Jameco's Newsletter: September 2012

500 Terawatt Shot Smashes Laser Record

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility laser system of 192 beams produced more than 500 terawatts of power and 1.85 megajoules of ultraviolet laser light to its target. This is 1,000 times more power than the entire United States uses at any instant in time!

Find out why researchers hope this new laser record will change the world, plus the latest robotic and biomedical inventions!

How It Works: Servo Motors

Chances are you’ve used servo motors in your electronics projects before. They can be used to help robots walk or to drive remote-controlled trains, planes and automobiles. But do you have any idea how those powerful and efficient little puppies work?

Checkout how a servo motor works here.

How'd They Do That?
Google Street View

Marc Weber, Founding Curator, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA takes an in-depth look at mapping technology and its origins. A project originally inspired by top-secret army rescue mission training, Google street view is a technology we all take for granted.

My Story: DIY LED Propeller Clock

Long-time Jameco customer and retired electronics teacher Bob Blick says that this is one of his coolest projects. The spinning LEDs not only keep super accurate time, but rely on the Persistence of Vision (POV) phenomenon, so the electronic clock’s numbers appear to be floating in air.

Build your own POV clock with these step-by-step instructions.

Test Your Electronics IQ: Word Search

A new Electronics Challenge from Product Manager, Ryan Winters. Forget about cross word puzzles, here’s a puzzle for real engineers.

Greg’s Corner: The End of Time

It was a warm sunny Tuesday in July. I stepped out for a bite to eat. When I returned I was stunned to see that 300 new emails came in while I was at lunch and that number would grow to over 700 before the day ended. While others routinely ignore customer emails or delegate the responsibility, I’ve bragged for more than a decade that I answer every customer personally the same day. But how could I possibly meet that commitment?

Read about my emotional roller coaster as I tried to live up to my commitment to myself.

Yes, I really respond to every customer and generally that happens within four business hours. I find that the value of the information I get is worth much more than the cost in time that it takes to respond. Write me some time and tell me how we can do our job better.

Regards,

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

ClubJameco: Project Briefs and Kits for all Skill Levels!

Fun, wacky or super practical, take a look at these great new member designed electronics projects. Only at Jameco!

Power: Low-Voltage Cut-off Switch | By: austindavid

A microcontroller-based voltage cutoff circuit for use on motorcycles designed to monitor the voltage level for the battery, and activate an accessory circuit when the level is sufficiently high. If the level drops below a calibrated level, the accessories are cut off.

Get a Cut-off Switch Kit now for just $14.95!

Games/Toys Brief: Fun Light Switch Box | By:ignoblegnome

An engaging toy for kids and adults! I built this for my kid and it was their favorite toy for years. This enclosure features colorful LEDs and a variety of buttons and switches to control the lights.

See what's so special about this box.

Arduino Brief: Security Robot | By:RoboGenius

This Robot has a web cam that is visible and controllable through a web browser from any part of the world! There are many attachments for the robot like a gripper, an arm even a bb gun.

Finally be in two places at one time!