Pololu Blog (Page 74)

Welcome to the Pololu Blog, where we provide updates about what we and our customers are doing and thinking about. This blog used to be Pololu president Jan Malášek’s Engage Your Brain blog; you can view just those posts here.

Popular tags: community projects new products raspberry pi arduino more…

Pololu Wixel with SD Card as USB Mass Storage Device

Posted by Paul on 19 August 2013

Pololu Forum user VolAnd, writing from St. Petersburg, Russia, posted about an app that turns a Wixel into a USB SD card reader. The Wixel identifies itself as a mass storage device, and basic read/write operations are working. His goal is to create files with the Wixel that he can then read from a PC. You can read more or get the app from his forum post.

This Wixel app and many others are available in our listing of community-contributed apps on the forum.

Featured link: http://forum.pololu.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7143

Camera Control and Stabilization via PC

Posted by Jon on 16 August 2013

In this video, x-ioTechnologies uses one of our Maestro USB servo controllers with their x-IMU to demonstrate control and stabilization of a 3 DOF camera mount.

Featured link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZod2SWvz4

New products: Encoder motors for 25D mm and 37D mm metal gearmotors, without gearboxes

Posted by Ben on 16 August 2013
Tags: new products

We are now selling the motor and encoder portion of three of our metal gearmotors, without a gearbox. The pinion gear on the output shaft works with the gearboxes on the corresponding products, so these can be used as replacement motors or encoders.

Motor with 48 CPR Encoder for 25D mm Metal Gearmotors (No Gearbox)


HP Motor with 48 CPR Encoder for 25D mm HP Metal Gearmotors (No Gearbox)


Motor with 64 CPR Encoder for 37D mm Metal Gearmotors (No Gearbox)

ARM mbed NXP LPC1768 price reduced by $10

Posted by Ben on 16 August 2013
Tags: pricing

You can now buy the ARM mbed NXP LPC1768 Development Board for just $49, a reduction of $10. We also lowered the price of the m3pi Robot + mbed NXP LPC1768 Development Board Combo by $10, to $189.95.

From the product page:

The mbed NXP LPC1768 is an easy-to-use MCU development board designed for rapid prototyping. At its heart is a powerful 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor running at 96 MHz with 512 KB flash and 32 KB RAM, which makes it far more capable than popular 8-bit prototyping alternatives. A comprehensive firmware library and plenty of sample code help you get your program up and running quickly, and a free online IDE and C++ compiler means that no software installation is required. Downloading programs is as simple as using a USB flash drive (no external programmer is necessary).


ARM mbed NXP LPC1768 development board with included USB cable and documentation.

Pololu m3pi robot controlled by an ARM mbed development board.

Robotic Car - A Simple Way to Build a Model

Posted by Jon on 15 August 2013

In this video, Brian Douglas uses our MinIMU-9 and Zumo Robot to show how to build a control system model for a robotic car without first knowing all of the different internal workings of the car.

Brian hosts a YouTube channel where he uploads various control system videos that are intended to supplement first year classroom instruction. You might also be interested in some of his other videos: This video demonstrates closed loop control of a robotic car, and the videos in this playlist explain how to use a gyro with MATLAB/Simulink and Arduino.

Featured link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th0acX5omRM

Welcome to the Pololu Blog!

Posted by Paul on 14 August 2013


We released our new company blog to the public this week. The Pololu Blog is the main place to find news and announcements about Pololu including new products, price changes and sales, community projects, video releases, and more.

Pololu president Jan Malášek’s blog, Engage Your Brain, which used to occupy this part of the site, is also now part of the Pololu Blog.

Still can’t get enough Pololu? You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Joystick App for Wixel now available

Posted by Kevin on 13 August 2013


We have just released a joystick app for the Wixel that allows you to turn a Wixel connected to a computer into a USB joystick, with the Wixel’s analog and digital inputs representing joystick axes and buttons. The app and its documentation can be found in the Wixel User’s Guide, and its source code has been added to the Wixel SDK.

We’ll soon be publishing a sample project that shows you how to use a Wixel running this app to convert a retro joystick into a USB device, so stay tuned!

Update (12 September 2013): The Wixel USB Joystick sample project is now available.

Related post: Sample project: Wixel USB Joystick

Dual motor drivers for less than $5

Posted by Emily on 7 August 2013
Tags: pricing

As part of our continuing efforts to make better quality products at lower prices, we have dropped the prices on some of our smallest dual motor driver carriers and made the first quantity price breaks at just five units for an even better deal! We hope this will make them more compelling alternatives to old motor drivers like the L293D or SN754410.

Our DRV8835 carrier has dropped from $5.95 to $4.49.

Our DRV8833 carrier has dropped from $6.95 to $4.95.

And finally, our TB6612FNG carrier has dropped from $8.45 to $4.95. This especially steep price reduction is made possible in part by upgrading the TB6612FNG carrier to use a new reverse protection circuit and all ceramic capacitors (which also allow for a lower profile). The new version of the board is pictured to the left, but we are still transitioning from the old version, so you might receive either one until we complete the transition. For pictures of the original board and details on the status of the transition, please visit the product page.

New products: Universal Aluminum Mounting Hubs with M3 holes

Posted by Kevin on 5 August 2013
Tags: new products

Our universal mounting hubs are now available in versions with mounting holes sized for M3 screws (not included). These aluminum hubs allow you to mount custom wheels and mechanisms to 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, and 6 mm shafts. Each set of two hubs includes the required set screws and an Allen wrench for securing the hubs to motor shafts.

New product: Machined Aluminum Bracket for 37D mm Metal Gearmotors

Posted by Kevin on 2 August 2013
Tags: new products

We have released a new machined aluminum bracket that lets you securely mount our 37D mm metal gearmotors to your project. The bracket has six holes on its face that line up with the 37D gearbox’s mounting holes, and it has three tapped holes on the bottom. Nine M3 screws are included for securing the bracket to the motor and mounting surface.

New Products

Motoron M3S550 Triple Motor Controller Shield Kit for Arduino
6V, 2.5A Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S13V25F6
Motoron M2T550 Dual I²C Motor Controller
Ribbon Cable with Pre-Crimped Terminals 10-Color M-F 36" (90 cm)
6V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S8V9F6
5V, 3.4A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D30V30F5
DRV8434 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier (Header Pins Soldered)
Motoron M3H550 Triple Motor Controller Kit for Raspberry Pi
15V, 2.7A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D30V30F15
Ribbon Cable Premium Jumper Wires 10-Color F-F 36" (90 cm)
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