Results – February 2012 Competition

Now that February is over it’s time to announce the lucky winners of our February competition…

Prize One is a brand new Freetronics EtherMega board – the mother of all Arduino-compatible boards. As reviewed recently, the EtherMega combines the power and versatility of the Arduino Mega2560, a microSD card shield, a full Ethernet shield and power over Ethernet support:

Winner of the first prize is Rosemary H from the United Kingdom.

Prize Two is awesome – and a mystery no more. It is the new Freetronics LeoStick:

From the Freetronics website:

The LeoStick is just like the upcoming Arduino Leonardo, but given the “honey, I shrunk the kids” treatment!
Just pop it into your USB port (no cable required!) and upload straight from the Arduino IDE. We’ve even included on-board RGB LED lights and a speaker in this handy sized board. All the usual Arduino pins are present and each LeoStick comes with low profile header sockets for plugging in modules, shields and wires.

Winner of the second prize is Andrian from Moldova. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for entering.

For the curious, the questions and answers were:

1. What frequency crystal would you use with the DS1307 RTC? – 32.768kHz
2. How many LEDs are on an EtherMega board? Now I have two answers as the question should have been more specific. There are ten LEDs on the actual PCB, plus two more on the ethernet socket. So we accepted ten or twelve for the answer
3. What are the dimensions (length x width) of an 0805 SMT component in mm? – 2.0 x 1.3 mm
4. In what year was Ikea founded? – 1943
5. What nationality is the Hakko company? Japanese
6. Who came up with the name for the device known as the ‘transistor‘? - John R. Pierce

Finally, thank you for your competition entries – I really appreciate it. So in that spirit we will have another competition in March – so stay tuned using one of the methods below.

Once again, thanks to Freetronics for the EtherMega and LeoStick prizes!

In the meanwhile, follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

February 2012 Competition

Update – The competition has now finished, and the winners will be announced shortly…

It’s that time of the month again so we are running another competition. This month we have two prizes. Let’s check those out then follow up with the rules of entry.

Prize One is a brand new Freetronics EtherMega board – the mother of all Arduino-compatible boards. As reviewed recently, the EtherMega combines the power and versatility of the Arduino Mega2560, a microSD card shield, a full Ethernet shield and power over Ethernet support:

From the Freetronics website:

The EtherMega is a 100% Arduino Mega 2560 compatible board that can talk to the world. Do Twitter updates automatically, serve web pages, connect to web services, display sensor data online, and control devices using a web browser. The Freetronics EtherMega uses the same ATmega2560 as the Arduino Mega 2560 so it has masses of RAM, flash memory, and I/O pins, and also includes the same Wiznet W5100 chip used by the official Arduino Ethernet Shield, so it’s 100% compatible with the Ethernet library and sketches.

Any project you would previously have built with an Arduino Mega 2560 and an Ethernet shield stacked together, you can now do all in a single, integrated board. We’ve even added a micro SD card slot so you can store web content on the card, or log data to it. But it gets even better: we found space to squeeze in a small prototyping area, so now it’s possible to build a complete, Internet-enabled Arduino device including your own custom parts all on a single board! You don’t even need to use a prototyping shield for many projects.

Prize Two is awesome – and a mystery no more. It is the new Freetronics LeoStick:

From the Freetronics website:

The LeoStick is just like the upcoming Arduino Leonardo, but given the “honey, I shrunk the kids” treatment!
Just pop it into your USB port (no cable required!) and upload straight from the Arduino IDE. We’ve even included on-board RGB LED lights and a speaker in this handy sized board. All the usual Arduino pins are present and each LeoStick comes with low profile header sockets for plugging in modules, shields and wires.

Features of the LeoStick include:

• Native USB port built-in, no need for any USB or FTDI cables
• Two Full Color RGB LEDs on-board! Drive different colored outputs and fun feedback from your sketch right away. One RGB LED is completely programmable, the other does Power, USB RX and TX indication, the RX and TX LEDs can also be controlled.
• On-board Piezo speaker element, play sounds, tunes and beeps. Can also be used as a knock/vibration sensor
• Same I/O pins. The LeoStick provides all the same header connections as larger boards, you can connect all the same sensors, actuators, and other inputs and outputs as typical Arduino models.
• Breadboard compatible, has 0.1″ pitch pads and header pins can be fitted underneath
• 500mA polyfuse and protection on the USB port
• ATmega32U4 microcontroller, Arduino compatible with on-board USB, 32K Flash, 2.5K RAM, 1K EEPROM at 16MHz
• ISP 6-pin connector for advanced programming of the ATmega32U4 MCU

Please note: The LeoStick currently uses a modified beta version of the upcoming Arduino Leonardo bootloader. There are some known issues with Windows 7 64-bit drivers and some library functions don’t work perfectly yet. Any firmware or Arduino Leonardo compatible support should not be considered to be final release firmware or in any way an official Arduino. Don’t hassle the Arduino team with support or requests related to this board: they’re solely our responsibility. The LeoStick is also a very complete ATmega32U4 breakout and USB board by itself and the LeoStick can be programmed directly from the supplied standard ISP header by AVR Studio, Mac OSX-AVR, avrdude, WinAVR etc.

How to enter!

There will be six questions for you to answer spread across articles published between the 1st and 29th of February. So you will need to review older posts. At the end of February and once you have answers to all six questions, email the answers along with your full name, email address and postal address to competition at tronixstuff dot com with the subject heading February.

During the second week of March, all the correct entries will be collated and two randomly chosen. The first correct entry drawn will win first prize, and the second entry the second prize. Entries will be accepted until 03/03/2012 0005h GMT.

As with any other competition, there needs to be some rules:

• Incomplete entries will be rejected, so follow the instructions!
• The winners’ first name and country will be announced publicly;
• The winners’ name and mailing address will be passed to the prize supplier only for the purpose of prize delivery and not for any form of marketing.
• Entries that contain text not suitable for minors or insulting to the competition will be rejected (seriously – it happens);
• Prizes will be delivered via Australia Post domestic or regular international air mail. We take absolutely no responsibility for packages that go missing or do not arrive. If you live in an area with a “less than reliable” domestic postage system, you can pay for registered mail or other delivery service at your expense.
• Winners outside of Australia will be responsible for any taxes, fees or levies imposed by your local Governments (such as import levies, excise, VAT, etc.) upon importation of purchased goods;
• Prizes may take up to 45 days to be received;
• No disputes will be entered in to;
• Prizes carry no warranty nor guarantee – and are to be used or abused at entirely your own risk;
• Entries will be accepted until 03/03/2012 0005h GMT.

Thanks to Freetronics for the EtherMega and LeoStick prizes!

So have fun and keep an eye out for the four competition questions spread through the February posts… In the meanwhile, follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

September 2011 Competition Results

Hello readers

September has now passed by and it is time to announce the winners of the September competition. Congratulations to all those who entered – there was some great examples of creativity and enthusiasm. We narrowed it down to six entries, and then randomly selected two winners – so here they are:

First Prize

Jeremías from Buenos Aires, Argentina submitted:

Receiving Zigduinos, I will be very happy.
I will move a robot from far away.
I will fly a copter around a way.
Yeah! I’ll be the king that day.

Congratulations Jeremías, you won two Zigduinos:

For more information, please visit the Logos Electromechanical website.

Second Prize

Tim from Baskerville, Western Australia submitted:

zigduino keep baci safe
from koi thieves and poisoners
light with solar flood

Congratulations Tim, you have won the LoL Shield:

LoL Shields are available from Little Bird Electronics

Well that’s another competition for the year. In September we received quite a few invalid entries – always read the instructions and the rules when entering any future competitions. Otherwise have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

tronixstuff.com Visitor feedback/survey competition

Hello Readers

Once more it is time to survey you, the reader to find out your opinions of what is published here on tronixstuff.com. Although some of you leave comments and sometimes write me an email, I am looking for further input and ideas to help make the site more interesting to you and perhaps incorporate good ideas from others. As the site is created by one person, now and again it is good to get some feedback from people of different thoughts and ideas.

Apart from general feedback, some questions for our readers include:

• Would you like to see articles about items by other people as well as my original posts? [For example, in a manner similar to hackaday.com or Engadget]
• Would you like the opportunity to submit your own articles? [Sorry, I can't pay you cash for them!]
• What are your thoughts about more direct advertising on the site?
• Is there anything that you really like or dislike about the site?
• If you have enjoyed or benefited from the articles, how about a donation?
• Or would you like to have a vehement spray about something? Now’s your chance.

If you would like to take part, please email your thoughts to survey at tronixstuff dot com. Due to the high volume of email received, I cannot respond to each one individually, however some follow-up questions may be asked of you if necessary. During September I will summarise the feedback and report the results for everyone to see.

And to keep it interesting, each email received will go into a random draw to win a prize – a large box of Arduino and related items with a value of at least Au$100. Even if you complain, you get an entry

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

March 2011 Competition

Hello readers

The March competition has now closed and the winners have been notified. The April competition will be announced shortly!

Another month has passed, so time for another competition!

To enter, find the five questions that will be spread across the articles published in tronixstuff.com between the first and last day of March. When you have answers to all five questions, email your answers to competition at tronixstuff dot com with “March″ in the subject line. Then in the first week of April, I will compile a list of people with the correct answers, and randomly select two winners…

Each winner will receive an Au$40 gift voucher to spend with Little Bird Electronics – Australia’s leading online retailer of fun stuff, including competitive prices on merchandise from Sparkfun, Seeed Studio, DF Robot and more!

As with any other competition, there needs to be some rules:

• Prizes will be emailed upon confirmation of email address;
• Winners outside of Australia will be responsible for any taxes, fees or levies imposed by your local Governments (such as import levies, excise, VAT, etc.) upon importation of purchased goods;
• If you have won a previous competition you cannot enter;
• If you know me in real life you cannot enter;
• The Judge’s decision is final with regards to any dispute;
• Entries will be accepted until 2359h GMT on 31st March 2011.

So have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

Once again, thank you to our generous competition sponsor Little Bird Electronics!

Otherwise, have fun, stay safe, be good to each other – and make something!

February 2011 Competition Results

Hello readers!

As it is now March we can announce the winners of the tronixstuff February 2011 competition. The five questions and answers for February were:

1. What does the acronym RFID stand for? – Radio frequency identification
2. How many pixels in the LCD on the Sparkfun LCD shield? - 16384
3. What is the maximum supply voltage for a Fairchild CD4047B IC? - 18 volts DC (page four of data sheet)
4. How many capacitors are used in the Freetronics KitTen Arduino Duemilanove-compatible board kit? – Eleven
5. Name the company that first manufactured the 555 timer IC – Signetics

It was great to see all the entrants had correct answers for every question, nice work everyone. However there can only be two winners…

First Prize: Congratulations to Mike R, USA

One brand-new, hot off the pick-and-place Freetronics “Eleven” 100% Arduino Uno-compatible board

Second Prize: Congratulations to Cary D, Australia

One brand-new, Freetronics “KitTen” 100% Arduino Duemilanove-compatible board kit

So as you can see you can win great prizes just for checking into tronixstuff.com on a regular basis. If you missed out this month, stay tuned as it all starts again in the next few days. Why not follow things on twitter, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

Once again, thank you to our generous competition sponsor Freetronics!

January 2011 Competition

[Update - 01/02/2011]

Competition for January has now closed and the lucky winners notified via email. However the February competition has now started.

Announcement – July Competition!

Hello everyone!

During June there was a small competition which was quite fun, so from July and onwards we shall do it again – but on a larger scale. All you have to do for a chance to win is the following:

1. Read the blog posts and articles in July, as there will be five questions you will need to answer placed randomly amongst the posts. To keep track, subscribe using one of the methods on the right hand side of this page
2. When you have answers for all five questions, email them to competition@tronixstuff.com
3. If you follow me on twitter (@tronixstuff) and retweet one post in July, you will receive two entries, so put your twitter address in your email.
4. On August 1st, all the email addresses will be placed in a random draw and one selected. If the entry drawn has all five questions correct, they will win the major prize!
5. If the first entry drawn does not have five correct answers, they will win the minor prize, and the major prize will carry over until August, to be combined with the new major prize.

The prizes!

Major prize

One assembled, used JYE Tech Digital Storage Oscilloscope – from the kit review.

Minor prize

One assembled, used JYE Tech Capacitance Meter – from the kit review

Hopefully everyone can have some fun reading about electronics and learning along the way. As with any competition, there are a few rules:

1. If you have won a previous competition, you cannot enter
2. If you know me personally, you cannot enter
3. The prizes carry no warranty, we accept no liability for anything at all that they may cause
4. Prizes only include what is in the photograph, and will be sent via standard airmail free of charge
5. My decision is final
6. You can witness the draw in person with prior arrangement
7. The time used is Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT: +10)

If you cannot wait for a chance to win, the DSO and capacitance meter kits are available from our friends at Little Bird Electronics.

So keep your eyes peeled and have fun!