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Whelp, it's just been one of those weeks.  When the Calgary Stampede gets into full swing, things get a bit crazy. Fireworks, pancake breakfasts and BBQ lunches, cowboy hats, questionable choice in music ("We got both kinds - country AND western!"), and all-around crazy people. So it's fairly safe to say that we don't have […]

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "But you were just closed for, like, a bajillion days for Maker Faire!!" And yes, you'd be right. Except for the bajillion part - that's just getting carried away. Solarbotics (and HVW Tech) will be closed tomorrow (July 1st), and Friday (July 3rd). Standard rules apply - you can […]

Individually mounted WS2812B LED - Black or White $1.62 Super-tightly PCB-mounted WS2812B addressable LEDs, available in white or black trim. SuperFlex Wire 6M on Bobbin $5.85 This 6M bobbin of 26AWG Superflex wire is a soft and supple, ideal for wearable technology. Superflex 4.5m 90 LED Strand, 5cm Spacing $6.28 90 tiny LEDs of various […]

Unlike Sparkfun, who actually manage to find fake Atmel ICs, we just get strange batches. The Atmel ATMega328 is the power behind the Arduino/Freeduino/*duino, and we have to set up a programming system to burn the venerable Arduino Bootloader into these chips. We normally use an AVR STK500 in HVSP (high voltage serial programming) mode, […]