Community Quality: 3
(5=Most community) How much of a community is there around the kit? Are there builder groups, online forums, circles, and meetups? Is the kit used in class- rooms or after-school programs? Do the kit makers or builders have a presence at events like Maker Faire?
Red Blinky POV
This kit is amazingly cool and easy to use. POV (persistence of vision) displays show words or patterns that seem to float in mid-air; if you’ve ever seen one, you know what a great effect it is. A line of LEDs flashes the Y component of what you’re displaying, and you provide the X by […]
Meggy Jr RGB Game Console
This pixel-scale, portable Meggy Jr game platform is fun for any gamer, especially those who know their way around an Arduino. About the size of a VHS tape, it offers an 8×8 matrix of RGB LEDs and a lot of functionality with very little setup. It comes pre-programmed with Attack of the Cherry Tomatoes, a side-scrolling […]
LEDs: electronics, Games, LEDs
Real Time Clock Kit
The Real Time Clock Kit Parts Bundle includes everything but the casing to build the PIC-based clock designed by Sparkle Labs and featured in MAKE Volume 09. Be sure to read the article for detailed explanations of how the PIC, Real Time Clock, and LED driver all work together to make a functioning clock.
Octolively
The Octolively is one of the most entertaining kits I have built in a while. It’s an interactive, tileable LED module that carries eight huge (10mm) LEDs arranged on its 4″×8″ board. Its sensors detect nearby movement using both infrared and visible light, and the LEDs, which come in a variety of colors, respond with […]
Trippy RGB Waves
Do you like interactive art? Imagine a bunch of little lights on a table, each about the size of a chess piece, each independent of the others. Arrange them any way you want. Each light continually and slowly changes colors on its own — but when you wave your hand over them, they create waves […]
Mignon Game Console
Although 5×7 pixels aren’t a lot to work with, it’s easy to get lost in Olaf Val’s Mignon Game Kit. This minimalist handheld gaming system is hands-on in more ways than one. The first step is to put it together; second is to hack code for the Atmel ATmega8 microcontroller that powers it; and third, […]
