Matthew | Aug. 16, 2019

Robee | Aug. 16, 2019

Michael | Aug. 16, 2019

Wesley | Aug. 15, 2019

Jono | Aug. 15, 2019

Great product - brilliant idea

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Love the idea of this ruler. I spotted some that a friend had got as promotional items. Then I found this one and had to have it. My kids have learned binary and logic gates by messing around with them. Even my retired Dad who is an electronics engineer has been inspired by it.

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 15, 2019

Thanks for the review Jono :) I've given one Digirule to each of my older kids so they can learn binary, logic gates and flip flops too! I'm very happy to hear your Dad had been inspired by it also :)

Arnaud | Aug. 14, 2019

Excellent ! So happy to have it :)

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Took me some time to figure out again some of the gates of flip-flops but I love it. I really hope to show it to my son and use it as a teaching tool :) People were already giving me this weird look when using my Adafruit PCB ruler... can't wait to see faces with this one ! Great work and thanks for the fast shipping !

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 19, 2019

Thanks for the review Arnaud and I hope your son enjoys learning the basics of digital electronics with the Digirule :)

Roderick | Aug. 13, 2019

Such a cool product!

For Digirule2 - The 8-bit Programmable Binary Ruler

This was a cool idea having an 8-bit computer with front panel switches and LEDs in such a small form factor. The fact that it's well designed and executed are a bonus. Having the sample programs stored in flash was a really nice touch too!

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 13, 2019

Thanks for the review Roderick and i'm so glad you like your Digirule!

Eugene | Aug. 13, 2019

Fun little ruler to play with

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

There are lots of PCB rulers out there, but not very many interactive ones. The Digirule lets you play with 7 different types of logic gates, 4 flip/flops, and a 4-bit counter all powered by a single CR2032 battery. Great little ruler that any electronics geek will have fun with.

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 19, 2019

Thanks for the review Eugene and I hope you continue to have fun with the Digirule!

Patrick | Dec. 31, 2018

Dennis | Dec. 9, 2018

Paul | Dec. 5, 2018

Volker | Nov. 29, 2018

Dirk | Nov. 18, 2018

Brent | Nov. 14, 2018

More fun than the sum of its parts

For Digirule2 - The 8-bit Programmable Binary Ruler

My Digirule 2 arrived at its midwest US destination 15 days from the day I ordered it. The envelope in which it came was thin but padded, and the board was sealed in a static-shielding bag. There was no visible damage to the product. Component placement and soldering quality looks good. Silkscreen is nice and legible, front and back. The fact that the Digirule 2 is PIC-based was a big selling point for me. I was pleasantly surprised to find a PIC18F45K20 on board (with 4x flash and 3x RAM compared to the PIC18F43K20 I expected to find after reading the website). I followed the advice in the User Manual for installing the battery. It took more force than I expected to seat the battery, so when it's time to replace it, a small screwdriver may be necessary to pry it out, hopefully without damaging the holder. When switched on, everything worked perfectly. The LEDs are plenty bright. I ran each of the eight pre-installed programs, then wrote a small test program of my own. The Digirule 2 virtual CPU is fun to program right out of the box. The fact that the host PIC is hackable via the provided in-circuit serial programming pads makes it even more so. I noticed on the schematic that the address LED port and data LED port are reversed. If I discover any other schematic issues I will be sure to inform Brad. Can't report on battery life expectancy as I haven't drained the first one yet. I had a nice email conversation with Brad before the Digirule 2 even showed up. He was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to respond to each of my messages. Very happy with my purchase. Good job Brad!

Response from bradsprojects | Nov. 17, 2018

Thanks for the detailed info in your review Brent and thanks for picking up the error with my schematic - I went and checked myself and you are correct, I had them swapped around - i'll fix that up when I get some time. I am certainly glad that you are having some fun with the Digirule2 and look forward to seeing what you come up with in terms of new firmware and features. Keep me updated and if you don't mind, i'll post details of your work to the Digirule2 webpage.

Graeme | Oct. 30, 2018

Good vale for the money

For RetroBall: Build-It-Yourself Pixel Fun

Works exactly as promised.
Rapid and very positive response from Brad when I provided direct feedback to him.

Response from bradsprojects | Oct. 30, 2018

Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Graeme and I hope Retroball continues to provide great entertainment for you 😊

Paul | May 26, 2018

I love my ruler 8>)

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Really like the look of this, I work as a software dev and thought it looked fun. I bought two, one for my colleague at work, I knew he'd like it. Lots of fun, nerds love it and non-techies look at it (and us) and think we're stranger than ever!

Response from bradsprojects | May 26, 2018

If people think you're strange for having the Digirule, then my work here is done!

Niklas | May 20, 2018

Really cool ruler

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

I bought the digirule as a present for my girlfriend who is studying computer science and it was received very well. The shipping was quick, considering the distance involved. I love how the product is extremely well documented including source code, PCB design and bill of materials.

Response from bradsprojects | May 20, 2018

Fantastic to hear your girlfriend likes the gift Niklas - she sounds like the coolest girlfriend ever! Very much appreciate you taking the time to write the review and that you found the documentation helpful :)

Benedikt | May 20, 2018

Amazing ruler with many useful functions

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

The ruler is working perfectly well. While the binary numbered scale might make it little bit difficult to use the ruler quickly, it adds to it's charm anyways.
I could not really find much documentation and ended up reading through the provided source code. Please, add a printed manual to the shipment or at least email me a PDF after I made the purchase!
It's also a bit annoying that the scale does not start at the edge of the board. Via email he replied to me that this is not possible for accuracy reasons, but it would still have been a lot more useful this way.
Still, I do not regret this purchase, especially considering the amazing price. It's a nice ruler and it earned a prominent place on my desk and is getting involved into some productive work, once I verified that the scale is accurate enough by itself to be used productively.

Response from bradsprojects | May 20, 2018

Thanks for the review Benedikt however there is plenty of documentation :) If you have a look on any product page on Tindie you will find links to 'Specs and Docs' (it is all the way up the top - just underneath the product images). The Digirule page also contains these links and there you will find the sourcecode, bill of materials, user manual, PCB design etc...

Michael | May 18, 2018

Awesome ruler/gadget

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

I bought two Digirules because they looked interesting. I had no real use planned for them. They arrived about 3 weeks after I placed the order (US).

I'm much more impressed than I expected! The layout of the board is just complex enough to see what's happening without it being distracted. The LED side is an awesome tool for both learning and performing basic logic functions. The printed side has a slew of data that's useful to have during many projects.

One thing I'm extra impressed by is the finish of the Digirule board. It's matte. So I get no light reflection and it doesn't move when I set it down. Both are big plusses.

It's very likely that I'll buy extra in the near future... because I expect students (I'm a teacher) and coworkers to steal mine. A good problem to have. :)

Overall I couldn't be happier! Well done, mates.

Response from bradsprojects | May 18, 2018

Hi Michael - i'm glad the Digirule sparked your interest! I'm a teacher also and have used them in my digital classes. They have come in really handy for those who are brand new to binary, logic and so forth - i'm pretty sure some rulers have gone missing however...

Thanks for the review!

Vincent | May 17, 2018

Got it!

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Hi Brad, just got the two ruler.. will keep them until kid grow up a little bit :)
Thanks for the fast shipping and I look forward for the coming Altair-on-a-ruler Edition :)

Response from bradsprojects | May 17, 2018

Fantastic I hope you have fun with it and pass it on to the next generation! I'll be sure to keep you posted on the Digirule2 - coming soon!

Alan | May 17, 2018

Pleasant surprise quick shipping

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Bought one for an engineer friend. Very impressed with the level of technology and data crammed into 15 cm. One star for documentation as none was included. I had to Google to fine quick start guide. Very nice product but would it hurt to add a QR code for more info?

Response from bradsprojects | May 17, 2018

Hi Alan, glad to hear you like the Digirule :) there are links on the Digirule Tindie page for you to download the user manual, source code, bill of materials, schematic etc. This functionality is built in to every item page on Tindie but perhaps I should mention it at the very top of the Digirule page to avoid confusion.

Rik | May 10, 2018

nice gadget, for a student ,

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

This is a nice gadget , to fresh up the binary things, good for a student or a old timer like me who wants to do some new things .
arrived with 1 led broken ( maybe transport ) but no big deal to replace him .

Response from bradsprojects | May 10, 2018

Thank you for the reply Rik - however I'm sorry to hear yours arrived with a broken LED. I'll send you a private message and get this all sorted out for you :)

Tom | May 3, 2018

Brilliant toy/educational device.

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

I love it, arrived on time, and all I had to do was get the CR2032 battery, that you can get just about anywhere.

The concept is great, every student in a tech course should have one.

The buttons and their spacing is good, considering my finger size.

The information on the reverse side is invaluable when it comes to the SMD component outlines, real size and clear text.

I thought the text may have been a bit too small, but the sharpness of the font and the good contrast to the PCB colour alleviated that worry.

Thinking of getting a second one for my boss..

Thanks for a great fun/educational gadget... Tom..

Response from bradsprojects | May 4, 2018

Thanks for the feedback Tom - very glad to hear the digirule is coming in handy for you. Surely your boss would have to give you a raise if you got them a Digirule!

Rolf | April 13, 2018

Great!

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

The Digirule is an amazing toy for those who know about Boolean algebra and a wonderful instrument to learn about it for those who don't. Wish I had it when I was confronted with that issue at school.

Shipping from Australia to Germany is a little handicapped due to delay by german customs. Perhaps they check, wether it may be a remote control for cruise missiles or something like that. But as I'm not in a hurry I can bear it.

Response from bradsprojects | April 16, 2018

Sorry for the delays in shipping Rolf - unfortunately (depending on the destination country) it can take a while to process through customs and for the forwarding postal service to put it through their system. It was actually even worse when I had them shipped directly from my manufacturer in Shenzhen - sometimes it would take almost two months to arrive by airmail!

I hope you get a lot of use and enjoyment out of your Digirule :)

Phillip | Feb. 28, 2018

Handy benchtop tool.

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

I still do my own prototyping and proofs of concepts using mostly SMDs . The reference material on the Digirule has practical application and the cool buttons and LEDs take me back to my fun filled days of discovering digital technology. Destined to take its place among my favorite gizmos. Thanks for sharing your creativity and putting a little fun in our work day!

Response from bradsprojects | March 2, 2018

Hi Phillip, fantastic to see the various footprints on the Digirule have come in handy for you and that it is giving you fond memories of when you were first discovering digital electronics. Thank you very much for the review :)

Carrie | Feb. 10, 2018

Super useful!

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

We all sometimes need a little help from a truth table, and the DigiRule is an awesome visual truth table (plus written on the back!). I keep it handy for when I'm writing embedded code and need to double-check my bit twiddling. The 4-bit counter is also a handy visualization, and the footprints and hole guide are nice too. I haven't needed to use the flip-flop tables yet, but am glad I have a tool ready for when I do. The whole thing is great, bonus that the rule is in binary too.

Response from bradsprojects | Feb. 10, 2018

Hi Carrie, thanks for taking the time to write a review for the digirule.

I'm certainly glad that you have found it useful - I hand out a bunch of digirules to my class each time I introduce them to digital electronics. Although I think i've lost count of the number of times students have asked if they could bring the digirule into their exam...

If you haven't already - make sure you check out the various easter egg modes which you can get information about in the digirule manual :)

Robert | Aug. 28, 2017

What a nerdy ruler!

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Shipping was more like 4 weeks, and the tracking number didn't tell me anything except that it had shipped. Not a big deal, but I was starting to wonder where it was.

But the ruler itself is pretty cool. Just about everything you'd want concerning binary logic. I particularly like the gray code counter. I can easily do two-bit gray code, which is what you mostly see. Now I can see how four-bit gray code works.

A couple of suggestions. The POV is kinda hard to see. If you rotated the logic gates section by 90° and put a hole in the ruler between the Q and Q not outputs, you could spin the ruler and see the patterns much easier. I can tell one pattern is some letters, but can't make out what it says.

The other suggestion is to add the list of Easter eggs to the conversion table that is on the back. Not the full name, but something like Standard, Gray, Sparkly, Shift, Test, POV, Dice, Game, 4Bit. It would make it easy to find the one I want without having to pull up the manual.

Response from bradsprojects | Feb. 10, 2018

Hi Robert - sorry for the late reply, I hadn't seen your review until now.

I apologise for the shipping times - but certainly glad that you enjoy the ruler and it has come in somewhat educational. The extra 'easter egg' modes were an after thought and as such - the POV display is quite awkward to use. It would certainly be better to be able to 'wave' the ruler back and forth with LED's going along the length of it. Perhaps the Digirule 2 will have this feature.

The easter egg lookup table would be helpful also - since even I forget what number performs what function :)

thanks again for the review and sorry for the very late reply!

Thomas | Aug. 25, 2017

Really nice techie-gadget!

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

The Digirule is a very nice gadget for techies which on one hand helps to explain binary to people unfamiliar with it but also tempts to play while on the phone or in a meeting. :-) The product is just perfect.
Shipping had been a little bit of a pain, it really needed more time as expected.

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 25, 2017

Hi Thomas - glad to hear you like the Digirule and I completely understand the annoyance with shipping. it does take a few weeks on average. Thanks for the review!

Sean | July 28, 2017

A great thing to have and to give.

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

While it's not really something that's exceptionally useful it's great for playing with and it's great for marveling at. I was one of the original backers of the kickstarter and I liked it then and I like it more now. I bought a bunch and gave them away and every single one is treasured. The original design had a different battery and had a problem with bouncy keys. Due to the source code being available and through updates that was very quickly solved and I love the details on the board and in the software. People who know their stuff love this little board for what it is: pure genius.

Many thanks for the hours you put into this and the thought that went into it. It's great. I love mine and it's a great gift as well. It engages everyone from 5 years to 75 (tested).

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 13, 2017

"While it's not really something that's exceptionally useful" That's basically what I have to tell my students when I introduce it to them in my digital electronics class. I basically have to tell them "It's really just a nerdy ruler..."

Ian | July 27, 2017

And it's also a ruler

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Really brilliant piece of kit, when I first showed it to my grandson his first comment was" how does it work" now begins the journey into electronics and coding. Couldn't wish for a better introduction.

Response from bradsprojects | Aug. 13, 2017

That's fantastic Ian - i've been trying to get my two older boys into electronics :) I hope it all goes well for you!

Lynnard | June 22, 2017

Great construction and well thought out.

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

This is one of those gadgets that you need, well anyway want then; just because! I wish I had thought of it but I wish I had thought of spinners too. Laying on your desk it becomes a geek fidget tool. It is the first thing my fellow geeks pick up out of curiosity. Well done mate

Response from bradsprojects | June 22, 2017

Thanks for comments Lynnard. I keep one on my desk at work and have people come up and play with it - i've never really thought of it as a fidget device but I guess that's exactly what I do with it :)

Speaking of fidget spinners, maybe I should put a bearing in the middle of it and turn it into a fidget spinner!

Manuel | June 20, 2017

Excellent device

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

I like this ruler very much. The logic examples are really cool to explain and to understand. Hope at lease one of my daughters finds it useful when the time comes :)
For now, daddy is very happy with those blinky lights that do something logic!

Response from bradsprojects | June 20, 2017

Very glad to see that you've found the Digirule fun to play with Manuel. I've got four young boys and i'm still waiting to see if at least 0001 out of the 0100 enjoys digital electronics :)

Daniel | June 20, 2017

This is neat..

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Something to tinker with and learn from while I'm at my desk.

Thanks for creating it man.

Good quality.

Response from bradsprojects | June 20, 2017

Thanks for the review Daniel and glad to see it has come in useful for you :)

Wesley | June 20, 2017

Awesome

For Digirule - The Interactive Binary Ruler!

Awesome product, awesome product, awesome product, awesome product, awesome product, awesome product, awesome product, awesome product

Response from bradsprojects | June 20, 2017

Hi Wesley, glad to see you think this is an Awesome product!