News

Textiles and electronics go hand-in-hand these days thanks to specialised low-power microcontrollers and conductive thread. We looked at the latter when our friends at Kiktronik were showing off a thread winding tool, and browsing independent product marketplace Tindie we came across a new example of the former: the SnapNsew Kit from MakersBox. Based around an Atmel ATtiny microcontroller - giving it partial compatibility with the Arduino IDE, providing you manually install a hardware definition file - the low-cost kit includes everything you need to get started with 'soft-circuits' in a clever snap-apart PCB design available as open hardware from OSH...

Robotics is a topic we're passionate about here at oomlout, but we're also aware it can be difficult to introduce to younger children owing to the often complex electronic nature of such devices. Our friend Giles Grover, a fellow UK Maker Belt denizen based in Sheffield, has an answer: hydraulic-powered wooden-framed mechanical robots dubbed Small Machines. His designs, which now number five, are all laser-cut from FSC-approved wood sources and are powered by water from a syringe, making them exceptionally suitable for use with younger makers. Giles' blog demonstrates the evolution of his creations, while his Kickstarter campaign (we've backed it)...

    Always running out of jumper wires or breadboards? Need to get supplies for a workshop or classroom? We now offer a solution. We're selling our Breadboard Jumper Wires, and Breadboards in packs of ten. Same great prototyping supplies but a %33 discount for buying in bulk. We'll be adding more bulk items in the near future, so keep checking the Bulk Collection for developments.

An Arduino is a great way to quickly build a device for what the media likes to call the Internet of Things (IoT), but getting the 'Internet' part of that up and running isn't always easy. An Ethernet Shield is only useful if you can run a network cable where the Arduino needs to live, and the high price of the Wi-Fi Shield puts many makers off. As a result, we're pleased to see Arduino and Atmel - the company responsible for the ATmega microcontrollers that drive most Arduino boards - partnering on what they've called the Arduino Wi-Fi Shield...

A generation of makers are growing up today thinking that hardware hacking began with the Raspberry Pi, but Alexander "Shaos" Shabarshin is out to remind people that isn't the case. Through his company Ternary Research, Alexander has launched a new add-on for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum - launched in 1982 as the successor to the Cambridge-based Sinclair's ZX81 microcomputer - which provides breakout pins and a solderless breadboard for the user port at the rear. At £16.58 including shipping to the UK and the discount code CCC6919, it's certainly not the cheapest way to interface modern hardware with the Spectrum...