MindKits News and Blog

We've had the mother of all shipments come in to replenish all those tinkering goodies that we had run out of and supply us with a load of new goodies to tinker with.
Check out the new stuff:

Tank Treads

http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_product_50845/Tank_Treads

PicAXE Kit

http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_product_50845/PICAXE-14M_Starter_Pack
If you're coming to electronics and tinkering more from the electronics side you may want to check out PICAXE. You can program these the normal way by typing at a keyboard or you can design your programs using flow diagrams and dragging blocks onto the screen and then uploading that program to the micro. We've taken a but of a shine to these PicAXE boards really as they are cheap and really quick to get up and running.

Arduino Screwshield

http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_product_50845/Arduino_ScrewShield

Now, I know we've had these in before but they sold out so quickly that they may as well not have hit our shelves. So, this time we've got a few more. They make it really easy to secure wiring to the Arudino without having to worry that it's going to fall off while you're using your project.

New RFID Tags - Glass Cap and a Button

http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_product_50845/RFID_Glass_Capsule_-_125kHz
http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_product_50845/RFID_Button_-_16mm

Now you can embed your tag in your shoe, wallet, clothes or even your hand.
If you do end up getting your hand tagged, email me and I'll buy you lunch.

Just a note: This has been postponed until next year when Massey have more time to organise the course. If you're interested email me (Tim at mindkits dot com) and I'll get in touch when they are running the course.

28th - 29th November 2009
Massey University's College of Creative Arts
$598 Two Day Short Course



Tim Carr from MindKits and Massey University are offering 20 participants a fantastic opportunity to sign up to a two day short course that introduces you to the world of micro-controllers and electronics through Arduino. On the first day, you will be shown how to get up and running with the Arduino environment and the principles of electronics along with loads of hands on tinkering to put the principles into practise. You will learn how to leverage the vast pool of community resources to allow you to interface with just about any piece of hardware and find code to make it do what you need without having to be a hardware hacking genius yourself. You will be encouraged to experiment hands on with electronics and Arduino and have knowledgeable resource there to make learning easy, fun and fast.

You will also receive $85 worth of Arduino equipment and components to walk away with at the end of the workshop which gives you everything you need to start learning while being guided and having fun.

The second day will be focused around putting your new found skills to good use and adding new skills to those from the first day. You are encouraged to ask as many questions as you like and your tutor will help you all the way. After gaining a foothold on what Arduino is and what it can do for you, you will be given a chance to extend your knowledge by working on a real life project of your choice or one of our pre-tinkered project ideas while your tutor helps you when you have questions and will advise on best practices. You will not only gain the hands on experience and confidence to continue tinkering after the course but you will work through many of the fundamental issues that lead to quality design and implementation.

If you're new to electronics and micro-processors, think they are a mystery but have an inquiring mind and would like to learn more then this is the course for you. We take the concepts of electronics, combine them with the fun of micro-controllers and programming and give you an opportunity to learn new skills and have good fun building a project at the same time.

The course costs $598 for the two days which includes $85 worth of kit from MindKits, tea, coffee and refreshments and we'll provide lunch for you each day too. The workshop will take place at Massey University and we'll provide WI-FI access for internet on the day. You are encouraged to bring your own laptop which you will set up on the day but if you haven't a laptop we'll provide you with a computer in the lab on the day to use.



Please feel free to contact Tim Carr (Tim@MindKits.co.nz) if you have questions and register your interest with Massey University by emailing Megan Nash: m.e.nash@massey.ac.nz

This is a well structured course and you will walk away with a head full of usefull information that would have taken months to gather if you had of tinkered away in your own time.

Making things. It’s a bastion of New Zealand culture. We call it the “Number 8 Wire” mentality. Some would argue that the future of our economy relies on our ability to keep on with the makery. Both Ben (from Ben.geek.nz) and I love making stuff, and Ben loves local kiwi company Mindkits (that's us), because we supply all sorts of electronic goodies to help you make anything you might put your minds to.

So it is my pleasure to announce that Mindkits and Ben.geek.nz are teaming up to give you a little bit of inspiration. I'm giving away a SparkFun Arduino Starter Kit, and Ben's going to throw in a dual motor gearbox, motor controller, and couple of tiny servos from his collection of RC bits. All you have to do is tell us what you would make if you had free reign of the Mindkits store room. Let your imagination run wild and yes, you get points for being entertaining. We won’t make you prove you can build it (but we would love it if you did). If we get enough entries, we’ll put the top three (selected by Ben and Tim) up for a vote.

Step 1: Browse Mindkits

Take a look at everything in the MindKits store for inspiration and add anything else you feel you'd like to use (disassembled VCR's, cats and anything electronic you feel would help). Come up with a plan of what you'd love to build if money, equipment, skill or knowledge weren't a concern.

Step 2: Write up what you’d build on Ben.geek.nz (click here to link to Ben.geek.nz)

Have a look around at the items available. Arduino boards, Lilypads (for the laydees!), gearboxes and proximity sensors, LCD screens, carbon monoxide sensors, wifi transceivers … heck we’ll even let you branch out a bit and consider using Xbees.

Step 4: Win!

Ben and I (Tim - MindKits Chief Ninja) will choose the most creative and/or amusing entry. That person will win:

• 1 SparkFun Arduino Starter Kit
• 1 dual motor gearbox
• 1 motor controller
• 2 tiny servos from Bens collection of RC bits - everything else is brand new.

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The principles behind FOSS are underpinned by the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. You can read more about the four freedoms here.

The goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business - in short, everywhere!

Chief Ninja Tim from MindKits will be there with bells on so you can all have a play around with an Arduino and get hands on.

We look forward to seeing you there and please make sure you come up and say hi - we're always keen to chat to other tinkerers.

Auckland Software Freedom Day Poster

Hello all you busy tinkerers out there!

With the growth of Arduino over the last year we've decided to start the Arduino Users Group in Auckland in conjunction with CoLab and we'd love it if you came along to say hello and tell us about your projects over a beer.

Tim Carr (that's me, the MindKits Chief Ninja) and Kim Newall along with CoLab will be hosting and we are looking forward to seeing many of you at the Arduino Users group which will start again on Thursday 3rd of September and runs on the first and third Thursday of the month from there.

We've got some fun plans to bring you a mix of community, entertainment and education so we'd love to see you come along and say hello over a beer and a bit of a chat. It's all rather relaxed so just turn up, say hello and grab a seat.

The Arduino Users Group will include:

Guest speakers - delivering information on current areas of interest or requested info. An opportunity to ask experts for advice and help with problems A show and tell so you can share what you've been working on with others A chance to meet people interested in the same stuff as you A fun way to quench your thirst over a beer Bit or byte swap - exchange your goodies for others stuff

Details:

Where:
Playhouse Bar (next to Aotea Square at the side of the IMax building) - We'll have a sign on the table so you know it's us.

When:
6pm.  Thursday 3rd September (First and third Thursday of every month)

Who:
Anyone who is interested in learning about Arduino, is working with it or wants to meet others who are interested in it.

Please feel free to bring along anyone you think would enjoy it too.

As time goes on we'll get some sponsorship sorted and perhaps some prizes too. Also there will be a 'parts swap' so you can trade bits and bobs.

If you'd like to know more, have questions you can contact me (Tim at Mindkits.co.nz or @Mindkits on Twitter)

We're both looking forward to having you at our meet ups and would love it if you could help us spread the word to others who may be interested via Twitter, Facebook or even the old email (hell, we'd be fine with IP over Carrier Pigeon if it works for you)

Regards and see you there,
Tim
MindKits Chief Ninja

Woohoo...Freebies! Lots of goodies for free when you buy an Arduino Duemilanove

We're feeling generous after running the Auckland MindKits Arduino Beginners Workshop on the 22nd/23rd August so we feel it's time to offer something a little special for you. For a very limited time we're going to make buying an Arduino from MindKits fantastic value!

Not only will you get your Arduino Duemilanove but we'll give you the freebees listed below at a value of $17

 1) 'Arduino Handbook'
Add a note into your order for the 'Arduino Handbook' we'll send you a hard copy of the Arduino Reference Handbook with sample circuits and common programming examples to make learning and using the Arduino even easier.
This is an openly downloadable handbook but we've done all the hard stuff by getting it printed and made into a lovely looking booklet for you which you'll receive free when you purchase an Arduino Duemilanove from MindKits (don't forget to request it in the notes and despite the picture below being of an Arduino NG it's still perfectly applicable).


2) Free Shipping
Yep, thats right, buy an Arduino USB/Duemilanove from MindKits and we'll ship it to you for free. This also means that anything else you buy in the same order ships for free too.

3) Free goodies bag of components
When we started tinkering we found a set of 13 resistors and components that were used in nearly every project but when they weren't close at hand it was a real pain in the a**. Solved! You get a little pack-of-win with every Arduino you buy from us.



4) Jumper Wires - Free!
The Swiss Army Knife of electronics; these little puppies are so useful that we feel everyone should have a set ready to go.
You'll receive a set of 15 jumpers which is enough to get you started and on your way. There's even a mix of the essential black and red ones :)


5) Our heartfelt gratification
The team at MindKits would like to thank you very much for your support and for helping us grow with such a frenetic pace over the last 8 months.
Your purchases so far have enabled us to run outreach programs to build community around Arduino and robotics. We're here to make it easy for people such as yourselves to learn and gain support so we put money back into the community and offer our time free. We're not simply a webshop that aims to drop product and run.

Here's what your support enables us to work toward:
-Working with NZ schools to bring Arduino into the classroom for keen learners
-APC Magazine published how-to and tutorial for beginners
-Arduino Users Group - Auckland
-MakerSpace in Auckland (work in progress) - Space for Tinkerers to tinker and learn
-CoLab partners to build community by growing technology awareness and events
-MindKits Arudino Workshops (funded also by participants)
-More to come including competitions and guest speakers....keep an eye out.

Your support is greatly appreciated by all of us here at MindKits.

Regards,
Tim
MindKits Chief Ninja

Arduino Duemilanove USB Board Price: NZ$48.00 excl GST In stock: 18  Qty:

I do have to laugh when I think about this last weekends (8/9th August) tinkering at the Mindkits Beginners Arduino Workshop in Wellington. It wasn't just that we had a bunch of guys from Weta (makers of Lord of the Rings for those who've lived in a cave all their lives) who ate up information and digested it effortlessly like Jo Seagar after the 40 hour famine or the moment that I looked up to see Matt Mueller throwing his SLR camera up in the air connected to a triple-axis accelerometer so it would take a picture at the top of the arc.


Matt Mueller from Weta with his SLR/Tri-Ax photography contraption. It worked too...!


Although all of those moments did make me laugh it was the echo of the promise our supervising Massey representative (Tanya) made to the head of department that "There's nothing that can go wrong loaning the room to Tim at MindKits for the weekend. We're just tinkering, no soldering irons, no fire and no problems. What could go wrong with that?". Shortly after I was reminded of that promise I turn around to see Matt Sloan with a lighter under a thermistor connected to an Arduino and in turn connected to a servo. There's a puff of smoke that wafts without hurry across his vision and he exclaims - "Wow, shit, smoke" and rips the wires from the board in one spasmodic motion.

Shortly after he plucked his courage up again as if investigating just how much magic smoke really is in all this electronics kit and does it again -  "that really makes it move" he exclaimed as the servo sounded it's chattering death throws and Matt steadfastly held the flame to the thermistor like a branding iron to an animal.


"If you haven't broken it, you haven't tinkered hard enough" - no idea who said it but I repeat it often as a MindKits mantra. Matt certainly put this into play.


It was a successful day with a strong focus on getting hands on and learning by experimentation and from what I've heard from the team so far everyone had fun and learned a lot. They all went home with a great set of kit to get them started and lots more fun to be had. Now that's the way to learn.


Frank and Kara playing with a home made pressure sensor and a servo


Small Plug for August Auckland Workshop if you're interested:
http://www.mindkits.co.nz/arduino_course-AK.html




All work and no play..pffft...it was the weekend so time for a pint at the Southern Cross



Tim
MindKits Chief Ninja

At the beginning of July MindKits ran it's first ever Arduino Course in Wellington and it sold out within 8 hours. So, for all those people who we couldn't fit into the last course or for those wanting to spend two days learning how to master the Arduino and build your own projects we'd love to see you join us for this one.

You'll receive over $85 work of kit, learn stacks about robotics, arduino, electronics and sensors and at the end of it you'll walk out with your very own project. It's a lot of fun too and we will probably end up at a nearby pub after the first day for a beer and to regale the efforts of the day.

The last course ended with students making a morse code trainer, a level sensing Arduino that controlled a servo and a furry animatronic arduino that responded to light....all from two days of learning.

This course brings together all the needed skills to enable you to build your own project from the ground up.

More information can be found below (please don't delay as classes are filling fast):

Auckland
http://www.mindkits.co.nz/arduino_course-AK.html

Wellington
http://www.mindkits.co.nz/arduino_course.html

So, I've been told by the MindKits elf that I went a little crazy in ordering this last shipment from our friends at SparkFun and I tend to agree with her. We've got 12 new pieces of bot building fun for you to tinker with including RFID readers and cards, ball casters for your bot building needs, 5v programmers for the awesome Arduino Pro's and Pro mini's, a new basic breadboard with power inputs, small servos and vibration motors.

Chek out the MindKits 'New Stuff' cateogory for all the details. We accept no liability for laptop damage due to druel on keyboards :)
Enjoy and thanks for visiting us at MindKits

http://www.mindkits.co.nz/_catalog_50845/New_Stuff?Page=2&Items=12

What could be better than spending a weekend learning about Arduino, the favorite open source physical computing platform for designers, artists and hobbyists. Get started in a friendly learning environment designed especially for beginners.

Don't have any experience with software, electronics or physical computing?

Excellent! No experience necessary.

Interested? Check out www.MindKits.co.nz/Arduino_Course.html

  for more info