Summer Ideas with Cool Components

With Summer finally here we've put together some great products from solar panels to hand held gaming consoles, that will help you make the most of the sunshine!

LilyPad Sewable Electronics Kit Make your new summer wardrobe complete with some awesome wearable electronics! The LilyPad Sewable Electronics Kit lets you explore the wonderful world of electronic sewing (e-sewing) and e-textiles through a series of introductory projects using the LilyPad system. You'll learn how to sew basic circuits to light up LEDs, control them with buttons and switches and even experiment with a pre-programmed LilyMini circuit that reacts to ambient light levels allowing you to create all sorts of fun wearable accessories.

Rover 5 Robot Platform  If you're looking for a base for your next robot, look no further than the Rover 5. Weighing in at over 1kg without batteries, this heavy duty tank tread robot can drive over many different surfaces. The 4 independent motors each have their own optical quadrature encoder and gearbox can be driven by most microcontrollers.

Solar Panels Make the most of the sunshine by making your projects portable and powering them with one of these great value Solar Panels. They have a fine resin surface and sturdy back making they suitable for outdoor environments. Available in all different sizes and ranging from 0.5W to 2W and a typical open circuit voltage is around 5V. They also have a 2mm JST connector making them easy to connect to most boards/microcontrollers.

Nibble!  Take your gaming on the go this summer with the Nibble! This is the new and improved version of the popular MAKERbuino! Learn how to solder and design your own games that you can take out and about with you while you enjoy the sunshine!

Organizer Cabinets Why not make use of the warm and sunny weather to renovate and tidy up your makerspace or workshop? These orange and black handy storage cabinets can be wall mounted or sit on your workbench, making them the perfect storage solution for all your loose components, hardware and tools. They come in a variety of different options from 12 to 64 compartment trays.