Electronics & Robotics Archive

I was checking out whats new at Parallax.com and found a great piece of software for designing your own electronic circuit boards. It’s called Dip Trace and it looks like a great piece of software.

Features Include:

• PCB Layout
• Schematic Design
• Component and Pattern Editors
• Standard Parts Libraries of over 100,000 parts
• Import and Export Function
• Step by Step Tutorials and more…

Link to a Demonstration Video about this software.

Link to DipTrace Website.

And once your done designing your PCB layout you can send them your design they can professionally make your board too. Click Here for more info.

If your into electronics then check out these 3 sites I found on the net.

First one is called Gadget Gangster. It’s for people who like electronic’s as a hobby and want to share and explore new kits. Click Here for the link.

Second one is called Electronic Goldmine. This is an online store for electronics components and accessories and some other unique items. Click Here for the link.

Third one is called Hobby Engineering. This site is also an online store for electronics projects and kits. Click Here for the Link.

Finding great sites is sometimes hard so check these out and let me know if you know any other sites that are great for electronics or robotics.

I was surfing around today and accidentally discovered this new Electronics blog that’s new on the block so I thought I would help the person running it out and link to him right away as he already has some great information and images posted. The Blog is called Volts and Bytes and I like it already with the schematics and images that are visible. The link is www.voltsandbytes.com so check it out if your into electronics or circuit building as he has some great information on there already and maybe down the road will have lots more great info.

I was dropping some entrecards today and found this great website called nuke it dot org and it had some pictures of these cool little miniture motorcycles made of electronics components. They are made of capacitors, resisters and  chips. Click Here to check out the site and the images,  its quit the artistic show.

Parallax has a great robot drive system kit available and it even comes with a position controller. This kit includes features such as: 150RPM drive at 12VDC or 190RPM drive at 14.5VDC, 6″ pneumatic, precision machined 6061 aluminum hardware, compatible with microcontroller and more. Click Here for the technical specs PDF of this product or click below for larger images.

Parallax has released it’s new Propeller Professional Development Board with lots of goodies on board. The selling price is $169.99 and they are currently in stock. This is a great board for electronic hobbyists, robot design or anyone that has some knowledge of electronics and some programming.

Key Features Include:

• 40-pin DIP socket for P8X32A-D40 Propeller microcontroller
• 24LC256 32K EEPROM included
• 5 MHz crystal included
• 5V and 3.3V regulators on board
• Built-in USB programming interface
• Six blue 16-segment LED displays (5V & 3.3V compatible)
• Sixteen blue discrete LEDs (5V & 3.3V compatible)
• L293D high-current driver for motors, solenoids, etc.
• Eight active-low push-buttons with 3.3V pull-ups
• Eight active-low DIP switches with 3.3V pull-ups
• Two 10K potentiometers
• Eight servo headers with selectable on-board/external power source
• DS1302 real-time clock with battery backup/charging capbility
• MAX4411 headphone amplifier with 1/8″ stereo phone jack
• MAX3232E RS-232 DCE interface
• Two PS/2 ports with 5V power and 3.3V pull-ups on clock/data lines
• 15-pin HD D-sub connector for VGA monitor
• Ground terminal for oscilloscope ground clip

Click Here for the link to this product on Parallax Website for more info.

I found a new robotics website called VEX Robotics Design Inc. They have a cheap robotics platform for $200 bucks called the VEXplorer.

Here is the link to the VEXplorer Platform.

I found a magazine yesterday called the Robot Magazine with lots of neat robot demos, reviews and articles. One page i was flipping thru had a picture of a robot called the Corobot. Corobot is a 4 wheel robot platform that comes with a windows or Linux operating system, 40GB harddrive, 1.2Ghz CPU , Wifi, color camera(640×480), 2.5 hour runtime, a 5lbs payload, IR sensor, a front gripper arm and lots of room to mount other hardware and sensors. It’s cost is around $2800-$3750 but for what you get and if your serious into robotics it’s a nice package. Available at Corobot.net