Tindie

Every Thursday we send out a curated list of featured products from Tindie. In case you missed it, here are last week’s products!

Custom Control Interface – CCI

A new USB device that provides a simple method for creating custom controls for applications or games through a standard HID PC interface

Digital Potentiometer Arduino Shield

A complete Arduino shield lab for experiments and applications on digital potentiometers (PCB only with options)

ESP8266 FTDI and breadboard adapter with 3.3V reg.

Connect ESP8266 WiFi module directly to 5V FTDI adapter and a breadboard.

Mixtile LOFT-Q

Mixtile LOFT-Q is an open-source mini single board computer based on Allwinner A31.It can easy connect via Ethernet ,WiFi and ZigBee.

p@ss Password Generator/Recall Key Fob

p@ss™: Forget Your Passwords.

Slim RFM69HW Breakout Board PCB

Build your own long range, easy to use, ISM band wireless RF module. Great for microcontroller / Arduino projects where you want an RF link.

I2C Soil moisture sensor

Capacitive soil moisture sensor interfaced via I2C. In addition senses light level and ambient temperature.

Keep Reading ›

CoolTools is a website where different tools are reviewed by readers. They also have a podcast in which they have guests talk about their favorite tools. The most recent episode is with John Edgar Park who not only works for Disney Research, but also writes for sites like Adafruit and Make. From big, more “unitasker” type items such as a drum coffee roaster to smaller, more versatile tools like digital calipers, John talks about his favorites and how he uses them in day to day work and hobbies. Don’t feel like listening to the 25 minute podcast? Get the transcript here instead.

Screenshot from John Edgar Park’s personal website

What are some of your favorite or must have tools? Is there a tool that you recently started using and can’t believe you didn’t have it sooner? I personally like the “helping hand” or “third hand” stands that have a magnifying glass along with alligator clips or other type of clamp to help with tasks such as soldering or holding small items for painting. I have used mine for painting small model pieces and even once used it for getting out a nasty splinter. Here’s one from our Tindie Marketplace! 

Keep Reading ›

Fast Company posted a 5 and a half minute video for their “Innovation Undercover” series in which they look into the steps taken by Pepsico to create their new “Deep Ridge” ruffled potato chips. I was surprised to find out that they used 3D modeling software to create different chip shapes and ridge depths and then printed the models on a Makerbot. Those models were given to consumer focus groups who then gave their feedback on the ideal chip type.

Screenshot from Fast Company’s video of the 3D printing of a chip sample

“On this week’s edition of Innovation Undercover, step into PepsiCo’s savory Culinary Innovation Center in Valhalla, New York to discover the secrets behind potato chip flavors like Flaming Crispy Chicken and Cheeseburger. These flavors were not dreamed up by some slacker dude with the munchies—they are the result of years of research, development, and, in some cases, failure. Watch the video above to find out what super-calibrated tech is required in order to make 30 perfectly ridged potato slices every second—and much more.”

Keep Reading ›

MakersBox has been a seller on Tindie for over a year and has been very successful with projects like the GeekHeart and Tacuino. Their Instructable on the Tacuino (a portmanteau of “Tic Tac” and “Arduino”) is extremely detailed and easy to follow. Lots of photos are attached with notes, diagrams, and close up, detailed shots. Additionally, after assembly instructions there are steps regarding software as well. Everything you need in an Instructable is here.

One commenter asked “….what is the use of this module?” and MakersBox answered:

“Ah, that is the golden question. A night light? A musical greeting card? Lights & siren for a Pinewood derby card? Your favorite stuffed animal with a blinking heart or glowing eyes.

Right now I am thinking of the blinking light and sound the TARDIS makes!

The actual answer is “anything an Arduino can do” and is limited only by your imagination!”

“The Tacuino (think Tic-Tac Arduino), is an extension of my SnapNsew project. It now includes the necessary hardware so that they project can be easily re-programmed by a student after the circuit is built.

The Tacuino is self-contained in that it includes:

• An inexpensive, commonly available CR2032 battery power source.
• Two inputs (touch and light sensors).
• Two output (sound and LEDs).

This is a just enough “umph” for a reasonable beginning project while demonstrating some of the amazing abilities of an embedded circuit!”

Do you have an Instructable for one of your products on Tindie? Let us know and we will feature you next!

Keep Reading ›

Every Thursday we send out a curated list of featured products from Tindie. In case you missed it, here are last week’s products!

TCPoke shield kit

Trade Pokemon from your Game Boy across the internet

SunAirPlus Solar Power Controller/Data Collector

 SunAirPlus – Solar Power Charge Controller, Data Collection Board – Build your own Solar Power System

usblinky

 A programmable usbstick for psychedelic blinky applications and more.

EzTemp: Easy Temperature and Humidity for RPi

Get air temperature and relative humidity accurately and easily on Raspberry Pi using the serial port!

MX-Board

A 3 button breakout board for Cherry MX switches. Connect nice mechanical switches to an Arduino or the RaspberryPi.

R/C Servo Signal Trigger

Turn an electronic device on/off remotely using an existing R/C transmitter & receiver, without losing any of your existing control channels

Easy Pulse Sensor Based on Photoplethysmography

Sensor to measure pulse rate from fingertips

Keep Reading ›

Whether you are a hobbyist or you are making a living by selling your products, creativity is at the core of every maker. If you ask someone in this community to describe themselves in three words, more than likely a trait you will hear over and over again is “creative.” I would describe myself as creative, but I struggle with my creativity all the time. My biggest issue is that I have so many ideas in my head that I can picture perfectly and when I go to make them, they come out all wrong. I have drawers and drawers of clay, fabric, paint, wood, electronic bits and pieces, etc that I have abandoned due to feeling frustrated when my first attempt flops.

I came across this Lifehacker article today about sabotaging your creativity and found myself agreeing with many of the points. Using our imaginations to form something tangible can be a frustrating process, but, especially in my case, we need to realize that being a maker means trial and error, experimenting, collaborating, and being ourselves. One part of the article that particularly “hit home” for me was this:

We tend to glorify stories about creative geniuses and attempt to recreate those creative bursts for ourselves. This doesn’t work. Steve Jobs started Apple out of a garage, but that doesn’t mean that you should start a company out of yours. Don’t emulate the specifics. Instead, integrate ideas that make sense to you and your system, then move on.

For the whole article, click here.

Keep Reading ›

Aprilbrother is a Tindie seller who has created products like the TinyESP ESP8266 Breadboard Adapter and the Cactus Micro Arduino compatible plus WIFI esp8266. Although they are a new seller, they have already had over 60 orders in less than a month! The Cactus Micro has been a wildly popular item. They have used this part for a piece on Instructables!

This post is a quick and easy four steps that take the Cactus Micro and the ESP8266 to update a remote server using a digital temperature sensor. As a bonus, Aprilbrother is helpful with questions and very active not only on Tindie, but also on the comments section of their posts on Instructables.

The Cactus Micro is an arduino compatible dev board, it integrated a WIFI chip ESP8266.

• 1 x Cactus Micro – contains a ESP8266 module ESP-11 (https://www.tindie.com/products/AprilBrother/cactus-micro-arduino-compatible-plus-wifi-esp8266/)
• 1 x DS18B20 Digital Temperature Sensor
• 1 x 4.7k resistor
• 1 x Power supply (4.3V up to 12V, I used a 3.7v)

Do you have an Instructable for one of your products on Tindie? Let us know and we will feature you next!

Keep Reading ›

I recently saw an article on TechCrunch about a seven year old who, at his schools’ career day, said he wanted to be a video game developer (his favorite game is Minecraft) and was told that a developer isn’t a real job and then he was told to sit out of the activities. That article was referenced in another TC article titled “Why Don’t Makers Have Higher Social Status?”

A question in the article asks”Is Creativity A Hobby Or A Profession?” In my opinion, you cannot have artists, writers, architects, singers, composers, and an entire plethora of professions without being creative. Additionally, as we have seen on Tindie, it is entirely possible to become successful as a “Maker.” This has also become increasingly apparent with our Silicon Valley Hardware Meetups, where makers and hardware enthusiasts from around the South Bay and Peninsula come to show off and discuss projects and network.

Society isn’t about to change its approach to risk, but we can change both the perception and actual risk of taking on a creative profession. No child should ever hear that being a maker “isn’t a real job” when in fact our economy not only supports but desperately needs more creativity.

For the entire article, click here.

Keep Reading ›

Every Thursday we send out a curated list of featured products from Tindie. In case you missed it, here are last week’s products!

Pi Camera HDMI Cable Extension

A set of connectors to extend the Raspberry Pi camera cable. This kit permits to use a standard HDMI cable between the Pi and its camera.

INMP441 I2S Digital Microphone

Digitally record hi-fi sound using a Teensy 3.x without a CODEC

16×2 Character LCD w/Backlight and FPC Breakout

16×2 Character LCD w/Backlight and FPC Breakout

Golden State USBASP

An Arduino ISP Programmer from Los Angeles

thermNeon – the neon nixie room thermometer

IN-13 Nixie room thermometer, where a glowing neon bar indicates the temperature, resembling retro thermometers.

12 Bit ADC Breakout(I2C)

Easy to use 12-Bit I2C ADC breakout board

Digispark – The tiny, Arduino enabled, usb dev board!

The micro-sized, Arduino enabled, usb development board – cheap enough to leave in any project!

Keep Reading ›

Keep Reading ›