SparkFun Electronics

The Hands-Free Etch-a-Sketch

A class project pairs a microprocessor and some accelerometers with the classic drawing toy

SparkFun Electronics is showcasing a recent class project from Alex Dow at the University of Colorado. Derived from a box full of SparkFun widgets, Mr. Dow was able to concoct a digitally controlled Etch-a-Sketch.

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Cure for the Failed Credit Card Swipe: Part Deux

Get to the bottom of the plastic bag shroud trick for balky credit cards

Remember the flurry of discussion generated by our original article about prodding a bashful credit card into making a good swipe? Well, those creative minds at SparkFun Electronics (SFE) have now entered the fray.

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Build Your Own Almost-Real-Time, Worldwide Tracking System

Automatically track anything's GPS location via e-mail with the UberTracker

Imagine being able to track anyone, anywhere in the world almost instantly. Scary, eh? Well, not if youre looking for a low-cost turnkey system for managing your small fleet of trucks, planes, trains, boats, kids—you get the picture. The $450 UberTracker from SparkFun Electronics is a complete cellular/GPS/e-mail hardware package that can continuously email its GPS coordinates from anywhere in the world via a cellular data connection, and it's a snap to set up.

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