A while back, we covered the LogicShield by METE HOCA; well, they’ve now stepped it up a notch by reducing the price and increasing the usability and educational application with the new LogicBoard. Eliminating the requirement for an Arduino Uno brings the cost per board to a level where an educator could afford to buy 10 or 20 boards without completely emptying what small budget they may have.
Other improvements include switches to make changing the inputs easy; using 0.1″ headers for connections, allowing inexpensive jumpers to be used to connect the gates together; the ability to link multiple gates together in sequence to create more complex logic equations; and having fixed 0 and 1 input headers available. Altogether, this makes the LogicBoard a great choice for STEM educators who teach logic gates as part of their curriculum.
As an educator, I also appreciate that the name of the company has been moved from the front of the board to the back, giving a cleaner, more professional look. The listing also says that female-female jumpers are included, which is an excellent touch that makes educators’ jobs easier (being able to buy everything needed as a single product is great). The only thing missing is the option to include an appropriate power supply — but because it accepts a wide input range (4-14V DC), presumably most STEM educators have a few spare power supplies around. It was designed to be able to take the same power supply that powers an Arduino Uno, which is again a nice touch as being able to reuse components in a lab makes things easier for the instructors.
If you are in the STEM education field, check out one of these boards and simultaneously support a fellow maker while getting a tool to help educate the next generation of hackers and makers!
