Tindie

Figit spinner was a quick project to put together and was fun to play with. TL;DR just junk to fill out the 100 characters required

Philip | May 30, 2018

Fun to put together

I really enjoyed assembling the Fidget Spinner. I purchased it pre-programmed with a message which worked out great. It was magic at first spin to see the message show up.

I highly recommend getting the flush wire cutters (Hakko CHP-170 recommended); they really improved the feel of the underside of the spinner. Has anyone tried a 3d printed case for the spinner?

I'd also recommend some PTFE lubricant for the center bearing. It makes the spinner much smoother.

Ken | May 24, 2018

Turtle Robot a good first tech project

For Open Source Turtle Robot Kit

The Turtle Robot is a good first tech project for anyone wanting to learn more about programming Arduinos, electronics, 3D printing, CAD and design. It gently guides you through each step to complete the project step by step. It also gives you enough information and access to modify the programming to explore further. If you have access to a 3D printer, I suggest you buy the kit minus the printed parts. Many libraries not have 3D printers you can use for free, including plastic. Check you local library.

The weak point on the robot is the wheel design. The spooks are thin and the center hole is a little too big making them loose. This is a perfect chance to also learn a little CAD by importing the files and modifying them for a better fit. I also drilled the stepper motor shafts and tapped them for a M3 screw where the wheel holes are. Putting the screw all the way through the motor shaft makes a very strong connection.

The link to code to test the LEDs in the documentation is missing. It would be nice if the code were put back on GitHub.

Response from MakersBox | May 24, 2018

Thanks for the review! I hope you'll consider uploading a photo in a comment on the Instructable page at https://www.instructables.com/id/OSTR/ or your favorite social media with the tag #TurtleRobot. I'd love to see how it turned out!

I agree about the wheels. I've uploaded a thicker wheel on the Thingiverse page at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2881396. Getting the hub right requires calibrating your printer, but the M3 screw works as well.

I've upload the firmware for testing the eyes, writing text, and making patterns to the Github at https://github.com/aspro648/OSTR/tree/master/firmware.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Garth | May 7, 2018

Great product and fun to put together.

I'm still new to this hobby so it was fun to put together this YAPS. Works like a charm. Now it's time to learn something new - ATTiny85.

Steen | May 1, 2018

Great design and accurate customization with rapid shipment

Got two as gifts and had fun assembling with good youtube instructions. Will probably order again in a few months. Thanks!

Timothy | April 12, 2018

Fantastic kit at a great price!

Assembled quickly and easily. Instructions were done visually and documented well. This is exactly what I needed to program stand alone chips. No need to use 2 Arduinos or make a breadboard. Excellent price for this kit! The PCB is excellent. The jumper that lets you select different chips is what made my mind when it came to purchasing. Looking on the web for one that would do many kinds was difficult, or only did one or two types. Thank you for offering a great deal on a great shield that I will use to make my own stand alone things! I wish you great success with this and your other offerings. Well done!

Andrew | March 20, 2018

Challenging, yet fun

Having done very little SMD work, this kit provided some challenge, especially on the 0203 components.

It's a shame that 0102 LEDs aren't available, because that would complete the horror!

Jan | March 5, 2018

Great Project

I think the SMD - Challenge is a great project. The delivery was very fast and I have learnded a much about soldering and the smd - components.

All in all i gave a positive feedback for this project.

Jeffrey | March 4, 2018

Brilliant!

Easy to build, well documented, easy to use, works perfectly. Best of all, Made in Oregon. I wish everything Arduino was so simple.

Karl | Feb. 22, 2018

Great kit. Somewhere between challenge and torture :)

This is a must have kit in my opinion. I have done a fair amount of smd kit assembly 0603 is the smallest I have ever attempted. 0402 was OK but 0201 was torture .
Fun torture . Had to break open my 2nd kit for a 3rd 0203 led. (rather not discuss the first 2 ) And wouldn't you know it's on backwards :) I will most likely order some more to hand out :)

Ben | Feb. 11, 2018

Very fun; very challenging!

This will definitely be a challenge but success is worth it!

The PCB is well designed with good pads for soldering to and nice test-pads as well. The only issue I found was that the hole for the pin is close enough that the pin can short out against the battery if the pin is soldered in place and the battery is fully inserted.

I really enjoyed this challenge.

Jasper | Feb. 10, 2018

It was fun

The product is great. When I picked up the 0201 LED with my tweezer it slipped and it shot away to a place and I ould never find it back. I failed the SMD challenge, but it was fun.

Letícia | Feb. 7, 2018

Excellent!

Great product! Assembly was easy and straightforward. Works perfectly in the first time. Good balance of spinner and good POV display as well.

Nick | Jan. 24, 2018

Excellent kit

This is a well thought out and designed kit at a very reasonable price. Easy to assemble with an incredible amount of documentation and resources!

Ludovic | Jan. 20, 2018

I love this kit :)

The kit is really nice. Once done, you have a tiny led blinking in a breathing patterns hand soldered.

Only little details bothering me is the lack of doc specific to the kit. The only doc is for the idea of the kit, written for someone gathering the parts by themselves. I spend a few minutes wondering about the orientation of the led even if the doc clearly say that some led have a tee shape with two leg crossing the part and the third one giving away the orientation. The kit come with one of these led clearly labelled. Also, the part are not labelled. I spend a few minutes before being confortable with a black shape with white number being a resistor, a brown shape being a capacitor and the white one being a led.

Anyway, beside theses nudges, the doc was good. The attiny is clearly marked with a red dot in the corner. Everything came together quite nicely. There was also a pair of extra part for turning the kit into a pin. After a suggestion from the author, I spend maybe 6 bucks in a DIY store and I now have a nice blinking necklace. I'm currently wearing my kit :)

Response from MakersBox | Jan. 20, 2018

Thanks for the constructive feedback. Since this is a beginners kit, any thing that causes confusion could be improved. I'll work on getting some additional photos and details about the parts and identification. You can post a photo of the necklace in the comments of the Instructable. I'd love to see it!

Ben | Jan. 20, 2018

Escellent challenging kit!

This kit comes with all the parts you need, plus good documentation for a project of this level. My kit also had lapel pin hardware, which is great for attaching it to clothing after you've spent hours searching for 0201 parts that you accidentally breathed on and sent to Narnia. (I wonder if 0201 parts and the socks that get lost in the dryer all end up in the same place...)

I enjoyed assembling this kit. It's a good idea to order the spare parts kit if you haven't worked with very small SMD components before. Battery not included, so you'll need a fresh CR2032 battery. If the LEDs seem a little dim, and you've tried everything but the blue 0201 LED still doesn't work, try another battery or a regulated bench power supply. The first battery I tried was old stock, and it didn't have enough voltage to light the blue LED.

Be sure to join the 0201 Club when you get your kit working!

George | Dec. 30, 2017

Great little project

Easy to assemble, build instructions via Instructables very clear and easy to follow. Works nicely when done. I made a small change, put in a 14-pin socket for easy chip swapping, still heavy on the battery side, but that doesn’t affect its performance in any way I can tell.

Jason | Dec. 18, 2017

Fantastic Programmable POV Fidget Spinner Kit!

Great instructions, assembled in less than an hour, everything worked first try. I'll be ordering more in the future. Thank you!

George | Dec. 15, 2017

Excellent first project for young person

Great project! I bought this to build with my 14 year old grandson. It took a couple of hours. He did all of the work, following the excellent video instructions. (The text version on Instructables is also well written.) This makes a unique spinner that intrigues adults and young people alike. It's a great tool to explain the concept behind persistence of vision. Try spinning it backwards and watch what happens to any of the options that use text.

Casey | Nov. 22, 2017

Great Kit

Great product. Just as described. Lost all of the smallest components. Had a blast putting together and brushing up on my soldering skills.

Casey | Nov. 22, 2017

Great Kit

Great product. Just as described. Lost all of the smallest components. Had a blast putting together and brushing up on my soldering skills.

Chad | Nov. 20, 2017

An awesome fun kit to build!

I found out about this while I was in Orlando for a Maker Faire. I'm not into fidget spinners but I'm hooked on this one. The instructions provided in this kit were simple and easy to follow. I had no trouble soldering the boards together.

They are so awesome, we're thinking about teaching a class with these.

Bryan | Oct. 7, 2017

Fun project, well packaged.

Very nice design. Easy to assemble with clear directions. Fun to challenge each other when playing with assembled product. Nice job

Stoney | Sept. 23, 2017

No problems

Assembly was flawless. My 65yr old eyes needed some help, but a lighted visor came in handy. Both units functioned perfectly, including the pre-programming that I would have been unable to accomplish. My only hitch came from my own over-aggresive grinding off the sharp nubs left from snipping the pins. Normally I would leave them, but these were for my young grandchildren, so I decided to smooth them down, and somehow cut thru a very small foil trace that needed bridged, my bad. These could be commercially available, but the price would be a factor. I am a retired electronics tech. but a novice should be able finish these also.
P.S. The grandkids went ga-ga over them! while the grown-ups competed for highest RPM.

Response from MakersBox | Sept. 23, 2017

As a grandpa myself, it warms my heart that this project is helping you make a connection with your grandkids.

I too, have been working on the solder joints to make them smooth. Here is a technique I think is applicable to this project especially:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Beautiful-Solder-Joints/

My other weapon is these very inexpensive but extremely usefully Hakko flush-cut plyiers: http://a.co/hQYlo4n (you can get them from Digikey as well).

Finally, my trick for removing flux is to use Goo Gone. Acetone is a but much for me to be splashing around the sink.

I've cut a number of traces and wiped out a number of pads in all my gadgeting. Glad you were able to make repairs.

Ken

Mark | Sept. 23, 2017

Works perfectly

All the parts were in the package and the instructions were overall good. There were just enough pictures included in the instructions to figure out the proper direction of a few parts. I liked that the chip came with default code as I didn't have the parts to reprogram it. Overall a good exercise to solder lots of parts which allows the kid to feel that they made it themselves.

Norbert | Sept. 23, 2017

Great DIY kit for the SMD Challenge

This kit includes everything you need to try out the insane SMD Challenge. (Okay, except the coin battery cell, but if somebody doesn't know which kind to buy in the local shop should just stop right now! :) )
All the needed components are included (for some there are even spare ones if you lose/destroy one), sorted out so it is very straightforward where they need to go.
Also the ATtiny is pre-programmed, so you don't have to bother doing that, just grab the solder iron, and rock-and-roll!
The documentation is also very helpful if there are things which are unclear.
The shipping was quick, with tracking included.

Norbert | Sept. 23, 2017

An easy way to know that You Can Surface Mount Solder

The product is a very straightforward DIY kit.
With the pretty good documentation and the self-explanatory way the components were packed, it only is up to your SMD soldering skills.
A nice plus is the pre-programming done to the ATtiny, so one doesn't have to bother doing that. Just solder everything together, and enjoy the beating heart!
The shipping was quick, with tracking included.

Daniel | Sept. 18, 2017

Really enjoyed this little project

For Easy Joule Thief Soldering Kit

Wanted a little kit to demonstrate the joule thief circuit and this is perfect! Easy to assemble and compact; it makes the perfect little desk widget.

Brian | Aug. 27, 2017

Great way to break into Surface Mount Soldering!

The kit was complete and the instructions were clear. With my through-hole experience all these years, it became a great excuse to finally try surface mount soldering. Recommended. The video is helpful, but refer to the URL provided on the packaging for the true instructions. I watched the video first, soldered up the board... and then read the instructions. Oops. But in the end, the circuit worked as expected.

Donna | Aug. 27, 2017

Great Soldering Skills Test

The SMD Challenge, though very frustrating, was fun. I basically proved my hand-soldering skills are only as good as I knew they were already. I knew I wouldn't have any issues down through 0603, as I've designed personal circuits that used parts down to that size. I was so hoping my 0402 skills would have been decent and that maybe by some miracle I could do 0201. The resistor on the 0402 I got soldered OK and while at first glance the 0402 LED looks OK, the LED didn't work. I thought perhaps I just installed it backwards, since the markings are so different on each LED and that particular one was marked on the bottom of the part, meaning you can easily flip it backwards when placing it and there's no way to easily verify it from the top (apart from trying to see the die itself). But after probing the test-points and looking at it closer under the microscope, it seems that I actually damaged the LED with too much heat while soldering it.

And the 0201, well, I got really really close to having it soldered. I thought it was actually in place, but it wasn't and popped loose and... well, I lost it. Those are so tiny you can hardly distinguish the part from a rogue solder splatter speck on your workbench. Thank goodness the kit didn't include a 01005!

Very fun kit and very useful to see if you are able to hand-solder those small parts or see what it would be like to try, without having to make your own board. Great job Ken on assembling and delivering such a fun kit!

Manuel | Aug. 20, 2017

Excellent Arduino hat

The device arrived took some time to arrive - had a New Zealand Post sticker, which is strange for something coming from the US. I'd like to imagine that some post error made it go to meet the Kiwis before arriving in Europe. In the end I was not expecting it with urgency, so it was OK.
The build is simple and straightforward. The excellent OSHPark board is a pleasure to work and look at.
My initial test started with a Arduino Leonardo - I couldn't program several ATMega328P - always got inconsistent signatures and failures. When I changed to a UNO it worked immediately and I could easily program a bootloader into one of my ATMegas328P. Changing the Blink example to use pin 3 allows the "Prog" yellow LED to blink - all good and as it should!
The standard ArduinoISP code does not have buzzer support. I soldered a buzzer and was dismayed to see that it did not work. I checked the documentation again (always read the documentation!!) and the buzzer was implemented for Adafruit's take on ArduinoISP. I flashed my Uno with it - the buzzer works, but programming not really. Checking the versions, Adafruit's code is for IDE version 1.6 and I'm running Arduino IDE 1.8, so I'm sure that with time I can discover why it doesn't work.

I recommend this board and it's a nice addin to your Arduino development.

Response from MakersBox | Aug. 20, 2017

Thanks for the thorough review. The Adafruit project is pretty dated and hasn't got much support. The buzzer is really for the stand-alone version, which is also not very well supported. I have been using a fork from https://github.com/sowbug/adaStandalone that will nearly instantly program either a 328P-PU or 328-PU (which normally causes device signature havoc when people try and skimp and buy the cheaper version), but I have to use an Arduino 1.0 IDE to get it to compile and load. It is super fast and uses the buzzer to signal success or error, but is only really worth the effort if you have to program a number of chips.

I've never had my hands on Leonardo. Adafruit has a disclaimer on their Leonardo page that says "It is probably not going to work with shields designed for the UNO only", but the don't elaborate on the details. In the Instructable https://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Leonardo-as-Isp/ there are a couple of hints. Can you try and change the ArudinoISP sketch line "#define RESET SS" to " #define RESET 10" and tell me if that works?

I don't think it would be too hard to add the buzzer code to the standard Arduino as ISP. I might look into that.

Ken

Jan | Aug. 19, 2017

Great

Was the first order from Czech Republic and product is just great! Soldering tutorial was nice and helpful.

Response from MakersBox | Aug. 19, 2017

Hey Jan,

Thanks for the first review of this product! Glad it made it and you liked it. You could post a picture in the comment section of the Instructable. Maybe with it in front of some landmark to show us what it is like in the Czech Republic?

Happy Making!

Ken

Clayton | July 31, 2017

A wonderfully frustrating kit