The Ultimate Kit Guide

Component Quality: 4

(5=Highest quality) How nice are the components in terms of materials, design, fit, and other qualities? Well-made circuit boards, computer-cut plastic and metal parts, and other precision components add to the experience.

TV-B-Gone Kit

TV-B-Gone Kit

Make Kit Reviews

TV-B-Gone Kit

$25

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Reviewed: November 12th, 2011

Tired of all those TVs everywhere? Want a break from advertisements while you’re trying to eat? Want to zap screens from across the street? The TV-B-Gone kit is what you need. The new v1.2 works worldwide, turning off virtually any TV by running 230 TV power codes for Asian/North American and European IR remote standards. […]

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Drawdio

Drawdio

Make Kit Reviews

Drawdio

$20

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Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw. It’s a great project for beginners: an easy kit with instant gratification. Invented by Jay Silver, it’s a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you […]

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Brain Machine

Brain Machine

Make Kit Reviews

Brain Machine

$35

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Reviewed: November 8th, 2011

Hack your brain! Put on these glasses and headphones, close your eyes, and enjoy some harmless hallucinations as you drift into deep meditation. You’ll come out after the 14-minute program feeling fabulous. Sound and Light Machines (SLMs) help people sleep, wake up, meditate, and more. They work by generating light pulses (seen through closed eyelids) […]

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Monochron Clock

Monochron Clock

Make Kit Reviews

Monochron Clock

$80

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Reviewed: November 3rd, 2011

The Monochron is an extremely rewarding kit to build. Not only is it fun, but the finished clock adds retro flair to any home. As with all Adafruit kits, the instructions are clear and well thought out. The clock features an alarm function, custom laser-cut case, and several different display modes to suit your mood or […]

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Ice Tube Clock

Ice Tube Clock

Make Kit Reviews

Ice Tube Clock

$85

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The heart of the Ice Tube Clock is a distinctive, vintage, Russian vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) housed in a transparent, laser-cut enclosure. The clock features a precision watch crystal, alarm function, and battery backup. The build quality and online instructions are excellent, as is the completeness of the kit. Anyone who stops by my studio is always […]

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DS1307 Real Time Clock Breakout Board

DS1307 Real Time Clock Breakout Board

Make Kit Reviews

DS1307 Real Time Clock Breakout Board

$9

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Need to add a clock function to your next Arduino project? This Real Time Clock (RTC) breakout board kit is your answer. Based on a DS1307 RTC and equipped with an onboard battery and crystal, this kit is simple to solder together, works well, and is easy to use thanks to Adafruit’s online documentation. It’s […]

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NFC/RFID Controller Breakout Board

NFC/RFID Controller Breakout Board

Make Kit Reviews

NFC/RFID Controller Breakout Board

$50

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Reviewed: October 25th, 2011

In the next few years there’s going to be an influx of a not-so-new technology called Near Field Communication (NFC), which is very similar to RFID, and enables small devices to read passive tags and communicate with each other in close proximity. Card readers use it, as do phones that do payment processing. Adafruit’s PN532 […]

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