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News - Education Website Launch | last month

Somebody took a bite out of poor Ludus’s head.

News - New Product Friday: The F… | about a month ago

That expensive lead-free solder (“sodder”) paste is another reason I’m glad we don’t have mandatory RoHS requirements of us hobby folk.

News - New Product Friday: Your … | about a month ago

I’ll amend that then:

When you’ve made your own British-English Sparkfun and you can pronounce your “solder” wrong—er however you want.

News - New Product Friday: Your … | about a month ago

When you’ve made your own European Sparkfun and you can pronounce your “solder” wrong—er however you want.

News - New Product Friday: Your … | about a month ago

Eww, ordering from Radio Shack? That’s as bad as it gets. At least get it from Digikey or Mouser, long with other bulk parts you might need to make the shipping worth it.

News - OSHW DC Meetup and Survey | about 2 months ago

Yup, that’s the major benefit of shops like Sparkfun. When I think of the state of DIY electronics before this massive availability, I think of rummy shops like Radio Shack where you were at the mercy of their selection and information. Closed or open source hardware: the access to that hardware, even something as simple as a breakout board, is extremely valuable.

News - OSHW DC Meetup and Survey | about 2 months ago

Not to make less of what Sparkfun creates, but let’s get real about the true benefit of “open source hardware” to SFE or other such companies: most open-source hardware is simply incorporating closed-source hardware connected on PCBs in the same manner as outlined in application notes released by manufacturers. Sparkfun has the means to build the Open Source Hardware in-house, which is where the major money actually is.

We, as hobbiests and hackers, also benefit because most of us do not have this capability, nor access to many of these chips that can only be purchased at reasonable prices in quantity. This has been the same since the dawn of time, and OSHW is simply another manifestation of how markets work.

News - According to Pete: April … | about 2 months ago

Rather than dropping $30 on that DC-DC converter, why don’t you use a linear regulator such as the LM317? They’re extremely cheap, easy to use, have excellent noise rejection (down to -110dB), and are well known for their use in audio power supplies:

http://waltjung.org/PDFs/Sources_101_P2.pdf

You can even cascode (chain) the regulators for even greater noise rejection.

The DC-DC power supply may be more efficient, but as you’re using an amplifier anyway it’s probably not going to matter as noise rejection will usually be a priority in audio applications.

News - Free Day Documentary Part… | about 2 months ago

I’d be satisfied if the Free Day would just stop resurfacing months after the event.

Why does it keep receiving air time? The results were announced in January. Some people won; some people didn’t. Great, but it’s done. Get over it. We don’t need inane “documentaries” on Free Day. It’s almost masturbatory.

News - Free Day Documentary Part… | about 2 months ago

Yet another “news” article on Free Day?