Tindie

There are some people that naturally have a green thumb and have no problem growing plants, I am not one of those people. Despite my lack of a green thumb, I love gardening. A common issue with gardening is understanding the balance of moisture in the soil and the amount of sun the plants are getting.

The Dragino LSE01 LoRaWAN Soil Moisture & EC Sensor can assist gardeners with these issues. It is the perfect IoT device to add to your garden to measure soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil conductivity. The Dragino connects wirelessly and uploads the data it collects.

This device was designed to measure the soil moisture using an FDR method. The LoRa wireless technology allows the device to send data long ranges while remaining low power. It was created for long term use and has a life expectancy of about ten years powered by a 4000mA Li-SOCI2 battery, which is included.

The Dragino LSE01 is preloaded with unique keys for registrations and enclosed in an IP66 waterproof enclosure. Users can also choose the frequency for their country when purchasing this product. Get one of these IoT devices to make your garden or farm a little smarter!

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Keeping tabs on your volumes is sometimes a tricky process in music making – when guitars are interfacing with pedals, amps and mixing desks it’s always handy to have immediate control over loudness. The VC-11 Volume Control Pedal is designed for electric guitarists, with a typical use in their amplifiers effect loop, allowing them to hear the full body of the amp at practice level.

The VC-11 is a passive effect with high quality components including bourns/alpha potentiometers, in a hammond enclosure and neutrik jack connectors. Being passive, it requires no power, and will sit comfortably in a signal chain with very little space taken up. The VC-11 has uses for effect chains for synths, guitars and drum machines alike – with practical applications to regulate volumes with quick control over your signal. If you have a high gain signal, the VC-11 is ideal for keeping your sound under control. 

The VC-11 is a very simple but effective addition to anyone’s pedalboard, with high quality components, built to last. The pedals are designed and hand made in the USA by Kushview – check out their store for more pedals. They have a number of options for multiple quantities, and are intent on delivering a whole range of gadgets for your pedalboard.

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I must admit I love tube clocks. If you are going to have a clock hanging out on your desk, why not have an interesting one to look at. The IV3 Tube Clock Kit, sold by Neon Things, is a DIY kit based on IV-3 VFD tubes.

This uses vacuum flourescent display tubes to display a twelve-hour or twenty-four-hour clock. The tube brightness can be adjusted and it has a dimming feature for night time. The clock uses a USB-C connector to be powered via a USB cable. It also has a battery backup option, using a CR2032.

Each kit comes with all the necessary parts:

• A Microcontroller PCB
• A Switch PCB
• A Display Top PCB
• 4 Tube Breakout PCBs
• 4 IV-3 Tubes
• Brass Standoffs

Some additional assembly is required, so make sure you have your solder iron ready. What are you waiting for? It’s the perfect time to make your own tube clock!

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Bit crushing is a unique digital effect which, essentially, reduces the fidelity of the sound – the best way to imagine it is that it reduces the resolution of the audio, much like pixelation in digital images. The 8BitM8 is a hardware bitcrusher which comes hand painted and is packed with high quality components, the most notable of which is the super arcade button!

The 8BitM8 was inspired by the tonal qualities of vintage samplers, MPCs and lo-fi effects. It’s able to output 4, 6 and 8-Bit audio with controls for mix, sample rate and a built in lowpass filter. The arcade button has a momentary mode, for quick chopped-up glitches, or a latching mode for more sustained, conventional on/off operation.

For fans of the Casio SK-1, SP12000 and range of early Akai 3000 series samplers, the 8BitM8 allows you to create a lo-fi sound, with sounds spanning subtle overtones to extreme digital distortion. Choose from a range of colour combinations and button types – the 8BitM8 also features true bypass, and is powered by a 9V centre-negative adapter (not included).

The 8BitM8 is available in midierror’s store, alongside a few other hand-made musical gadgets. Check out the demo video below to see it in action!

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I love badges and soldering is a skill I wish I had learned at a much younger age. Soldering badge kits are a great way for any beginner to practice their soldering skills. The Space Girl Soldering Kit is a kid-friendly learn-to-solder DIY Badge Kit.

Project-based soldering kits are a great way for beginners to see how circuits work through a guided activity. This kit provides users everything they need to create a space girl light-up badge that can be attached to a backpack, bag, jacket, or pretty much anything that allows a pin clasp to be attached.

The custom printed PCB features a colorful and cute space design with a rocket and a female astronaut in space. Each kit includes:

• A Badge Pin and Clasp
• A Secure Battery Holder
• A Switch
• Instructions
• One Coin Cell Battery
• PCB
• Two LEDs

There is also an instructional video on how to assemble the badge. Everything needed is included in the kits, just add your soldering iron and solder!

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Every modular setup needs a mixer to blend the beats, bass, and bloops in one place for playback and recording. This ASMR – A Simple Mixer Right is a simple and versatile mixer with 5 inputs and 2 outputs for combining audio or CV signals. It comes in kit form and is a simple DIY build, suitable for beginners and veteran solderers alike – get ready for some ASMR action!

The mixer is straightforward and affordable, with two outputs – one inverted and the other non-inverted. Each input has a gain control to match the levels of your inputs  – with linear pots which will give a normal response with CV and a sharp response with audio. It has a possibility of increasing the number of inputs by adding an upcoming expander module – which can be daisy-chained for a massive mixing experience.

Each of the sockets are stereo, soldered as mono inputs and a possibility of making the outputs stereo. The makers have posted the schematics as well as a BOM if you want to source the components yourself and buy just the panels from them. A build guide is promised, so check their YouTube channel for updates!

The AMSR is sold by Sourcery Studios who are based in Sweden and sell a range of modular gadgets!

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The Magic 8-Ball was a popular novelty toy when I was a kid. You’d ask it yes or no questions, shake the ball, then turn it over to reveal the answer to your question. The Solar 8 Ball is a new take on the Magic 8-ball!

The Solar 8 Ball Soldering Kit is a DIY kit to create your very own 8-ball to seek answers to your burning questions. Once assembled, just shake it to awaken it. The device is solar-powered and can be place in a sunny window to charge, it automatically goes into sleep mode while not being used.

Each device has eight Charlieplexed LEDs, each next to a printed phrase that each roll may land on:

• Ask again later
• Don’t count on it
• My sources say no
• Outlook good
• Reply hazy, try again
• Signs point to yes
• Without a doubt
• You may rely on it

While assembly is required, each kit contains all the parts that you need to make a fully functioning Solar 8 Ball, including a pre-programmed ATTiny85 microcontroller that can be reprogrammed using the Arduino IDE if you so desire.

Should you go check out the Solar 8 Ball Soldering Kit? …My sources say yes!

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Interacting with musical gear is a fundamental part of converting real world gestures and expression into musical forms, and it goes way beyond generic keyboards and standard controllers. The Touch me NOW! is a touch panel for modular systems, which puts human contact at the forefront of your rack!

It’s a cheap and cheerful panel, which is designed to be used as a front for any touch related electronics projects – meaning your contact can trigger all sorts of musical elements including playing melodic notes, triggering drum sounds and switching elements on or off. Tindie seller Kristian Blåsol has a YouTube channel where he showcases modular tips and techniques to create and build your own sounds – describing himself as a maker and breaker! His series entitled ‘Modular In A Week‘ will feature this exact panel soon, so look out for a build guide and BOM there soon.

The panel has holes for four jacks, allowing for four outputs to be affected by the touch contacts. It’s a simple and effective way to put you in touch with your modular system – with potential for a huge number of interfacing ideas.

The Touch me NOW! is made by Sourcery Studios and ships from Sweden – check out his shop for loads of modular-inspired projects.

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Take control of your CAN bus by deciding how signals move between OBD connectors with the OBD2 Breakout Board. This breakout board is designed to simplify OBD2 device development. Users can install a jumper wire between rows to create connections, among many other tricks.

The OBD2 Breakout Board can be used to function in several different ways by how the user alters the signal routes through the system. Users can use this device to create a sniffer to watch traffic, or create an emulator by connecting 2 OBD2 Breakout Boards together for developmental purposes. Users can also create a man-in-the-middle by placing the OBD2 Breakout Board in between the host and another device.

Each product comes with a fully assembled OBD2 Breakout Board, documentation card, official sticker, and jumpers. The product features the following:

• A 12V Input Power Source
• CAN Termination Resistors
• Junction Blocks
• One Green LED
• One Input OBD2 Connector
• Power Jumpers
• Two Output Connectors

The OBD2 Breakout Board might be the missing piece for your next project, so be sure to check it out!

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RaspberryPi is a versatile choice for many different types of projects. Learning Raspberry Pi can be helpful to students and those just getting started. The CrowPi – Compact Raspberry Pi Educational Kit is an educational tool based on Raspberry Pi.

The CrowPi is a development board equipped with a 7-inch HD touchscreen and front-facing camera. It contains components like a buzzer, an LED matrix, a light sensor, an IR sensor, a PIR sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and more.

The CrowPi was designed to help students and people new to electronics, programming, and basic computer science. The CrowPi comes in two options, the basic kit, and the advanced kit. The advanced kit comes with more accessories, such as a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, and more.

Kits also come with a power plug that purchasers can close based on their country’s outlet type. The CrowPi could be the perfect way to teach yourself, or introduce your kids or student into Raspberry Pi and electronic project creation!

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