We had an unexpected delay in San Francisco - so we are not shipping any orders on Tuesday, May 7th. But we are set for tomorrow so normal shipping will resume on Wednesday May 8th, our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
The Googles tell us that 'synapse' is defined as "a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter." This, however, is one of the rare instances where The Googles are wrong, because what Synapse actually is (according to Jeremie, our tech guy) are RF engines that possess a 3 mile line of sight outdoor transmission range and 1000ft indoor transmission range (as opposed to Synapes, which is a synchronized swimming team formed from a family of larger primates). You're probably thinking that XBee is a pretty great wireless communications system with lots of support, and you'd be right. Synapse Wireless is just as great, though, and has longer range at really affordable pricing. Plus, they were used for remotely controlling the costume lighting in Tron Legacy, which adds, like, at least 50 cool points.
One of the problems of using Synapse Wireless modules, however, is that they don't quite have the catalogue of accessories and add-ons (like XBee modules have) to make them easy to use. Well, you're in luck - Solarbotics is here to make them more usable and accessible with two new kits and some documentation to match. If you're more of a visual person, check out this three part video for a rundown of what these modules are, how they work, and what you can do with them:
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Solarbotics Synapse-to-FTDI Adapter Kit Want a board that can breakout the Synapse RF module pins, gives you a USB port/FTDI chip to program, supplies it with a regulated 3.3V, integrates a reset switch (for updating & erasing), and also gives you mounting options? Well the Solarbotics Synapse-to-FTDI Adapter Kit can do it all. |
Solarbotics Synapse-XBee Adapter Kit If you want to use Synapse modules in an XBee application, this will let you adapt it to work. With a few extra parts, you can even go back the other way (Xbee modules for Synapse setups). |
We'll keep putting items on discount over the next week, so keep an eye on the Clearance category. That's it for now. Keep in mind that we'll be closed to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving on October 10th. It's still just over a week away, so we'll give you another heads-up next week.
We had an unexpected delay in San Francisco - so we are not shipping any orders on Tuesday, May 7th. But we are set for tomorrow so normal shipping will resume on Wednesday May 8th, our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Sorry to say that our initial inventory of the ScoutWalker III has sold out! We're trying to get more ready for Christmas, but no promises...
...DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE OVEN. You'll burn the cookies while eating the dough! Just got a new LOUD oven timer to make sure somebody is standing over the PCBs when the timer is about up. Pick and place machines tend to drown out gentle oven beeps!
DJ Sures has been a customer of ours for a good while now, and he recently came in with this really cool product - the EZ-B. He's a professional programmer that's been hacking toys into robots, and wanted an more streamlined way to realize his dream of simple-to-implement robotics. He started with his own versions […]
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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.