SainSmart Basic Starter Kit for Arduino Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a SainSmart Basic Starter Kit for Arduino for a product review. Per the Amazon page, the following items are included:

1x SainSmart UNO R3
1x LM35 Temperature Sensor
1x Infrared Receiver
3x Photoresistor
1x Potentiometer
1x RGB
2x Buzzer
1x USB Cable
4x buttons
1x 74HC595
1x Infrared Remote
2x Tilt sensor
1x Flame Sensor
1x Cell Box
5x Red LEDs
5x Yellow LEDs
5x Green LEDs
2x 1-digital 8 segment
1x 4-digital 8 segment
1x Dot Matrix Display 8x8
8x 220ohm Resistors
5x 1K Resistors
5x 10K Resistors
Breadboard & Jumper wires

The package came in a nice little plastic box with a tray inside it.  I don’t remember seeing the box in the Amazon pictures, so it was a nice surprise.  I did an inventory, and from what I can tell everything listed was included.  No documentation comes with the kit, so you have to do a little research to figure out the items.  Everything looked to be in good condition, no bent pins or other issues.

I went to the SainSmart website ( http://www.sainsmart.com/ ) which is listed on the Arduino board.  After a little research, it seems to match this item:

http://www.sainsmart.com/starter-kits/uno-r3-smartkits/sainsmart-uno-r3-basic-starter-kit-for-arduino-uno-r3.html

There is a link to a tutorial on that page that is very useful.  The tutorial download includes a PDF manual, and sample code.  I skimmed the manual over and tried two sample projects which explain the code and hardware setup required.  The manual does a good job of explaining the hardware items, which was helpful - for example it explained the difference between the two types of buzzers.

Overall, the tutorial documentation and other documentation on the Aruduino website ( www.arduino.cc ) will help you get a good understanding of the code/software aspect of Arduino and this kit will give you a good range of hardware to learn how to interface and build simple projects.

Update: The Dot Matrix Display 8x8 covers the width of the breadboard when mounted, so it doesn't allow you to put any of the wires in.  Basically you can't use it as-is, you would need a wider breadboard or you would have to directly solder wires.  I let the company know, they are looking into it.  If that is a major issue, I would contact them to see if they can fix it or if they have updated the kit.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Board included: This kit includes a SainSmart UNO R3 board, making it a great starter kit for someone that doesn’t have a board or wants more than one.

Tutorial: The tutorial available from the website is a great way to get familiar with the kit and the types of projects you can do.

Variety: This kit includes a nice range of items to allow for various simple projects to help a person learn about the capabilities of Arduino based systems and how it interfaces with various other electronics.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a basic starter kit that includes everything you need to start learning, this is a great option.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00UV7KAPM

Anker PowerCore Jump Starter 600 Review ( model A1531 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received an Anker PowerCore Jump Starter 600 ( model A1531 ) for a product review. In addition to the jump starter itself, the package included a carrying case, house charger, car charger, USB to microUSB cable and the jump starter cables.

 The first thing I noticed was the carrying case -- it was a large, sturdy feeling case with a zipper on it.  When I opened it up, the cables were on one side ( held in by a net ) and the battery was on the other side and there was a padded divider between the two that would likely keep the battery pack from getting scratched by the cables.

Includes house and car charger

The battery pack itself is a nice black and yellow design, which matches the carrying case.  It has two USB ports for charging standard devices, the jump starter port, and on/off switch, and a LCD readout that shows the % of battery left.

The battery pack has a bright built-in LED that operates as a flashlight, a simple on/off blink, and a pulse blink that spells out SOS in morse code.  For roadside emergencies, the flashlight would be handy for providing light as you work or as an emergency signal to other vehicles.

The battery pack is rated to handle 4.2A output, for a total capacity of 15000 mAh.  To test the output rating, I put a 2A load on each of the USB ports (for a total of 4A) and the battery bank was able to handle the load.

I wasn’t able to test the jump starter capability, but I will keep this unit in my car and update this review once I have the chance to test it.  I have tested a similar battery pack from another vendor, and I know they work - even on large SUVs.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

High Capacity: The rated 15000 mAh capacity should be able to handle charging devices multiple times with no problems.

Jump Starter: A great feature just in case of a dead battery, and you don’t have to worry about finding someone with jumper cables and putting both cars in the right position for the cables to reach.

Other features: The LCD readout shows % remaining, instead of using a simple few LEDs to reflect remaining capacity.  The LED flashlight with multiple modes is a useful tool during power outages or situations where you have to pull over at night due to car issues.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a great emergency battery bank that also acts as a jump starter, this is a great option to consider.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B010N7RW2S

GOOLOO Quank 4500 mAh Quick charge External Battery Charger Review ( model GF02 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a GOOLOO Quank 4500 mAh Quick charge External Battery Charger ( model GF02 ) for a product review. In addition to the battery bank itself, it also includes a cable to charge in the car and a USB to microUSB cable.

Charger and cables

The battery pack is rated at 4500 mAh, so I used my USB meter and 2A load to measure the capacity.  Based on the measured capacity, this pack put out about 77% of the rated capacity which is actually the highest I have tested so far.

To test the quick charging ability, I fully discharged the battery pack and then charged it in the car for a total of 30 minutes ( two 15 minute sessions ).  After that, I measured the capacity again using the USB meter and based on quick calculations it seems the battery took 80% charge in 30 minutes.  The product claims full charge in 30 minutes, but even 80% in just 30 minutes is impressive and it is possible my charging method ( two 15 minute sessions ) had an impact.   The battery pack was showing 4 LEDs of power, which is 80% so the numbers seem right.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

2A Output: The battery pack was able to handle a 2A load, so charging smartphones and tablets shouldn’t be a problem.  Both my 5” smartphone and 7” tablet charge at a rate less than 2A, so you probably would not hit the max 2A unless you had a large tablet.

Quick Charge: Using the car charger, the battery pack was able to charge at a much higher rate than it would have using a standard wall charger which is a great feature and I haven’t seen it on many units.

Other features: The battery pack has a nice design, and a built-in LED flashlight which I find useful.  It also uses 5 LEDs to show charge level, but they aren’t so bright that they would be annoying if you are charging the pack at night.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a battery bank with good capacity and quick-charge ability in the car, this is a great option to consider.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00SUL3P1W

JBtek Arduino Leonardo Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a JBtek Arduino Leonardo for a product review. The package just came with the board itself and a USB to microUSB cable, nothing else.

For this review I am not going to focus on comparing this Leonardo board to the other Arduino options, or even other microcontrollers.  I am going to assume the decision is already made, if not just search online for comparisons to figure out what works best for you.

The board didn’t include any software / documentation, but that wasn’t an issue I just went to the website ( http://www.arduino.cc ) that is on the board itself.  From there, I was able to install the software.

Product Packaging

USB cable and board

When I connected the board to my computer using the included cable, the green power LED labeled “on” turned on and another LED labeled “L” started to blink.  I played around with some of the sample code, and did a few simple tests:

- Made the LED labeled “L” blink on/off
- Measured voltage and output the voltage to the serial port
- Emulated a keyboard so that when the voltage was over 4V, it would send the voltage (as if it were typed) to the computer.  I actually tested this on an Android device also, and it worked.

Top of board

Bottom of board

Close up of ports / LEDs

Overall, it seems the device is loading code fine and some simple tests seemed to work.  I look forward to playing around with it more and hopefully doing some neat projects.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Minimal Kit: This is just a board and cable, if you are just starting to learn Arduino devices you may want to get other items (breadboard, jumper cables etc).

Documentation: This unit doesn’t come with anything but that isn’t an issue because there is a wealth of information online, and the Arduino site is a great start.

Hardware: Based on a quick visual inspection, the board seems to be good quality - nothing loose, no sloppy solder job as far as I can tell.

Bottom line: Assuming you are looking for this specific Leonardo board, the JBtek offering is a great option to consider.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00UUZTVOG

JBtek DC/DC 3.5-30V to 4.0-30V Booster Converter Step Up Voltage Regulator LM2587 Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a JBtek DC/DC 3.5-30V to 4.0-30V Booster Converter Step Up Voltage Regulator LM2587 for a product review.  This device isn’t really something for the average consumer, it is really for things like custom setups / projects.

For my first test, I grabbed an old 12V power supply from an old wireless router, cut the plug off and stripped the wires.  Using my voltmeter, I actually read 17.67V from the adapter.  I connected that to the voltage in, and measured the voltage out - adjusting between 20V and 25V mainly to get familiar with the operation of the unit.

For my next two tests, I used a 5V 2A USB power supply as my voltage input, and adjusted the converter to output 12V.

I tested a computer case fan, measure 0.4A @ 5V input side and 0.12A @ 12V on the output side.  Doing some quick calculations, the efficiency for the converter was around 72%.

Next, I tested another fan ( an old CPU heatsink fan ) that measured 0.9A @ 5V on the input side and 0.31A @ 12V on the output side for an efficiency of almost 83%.

For a real world test, I had a remote control truck transmitter that uses 8 AA batteries ( 12V total assuming 1.5V per battery ) and I wanted to see if I could use a USB battery pack to power it.  I checked the converter to make sure it was outputting 12V, and did a quick mock-up of the wiring to the transmitter.  I took the remote control truck ( Traxxas Slash ) outside for a test run using a small USB battery pack and the converter to power the transmitter and it seemed to work fine.

Rough setup to use USB (5V) to power the transmitter (12V)

The black wires (output) go to the bottom where the batteries normally go

The rubber bands were a temporary, but useful, mount

The setup was just a quick test - I actually mounted the converter using rubber bands, and the wires were just tucked under the battery terminals so if I plan to make this permanent I will need to do a little more work.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Easy to Wire: The terminals for voltage in and out were very easy to use for small wires and the probes of my volt meter.

Easy to Adjust: Using a small flat head screwdriver, you adjust the output voltage and once it is adjust it seems to stay stable even as you apply load.

Great for projects: This step up device is a great option for projects that require the ability to step up the voltage.  Personally the ability to use 5V USB battery packs to power other devices seems very useful.

Bottom line: This seems like a great option to consider if you need to step up DC voltage.

Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00MHTV8Z8

Satechi LightMate Emergency LED Flashlight Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a Satechi LightMate Emergency LED Flashlight with 2200mAh Power Bank ( model # ) for a product review. The box it comes was designed to be used as a holder for the parts, which is nice.  In addition to the flashlight itself you get a USB to microUSB cable, glass breaker, rubber cover for the glass breaker, wrist strap, and a plastic thing that goes on the end of the flashlight (not sure what to call it).

Product Box

Inside product box

Size comparison with business card

As a flashlight, you can use it normal (directional mode) or put the cover on the end and use it for “area lighting”.  The flashlight supports the following modes:

(Info copied from vendor website)
3 Brightness levels – Press the button for the brightest setting, half press for the medium setting, and half press again for the dimmest setting
Strobe – This setting emits quick flashes of light to draw attention to yourself in an emergency situation
SOS – Three short flashes with a brief pause are followed by three long flashes, and repeat continually to signal distress and rescue is needed

As a note, make sure you pay attention to where it says “half press” -- you don’t have to turn it off and on to switch modes, you can just press the button in a bit to make it change modes.

Items that come with the flashlight including a wrist strap and USB cable

The item installed on the end of the light makes it useful for area lighting
Useful for lighting up a room or working on a car

The flashlight worked as expect, and as a quick test I tested the flashlight at night - inside the house, outside in the backyard and even in an open field.  The light did a good job of lighting up the areas, and even in an open field it had good range.

microUSB and USB ports.  The glass breaker screws onto this side.

End cap unscrewed (you can see a rubber o-ring that helps keep it waterproof)

This is the end cap that has the microUSB / USB ports on the other side

Slide out battery tray

Battery next to battery tray

Battery installed in battery tray

The flashlight also acts as a 2200 mAh power bank.  During my tests, I was able to get 1370 mAh before the device turned off, about 62% of the rated capacity which is about middle of the range of most of the battery packs I test.  It has a microUSB port for charging the flashlight, and a regular USB port for charging other devices.  For emergency situations, having a power bank handy to keep your phone charged is a great feature.

Flashlight, glass breaker and glass breaker rubber cover

Glass breaker installed

Glass breaker cover installed

The flashlight also has a glass breaker that screws in the bottom.  Of course I didn’t get a chance to test it, but it seems like it would work.  You could use this for yourself in an emergency, or to help others.

The flashlight seems solid, and the product information lists that it is waterproof.  I would be worried about putting it under water, even with the glass breaker covering the USB ports I don’t know how good it would keep water from getting in but it should handle rain without a problem.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Flashlight: As a flashlight, it is durable and has multiple modes of operation that make it very useful.  The fact it uses a standard microUSB port for charging is great since most people will have the ability to charge in the car and mouse.

Power Bank: I wouldn’t use this on a daily basis as a power bank, but for emergency situations where you may need to use your phone it would work great.

Emergency Use: This would be a great “just in case” device for the house and car.  The strobe light and SOS mode can help get attention, and you are carrying around other emergency devices ( power bank and glass breaker ) all in one nice device.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a nice LED flashlight, this is a great option to consider.  The powerbank and glass breaker make this a great emergency device too.

Satechi Product Page: http://www.satechi.net/index.php/gadgets/lighting/lightmate
Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.com/B00JRK99DI