Although not a true BEAM robot, this simple schematic by Randy Sargent is small, simple, slick, and effective. My own version uses a pair of pager motors and three cells from a 9V rechargeable battery. Hard to get any simpler than this device!
Friday New Product: Cables, Lil' Logger,...
Solar botics
October 4, 2013
This week we did get our hands onto that shelf full of new product that was waiting patiently for its grand appearance here on the front page. Well, the product there wasn't that abandoned and lonely, technically - there's a bunch of stuff there to entertain itself. Like cables can hang out with other cables, and data loggers can log... datas, and driver motors would play in the corner by themselves because they are grumpy loners like that. And batteries can charge all the things with... enthusiasm… Ugh, gotten carried away a bit here. Don’t listen to me, check it out for yourself:
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SparkFun Barrel Jack Power Switch - M-F (3") $2.50 Instead of yanking and plugging 2.1" power connectors, toggle the power with this short inline power switch. |
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Barrel Jack Extension Cable - M-F (3 ft) $1.75 It's great for that DC adapter you found with the too-short cable. Plug this 3' extension in, and you're good to go. |
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Barrel Jack Extension Cable - M-F (6 ft) $1.95 It's great for that DC adapter you found with the too-short cable. Plug this 6' extension in, and you're good to go. |
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Sparkfun uLog - The Lil' Logger $19.95 This small and tidy 3-channel data logger is designed for brute-force, quick (50Hz) data collection. |
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Sparkfun Tiny AVR Programmer $19.95 If you are working with the AVR ATtiny45 or ATtiny85, this Tiny programmer by Arduino team member David Mellis is a handy tool to have in your parts bin. |
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Sparkfun Big Easy Driver $19.95 The Big Easy Driver is a simple solution using an Allegro A4988 IC for driving a single bipolar stepper motor at up to 2A/phase to maximum 35V. |
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Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 400mAh $7.95 3.7V 400mAh LiPoly battery with an excellent 2C discharge rate for small projects. |
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16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Driver - I2C interface - PCA9685 $14.95 It's a clever breakout board for a chip that talks I2C to drive 16 channels of PWM / Servos. |
Just to finish this post off, I need to mention - I do realize that these are, in fact, inanimate objects that are inert unless someone or something applies force to them. But I cant avoid to anthropomorphize things. And that's it for this week - we'll see what the next one brings our way. Stay tuned for more.
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Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.