Jameco's Newsletter: August 2011

Build a J-BOT Office Robot
Jameco Build: Omar Arriaga

Product Manager Omar Arriaga designed and built his first autonomous robot for the Jameco office and calls it J-Bot. This PING))) ultrasonic sensor-equipped robot is the perfect office pet. It sees its own way around cubicles, never needs fresh air or sunlight and would be perfect to greet you each morning with a satisfying robotic “grrrr”. Check out this new Jameco exclusive kit and the step-by-step instructions, for this intermediate Do-It-Yourself project.

Optical Technology
Boost Fish Farmers
My Story: In-Situ Inc.

Jameco customer In-Situ Inc. has developed innovative water-monitoring equipment that increases the yield while decreasing costs for fish farmers. Improvements that simplify widely-used aquaculture technology may change the face of the industry.

PRODUCT UPDATE:
Grab Bag Ideas

Ever searched unsuccessfully for that ONE part, the random washer, nut or transistor? Search no more! Grab bags are the perfect solution and one of Jameco’s most popular product categories!

You won’t know exactly what you’ll get but we know you'll be in for a great surprise and will find a use for a few of the components in the bag. It will surely pay for itself. Every serious electronics enthusiast needs a junk drawer — here’s your starter kit.

See what these component collections have in store.

If there is one thing we are all sensitive to, it’s a price change. No, Jameco is not changing its price leadership strategy, where we actively set our prices below our competitors. I’m talking about the recent announcement by Netflix, the popular movie rental service, that it will soon raise its prices by as much as 60%. What’s startling is not that prices are going up, but the consumer outrage that has swelled to a fury.

All companies must constantly evaluate their pricing strategies and a free market means that companies will frequently test the market to see what it will bear. In this case, however, Netflix failed miserably in their communication strategy and the result appears to be many unhappy customers.

Lots of companies have successfully raised prices, so what did Netflix do wrong and what could they have done differently? I think I have a few answers in the link below.

Learn how to change prices without causing your customers to go ape @#$%!

Can you think of an example of a time when a company raised its prices and you happily paid the higher price?  Drop me a note and share your experience.

Sincerely,
Greg Harris
Vice President, Marketing
Greg@Jameco.com

Build Your Own iPod/MP3 Mini Speaker System
By: Ben Adler

Why buy mini-speakers for an iPod when you can build your own? This step-by-step do it yourself project originally featured in Make Magazine will never be worth the investment in time, but there’s nothing like building it yourself. 

Plug in your iPod or MP3 and get ready to broadcast the jams!

What do you do when your Arduino burns out?  If your green power light mysteriously leaves you in the dark, you’ll want to reference this step-by-step Instructables article on what to do if you burn out the voltage regulator on your Arduino.

Walk through this step-by-step Arduino save.

No Hocus Pocus: Demystifying Power Supply Selection
By: Robert Cong



We sell a lot of power supplies and we get a lot of power related questions. Whether you’re looking to power an electronics project or designing a new LED lighting solution, selecting a power supply can be tricky business. We want to demystify the process; no smoke and mirrors or tricks up our sleeves. We’ve created two new Buyer's Guides as tools designed to help explain how to buy some of our most popular types of power supplies. 

Find out more information to power all your projects.

Jameco welcomes the contributions of its customers. Frankly, we think what you write is more interesting than anything we could write. Share your electronic component story, project, or challenge, and we'll share it with the world. Send your story to MyStory@Jameco.com