Solarbotics.net server v2!

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, […]

Solarbotics / HVWTech will be on "maintenance mode" while the bulk of the staff go down to the MAKE Faire in San Mateo, California. The remaining staff have begged for some relief to make the week go easier, so we are not going to be doing any UPS shipments until Monday, May 21. And don't […]

Mr. Tilden informs me that his experiments with 40 B.I.O.Bugs in the desert of Whitesands, New Mexico will be detailed in the May issue of Discover Magazine. I've seen some of his personal pics of the experiment, and it is indeed impressive photography. Keep an eye out for this issue!

At Solarbotics, we've been getting quite a few questions regarding the "real-world" performance of our solarcells. Although we do have the official Panasonic Sunceram datasheets, it is written in a quite technical manner and does not include practical design data.