Tindie

It’s Pi Day! That’s 3.14 for those of you counting. It has become a tradition to geek out about Raspberry Pi each year on this date. Let’s take a look at some of the unique Raspberry Pi hardware that Tindarians have designed.

Untethered Pi Power

Working out portable power for the Pi usually means a portable cellphone battery and a USB cable. It’s easy, but not very tidy. Here’s a hardware add-on that uses an LiFePO4 cell and includes all of charging and tending circuit necessary. Tindie seller Silicongnition designed this hardware and has a few other offerings like the version meant for applications other than Pi.

That’s a Lot of Blinky!

Driving LED strips and multi-color matrices gets a lot easier with a little hardware help. The PiPixel hat takes care of level shifting for the logic, and has both a screw terminal and barrel jack for feeding power to all of those pixels.

Tracking Ships with Your Pi

If you live near a major waterway, this hardware will be a delight to have on hand. The dAISy Hat listens for and decodes Automatic Identification System (AIS) messages carried by all large vessels. From the same seller we’ve seen standalone modules but this one is specifically for Raspberry Pi.

Going Long with Pi Camera

A surprising number of people have purchased this clever hardware that lets you put the Raspberry Pi Camera module much further from the board. It’s called the Pi Camera HDMI Cable Extension and it does just like it says. As Jeremy described in his post yesterday, two adapter boards allow you to use an HDMI cable between the Pi and the Camera.

What is Your Favorite Raspberry Pi Hardware?

We want to hear about your favorite hardware add-ons for Raspberry Pi. Send a Tweet and remember to include @Tindie and #PiDay.

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The Hackaday Prize kicked off this morning; the global engineering initiative challenges you to Build Something that Matters. This is a perfect fit for everyone in the Tindie community who loves to create their own hardware. Spend some time this year building something that benefits society and you’ll be in the running for $250,000 in cash prizes.

This year there will be 120 finalists who each receive $1,000 — pretty great odds considering there were 1000 entries last year. The Grand Prize is $50k and 2nd-5th place will pick up $20k, $15k, $10k, and $5k. But for many Tindie readers it’s the Best Product prize that is most interesting.

Every Tindie seller knows there’s lot that goes into taking a prototype trough development to the point that you can produce and ship it to a customer who will cherish your unique creation. The Best Product award is look for great examples of that process and there’s $30,000 and widespread recognition for doing so.

This is a perfect springboard to take your product to the next level. Any product that has received less than $2M in funding is eligible to enter. You’ll need to completely document your product by July 24th. If named one of the twenty finalists you’ll get $1k and be asked to send three functional bet units for final judging.

The Hackaday Prize is open to hardware creators from all over the world. Start your entry now and you’ll be using your skills, creativity, and experience to make the world a little better place.

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Back to work for you, holiday’s over! But wait, this is traditionally the least productive day at the office since everyone is cruising the web for deals. Look no further.

Anyone who wants bleeding-edge, artisanal electronics knows there’s no place like Tindie.

This Cyber Monday, dozens of
Tindie Sellers are offering deals.

While stocks last:

• SemachTheMonkey: 15.55% off the RC2014 range. Discount code: CYBERZ80 (Monday Only!)
• Geppetto Electronics: 20% off store – GPS Disciplined xCXO, Crazy Clocks, and more. Discount code: 338678B4 (Monday Only!)
• Wishful Coding: 50% discount on Accessible Guitar Tuner for the visually impaired (3 available). Discount code: 8A8860FA (Monday Only!)
• Kaktus: 15% discount on MightyWatt Electronic Load and USBuddy USB development tool (10 available). Discount code: KAKTUS15 (Ends Wed).
  Also, two pounds of typical Czech chocolate and candy will go to the customer who makes the largest order from 24th to 29th November! Sent separately on 1st December (no code required).
• Pemi Technology: 10% off Retro Wrist Watch, plus everything on the store! Discount code: 49FCD945.
• Makerstorage: 10% off Seven-Segment Thermistor or Thermocouple Extruder Controller. Discount code: MSBFCM10 (Ends Tues).
  Also free gift of Thermocouple Sensor to our customers with our Seven-Segment Thermocouple Extruder Controller (Use with 10% off code above).
• I-Syst: 10%-20% off Bluetooth modules, LED matrix, and more. Check specific product pages for Friday-only, Monday-only, and weekend-long deals.
• Dan M: Free gift when buying the DM dispenser – extra syringes OR faster shipping OR free accessories (Monday Only!).
• Ozzmaker: 15% discount on BerryIMU – Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Magnetometer. Discount code: 54072AD3 (Ends Tues).
• Hotchk155: 15% off the following products (Ends Tues):
  ARPIE MIDI arpeggiator kit with code: ARPIE15PCT
  LE STRUM strummed MIDI chord controller kit with code: STRUM15PCT
  SYNCHOLE MIDI to DIN SYNC  with code: SYNC15PCT
  PC-2 Clone percussion synthesizer kit with code: PCLONE15PCT
• Class B Project: 20% off MotionPro 3+1 axis CNC controller (from $89.99 to $69.99). Discount code: BLACKFRIDAY20 (Monday Only!).
• Muffsy: $10 off on the Muffsy MC Head Amp kit. Discount code: THANKSGIVING (Ends Tues).
• PartFusion: 10% off I Can Solder Torch, SEWRGB v2 Pixels, and more. Discount code: D8B0DDF0 (Ends Tues).
• Jeff Murchison: 15% off TinyLoadr AVR Programmer and Breakout, and Simon Says Game Kit. Discount code: CYBER15OFF (Monday Only).
• Limpkin : 25% off HB100 Doppler Speed Sensor. Discount code: CB28A965 (Monday Only!).
• Logicalzero: 50% GAMBY Retro-Gaming Arduino Shield. Discount code: 5A0514D9 (Fri-Mon).
• Tall Dog: 50% off Switching Breadboard Power Supply. Discount code: 2AB89C1A  (Monday Only!).
  Also, free Teensy Breakout kit (choose any) with the purchase of any 2 Teensy Breakout kits – specify choice of kit in notes when placing order. (Monday Only! no code needed)
• Klar Systems Private Limited: 20% off Zmote: Wi-Fi Universal Remote. Discount code: BLACKFRIDAY (Ends Tues).
• Sinzu Shop&Co: 5% off The Ultimate PCB Ruler and 18 Servo Hub. Discount code: SinzuCyberBlack2016 (Ends Tues).
• Catnip Electronics: 30% off Chirp – plant watering alarm. Discount code: 497F4D22 (Ends Tues).
• FyberLabs: 15% off Flex Modules for wearable electronics. Discount code: 0FC23C10 (Ends Tues).
• I-Syst: 30% off USB912, Pogo Pin ICSP SPI Programmer Adapter, and ESP8266 FTDI breadboard adapter. Discount code: 3A88AEEE (Ends Tues).
• 18 Robots: 20-40 % off Drawdio Plus+ Soldering Kit, Screw Terminal and CNC Arduino shields  (Monday Only!). Check product pages for specific discount codes on various days.
• Nootropic Design: 15% off Synthino XM, Lumazoid Realtime Music Visualizer Board, and other DJ/VJ Arduino audio video shields and boards. Discount code: D50575C0  (Monday Only!).
• Arduino Enigma: $20 off Arduino Enigma I, M3, M4 Machine Simulator w/ Case. Discount code: E1E26076 (Ends Tues).
• Russtopia Labs: $4 off p@ss™ Mark II Password Generator/Recall Key Fob. Discount code: FORDALULZ (Monday Only!).
• ICStation: 20% off loads of components IC Accessories, ESP8266, ESP32s, OLED, Robotics and Raspberry Pi, Arduino compatible Dev. Board and Modules. Discount code: 70956DCF  (Monday Only!).
• Embedded Lab: 10% off loads of Digit Displays, Pulse Sensors, and more. Discount code: BFDEAL10  (Monday Only!).
• Sensible Living Llc: 10% off Wireless Sensor Starter Kit plus sensor add-ons for home automation. Discount code: DE4E9BDE  (Monday Only!). 
• Utah Imagineering Llc: 25% discount on the Pixel-Pi and PicBee. Discount code: Imagine2016  (Monday Only!). 
• FriedCircuits: 10% off all products using code: SHINY2016
  USB Tester 20% off with USBTESTER20
  Sharp Distance Sensor 50% off with RANGE2016 (Monday Only!)
• Nifteecircuits: 20% off NifteeSupply – 80W DC Smart Power Supply. Discount code: 87806D61  (Monday Only!). 
• Bot Thoughts: 20% off breakout boards for switches ATtiny, eeZee, and more. Discount code: 25B83D11  (Monday Only!). 
• OSHChip: 20% off all OSH Chip Products (Monday Only!)

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There’s no better way to make my ears perk than to start a story with a tidbit like “I am at the end of a 25 year career in nuclear weapons design at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory”. This is how Kris Winer starts of his interview with Maker.io.

Our friends over at Digikey have been in contact with several Tindie sellers and are beginning to publish interviews. I think it’s wonderful that our community is getting this recognition: if you want people who are building unique and bleeding edge hardware Tindie is the place to look.

Kris’ story is indicative of a rising engineering culture. While engaged in a challenging and fulfilling career by day, he started to look at how easy it had become to build electronics as a one-man shop at night. His 8-year old is to blame. Dad and son first bought some kits, quickly working through them before submitting to the siren song of their own custom boards. Kris’ company, Pesky Products, was born and the rest is history. Here are few of his own words on where this has taken him. Don’t forget to follow the link at the top for the entire interview.

I still do everything by myself but I have learned to reach out to collaborators for my more ambitious projects that require more skill than I currently have. Pesky Products is still my core business and one I still greatly enjoy, but it has led to several consulting jobs for customized electronics for startup companies all over the US. In some ways, Pesky Products is the marketing arm of my rapidly growing electronic design business.

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