Tools Hack Daily: New Products 8/21/20 featuring Adafruit MS8607 Pressure Humidity Temperature Sensor-STEMMA QT/Qwiic! @adafruit #adafruit #newproducts

Saturday, August 22, 2020

New Products 8/21/20 featuring Adafruit MS8607 Pressure Humidity Temperature Sensor-STEMMA QT/Qwiic! @adafruit #adafruit #newproducts

Browse through all that’s new here!

NEW PRODUCTS THIS WEEK

Adafruit SPI Non-Volatile FRAM Breakout – 4 Mbit / 512 KBytes – MB85RS4MT: FRAM, or Ferroelectric Ram, is the coolest new data storage method that all the fashion magazines are talking about. Oh wait, no that’s quilted handbags. But FRAM is pretty damn cool too! It’s similar to Dynamic random-access memory, only with a ferroelectric layer instead of a dielectric layer. This gives it stable handling (the bytes you write are non-volatile) with dynamic responsiveness (you can write them very fast!)

Adafruit SPI Non-Volatile FRAM Breakout – 2 Mbit / 256 KBytes – MB85RS2MTA: This particular FRAM chip has 2 Megabits (256 KBytes) of storage, interfaces using SPI, and can run at up to 40 MHz clock rates. Each byte can be read and written instantaneously (like SRAM) but will keep the memory for 95 years at room temperature.

AP3429A 3.3V Buck Converter Breakout – 3.3V Output 1.2A Max: This little buck converter based on the AP3429A is super handy, taking up to 5.5V input and providing a 3.3V output with up to 1.2A current. It’s great for supplying power to popular 3.3V voltage circuits from a range of battery or power options. This chip provides up to 1.2 Amp load current across the entire input voltage range of 3.4 to 5.5V. It’s not a huge range but does cover LiPoly batteries, 3 alkalines, and USB power.

Adafruit RGB Matrix FeatherWing Kit – For nRF52840 Feathers: Ahoy! It’s time to create a dazzling light up project with our new RGB Matrix FeatherWing for nRF52840. Now you can quickly and easily create projects featuring your favorite 16 or 32-pixel tall matrix boards. Using our RGB Matrix library is easy and works wonderfully with our nRF52840 based Feathers.

Please note: This ‘Wing is only tested/designed to work with the nRF52840 Feathers (Express and Sense). It’s not for use with any other Feathers (unless they happen to coincidentally have matching pinouts!) If you have a SAMD21/SAMD51 (M0 or M4) Feather, we have a Wing with proper wiring for those Feathers here!

Adafruit AS7341 10-Channel Light / Color Sensor Breakout – STEMMA QT / Qwiic: The Adafruit AS7341 10-Channel Light / Color Sensor Breakout is a multi-channel spectrometer, which is a special type of light sensor that is able to detect not only the amount of light present, but also the amounts of light within different wavelengths. This means that you can use it to detect much better than the human eye is capable of, what color or colors of light is present.

Adafruit SHARP Memory Display Breakout – 2.7″ 400×240 Monochrome: The Adafruit 2.7″ 400×240 SHARP Memory Display Breakout is a chonky cross between an eInk (e-paper) display and an LCD. It has the ultra-low power usage of eInk and the fast-refresh rates of an LCD. This model has a gray background, and the pixels show up as black-on-gray for a nice e-reader type display. It does not have a backlight, but it is daylight readable. For dark/nighttime reading you may need to illuminate the LCD area with external LEDs.

The bare display is 5V powered and 3V logic, so we placed it on a fully assembled-and-tested breakout board with both a 3V regulator, 5V boost converter, and level shifting circuitry. Now you can use it safely with 3 or 5V power and logic. The bare display slots into a ZIF socket on board, and we use a piece of double-sided tape to adhere it. Comes with four mounting holes so you can easily attach it to your project.

NeoPixel RGBW Neon-like Flex Strip – Cool White 5500K – 1 meter – 5V 60 LEDs/m: Peep this NeoPixel RGBW Neon-like LED Flex Strip with Silicone Tubing! OK its a bit of a mouthful but check out the beautiful pics! It has a diffused look like neon, but without the need for expensive transformers, glass tubing, inert gasses, or a Las Vegas casino license. They look great, are super easy to use, and are a great way to make your projects light up!

It’s flexible and bendy with a solid chunk of translucent silicone rubber as a diffuser.

The silicone makes for a strong, durable weather-proof casing. While not guaranteed for dunking underwater or long-term outdoor exposure, they’re durable enough for projects that have to survive the outdoors, like cosplay, bike lighting or festival decorations. You can cut this stuff with wire cutters.

Alternating Multi Pole Magnetic Strip – 1 meter long: This is an interesting sensor component from the CNC world – a steel strip that has a precision magnetic pattern embedded in it. Also known as a Multi-Pole Magnetic Strip, it contains alternating North and South pole magnetic fields along the length of the tape at 5mm spacing. You can see our demo above with a magnetic view film

Using a magnetometer, hall effect sensor, or magnetic encoder you can determine movement/speed/location along the strip without touching it. It’s going to be more durable than an optical strip, and can be mounted flat against a flat or curved surface

N20 DC Motor with Magnetic Encoder: The first step in a robotics project is to get a motor spinning. Once you’ve done that you quickly learn that not all motors go the same speed, even if they are the same part number! There are always variations that relate to voltage, environment, and manufacturing changes. So, the second step is to figure out how fast it’s going! Turns out that’s not so easy, but the best way to get started is to add an encoder wheel and an optical or magnetic counter. As the motor turns, the attached encoder wheel spins, causing the counter to detect each passing spoke and that lets your microcontroller count and determine speed.

There are multiple versions of this item!

Adafruit MS8607 Pressure Humidity Temperature PHT Sensor – STEMMA QT / Qwiic: Because of their many applications, Pressure, Temperature, and Humidity sensors (PHT sensors) are a common offering from semiconductor companies. The MS8607 PHT sensor from TE Connectivity does an admirable job of measuring a wide range of all three environmental conditions. Each and every MS8607 sensor is calibrated at the factory and the calibration constants stored in the sensor itself. This sensor is a one stop shop for all your common weather and environmental related metrics. Just add a MS8607 and you’ll be ready to finish your enclosure and retire as a Dubia Cockroach Farmer