Supernova of Electronics

Dave Hrynkiw
October 14, 2011

Here at Solarbotics, we like to celebrate things. And today we're remembering a supernova that took place in the Ophiuchus constellation and was observed by German astronomer Johannes Kepler back in 1604. That poor star, it was taken before its time. So to commemorate the memory of that star, (aptly named SN 1604, but we call him Steve), we're showing off some of the latest and greatest from the office:


Roving Networks' RN-XV Wi-Fi Module

Useless Box Upgrade
The Roving Networks' RN-XV Wi-Fi Module is a super-cool wifi module that fits in a standard XBee footprint, so it's compatible with a large range of accessories. The RN-XV gets you a Wi-Fi connection to your project and rocks a 32 bit processor, crypto accelerator, power management unit, and a fistfull of other handy features. Well, the masses have spoken, and it looks like everyone loves the new Useless Box with hinges. Everyone, that is, except for those who's stuck with the last version. Well, we're proud to give you a hand (or hinge, rather) getting your Useless Box up to date with an upgrade kit. We'll set you up with the panels, mounting screws and (of course) hinges to do the conversion. It'll make your box more fancily useless than ever.
   
EFX-Tek Starter Kit EFX-Tek Clearance Sale

If, for halloween, you want to turn your house into a dazzling display of light of animatronics that would keep even the grim reaper from stopping by for candy, you'll be glad for our new clearance items. EFX-Tek's lineup includes boards and accessories for building and controlling props. The following items are 10-20% off:

Herbert ProjectIn other news, this past week Dave, our El Presidente, wondered what would happen if he were to take Herbie the Mousebot and the new Brutusbot, and mash 'em together into some sorta unholy abomination. Well, he decided to find out and ended up with Herbert - a modern day, robot-mouse-meets-tank-platform Frankenstein. It's a surprisingly simple hack, just involving removing the motors from Herbie and wiring in the motors from the Brutusbot in their place. All of the sudden you have a light-seeking, obstacle-avoiding contraption that looks like... A tank with a mouse on top. You can get the instructions from the Brutusbot's resource section.

...and with that, we must part for another week. Our (peculiar) ode to that long-lost star in the Ophiuchus constellation has drawn to an end, so we'll  let you go out and enjoy the fall weather. So long Steve. You'll be missed.

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