houses a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, and 3-axis magnetometer – nine degrees of freedom (9DoF) in a single IC!   The LSM9DS1 is equipped with a digital interface, but even that is flexible. The biggest difference between the two boards, besides the slimmed down 0.9″x0.4″ footprint, is the number of broken-out pins, with the Sensor Stick featuring only four for quick setup and ease of use.  …

Teensy Prop Shield from SparkFun!

We show off the new Prop Shield and Prop Shield LC from PJRC. As the board is tilted front to back (pitch), the LED brightness and audio volume changes, and as it is tilted from side to side (roll), the LED color and audio frequency changes.  

SparkFun Toy Car Speed Trap

In this project, we show you how to create a chronograph for your toy cars that displays their speed in m/s.  

Lidar Lite V3 from SparkFun!

It’s back! This is the LIDAR-Lite v3, a compact, high-performance optical distance measurement sensor from Garmin™. When space and weight requirements are tight, the LIDAR-Lite v3 soars. The LIDAR-Lite v3 is the ideal solution for drone, robot or unmanned vehicle applications.   This easy-to-use 40-meter laser-based optical ranging sensor has all the core features that made the LIDAR-Lite v2 so popular. Small in form and light in weight with low power consumption of less than 130mA during an acquisition. And it’s user-configurable so you can adjust between accuracy, operating range and measurement time.   Each LIDAR-Lite v3 features an edge-emitting,…

SparkFun Proto Pedal!

The SparkFun Proto Pedal is an easy-to-assemble kit that makes building guitar effect pedals easier. Let’s face it, most guitar pedals start with all-too-similar circuitry – you need the input and output jacks, the bypass switch, and a barrel jack for power input. In some pedals, there may be as much wiring involved in the jacks and switch as there is in the effect itself. The SparkFun Proto Pedal takes care of the hard part and provides you with a simple infrastructure; all you need to do is decide what simple circuit to make to gain your desired effect, and…

Vintage Raspberry Pi Camera from SparkFun!

Teensy 3.5 and 3.6 from SparkFun

The Teensy is a breadboard-friendly development board with loads of features in a, well, teensy package. Each Teensy 3.6 comes pre-flashed with a bootloader so you can program it using the onboard USB connection; no external programmer needed! You can program for the Teensy in your favorite program editor using C or you can install the Teensyduino add-on for the Arduino IDE and write Arduino sketches for it!   The processor on the Teensy also has access to the USB and can emulate any kind of USB device you need it to be, making it great for USB-MIDI and other…

SparkFun ESP32 Thing

The SparkFun ESP32 Thing is a comprehensive development platform for Espressif’s ESP32, their super-charged version of the popular ESP8266. Like the 8266, the ESP32 is a WiFi-compatible microcontroller, but to that it adds support for Bluetooth low-energy (i.e BLE, BT4.0, Bluetooth Smart), and nearly 30 I/O pins. The ESP32’s power and versatility will make it the foundation of IoT and connected projects for many years to come.   Why the name? We lovingly call it the “Thing” because it’s the perfect foundation for your Internet of Things project. The Thing does everything from turning on an LED to posting data…

SparkFun PiRetrocade!

Do you own a Raspberry Pi? Have you always wanted to use it to set up your very own gaming station? The SparkFun PiRetrocade provides you with all the control hardware and arcade software you need to play almost any retro arcade and console video game! Included in this kit are five concave arcade buttons, a joystick, an SD card preloaded with Porta Pi, and all of the connective tissue. The only thing you need to provide is your own Raspberry Pi (we recommend the RPi3) and a screen to play your games on! We even designed the box the…

SparkFun Holiday Gift Guide 2016

It’s November! Which means it’s time for another riveting edition to our annual holiday gift guide! We’ve got some great product selections this year including some of our best new SparkFun originals, and some great additions from our friends at Lidar and Pi-Top! Check it out!  

SparkFun LED Driver Breakout

The SparkFun LP55231 LED Driver Breakout is a self-contained solution for developing and deploying the nine-channel I2C LED controller. Remarkably simple, the breakout is equipped primarily with just the LP55231 LED controller IC, plus three RGB LEDs. It also features pads and jumpers for replacing the onboard LEDs with external ones, and configuring the I2C bus, which allows you to daisy-chain up to four LP55231s. This breakout drives the LEDs using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), so it is well-suited for variable intensity and color-mixing applications!   Originally designed to be used in mobile device and automotive applications, it isn’t meant…

SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board

Add a Bluetooth Low Energy connection to your next project with the SparkFun nRF52832 Breakout Board. With an onboard ARM Cortex-M4F and a pre-loaded Arduino bootloader, you can control hardware from any other BLE device, such as your smartphone.  

SparkFun Serial Controlled Motor Driver

The SparkFun Serial Controlled Motor Driver (SCMD) is a DC motor driver that’s been designed to drive small DC motors with ease. The SCMD is designed to emulate a typical register-based device in operation. It can be commanded by UART, I2C or SPI communication, and it can drive a constant 1.2A load per motor (peak 1.5A) at 11V. Need more than two motors? Chain multiple SCMDs together and command them through the same serial interface. Need more current? Each board’s output can be bridged to allow double current.   This driver board was designed to be affordable, compact and have…

Special Edition Cyber Monday Kits!

SparkFun MAX30105 Particle Sensor Breakout

The SparkFun MAX30105 Particle Sensor is a flexible, powerful sensor enabling sensing of distance, heart rate, particle detection and even the blinking of an eye. The MAX30105 has been equipped with three LEDs as well as a very sensitive photon detector. The idea is to pulse the different LEDs, then detect what shines back. Based on the signal signature when returned, you can tell the presence of different types of particles or materials (such as oxygenated blood or smoke from a fire).   The MAX30105 utilizes a red LED, a green LED, and an IR (Infrared) LED for presence sensing,…

SparkFun 9DOF Razor IMUM0

The SparkFun 9DoF Razor IMU M0 combines a SAMD21 microprocessor with an MPU-9250 9DoF (9 Degrees of Freedom) sensor to create a tiny, reprogrammable, multipurpose IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). It can be programmed to monitor and log motion, transmit Euler angles over a serial port or even act as a step-counting pedometer.   The 9DoF Razor’s MPU-9250 features three 3-axis sensors—an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer—that give it the ability to sense linear acceleration, angular rotation velocity and magnetic field vectors. The onboard microprocessor, Atmel’s SAMD21, is an Arduino-compatible, 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller also featured on the Arduino Zero and SAMD21…

Modulo Gizmo and Invention Kits from SparkFun