EDITOR’S NOTE: A few community members suggested re-publishing this gift guide on #makeymakeymonday because of all of the folks gifting and soon to receive their MaKey-MaKey — here goes! I have removed the holiday shipping schedule as it no longer applies.
If you haven’t seen these darling little “invention kits” before, the abbreviated description would be that it is a device that turns the objects in your environment into a controller much like a keyboard. In fact, like a keyboard, the device sends simple keypresses to your computer so you can use the MaKey-MaKey to trigger almost anything that you can assign a quick key or macro to, or use an application that remaps your MaKey-MaKey (or your keyboard) to perform even more functions!
The kit is ready to go out of the box requiring nothing beyond a computer with a USB port. But it is the process of exploring the lightly conductive properties of objects in your environment and dreaming up mischievous purposes for the keypresses that makes this kit so much fun.
Before you do anything, spend some time scrolling through our #makeymakeymonday series for a few ideas. We’ve done our best to collect all of the most interesting uses of the MaKey-MaKey that we could find, sharing them each Monday to inspire those approaching this fun inventors kit for the first time. Check out the list below for some suggestions culled from the series for things you might want to grab to do more with your MaKey-MaKey!
Available At Adafruit!
MaKey MaKey by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum – Made by JoyLabz: Here’s where you start! Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip the Internet to Your World. MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It’s a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything in between. MaKey MaKey was invented by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum & Made by JoyLabz. Find out more details at makeymakey.com or watch the video. (read more)
Copper Foil Tape wth Conductive Adhesive – 25mm x 15 meter roll: Here’s a handy way to create a pad to “EARTH” on a table or other surface for operating your MaKey-MaKey! Plus, copper tape can be an interesting addition to your toolbox. The tape itself is made of thin pure copper so its extremely flexible and can take on nearly any shape. You can easily solder to it, and the tape itself can carry current just like a wire. On the back is an electrically conductive adhesive. The adhesive can’t carry significant current but it is very handy for sensing applications where you don’t want to solder the copper tape. (read more)
Conductive Fiber – Stainless Steel 20um – 10 grams: This solid stainless-steel conductive fiber is super interesting! It’s great for felting and could also be spun into yarn if that’s your thing. We tested many different fiber thicknesses for needle felting and found that this one (20um fiber thickness, 316L steel, straight fiber) is the most pleasurable to work with. Use about 0.2g of the stuff to make a felt touch button suitable for use with the MaKey MaKey or capacitive touch sensing circuit. Make felt controllers or felt buttons onto an existing wool sweater! (read more)
Pocket Autoranging Digital Multimeter: The pull ups on the MaKey-MaKey can trigger a key press even with a pretty high resistance, but that doesn’t mean you can trigger with a piece of brick (that isn’t wrapped in foil). The best way to test which fruit, vegetables, tin cups, cymbals, metal shelves etc have a low enough resistance for triggering is to have a multimeter in your pocket! When we’re on the go, we like to keep a multimeter in our purse and this model is by far the best pocket meter we’ve found. It’s so good you’ll end up using it as your main multimeter! First up, this meter can measure nearly everything: it’s got DC and AC voltage, resistance, diode, and beeping continuity test, capacitance, frequency, and current (both AC and DC in micro-Ampere and milli-Amp ranges.) There’s also an alkaline battery test – essentially a fixed range voltage test with a bigger drain to get a realistic load reading not just a floating voltage reading. And that’s not all! It’s also auto-ranging, has a data-hold button and turns itself off automatically after about 15 minutes to preserve the battery life. There’s a removable fuse inside for the current sensing side – cheaper meters have the fuse soldered in. (read more)
Premium Male/Male Jumper Wires – 40 x 12″ (300mm): For those looking to flip their MaKey-MaKey over to take advantage of the headers on the other side, grabbing a nice set of jumper wires is a quick and easy way to go from your MaKey-MaKey to a breadboard — or right to a custom connection you are making to a conductive substance. Use a little female socket and some copper tape to make a quick patching point on your MaKey-MaKey components. (read more)
Available Elsewhere!
Fruit, Vegetables, Legumes, Mushrooms, etc: Head to the grocery store, my friend, with your multimeter in tow! Making a banana piano is one of the iconic “first projects” usually attempted by MaKey-MaKey first time users. If anyone gives you a hard time — bring a Geiger counter and let them know you are the citizen inspector, there to inspect. (Or maybe don’t do this — what would you do with all of that radiation data you would collect? European readers will have less to worry about, I suspect.)
Play-Doh: Another MaKey-MaKey classic — Play-Doh game controller buttons and “squish circuits.” From the MaKey-MaKey How-To: “Play-Doh, Model Magic and other clays work very well as long as they stay moist.”
Glockenspiel / Xylophone kits: There are a number of kids toys and DIY carpentry kits out there to help you build simple mallet-based musical instruments. Well, when you can find uncoated/painted plates you have a great conductive surface to wire up for your MaKey-MaKey!
Junk Store Magic: Do you know what you get when you walk into one of those junk/antique stores with a multimeter and a couple of bucks in your pocket? Something strange and potentially inspiring that is also conductive in just the way you need it. Gifting a MaKey-MaKey and a strange tin toy might be the difference between a kid using a MaKey-MaKey solely to play Canabalt and coming up with a unique interactive invention.
Mod Podge: Mod Podge is the most popular brand a type of “modge podge” non-toxic glue+sealer+glossy finish substance used by millions of children and crafters to shellac various bits of stamps, paper, etc onto wood, clay ornaments, etc.. While I have been focusing on conductive treats for your MaKey-MaKey fun, it is actually going to be the use of substances like Mod Podge to seal over (comfortably for your hands and for your brain as it harmlessly air dries) the parts that you want to NOT conduct. Inventive uses this plus Play-Doh or other wet malleable clay substances — and the use of ground graphite to turn some of the clay into a very conductive (for MaKey-MaKey) traces — is an excellent way to make a squish-circuit that is easier for younger kids to operate without bridging across all of your hard routing work.
Plaster of Paris and paper mâché: There are hundreds of air-setting clays and powders that you can consider for bulking out the volume of a MaKey-MaKey invention — but plaster of paris and paper-mâché are classics that tend to be easy to work with. Unlike with the Play-Doh and other “wet”/moist clays that you might want to use to conduct electricity, you can use these substances to build the parts that do not conduct. Make sure to leave time for these to dry thoroughly — and consider sealing them over if you are going to apply moist clays to the surface (or these substances will wick all of the moisture out of what you need kept wet).
PlastiDip: This stuff is pretty amazing, though do not let kids loose with the stuff as it tends to stick around for a few decades. This is a great choice if you are looking to insulate part of a metal rod or plate for easier handling — or to take a wild and wooly experimental project and clean it up to be nice and compact, with all of the conductive bits nicely separated from each other. Also a great way to turn parts of a rough wooden box into a gentle container for a fragile project.
Every Monday is Makey Makey™ Monday here at Adafruit! The MaKey MaKey – by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum, made by JoyLabz! Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip the Internet to Your World. MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Find out more details at makeymakey.com or watch the video at makeymakey.com. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It’s a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything in between! If you have a cool project you’ve made with your Makey Makey be sure to send it in to be featured here!
With just four days to go, it’s time to place those last minute orders. None of the items below require shipping, so you can buy any of these Christmas morning and no one will know you waited until the last millisecond:
Github Pro Account: What’s better than a private repository at Github? Share what you love, just with your friends! A little paid exclusivity goes a long way. Our favorite way to share code can also be gifted! You can sponsor paid GitHub accounts for all the hard workers contributing to open source projects. What a great idea!
MakerShed Gift Certificate: The go-to place for your d0-it-yourselfer-crafter-nerd-tech-genius friends and loved ones! Can’t decide what to gift? Give them a gift certificate good for anything from the Maker Shed with the amount you choose. And best yet, you can choose to email it to them and avoid those long postal deliveries (Recommended). A great last minute present that could spark a lifetime of making!
SparkFun Electronics: The best source for red boards online. SparkFun Gift Certificates are entirely virtual. Enter the amount you wish to purchase on this page and add it to your cart. Once you’ve placed your order and your payment has been confirmed, the Gift Certificate money is yours to distribute as you see fit.
B&H Gift Card: B&H has long been the go-to source for professional grade photography equipment. Give this card to a loved one and let ‘em loose like a kid in a candy store.
Online Photography Seminars at kelbytraining.com: Scott Kelby is a commercial photographer who has branched out into tutorials and education, and the guy knows his stuff. His website offers online tutorials as well as DVDs and books. So give your loved ones something they can never lose — an education. The online seminars cover all aspects of commercial image-capture, from basic photography to Adobe Lightroom® tutorials, to business management for photographers to nature and storm photography. For the professional or serious enthusiast, consider a subscription to all the tutorials, for $24.99/month or $199/year.
Foliobook: iPad Portfolio App: This is an easy, inexpensive gift for your photo friends, especially those trying to establish credentials as a photography enthusiast…give them this and they can instantly start building an online guide to their best works!
Snapseed App for iPad and iPhone: This app allows an array of editing options for photos taken with iPad and iPhone and Androids too!
Other Miscellaneous Fun:
Moo Gift Cards: Business cards, greeting cards, anything you want! And you get to pick from a snappy, modern moo graphic for the announcement e-mail too.
United Nuclear Gift Certificates: Looking for some uranium to put under the tree for that special someone? This website has a cornucopia of everything fun under the sun.
The holiday shopping season may be winding down, but there is still a bit more time left for some last minute gift shopping. Here is a list of some great gifts for the drone maker/space enthusiast in your life.
The ArduPilot Mega 2.5 – is a complete open source autopilot system and the bestselling technology that won the prestigious 2012 Outback Challenge UAV competition. This version is ready to use, with no assembly required. It allows the user to turn any fixed, rotary wing or multirotor vehicle (even cars and boats) into a fully autonomous vehicle; capable of performing programmed GPS missions with waypoints.
ELEV-8 Quadcopter Kit – The ELEV-8 quadcopter is a flying robotic platform that is lifted and propelled by four fixed rotors. There are no fixed wings; all of the lift is created from the rotors. Unlike standard helicopters a quadcopter uses fixed-pitch blades, whose rotor pitch does not vary as the blades rotate; control of vehicle motion is achieved by varying the relative speed of each rotor to change the thrust and torque produced by each. The quadcopter uses a HoverFly board with a Propeller multicore microprocessor to electronically control stabilization of the aircraft. The benefits to this system are a stable platform, with no mechanical linkages for a small maneuverable and agile aircraft.
Arduplane-AP-X Foam Plane with APM2.5 – This is the first fixed-wing UAV solution from Udrones. Combine the best-selling APM 2.5 autopilot with a reliable 4 channel tough foam airplane, and you’ll get the best fully autonomous and ready to fly UAV bird of its kind. It comes with the best-selling ArduPilot Mega UAV autopilot board and IMU shield, GPS module for navigation and an airspeed sensor. Free upgrade to a stronger and faster 2700Kv motor for a killer ride. Also includes the cables you need to connect your R/C receiver, and the USB cable for connecting to the Mission Planer software. The most recent ArduPlane software is pre-loaded and all sensors and functions are tested.
Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout – If you are planning a high altitude balloon launch, or tracking your drone, this is the GPS device you need. The breakout is built around the MTK3339 chipset, a no-nonsense, high-quality GPS module that can track up to 22 satellites on 66 channels, has an excellent high-sensitivity receiver (-165 dB tracking!), and a built in antenna. It can do up to 10 location updates a second for high speed, high sensitivity logging or tracking. Power usage is incredibly low, only 20 mA during navigation. We’ve tested this version of the Ultimate GPS in a high-altitude balloon, and it kept fix up to 27km!
Sky-Probe Complete High Altitude Launch Kit – Everything you need to get started with your own launch, minus helium. This kit is designed to be lightweight yet rigid enough to mount experiments inside or outside. The launch box is designed to be modular, you can add extra poles for multiple viewing platforms or other experiments. The foam inside the box is pre-scored, you just pull out what you don’t need to fit your electronics. You simply can’t find a more complete and inexpensive launch kit.
Compressed Air Rockets Kit – For the future rocket scientist! Developed by teacher and maker Rick Schertle, and based on his popular Compressed Air Rocket project from MAKE Volume 15, this kit is a fun way to introduce science concepts, basic soldering, and electronics to a youngster or a classroom. Building the kit is a breeze and people are amazed that paper rockets can reach 200–300 feet in the air.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive in time for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
We love music at Adafruit: some of us have dabbled in making it, some of us are touring musicians, many of us listen to headphones for as much of the day as possible. So it comes as no surprise that when I reached out to my colleagues here for suggestions for cool music-related kits and projects, I ended up with quite a list to share with you all.
And there is a little treat for you at the end. It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I bring your the first roll call of “Adafruit Music Industries“: i.e. the actual musicians, performers, and composers here at Adafruit. Aren’t you curious now? Feel free to scroll to the end to check them out.
Available At Adafruit!
Music & sound add-on pack for Arduino – v1.1: Its a Wave shield party pack! Just add an Arduino to create your own iPod-killer, audio art, sound-effects box… Comes with the latest Wave shield kit, works with more SD cards and with older NG Arduinos! Unassembled 1 or 2 GB SD card (brand or size may change, but we test one of each kind to verify it works well). Speaker – 3″ diameter (77mm), 8 ohm impedence, good response between 200Hz to 10KHz (10KHz is the max frequency the Wave shield can make). The speaker is rated for 1W so if you want you can even stick a small amp between the shield and the speaker to boost up the volume. (read more)
Electret Microphone Amplifier – MAX4466 with Adjustable Gain: Add an ear to your project with this well-designed electret microphone amplifier. This fully assembled and tested board comes with a 20-20KHz electret microphone soldered on. For the amplification, we use the Maxim MAX4466, an op-amp specifically designed for this delicate task! The amplifier has excellent power supply noise rejection, so this amplifier sounds really good and isn’t nearly as noisy or scratchy as other mic amp breakouts we’ve tried! This breakout is best used for projects such as voice changers, audio recording/sampling, and audio-reactive projects that use FFT. On the back, we include a small trimmer pot to adjust the gain. You can set the gain from 25x to 125x. That’s down to be about 200mVpp (for normal speaking volume about 6″ away) which is good for attaching to something that expects ‘line level’ input without clipping, or up to about 1Vpp, ideal for reading from a microcontroller ADC. The output is rail-to-rail so if the sounds gets loud, the output can go up to 5Vpp! (read more)
Adafruit Learning System: there are a number of excellent tutorials for those wishing to trigger sounds or master Arduino of Raspberry Pi in the Adafruit Learning System, including the useful video above demonstrating how to trigger sounds using bottoms and a RasPi and the video below from showing how you can use the Wave Shield to create a voice changer. Hunt for your topic there to see what you find! (read more)
MaKey MaKey by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum – Made by JoyLabz: Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip the Internet to Your World. MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It’s a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything in between. MaKey MaKey was invented by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum & Made by JoyLabz. Find out more details at makeymakey.com or watch the video. (read more)
Drawdio Kit: Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw! It’s great project for beginners: An easy soldering kit with instant gratification. Essentially, it’s a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create different sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you draw musical instruments on any piece of paper. (read more)
Kits from Another Planet!!
Music From Outer Space catalog: Okay, this isn’t just one product, it is a lifestyle. This site is a good litmus test to see if you are susceptible to the temptations of analog audio gear or not. And what’s more, there is a density to the site and what it offers that it practically teaches you electronics just through the process of puzzling out how to find all of the interesting corners. Navigating the site successfully should permit you to at least produce a saw wave on an analog synth. Or at least master some basic signal processing. But you know you want to dip your feet in the water and put together the Noise Toaster or Weird Sound Generator or at least some outboard signal processing gear. If you are getting as excited as I am about this stuff, then you have passed the test this site represents and will now proceed to fill your apartment with rack gear cast off from the local radio station fire sale, because someday, you just might need that particular sound it makes. (read more)
Tap-Tempo Metronome Kit: Very useful tool for musicians! “The Tap-Tempo Metronome is a tap-controlled or tap-tempo metronome and beat looper. You tap the piezo speaker to set the rhythm. The display shows the beats per minute, and the two buttons adjust the speed. You can tap patterns into it, up to 12 beats long. As long as you tap the pattern in three times, it jumps in and continues beeping in that rhythm. If you hold one of the buttons while turning the metronome on, the pitch of the beep will be higher or lower, so you can play with more than one at a time.” (read more)
Make12 – Solar Xylophone: Here’s a really great kit that started as a project at MAKE, offered by Solarbotics. “Want to build the Solar Xylophone in Make Volume 12? \We carry pretty much all of the electronic parts you need to build the Solar Xylophone by Rory Nugent in Make Volume 12. So, to save you a ton of time trying to find all of those many parts (and adding 8 of each!) we have compiled them all into one very convenient bundle.” (read more)
PAiA Theremax Theremin: One of the best places to get Theremin kits and unusual sound modules. From the Theremax Theremin description: “Since its introduction during the 1920′s the instrument which bears Leon Theremin’s name has been evocative in image and tone. PAiA’s Theremax theremin captures this spirit in an instrument based on the same heterodyne principles as the original but with embellishments made possible by the economy of integrated circuits and solid state electronics. In addition to the traditional mellow sine-like tone, Theremax’s Timbre control can mix in a harmonic rich square wave to produce a signal that’s ideal for use with external filters and processors. And to control outboard units, there are Pitch and Volume Control Voltage outputs. But the features that really set Tmax apart as a gestural controller are it’s Velocity Control Voltage (proportional to how fast you increase the Volume) and Gate/Trigger outputs. A convenient foot switch input allows muting the internal tone source without disabling the CVs.(read more)
And here are a few more synth and PCB links for the enterprising — fewer photos or guarantees to deliver anytime soon than the options above. But AWESOME when you figure out what each site is offering.
Nanoloop: One of the two giants of the chip tunes scene! From the website: “Nanoloop is a minimalistic electronic music program for handheld platforms. Nanoloop 1.6 is a sequencer for Game Boy. Sound is generated by the Game Boy’s analog sound chip and restricted to raw rectangular waves, noise and a 4-bit wave form. Nanoloop 2.5 for Game Boy Advance is a sequencer and software synthesizer. Filtered waves, filtered noise and simple FM are produced digitally. The iPhone and Android versions share the same sound engine and file format and have a similar interface. They combine an enhanced version of nanoloop 2.5′s synthesizer with a simple sampler. Both allow to record audio on the device and to import samples via PC. They also can re-sample their own sound output.” There is also a GBA version, below. (read more)
Little Sound DJ (LSDJ): The other titan of the chip tunes scene, as dominated by people leaping about the stage hunched over Game Boys. Quite different approach than nanoloops — and each platform has its fans and foes. From the site: “The basic idea is to transform a plain Game Boy/Game Boy Color into a full-fledged music workstation.
Sequencer: The sequencer of Little Sound Dj has a very open structure. It was designed to leave all the musical possibilities of the Gameboy in the hands of the user. The system can be said to be both simple and complex; it has a slight learning curve, but when learned, it is possible to transcribe a complete Bach piece to it on less than one hour.
Sound: The Gameboy sound chip offers four channels with 4-bit sound. Custom waveforms can be created by free-hand drawing, or by using a subtractive synthesizer with resonant filters. For extra versatility, Little Sound Dj also contains a quite powerful arpeggiator, which possibilities go far beyond the classic C64-style chords.
Samples: Sample-wise, Little Sound Dj boasts a set of 59 phonems for programmable speech. Besides that, it also features drum kits sampled from machines TR-606, TR-707, TR-727, TR-808, TR-909, CR-78, CR-8000, KR-55, DR-55, DR-110, DMX, Drumulator, RhythmAce, TOM and LinnDrum.
Synchronization: It is possible to use a link cable to sync two Game Boys; great for party fun or for added polyphony! If you want to, you can sync LSDJ with Nanoloop. MIDI sync is possible too, if you are ready to build your own LSDj Midi Interface.”
GREIGHTBIT.COM: Get yer circuit bent and gameboy modification projects here. Some really interesting projects from introductory models to tremendously modded systems for many many times more. (read more)
Drag’N'Derp: Professor Abrasive has launched his own cart that sounds quite different than the others. I grabbed this from his FAQ: “Why make another cart? There are a bunch of carts on the market, but for making music, I’m not really happy with any of them – needing something that is reliable, and simple. Some require an external programmer/reader. These are vulnerable to bad connections; since there are no checksums on save memory, there’s no way to tell if your data has been silently corrupted. Many carts have instead a programmer built in, using USB. One thing these all have in common is that they require custom software and drivers to be installed, which is a lot of fiddling, and gets very complicated if you’re not on Windows. Why isn’t it bigger, faster, cheaper…? This cart was designed with a particular use case in mind – making music. The design aesthetic I have employed is to make the hardware as simple and reliable as possible. It does one job only; I have resisted the tendencies to pack in features. Simplicity is the aim of every design choice; even the PCB is laid out on two layers, where for this density a modern engineer would usually go straight for 4.
(read more)
MeeBlip SE: From the website: “MeeBlip is designed to be useful when connected to other tools. It doesn’t take much – even an inexpensive Rock Band “keytar” keyboard controller, now available for not much more than US$50, will let you play. Here, we meet some of Peter’s Berlin neighbors, the fine folks at boutique analog hardware maker Koma Elektronik. Their analog delay in particular sounds terrific with MeeBlip’s own unique sound. And for MIDI, we turn to the brilliant step sequencer for iPad, Phaedra.
This is one example. But any number of MIDI sources and effects will work – iPad owners, all you need is a MIDI connection, typically a supported USB MIDI interface and Apple’s own USB Camera Connection Kit. (iOSMIDI.com will help you find what you need.) (read more)
Chipsounds: An incredible software project to properly emulate vintage game music synths. From the website: “This software synth turns your VST, AU or RTAS host into a classic video game console, vintage 8-bit home computer and even an 80′s arcade. Plogue chipsounds authentically emulates 15 vintage 8-bit era sound chips (on top of their variants), down to their smallest idiosyncrasies. But more interestingly, it also faithfully allows you to dynamically reproduce the accidentally discovered sounds effect tricks and abusive musical techniques that were made famous by innovative chip music composers and classic video game sound designers, which for the good part of the last 3 decades, have pushed beyond the boundaries of the original chip designs. In short, whether you are already versed into chiptune/chip music or just interested in those sounds, this is one unique instrument for you!” (read more)
SEGA Master System 1 console sounds (Little-Scale): “Crystal-clear sounds recorded from a SEGA Master System 1 console. All notes for the pulse channel, all noise sounds and all timed bass sounds for noise. All at 192KHz / 24bit. Royalty free, copyright free, license free, restriction free. http://milkcrate.com.au/_other/downloads/sample_sets/SEGA_Master_System_Pristine_Samples.zip.” (read more)
X-Mini II Capsule Speaker: From the manufacturers description: “The X-mini II Capsule Speaker is a portable capsule speaker that delivers a superb audio effects with advanced sound technologies. The compact and robust design promises easy portability with an outstanding performance over years.” But I trust co-worker James’ description better: “I’ve found these portable speakers from amazon perfect for adding audio to a RasPi, since they are powered/charge off usb.”(read more)
Boombox Tshirt (minusbaby): In the words of the shirt’s designer, minusbaby of monobomb: “Necessary to wear when you write music.” I agree! And thanks to minusbaby for sending me a number of the above chiptunes tech suggestions!
Adafruit MUSIC Industries!
As tends to happen at a tech startup in New York, there are quite a few musically inclined people on staff. In fact, several of us (myself included) are in this tech world in the first places because of our early exposure to guitar pedals, synths, and audio production routing. So here is the run down of the most active music projects in the bunch, written up for you pretty much as they described and named themselves, so that you can hear for yourself the great and glorious sounds of these makers — when they aren’t producing mostly racket by rushing about a warehouse sending out hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of lovingly gathered, built, kitted, and shipped packages of Adafruit invention tools to the world.
Chances are, if you have seen a video Becky, myself, or others at Adafruit have made, you have been hearing the great work of Tom from his Bartlebeats project!
James plays in Anamanaguchi. (I’m a bit star-struck.)
Kris does original orchestral arrangements for songwriters in a live music video series called “Mason Jar Music Presents…“, and sings with Khorikos.
And Brian, who put together most of this list for me, has just started a record label with Bateman to release music that he, Bateman and friends have been producing: sadly they haven’t launched their site yet for this posting.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive in time for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
IOIO Mint – Portable Android Development Kit – IOIO (pronounced “yo-yo”) is a bridge between Android devices and external hardware such as sensors and servos. IOIO enables you to add the computational power, touch display, connectivity, and built-in sensors (camera, GPS, accelerometer) of Android to your projects. IOIO can connect to any standard Android device (as early as Android 1.5) over both USB and Bluetooth. Here’s a few IOIO projects which will give you an idea of what you can do with IOIO.
Arduino Mega R3 Android Accessory Development Kit (ADK) Board – Fast track your Android phone hardware development or just design cell-phone robots with the Arduino ADK! The Arduino ADK is a microcontroller board based on the powerful ATmega2560 (datasheet). It has a USB host interface to connect with Android based phones, and a power supply boost converter to charge up the phone from DC power while its plugged into the ADK.
Android – Skill Badge, Iron-On Patch – You hacked, modded or made something with Android! Adafruit offers a fun and exciting “badges” of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share.
Making Android Accessories with IOIO by Simon Monk – Create your own electronic devices with the popular IOIO (“yoyo”) board, and control them with your Android phone or tablet. With this concise guide, you’ll get started by building four example projects—after that, the possibilities for making your own fun and creative accessories with Android and IOIO are endless.
Kiwi Bluetooth Android Phone Car Diagnostic Kit – The Kiwi Bluetooth is a plug and play wireless device that connects to your car’s OBDII port (right below the steering wheel). Kiwi Bluetooth comes attached with a 6 ft OBDII cable for easy installation. It also comes with a power switch built-in to prevent the need for having to constantly disconnect your unit from the OBDII port. You can use it in any vehicle born in 1996 or later, whether it’s a sedan, truck, SUV, or even a hybrid. Once the device is connected, you can download one of two recommended car diagnostics apps from the Android Market and begin to monitor all sorts of stats about your car.
Arduino + Android Projects for the Evil Genius by Simon Monk – Filled with practical, do-it-yourself gadgets, Arduino + Android Projects for the Evil Genius shows you how to create Arduino devices and control them with Android smartphones and tablets. Easy-to-find equipment and components are used for all the projects in the book, making projects for feasible for any Arduino / Android enthusiast.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive in time for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Think green with some last minute holiday shopping with these neat solar powered gifts. This is a list of my favorite gadgets and gizmos that either help you power something with solar.
Voltaic Systems Medium 6V 2W & Large 6V 3.4W Solar Panels – These panels come to us from Voltaic Systems, makers of fine solar-powered bags and packs. These are waterproof, scratch resistant, and UV resistant. They use a high efficiency monocrystalline cell. They output 6V at 330 mA & 550 mA via 3.5mm x 1.3mm DC jack connectors. The substrate is an aluminum / plastic composite, specifically designed to be strong and lightweight. They can easily stand up to typical outdoor use including being dropped and leaned on. They’re very high quality and suggested for projects that will be exposed to the outdoors. Adafruit also carries a smaller 6V 1W panel, and a larger 6V 3.7W panel.
USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger – Take those awesome solar panels and put them to work. Make your projects go green this summer with our specialized USB/Solar Lithium Ion Polymer Battery charger! This charger is a very unique design, perfect for outdoor projects, or DIY iPod chargers. We’ve spent over a year testing and tinkering with this charger to come up with a plug and play solution to charging batteries with the sun.
Snap Circuits® Green – Learn about energy sources and how to “think green”. Build over 125 projects and learning about environmentally friendly energy and how electricity works. Includes full-colored manual with over 100 pages and separate educational manual. Features-Hand Crank-Solar Cell-FM Radio-Energy Compartment-Rechargeable Battery-Windmill-Clock and Analog Meter. Compatible with the Snap Circuits family of electronic learning kits.
Solarbotics Zendulum – The Zendulum is a do-it-yourself, simple solderable kit. It features a spherical neodymium rare earth magnet, which emulates Newton’s cradle when infrared irradiation is applied. In English? There’s a magnetic ball that rolls back and forth when powered by a solar cell. Assemble the kit and let it live on your table or windowsill – a simple desk lamp or sunlight can provide enough juice. When powered, the ball will seemingly roll back and forth on it’s own, almost as if it’s throwing the laws of physics and gravity to the wind.
Solarbotics PumLantern Kit – a solar-charged, night-time activated light-pulsing lantern. This kit charges all day from the SCC3733 solar cell, and pumms the four ultra-mega-super-bright LEDs to cast artistic silhouettes against the walls of the lantern. The LEDs themselves are a random grab of white, blue, red, orange and green.
Thames and Kosmos Physics Solar Workshop – Physics Solar Workshop explores the topic of solar energy, focusing on photovoltaic cells. By building 12 models and conducting 30 experiments, you will learn how solar cells transform light into electrical energy, and how motors and mechanical devices can optimize the work done by this energy. You will build different types of vehicles and machines to demonstrate how gears can convert and transform power for different needs.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – No guarantee that your package will arrive for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
So you are inventing the next RFID-detecting analog-synth humidity-monitoring Internet-of-Things-configured space-lab-utility-pack and you just can’t wait to share it with the world. In fact, you can’t wait to use it yourself for your geo-located, reverse geo-cache, rive gauche, conceptual art happening at Cape Canaveral tonight — and the modular lasers, LEDs, and Tesla coil add-ons operated from your Android phone are going to positively *massive* at the after party on the moon!
How are you going to get out the door, much less to the helicopter waiting to airlift you to Florida with a table full of breadboards and hookup wire? “You’ve got to put it in a case, son, you’ve got to kit it right up.” Here are some great enclosures from Adafruit and beyond!
Available At Adafruit!
These new Pibow cases just arrived and they have been very popular. The Pibow is a durable and fun case for the Raspberry Pi® computer that is perfectly in touch with the ethos of the Raspberry Pi. The case is crafted out of seven layers with a transparent top and base. Each layer is laser cut from high-quality cast acrylic and once stacked they securely contain a Raspberry Pi while leaving the primary ports accessible. (read more)
Large Plastic Project Enclosure – Weatherproof with Clear Top: Store your project safe and sound in this nice weatherproof box with a clear top. We picked up this box because we like the machinable ABS plastic body and tough clear polycarbonate cover, the built in weatherproof gasket seal, and the easy-open screws that can be taken apart as many times as you wish without worrying about cracking or stripping. (read more)
Bi-Fold Compartment Parts Box: In addition to building your projects into a box or enclosure, you need a place to store the components and replacement parts for keeping your projects running — or starting to build a new one! This handy box has outer dimensions of 6.25″ x 3.5″ (159mm x 89mm) – 4.1″ including hinges (104mm), long compartments are 3.35″ x 1.15″ (85 x 29mm) and for short compartments are 1.65″ x 1.15″ (42 x 29mm). Perfect for small parts and more! We tested dozens of other latching lid boxes, this is the best one. This box is NOT anti-static, but you can use foam or anti-static bags inside if needed. (read more)
Medium waterproof OtterBox – 2000: Make your project stand up to serious abuse with an otterbox, a true waterproof drybox that is also tough enough to get run over. Made of clear polycarbonate, you’ll be able to keep an eye on any indicator LEDs. We have these in 3 sizes: small (#1000), medium (#2000) and large (#3000). They’re ideal for projects with wireless components like GPS loggers, GPRS/GSM cellular or xbee but can also act as a portable “pack & hack” project box. Comes with a lanyard and there are slots on the side for strapping the box onto something. Its a tough box so it will be hard to drill into it. (read more)
Altoids Gum sized tin: Ever since Altoids discontinued the Gum version, its been hard to get tins. So we went and got a whole mess of them custom made! These tins are exactly the same shape and size as the old Altoids gum tins but they are blank and we got the bottom flattened instead of rounded (so it fits things better). (read more)
Pi Holder milled aluminum case for Raspberry Pi: For those who are very serious about protecting their Raspberry Pi, check out this gorgeous and indestructible Raspberry Pi™ Case. It is as awesome as it is functional. Made in the U.S.A. by Barch Designs from Solid 6061-T6 Aircraft Grade Billet Aluminum which protects your Raspberry Pi from damage and also keeps your Pi running extra-cool by acting as a thermal heat sink. (read more)
Available Elsewhere!
RadioShack Project Enclosures: Next to the beautiful Rainbow PiBox cases, the Radio Shack enclosures can look a little dull — but there are many times that being dull, nondescript, and sturdy go a very long way! Mount a project to a park bench, up under desk, or nestle it into the crook of a branch in a tree — these enclosures can take it. (read more)
The Folding Arduino Lab from jasonwelsh on Thingiverse: What better way to create just the enclosure you need than to design it and 3D print it? Jasonwelsh’s project takes this idea one step further by considering the variety of his needs for his project box — and making a set of modular parts to build a box to suit all of his Arduino project needs. (read more)
Small Ball & Puck Display Cubes: Here’s an awesome tip from Becky — the Container Store has a bunch of small pre-built clear boxes that might well fit your intended project perfectly. The sports memorabilia boxes such as these ball and puck cases are particularly useful — and I saw a number of costumes at New York Comic Con that took advantage of these. (You can frost the inside of the baseball case and fill it with LEDs for a nice glowing cube effect, for example.) (read more)
LEGO project enclosure: How does the expression go? “If it’s worth building, it’s worth building with LEGOs?” For sturdiness and customization, what could be better than designing your own enclosure using a LEGO construction set. If you argue that a LEGO case isn’t classy enough for you, I would argue that you are going to the wrong sort of parties. (read more)
MAKE covered a bunch of interesting project enclosures and included this tip: “Your fancy project box deserves better than a plain ol’ plastic wall-wart. Off-the-shelf, your options are black, white, and beige. Fortunately, we know somebody who’s been there, feels your pain, and wants to show you how to class up your power supply with a custom wooden shell and matching cord.” (read more)
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Here is a list of our favorite products to hack, mod, or make your Apple iDevice better. Have no fear Android fans, we will post a similar gift guide for you soon.
Aluminum iPhone 4S 0.8mm 5-Point Star/Pentalobe Screwdriver - We tried half a dozen different 5-point star/”pentalobe” screwdriver tools to find the one we liked the most The body is made from a single piece of aluminum and has nice knurled grips. The end-cap rotates so you can keep the body steady while rotating. The tip is nicely machined and is magnetic so it holds the miniscule screws in place while inserting/removing them. Get the iPhone 4 version here.
Clear No-Logo iPhone Replacement Back – iPhone 4S - Turn your iPhone 4S invisible! OK well maybe not invisible, but with this clear back you can gaze deeply into the inner works of the iPhone – great for when you want a geeky cyber-look or want to place a visible RFID tag inside the phone. This kit comes with a clear plastic back and two basic screwdrivers (one pentalobe, one phillips – use whichever your phone has) to remove the back and replace it. Get the iPhone 4 version here.
iOS Sensor Apps with Arduino by Alasdair Allan - Turn your iPhone or iPad into the hub of a distributed sensor network with the help of an Arduino microcontroller. With this concise guide, you’ll learn how to connect an external sensor to an iOS device and have them talk to each other through Arduino. You’ll also build an iOS application that will parse the sensor values it receives and plot the resulting measurements, all in real-time.
DIY Stitchable iPhone 4 & 4s Case – Individualize your iPhone 4 or 4s with this crafty, stitch-able protective case. The perforated cover (choose from black or white) allows you to cross stitch your own designs to create a one-of-a-kind fashion item. The kit includes 3 different colors of embroidery floss (you can get more colors from craft stores), a needle, and a few design ideas to get you started.
Redpark TTL Cable for iOS – The Redpark TTL Cable for iOS is the latest revision of the popular RedPark Serial Cable. The main difference between this and the original is that a RS-232 serial to TTL adapter is no longer required. This means you can connect it directly to an Arduino using only jumper wires. No soldering and no adapters required.
The RedPark cable is the first and only cable approved by Apple to allow hobbyists to connect their iOS devices to external microcontrollers and sensors! With this cable, you can open up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and let your imagination run wild! Use external sensors in your iOS apps! Talk to an Arduino with your iPhone! The possibilities are unlimited!
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
This year we thought we would highlight some of the great and smart gifts out there from
many of our retailers and friends! We tried to focus on gifts that inspire people to create and learn but mostly it is a list of stuff that we would want!
Looking for some great gifts that won’t break the bank? Here is some great electronics that all cost less than $20.
Drawdio Kit ($17.50) - Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw! It’s great project for beginners: An easy soldering kit with instant gratification. Essentially, it’s a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create different sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you draw musical instruments on any piece of paper.
Programming Arduino by Simon Monk ($15.00) - Using clear, easy-to-follow examples, Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches reveals the software side of Arduino and explains how to write well-crafted sketches using the modified C language of Arduino. No prior programming experience is required! The downloadable sample programs featured in the book can be used as-is or modified to suit your purposes.
Magnetic Project Mat ($12.95) - Repairs can be tough. You don’t need missing screws making it worse. iFixit designed this mat to make repairs easier. You won’t lose screws and won’t forget which screws go where. This project mat is magnetized to hold tight onto small screws, has a dry erase surface lets you keep notes and stops mistakes, it reduces reassembly time by up to 40% while preventing errors, and the magnetic surface is safe for hard drives, and other modern electronics.
SMT Blinky POV Kit ($15) – Learn how to solder SMT components with this great kit from Wayne & Layne. Wave messages and animations through the air with this persistance-of-vision toy. Reprogram custom messages or animations by holding it up to your screen! It has 8 LEDs, a beautiful Larson Scanner mode, and is a standalone, surface-mount kit.
The Deluxe LED Menorah Kit ($13.95) – This great little LED Menorah kit from Evil Mad Science Labs is an updated take on the traditional hanukkiyah, the nine-armed Hanukkah candelabrum. Two candles are lit on the first night of Hanukkah (one “real” candle plus the lighter candle, or shamash), three on the second night, right up to nine on the eighth night.
Blinky Laser Cut Holiday Tree Ornaments ($9.95) – These are basic easy-to-build electronics kits from Spikenzie Labs. Built around laser cut and etched acrylic the snowman or holiday tree really catch the light! Sized at about 3″ wide, by 5″ tall, the snowman or holiday tree is edge-lit by 10mm flashing green and red LEDs. Comes as a kit that is very easy to solder, CR2032 battery included. The PCB is a simple RC circuit. Two LEDs one 10mm green and one red LEDs flash in an alternating pattern. Helps understand some electronics fundamentals, and a lot of fun to solder. Click here for the holiday tree version.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Clocks have always been popular DIY projects, whether here at Adafruit or from many of the other great people out there in the open source HW community. Looking for something practical and fun for that special someone this non-descript winter-themed holiday season? Here’s our guide to some of our favorite hackable open source clocks and watches! (more…)
A list of some great games and books to inspire the young engineer in your life! All of these items are under $20, and make great stocking stuffers. Where appropriate, suggested age ranges are provided.
The first book, the Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, is a like an encyclopedia of mechanics, with explanations of how various linkages and simple machines work, and what they can be used for. Neil Sclater does a great job breaking down advanced engineering concepts into easy-to-understand language.
The other two books are compendiums of various mechanisms used in all sorts of machinery and hardware. They’re not textbooks, exactly, just collections of mechanical drawings with occasional notes. They’re great for inspiring new designs and ideas. Figuring out how these mechanisms work (and how they can be made) is a lot of fun! Many of the drawings are quite beautiful too!
Age: while all ages can enjoy the images in these books, younger children may need someone older to help them understand the concepts.
I’ve always been terrible at freehand drawing — still am, in fact. Then one day I discovered my dad’s college technical drawing books. While these were geared towards professional drafting, my favorite parts were the pictures at the beginining that described various geometric construction techniques. Drawing with geometric construction is a good way to improve spatial reasoning, and the results can be quite beautiful.
This book focuses on teaching those techniques, with the goal being to create beautiful mandala-like pictures, suitable for the finest refridgerators.
While explicitly stated to be for grades 4-6, I’d suggest this is an all-ages book, with help and supervision recommended for younger children (watch out for those pointy compass needles!)
Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series follows the adventures of Deryn Sharpe, a girl who joins the Air Service on the side of Britain at the beginning of World War I. Westerfeld’s alternate-history world is a merging of biopunk, steampunk and dieselpunk influences, along with a few other ‘punks that have yet to be defined, and features appearances by historical personalities such as William Randolph Hearst and Nikola Tesla (the dénoûment of the three-book story takes place at Wardenclyffe). These books are full of strange creations and wonderful illustrations that will fire the imagination of any young engineer or biologist.
The audiobook version, read by actor Alan Cumming, is a treasure all it’s own.
Also available is the Manual of Aeronautics, a larger format companion volume featuring beautiful cutaway illustrations by Thompson, with notes by Westerfeld.
Recommended age: teenagers to adults
LadyAda’s “E is for Electronics” coloring book — available in the shop or as a free PDF — is a coloring book adventure with electronic components and their inventors. Makers of all ages can learn, color, and share common parts and historical figures throughout history. Explore the world of electronics with Ladyada as your guide!
All ages.
Games:
Cogs, by Lazy8Studios, is one of the most addictive puzzle games you’ll ever play. The puzzles are challenging and it looks really cool too, with a fun steampunk style.
Age: 8 to adult.
Machinarium by Amanita Design. This is such a great game. It’s got very challenging puzzles, but this is balanced out by one of the best hint systems in any game ever. Though it has no dialogue, it does a wonderful job of telling a cute little love story about two robots.
Age: 8 to adult.
SpaceChem by Zachtronics Industries. SpaceChem is a design-type puzzle game where the player must connect various chemical reaction ‘circuits’ to create new types of matter. An added benefit is that you learn about reactions and the periodic table while playing.
Age: 10 to adult
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
What will we do with that lovely quote from Cicero with the arrival of eBooks, eReaders, and the decline of “dead tree” publishing: “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” If you are like me, a bibliophile AND a technophile, then you line the walls of your home with bookshelves and stack eReaders everywhere at hand. Get books on every device, and take your room, with lots of soul, everywhere you go in the world! Here are some excellent books for the makers in your life — some books we stock at Adafruit as well as a bunch we don’t. Thanks to a number of folks from the Adafruit community for sending in their recommendations!
Books from Adafruit
Coloring book – “Ladyada’s E is for electronics”: Ladyada’s E is for Electronics is a coloring book adventure with electronic components and their inventors. Makers of all ages can learn, color, and share common parts and historical figures throughout history. Explore the world of electronics with Ladyada as your guide! Coloring book dimensions: 8.5in x 5.5in (read more)
Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson: In Makers, Wired editor and bestselling author Chris Anderson reveals that a new industrial revolution is under way. Today’s entrepreneurs, using open-source design and 3-D printing, are employing micro-manufacturing techniques to create a tsunami of products in small batches, often customized for specific customers at higher margins. Every country, to remain economically strong, must make physical products if it doesn’t want to become a nation of burger flippers and checkout clerks. Yet in America and Europe, it has become harder and harder to sustain manufacturing as entire industries, from clothing to electronics, have shifted their factories to Asia and other low-cost regions. In the United States, manufacturing employment as a percentage of total working population is at a century-long low. (read more)
Encyclopedia of Electronic Components Volume 1 by Charles Platt: Want to know how to use an electronic component? This first book of a three-volume set includes key information on electronics parts for your projects—complete with photographs, schematics, and diagrams. You’ll learn what each one does, how it works, why it’s useful, and what variants exist. No matter how much you know about electronics, you’ll find fascinating details you’ve never come across before. (read more)
Getting Started with Arduino By Massimo Banzi – 2nd Edition: A maker classic, this valuable little book offers a thorough introduction to the open-source electronics prototyping platform that’s taking the design and hobbyist world by storm. Getting Started with Arduino gives you lots of ideas for Arduino projects and helps you get going on them right away. From getting organized to putting the final touches on your prototype, all the information you need is right in the book. (read more)
Programming the Raspberry Pi: Getting Started with Python: This is the book I’m currently reading. (And enjoying.) Program your own Raspberry Pi projects! Create innovative programs and fun games on your tiny yet powerful Raspberry Pi. In this book, electronics guru Simon Monk explains the basics of Raspberry Pi application development, while providing hands-on examples and ready-to-use scripts. See how to set up hardware and software, write and debug applications, create user-friendly interfaces, and control external electronics. Do-it-yourself projects include a hangman game, an LED clock, and a software-controlled roving robot. (Read me.)
Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson: While certainly best known for his fiction — from the “invention” (or at least crystallization of “cyberpunk”) Neuromancer (1984) to his excellent near future tales such as Pattern Recognition (2003) and Zero History (2010) — the heartbeat throbbing under his work has always been his canny observation of the world we live in — and his ability to trace trajectories for where technology and culture will tangle together in the future. This collection of essays from publications ranging from WIRED to New York Times demonstrate Gibson’s strength addressing the contemporary world. As he has said before: “The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” (read more)
Six Books of Euclid by Werner Oechslin: And if you are hungry for more studies of geometry, this gorgeous 19th Century illustrated primer tells geometry the way is should be told — through images that clearly declare the relationships of elements and measures to each other. Recommended by Kate Milford. (read more)
The Rapture of the Nerds by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross: Science Fiction heavyweights join together to tackle the “techological singularity” with a co-authored novel. From the review from Paul di Fillippo: “In this milestone novel, Stross and Doctorow have risen to the perpetual SF challenge of portraying a world utterly estranged from our present, yet still somehow our must-be-acknowledged illegitimate bad seed spawn. They’ve raised the bar for all who follow in their footsteps.” (read more)
The Broken Lands by Kate Milford: A Coney Island-based prequel to the excellent The Boneshaker (2010) clockwork-Americana fantasy novel that Cory Doctorow described as a magic, latter-day Bradburian novel for young adults, The Broken Lands again demonstrates Milford’s incredible dexterity rendering her world. Not limiting herself to the “stuff” of historical fiction — clothing, activities and architecture of 19th Century Coney Island and New York City — she draws directly from the technology, culture, ideas, and mythology of the time to truly transport the reader into a different world, the past. Recommended by me! (read more)
Daemon and its sequel Freedom™ might be fast-paced action technothrillers, but there is a reason many of the people recommending this book to me are those who spend their lives working on the code and infrastructure of the Internet. There are great ideas here: webdevs, coders, network hackers, and security exploit hobbyists tend to passionately love this series. As did I! Recommended by Whosawhatsis. (read more)
Not Books As Much As Ways to Find Them!
Singularity & Co: Science fiction, fantasy, and vintage pulp, rescued from the ash bin of publishing through the creation of new eBooks and seeking to compensate the authors and estates rather than the publishers that let them fall off their backlists. An interesting project — grab a subscription for a friend to offer them the fascinating grab bag of what they are saving each month! (read more)
Small Demons: Taking a very different approach to how to socially link people to the books that they might enjoy, Small Demons traffics in tracing out the real world as it appears in books — and creating tools for you to immediately see links to, say, an audio tape from American Psycho or the brand of cigarettes in a thriller. From their “About” page: “Small Demons is a Los Angeles based company that believes powerful and interesting things can happen when you connect all the details of books.” Here’s an awesome place to start — 248 books mentioning LEGOs, including Gibson’s Spook Country, Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. (read more)
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
There have always been dozens of ARM options out there for development boards, but — for a variety of reasons — it’s always been a niche interest in the mainstream DIY community. 2012, however, may go down as the the year that ARM and 32-bit finally makes lasting inroads into hobbyists electronics.
There have been a lot of high-profile development tools and established environments embracing ARM in a more official capacity this year than any point in the past, and it’s probably never been easier or cheaper to benefit from the amazing processing power per dollar ratio that modern, low-end ARM Cortex M processors offer.
Interested in taking the 32-bit plunge? Hopefully this guide will give you a better idea of what options you have! (more…)
Printable catalog (PDF)
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