If you’re just getting started with electronics, perhaps you will pick up an Arduino Uno or other prototyping board with which to experiment. These can be really excellent learning tools, as you can plug it in, program it to blink its built-in LED, then add all kinds of accessories for sensing and control. On the other hand, that can be somewhat inconvenient if you don’t have a library of parts built up over years of tinkering, and you want to expand things right now.
A new alternative to waiting, going to a local electronics store (if you can find one), or simply ordering interesting components at random, would be 2016 Hackaday prize entry, evive. The heart of this device is an Arduino Mega board, however, it adds such useful accessories as a battery, TFT screen (which can be used as a mini oscilloscope), real-time clock, a tiny breadboard, and accommodations for several different wireless modules. Of course, that’s just a fraction of what this platform offers—check out a list of its features here.
The device has been in development for some time, and we’re excited to see it available on Tindie by itself or as a starter kit. Both look like great options for experimentation and making, and we wish the evive team lots of success with their new venture!
