We are now carrying the FEETECH FS90 micro servo. At a weight of only 9 g and less than inch long, this servo is great for actuating tiny mechanisms. We also carry the continuous-rotation version of this servo, the FEETECH FS90R.

Related products

	FEETECH FS90 Micro Servo
	FEETECH FS90R Micro Continuous Rotation Servo

We made a short video showing how the parts of our new Romi chassis fit together:

Related products

	Romi Chassis Kit - Black
	Romi Chassis Kit - Pink
	Romi Chassis Kit - Red
	Romi Chassis Kit - Yellow
	Romi Chassis Kit - Blue
	Romi Chassis Kit - White

I am excited to announce the release of the Romi chassis, our new platform for mobile robotics. Romi is a 6.5″-diameter round chassis that includes all the basic mechanical parts that you need for a mobile robot: a base plate with integrated battery holder, motors and motor brackets, wheels with silicone tires, and a ball caster as a third point of contact.

The Romi chassis is designed to be extended. It includes numerous mounting holes and slots, including specific spots for Arduino and Raspberry Pi and a place in front for a second ball caster. The motors have extended shafts for use with Romi encoders in applications requiring precision. For power, you can choose between four and six AA cells; we recommend the Romi power distribution board for access to battery power.

As an example of what you can do, here is the chassis with a Raspberry Pi A+ and our A-Star Robot Controller mounted on top, with power, motors, and encoders all fully connected and operational:

The chassis is available in six different colors, and if you want to mix and match, you can head over to our Romi Chassis Components category and select the parts you want.

Related products

	Romi Chassis Kit - Black
	Romi Chassis Kit - Pink
	Romi Chassis Kit - Red
	Romi Chassis Kit - Yellow
	Romi Chassis Kit - Blue
	Romi Chassis Kit - White

We are now selling T1-3/4 (5mm) common anode RGB LEDs! These multi-color LEDs contain red, green, and blue (RGB) elements that can be mixed to produce different colors. The three color elements share a common anode and are encased in a diffused white lens that blends the colors and widens the viewing angle. This product is a pack of five (5) RGB LEDs.

These LEDs replace the RGB LEDs with a common cathode that we used to sell. The common-anode setup of the new ones is nice because you can drive the LEDs with a low-voltage microcontroller I/O pin in an open-drain configuration (provided the pins can handle the current and are tolerant of the LED supply voltage). If you need to build your own drive circuit, you just need one low-side transistor per LED.

Here are some other posts on our blog about LEDs:

• Simple LED circuit
• Simple LED circuit abstractions

Related products

T1-3/4 (5mm) RGB LED with Diffused Lens (5-pack)

We now have a magnetic encoder pair kit available for our mini plastic gearmotors with extended back shafts. Like our encoder kit for micro metal gearmotors, these kits consist of Hall effect sensor boards that mount to the back of the motors and magnetic discs that fit on the motors’ back shafts. The encoders provide a resolution of 12 counts per revolution of the motor shaft (when counting both edges of both channels); in terms of counts per gearbox output shaft revolution, the resolution is multiplied by the corresponding gear ratio.

For more details about the encoder kit, see the product page.

Related products

	Magnetic Encoder Pair Kit for Mini Plastic Gearmotors, 12 CPR, 2.7-18V
	120:1 Mini Plastic Gearmotor HP, 90° 3mm D-Shaft Output, Extended Motor Shaft
	120:1 Mini Plastic Gearmotor HP, Offset 3mm D-Shaft Output, Extended Motor Shaft
	120:1 Mini Plastic Gearmotor, 90° 3mm D-Shaft Output, Extended Motor Shaft
	120:1 Mini Plastic Gearmotor, Offset 3mm D-Shaft Output, Extended Motor Shaft

We’ve just released our VL53L0X Time-of-Flight Distance Sensor Carrier. With its ability to measure distances up to 2 m depending on configuration, target, and environment, the VL53L0X is a longer-range version of the VL6180X (but without ambient light sensing functionality) that operates using the same principles. This integrated lidar module times how long it takes for pulses of infrared light to reach a target, reflect off it, and arrive back at the sensor. It uses this information to report the range to the target with a resolution of 1 mm and accuracy as good as ±3%, minimizing the effect of the target’s reflectance on the measured distance.

VL53L0X datasheet graph of typical ranging performance (in default mode).

As usual, our breakout board adds a 2.8 V regulator and level shifters to help interface with 3.3 V and 5 V systems, as well as a breadboard-compatible pinout and mounting holes. We are also working on an Arduino library for the VL53L0X that we expect to release in the next few days.

For more information about the VL53L0X carrier, see its product page.

Related products

	VL53L0X Time-of-Flight Distance Sensor Carrier with Voltage Regulator, 200cm Max
	VL6180X Time-of-Flight Distance Sensor Carrier with Voltage Regulator, 60cm max

We are now offering the Hakko FA-400 Smoke Absorber. The Hakko FA-400 is a benchtop smoke absorber for removing smoke generated by soldering. It has an easily-replaceable activated-carbon filter and a sturdy ESD-safe housing that can be oriented horizontally or vertically.

Related products

Hakko FA-400 Smoke Absorber

We’ve updated our USB Micro-B Connector Breakout Board with some minor improvements that should make it a little nicer to work with.

On the original version, the mounting cutouts didn’t work as well as we wanted: they were shallow, and the board was often prone to slipping out of place between two screws. The new version is wider and its cutouts are deeper to allow for more secure mounting, and it is slightly shorter in the other direction (0.4″ × 0.6″ with the connector).

For more information, see the board’s product page.

Related products

USB Micro-B Connector Breakout Board

Our micro metal gearmotors are now available in 12 V versions! These high-power motors have long-life carbon brushes (HPCB) and offer the same performance as the 6 V HPCB motors at their respective nominal voltages; the only difference is that the 12 V motor draws half the current at twice the voltage.

The new 12 V gearmotors are available across our usual range of 11 gear ratios and in single- and dual-shaft versions. Along with our existing selection of micro metal gearmotors, this brings the total number of unique options available to 107:

Rated Voltage	Motor Type	Stall Current @ Rated Voltage	No-Load Speed @ Rated Voltage	Approximate Stall Torque @ Rated Voltage	Single-Shaft (Gearbox Only)	Dual-Shaft (Gearbox & Motor)
12 V	high-power, carbon brushes (HPCB)	800 mA	6000 RPM	2 oz-in	5:1 HPCB 12V	5:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			3000 RPM	4 oz-in	10:1 HPCB 12V	10:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			1000 RPM	9 oz-in	30:1 HPCB 12V	30:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			625 RPM	15 oz-in	50:1 HPCB 12V	50:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			400 RPM	22 oz-in	75:1 HPCB 12V	75:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			320 RPM	30 oz-in	100:1 HPCB 12V	100:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			200 RPM	40 oz-in	150:1 HPCB 12V	150:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			140 RPM	50 oz-in	210:1 HPCB 12V	210:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			120 RPM	60 oz-in	250:1 HPCB 12V	250:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			100 RPM	70 oz-in	298:1 HPCB 12V	298:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			32 RPM	125 oz-in	1000:1 HPCB 12V	1000:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft

We are now offering the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. The Raspberry Pi is a popular credit card-sized computer that can run ARM Linux distributions. As the successor to the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, the Pi 3 has a more powerful processor and adds wireless connectivity. Here are the specific improvements:

• 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU
• 802.11n Wireless LAN
• Bluetooth 4.1
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Along with these improvements, the Raspberry Pi 3 maintains compatibility with and the form factor of the previous Pi 2 (and Pi 1 Model B+). With its 0.1″-spaced GPIO header and small size, the Raspberry Pi also works as a programmable controller in a wide variety of robotics and electronics applications. It can also be combined with our A-Star 32U4 Robot Controller LV with Raspberry Pi Bridge to make a great controller for a small robot. We also carry a selection of Raspberry Pi expansion boards.

This comparison chart can help in selecting the right Raspberry Pi for your project:

	Raspberry Pi Model A+ 512MB	Raspberry Pi Model B+	Raspberry Pi 2 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
CPU:	BCM2835		BCM2836	BCM2837	BCM2837B0
CPU cores:	1		4
CPU speed:	700 MHz		900 MHz	1.2 GHz	1.4 GHz
RAM:	512 MB	512 MB	1 GB
Ethernet:	No	Yes
WiFi:	No			2.4 GHz 802.11n	2.4 GHz 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth:	No			4.1	4.2
Bluetooth Low Energy:	No			Yes
HDMI:	Yes
Analog video:	Yes1
SD socket:	microSD
Onboard regulators:	switching
Expansion header pins:	40
USB ports:	1	4
Mounting holes:	4
Dimensions2:	2.5″ × 2.2″ × 0.47″	3.35″ × 2.2″ × 0.8″
Weight3:	23 g	42 g			50 g

1 Audio and analog video provided by a single four-pole 3.5 mm jack. This 3.5 mm jack also has its own dedicated low-noise power supply for improved audio.
2 Length and width measurements are for the PCB only; several of the connectors extend past the edge of the board.
3 Weight does not include microSD cards.

Related products

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B