Fireflies, Bundles, and Motors

Dave Hrynkiw
November 17, 2011

Technically, winter starts with the Winter Solstice that occurs on December 21st. But we're pretty sure that whoever decided that is wrong, because it's starting to feel pretty darn cold out there. And to keep things warm, what do you need? Movement. And how do you make movement? Motors. So today we have range of servos and gearmotors to help your projects beat the cold. But first, some other stuff.

Open-Source Firefly Project

Firefly ProjectOver the summer, we worked with Claudia Bustos and Vlad Amiot for their project "Calgary's Illuminated Landscapes" for AwesomeFoundationCalgary, to make a blinking LED kit based on the Jar of Fireflies Instructables Project. We were able to help them with PCB design and production for the project, and the event turned out to be a huge success (check out some video and two newsposts). Now we'd like to release that design as open-source, so anyone can reproduce or modify it for themselves. We have Gerber files, schematics and code. You can get even more info at our project page here.

New Releases!

Little Yellow Drum Machine Little Yellow Drum Machine - $185
We were smitten by the Little Yellow Drum Machine the first time we saw it. Let's face it, this lil' guy has a ton of character and an awesome sense of rhythm to boot. You should go check out the video if you haven't already to see him in action. We've worked with its creator to put together a bundle, so that you can get your hands on all the electronic parts in one place if you want to make your own.
Pocket Marquee Bundle Pocket Marquee Bundle - $42.00 USD / $44.10 CAD
Sometimes, you have 126 lights. And sometimes, you want to put those lights in a box. And if this is one of those times, we have you covered. We're offering a bundle that includes a LoLShield and red SAFE (with a clear lid and some other helpful parts), so all you need is your Arduino board of choice to set up your very own display-in-a-box. Save about $10 from buying the parts individually.

VS-9 Pico Servo

VS-9 Micro Servo, Coreless Motor - $9.85 USD / $10.34 CAD
This pico sized servo is great for tiny robots, hobby airplanes, and cars. Use them for manipulating legs, blinking eyes, or just use them for steering. It produces 0.5 kg.cm ( 6.94 oz.in ) of tourque at 4.8V.

VS-19 Pico Linear Servo

VS-19 Pico Linear Servo - $9.85 USD / $10.34 CAD
After all these years of waiting we are now finally blessed with the gift of linear actuation. The only limits to this servo signal driven actuator is your imagination! Use it to turn 'on' and 'off' light switches, raise and lower legs, trigger a latch, and/or bring up the periscope.
Gear Motor 23 - 1:192 Offset Shaft - $5.00 USD / $5.25 CAD
This 1:192 Tiny Geared Pager Motor has an offset shaft much like the GM2, but is roughly half the size in every dimension. It'll be handy for crazy things like wall climbing robots, automatic tooth-brushing, or fancy marble mahcines.
Gear Motor 24 - 1:192 90 Degree Shaft - $5.00 USD / $5.25 CAD
Borrowing the form factor of our popular GM3 gearbox, the GM24 is a pager-motor powered relative that is great for tight spaced applications. Make a robot so small that it can fit inside another robot!

Sales

That's right. We're marching straight on in an effort to add more cool stuff to our clearance category. Check it out, and if you find something you like, act quick - these and all the other clearance items have limited quantities.
PhidgetAdvancedServo 1-Motor Phidget Advanced Servo 1-Motor - $25.86 USD / $27.16 CAD (20% off)
Allows you to control the position, velocity, and acceleration of one RC servo motor. It also has a high resolution of 125 steps per degree; it measures the power consumption of the servo, and powers servo motors of up to 450mA. Best of all, it's powered solely by the USB cable.
PhidgetServo Kit 1-Motor PhidgetServo Kit 1-Motor - $36.57 USD / $38.40 CAD (20% off)
A simple little bundle for controlling a singler servo motor. The kit includes everything you'll need to get started, including the PhidgetServo 1-Motor, a servo, and a USB cable.
PhidgetAdvancedServo 8-Motor PhidgetAdvancedServo 8-Motor - $70.16 USD / $73.67 CAD (20% off)
This wonderful contraption allows you to control the position, velocity, and acceleration of up to 8 RC servo motors. It requires a 6-15VDC external power supply; its switching power supply allows efficient operation from 6 to 15 VDC and can be used with a wide range of batteries.
PhidgetServo Kit 4-Motor w/ US Power Supply PhidgetServo Kit 4-Motor - $114.29 USD / $120.00 CAD (20% off)
This handy kit sets you up with everything you need to control 4 servo motors from your PC, with the ability to add another 4 RC servos of your choosing. It includes the PhidgetServo 4-Motor, 4 servos, a USB cable and a 12VDC 2.0Amp North American power supply.

So there you go. Get yourself a schwack-load of motors, wire 'em up, and put them together like a shirt. You'll be stylish and might look like a bit of a weirdo. But that's okay, because above all else, you'll be warm. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go dig up our Seasonal Servo Cartigans.

MORE POSTS

July 16, 2011
EZ-B Sale, More New Stuff

Well, we waited. Patiently you might say. After all, this Friday post is coming to you on a Saturday afternoon. But we still didn't receive any customer projects to show off. We don't ask much. Send us a photo. Maybe a handful of words to accompany it. But noooOooOooOOOoo. Now here we are, already part […]

June 19, 2003
GM5a's sold out!

Gahh! Man, are these Escap motors popular! We're already sold out of these high gear-reduction versions. We'll have to see what we can do to get more online soon...

November 17, 2009
What's on the burner...

We're working on some new Arduino projects. It's fun working on open-source hardware. Both these projects are out for manufacture now, so hopefully it will only be a few weeks until they are ready. Project One: The GVS Shield We love Phidgets. They have all kinds of useful sensors, to which most subscribe to a […]

March 19, 2001
Los Alamos BEAM Workshop

We're happy to announce that the 2001 Los Alamos BEAM Robotics Workshop is going ahead this May 3 to 6th! After much delay and threats of budget-cuts, funding has finally been secured. Thanks to Joe Vigal and Paul Argo of the Los Alamos National Laboratories for keeping this great event alive for this final year! […]

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