SparkFun Electronics
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| SparkFun Electronics | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2002 Boulder, Colorado |
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado |
| Industry | Technology |
| Products | Port-o-Rotary, Giant NES Controller, Picture Frame Tetris |
| Website | sparkfun.com |
SparkFun Electronics is a company based in Colorado that manufactures and sells microcontroller development boards. They also make and sell breakout boards that make it easier to prototype popular devices that use fine-pitch packages.
Contents |
[edit] History
SparkFun Electronics was created in 2002 when a group of students working on a project, which involved waterproof sports equipment, needed an inexpensive manufacturer of printed circuit boards. The students settled on Olimex, a PCB manufacturer in Bulgaria. They then started to sell their products on the website. The founding students graduated and now run SparkFun full time as a launching point for product development and consultation. [1]
[edit] Name
The name 'SparkFun' came about because someone was making a board up, they tested it and sparks flew, hence the name 'SparkFun'. The 'Fun' bit in the name is because SparkFun aims to educate people about electronics.
[edit] SparkFun Now
SparkFun has a growing customer base located within 93 countries. Their products and designs are regularly used by the average hobbyist and professional electrical engineer as an easy way to buy items that would not usually be available or be difficult to make.
[edit] Projects
- The Port-o-Rotary phone An old-fashioned rotary phone put together with a cellular module and a PIC microchip.
- Picture Frame Tetris A Tetris game scaled up in size.
- Giant NES controller An NES Controller scaled up in size.
- Hotplate Reflow soldering SparkFun have improved the way that hotplate reflow soldering was performed. Sparkfun also perfected the way toaster reflow oven soldering was performed.
- Commercial Product Disassembly SparkFun were one of the first to dismantle the Wiimote and reveal its inside workings. SparkFun have also disassembled the Nike+iPod pedometer kit.
