Here’s a handy tip from the forum for those etching PBC’s at home: forum post
…about 4 years ago, I saw that someone said that you could protect an etched copper clad PCB with polyurethane once you were done soldering. So as a test, I grabbed a scrap of PCB and scrubbed it up till the copper was shinny. I then sprayed 1/2 the board with polyurethane, and left the other half bare. I put it on a shelf, and it’s stayed there ever since. That was four years ago.
Never do this. I mean it. It is dangerous, it is wrong, you may get hurt, your tools, your stuff or your house may be damaged. I did this because I didn’t have proper tools at hand and it was a do or die weekend situation. You must use proper air soldering and desoldering tools. In Youtube you can find excellent videos on how to do this in a better manner.
Bear in mind, I’m not suggesting you do this either, for all the reasons listed above. However, it is an interesting process to observe.
We get a lot of questions about how to run an Arduino off of solar panels. We decided to do a bit of testing and came up with three pretty simple ways to run an Arduino even if you aren’t near your computer or an AC plug.
Direct to a Solar Panel – We plugged our 2.0 Watt, 6Volt panel into the Arduino’s 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC Jack via our Generator Circuit Box. On a hazy day and through a screen, it lowered the basic blink application. Of course, this will only work when there is sunlight and your application can work with extended downtime. The circuit box set has two outs so you can send power to another part of your application if needed. The panel is also available from Adafruit.
Back in stock! This is a FTDI FT232RL usb/serial chip embedded in a cable that has a 6-pin socket at the end. These are perfect for use with a Boarduino, Meggy’s, or other Arduino clones, and Fuzeboxen. Useful whenever you want to communicate with a TTL serial device, such as an XPort, GPS, XBee or SIM module through a breakout board.
The version we have is the 5.0V (we used to carry the 3.3V) the only difference is that the 5.0V cable sends data signals at 5.0V levels instead of 3V The power line provides 5V. We suggest this for any product that needs FTDI cables in the shop except for YBox2. We don’t suggest using them with 3v microcontrollers or devices unless there is a level shifter to protect it (such as the XBee adapter which is protected).
Lots of new products in the store lately – This is a CLEAR ‘full-size’ breadboard, 830 tie points. Good for small and medium projects. It’s 2.2″ x 7″ (5.5 cm x 17 cm) with a standard double-strip in the middle and two power rails on both sides. You can pull the power rails off easily to make the breadboard as thin as 1.4″ (3.5cm). You can also “snap” these breadboards together either way to make longer and/or wider breadboards. This one is transparent, you can see the junctions inside! $8.00 in the Adafruit store, pick one up today!
Hooray, the breadboard power supply from Adafruit is put together and working. I look forward to not clawing my face off in frustration every time I have to ******* breadboard anything requiring power.
Breadboard supply A very low dropout adjustable power supply! This project details the design of a very low dropout adjustable power supply. A good power supply is essential to electronic projects. While there are many existing designs for adjustable power supplies, this one makes improvements that make it more useful for hobby designs
MIC2941 regulator has guaranteed 1.25A output
Low dropout, only 40mV – 400mV compared to 1.25V – 2.0V for LM317. This means you can use a wider range of output voltages including generating 3.3V from as low as 3.7V (such as 3 AA’s or a lithium ion battery)!
Short circuit and overheating protection
Input diode to protect circuitry from negative voltages or AC power supplies.
2.1mm DC jack and terminal connector for voltage inputs
Two indicator LEDs for high and low voltages
Output selection switch to select from 3.3v, 5v and Adjustable
Onboard potentiometer for adjusting voltage from 1.25V up to within 0.5V of the input voltage. (20V max)
On/Off switch for entire board
Heat sink included
Breadboard and battery clip or DC power supply is not included, you can use any DC power supply with 2.1mm plug (we have a nice one in the shop).
Printable catalog (PDF)
FEED
