Product Showcase: LiPo Charger/Booster

The SparkFun 5V/1A LiPo Charger/Booster is a no nonsense circuit for generating an amp from a Lithium Polymer battery. This LiPo charger is a very economical choice that is equipped with a simple booster circuit utilizing the PAM2401 IC, and includes protection diodes so you can run multiple cells in series for an extra kick. While the booster circuit is in operation, this board can draw more current the lower the input voltage, making it perfect to deliver a strong charge in a small amount of time.  

Product Showcase: LilyPad ProtoSnap Plus

The LilyPad ProtoSnap Plus is a sewable electronics prototyping board that you can use to learn about circuits and programming, then break apart to make an interactive fabric or wearable project.   At the center of the ProtoSnap Plus is the LilyPad USB Plus microcontroller, pre-wired to LilyPad boards including a LilyPad Light Sensor, LilyPad Buzzer, LilyPad Button Board, four pairs of colored LilyPad LEDs, and a LilyPad Slide Switch. Because these components are connected together on the ProtoSnap board, you can test out your project ideas before you sew. The ProtoSnap Plus also includes Expansion Ports that let you…

Product Showcase: Lumenati

The Lumenati line of LED boards is designed to give your projects an edge in their lighting capacity. Based on the APA102C addressable LED, these LEDs employ a 2-wire communication protocol consisting of a clock line and a data line. While this requires one more wire than standard WS2812B addressable LEDs, the advantage is that the communication with the LEDs becomes somewhat timing independent, allowing you to run these directly off of a Raspberry Pi or other single-board computer that doesn’t normally allow for a long, precisely-timed data stream without the use of additional hardware.  

Product Showcase: Qwiic Shield

The Qwiic system is a solderless way to connect all kinds of 3.3V I2C components so you can focus on your idea instead of your solder joints. Combine the simplicity of the Qwiic system with the power of Arduino using the Qwiic Shield for Arduino!  

Product Showcase: Qwiic GPS

The GTOP Titan X1 is an awesome little GPS module. With its tiny footprint and fast warm-start time, it’s perfect for your tiny geolocation projects – and now you can use it without having to solder a thing!  

Product Showcase: Qwiic AS726X

Light Spectroscopy is a relatively simple and inexpensive way to characterize matter. By analyzing the emission and absorption spectra of a given sample, scientists are able to do things like detect toxins in blood and study photosynthetic efficiency. Now you can explore spectroscopy in your lab or workshop with the AS7262 and AS7263 visible light and near infrared spectral sensors!  

Product Showcase: Arduino MKR1000

IOT may be a total buzzword, but it could be your buzzword with the Arduino MKR1000 WiFi development board! With an integrated WiFi radio and WiFi101 library compatibility, the Arduino MKR1000 makes it easier than ever to get your widget on the web.  

Product Showcase: Odev Geo Robot & Dynamo Lantern Kits

Get your kids excited about electronics with these two new Odev kits from Tenergy! Odev Geo is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) educational DIY robot kit that teaches young kids about the value of alternative energy sources and the science behind them. The Odev Dynamo Lantern Kit lets kids turn a simple toy motor into a mini generator that converts hand motion into electrical energy to light up a light bulb.  

Product Showcase: RockBLOCK 9603

Rock Seven has halved the size of their excellent RockBLOCK Iridium Satellite Module to produce the RockBLOCK 9603. Send and receive short serial messages anywhere in the world for less than the price of most cell phone plans! This is a very cool widget if you need to operate in the most remote locations.  

Product Showcase: SparkFun Inventor’s Kit V4

The SparkFun Inventor’s Kit (SIK) is a great way to get started with programming and hardware interaction with the Arduino programming language. The SIK version 4.0 includes everything you need to complete five overarching projects consisting of 16 interconnected circuits that teach everything from blinking an LED to reading sensors. The culminating project is your very own autonomous robot! No previous programming or electronics experience is required to use this kit.  

Product Showcase: uArm Swift

The uArm Swift is a high-grade desktop robotic assistant that can be utilized in many more applications than its predecessors. Built around an Arduino Mega 2560, the uArm Swift is an open-source, DIY-friendly robotic arm platform developed for makers and educational purposes. This little bot is extremely easy to use; almost anyone can learn how to play with it in a few minutes.  

Product Showcase: Scanse Sweep 3D Scanner Kit

The Scanse Sweep 3D Scanner Kit is an advanced 60-piece DIY kit that gives you everything you need to assemble a 3D scanner using your Scanse Sweep LIDAR sensor (not included). Outdoor 3D scanning has been around for decades, but has traditionally been much too expensive for home use. This kit aims to put this powerful technology into the hands of makers who want to develop and experiment with applications for long-range 3D scanning.  

Product Showcase: ESP32 Thing Motion Shield

The SparkFun ESP32 Thing Motion Shield is a versatile, motion-sensing addition to our ESP32 Thing. With the Motion Shield’s onboard LSM9DS1 IMU, small movement changes can easily be detected, while larger movements and time traveled can be detected with the addition of a GPS module via a large JST port.  

Project Showcase: Holiday Projects Part 2

Feldi shares a couple more holiday inspired projects from a responsive, music playing doormat to a Hanukkah menorah electronic hoop. These projects allow makers to jump into holiday project making.  

Holiday Projects Part 1

Feldi shares a handful of holiday inspired projects ranging in skill and difficulty from very easy to more advanced. This range allows makers at any level to jump into holiday project making. Watch the full video for fun ornament, tree decorating, and wrapping ideas.  

Sound Reactive Sports Jersey

Check out this sound reactive sports jersey – a fun interactive project that combines traditional and sewable hardware. Show your team some love by customize the LEDs to match your team colors!  

Night Sky Halloween Costume

In this project, we’ll create a wearable costume using conductive thread to connect LilyPad LEDs to a LilyTiny, powered by LilyPad battery holders.  

LilyTiny Halloween Trick or Treat Banner Example

LilyMini Halloween Snake Banner Example

Last Minute Halloween Costume

Halloween is less than two weeks away, and I know that at least some of you are still procrastinating your costume build. I thought I would share a fun and easy last-minute Halloween costume that a) takes almost no time to build, b) still impresses the pants off your friends and c) is appropriate for all ages. I call this little ditty the Human LED.