New Product Roundup – December 9th to December 15th

It is Saturday – time for another weekly update! We are quickly approaching the holidays and with that there is a lot of last minute gift shopping. Have an electronics enthusiast or aspiring robot builder? Be sure to check out our Holiday Gift Guide for ideas – And if you really aren’t sure – our Gift Certificates are always a great choice!

New Products
This week we have several new items including a couple of extremely flexible, easy to use, motor controllers from Pololu. The Micro Maestro can precisely control 6 servos from USB, TTL Serial, or internal scripting. The outputs provide extremely smooth, jitter free operation with even the most basic servos. The new Tic Stepper motor controller is a similar solution for stepper motors. Control a single bi-polar stepper using USB, Serial, i2c, RC servo, analog, and more! We also have a new USB 3.1A to USB C cable, a new 12V step up regulator, another ceramic screwdriver, and an extremely nice anodized aluminum robot chassis kit to build your next roaming robot!

Product Of The Week
This week we decided to go with something pretty popular: The Raspberry Pi 3B+. This powerful microcontroller is on sale for 15% Off until Friday at midnight – don’t miss out!

Lets go have a closer look at each of these new products!

Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller

The Micro Maestro is an easy to use, highly versatile, servo controller. It supports three control methods: USB for direct connection to a computer , TTL serial for use with embedded systems, and internal scripting for self-contained, host controller-free applications.

The channels can be configured as servo outputs for use with radio control (RC) servos or electronic speed controls (ESCs), as digital outputs, or as analog inputs. The extremely precise, high-resolution servo pulses have a jitter of less than 200 ns, making these servo controllers well suited for high-performance applications.

3′ USB 3.1 A to USB C

USB C connectors are starting to become quite popular – many smartphones have migrated to this standard. This 3’ USB 3.1 to USB C cable handles data transfer and charging. When connected through a USB 3.1 port it can handle data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps (20x faster than USB 2.0) and will output up to 3A – perfect for fast charging most mobile devices.

12V Step-Up Voltage Regulator U3V70F12

This powerful synchronous switching boost regulator efficiently generates an output voltage of 12V from an input voltage as low as 2.9V while using an input current as high as 7A. This regulator features reverse voltage protection, and unlike most boost regulators, it offers a true shutdown option that turns off power to the load.

Ceramic Screwdriver – Flat 2.0mm YR-034D

Ceramic screwdrivers are extremely useful to have around the workbench. These are specifically designed for tuning and adjusting electrically sensitive equipment as they are anti-static, non-conductive, and anti-magnetic. This specific screwdriver is a Flat 2.0mm.

Tic T834 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller

The Tic T834 USB Multi-Interface Stepper Motor Controller makes basic control of a stepper motor easy, with quick configuration over USB using Pololu’s free software. The controller supports six control interfaces: USB, TTL serial, I²C, analog voltage (potentiometer), quadrature encoder, and hobby radio control (RC).

2WD Aluminum Robot Chassis Kit – Purple

Looking for a sturdy, 2 wheel drive chassis to build your first self navigating robot? This aluminum chassis is perfect for the job! The kit is easy to assemble and includes motors, wheels and mounting hardware. There are a ton of different mounting points for your microcontroller, servos, sensors, and other additions as well.

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Product Of The Week – 15% Off


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New Tutorial!


Using an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor With Arduino
In this tutorial we will be looking at how to use an Ultrasonic Sensor to measure distance using an Arduino. These sensors are generally inexpensive, fairly accurate, and not affected by lighting conditions like infrared based systems. We will be looking at three Ultrasonic sensors, these are all code compatible but require subtle changes in the wiring due to differing pinouts. Interested? Head on over to the tutorial!

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