Our micro metal gearmotors are now available in 12 V versions! These high-power motors have long-life carbon brushes (HPCB) and offer the same performance as the 6 V HPCB motors at their respective nominal voltages; the only difference is that the 12 V motor draws half the current at twice the voltage.

The new 12 V gearmotors are available across our usual range of 11 gear ratios and in single- and dual-shaft versions. Along with our existing selection of micro metal gearmotors, this brings the total number of unique options available to 107:

Rated Voltage	Motor Type	Stall Current @ Rated Voltage	No-Load Speed @ Rated Voltage	Approximate Stall Torque @ Rated Voltage	Single-Shaft (Gearbox Only)	Dual-Shaft (Gearbox & Motor)
12 V	high-power, carbon brushes (HPCB)	800 mA	6000 RPM	2 oz-in	5:1 HPCB 12V	5:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			3000 RPM	4 oz-in	10:1 HPCB 12V	10:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			1000 RPM	9 oz-in	30:1 HPCB 12V	30:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			625 RPM	15 oz-in	50:1 HPCB 12V	50:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			400 RPM	22 oz-in	75:1 HPCB 12V	75:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			320 RPM	30 oz-in	100:1 HPCB 12V	100:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			200 RPM	40 oz-in	150:1 HPCB 12V	150:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			140 RPM	50 oz-in	210:1 HPCB 12V	210:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			120 RPM	60 oz-in	250:1 HPCB 12V	250:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			100 RPM	70 oz-in	298:1 HPCB 12V	298:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft
			32 RPM	125 oz-in	1000:1 HPCB 12V	1000:1 HPCB 12V dual-shaft

In celebration of Independence Day (July 4th), we are discounting selected products by up to 25% and offering an upgrade to the next best price break for everything else in our store. Please note that we will be closed Monday, so orders will not ship until Tuesday, July 5.

For more information, including all the discount coupon codes, see the sale page.

Happy 4th of July!

One of our customers, Jeff, found a creative way to use some of our 1″ ball casters. He was having a problem with the legs of his quadcopter “grabbing” when he landed, so he attached a ball caster to the end of each leg. You could read more about his modification and find more pictures of his quadcopter in his post on the RCGroups.com forum.

Related products

Pololu Ball Caster with 1″ Plastic Ball and Plastic Rollers

We are having a big Memorial Day sale now through Monday, with discounts on over 800 products when you use the coupon code MEMORIALDAY16. Stock up on robot parts now so you can build cool things all summer long! Note that we will be closed on Monday, so orders will not ship until Tuesday, May 31.

For more information, including all of the sale items, see the sale page.

We are now offering the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. The Raspberry Pi is a popular credit card-sized computer that can run ARM Linux distributions. As the successor to the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, the Pi 3 has a more powerful processor and adds wireless connectivity. Here are the specific improvements:

• 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU
• 802.11n Wireless LAN
• Bluetooth 4.1
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Along with these improvements, the Raspberry Pi 3 maintains compatibility with and the form factor of the previous Pi 2 (and Pi 1 Model B+). With its 0.1″-spaced GPIO header and small size, the Raspberry Pi also works as a programmable controller in a wide variety of robotics and electronics applications. It can also be combined with our A-Star 32U4 Robot Controller LV with Raspberry Pi Bridge to make a great controller for a small robot. We also carry a selection of Raspberry Pi expansion boards.

This comparison chart can help in selecting the right Raspberry Pi for your project:

	Raspberry Pi Model A+ 512MB	Raspberry Pi Model B+	Raspberry Pi 2 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
CPU:	BCM2835		BCM2836	BCM2837	BCM2837B0
CPU cores:	1		4
CPU speed:	700 MHz		900 MHz	1.2 GHz	1.4 GHz
RAM:	512 MB	512 MB	1 GB
Ethernet:	No	Yes
WiFi:	No			2.4 GHz 802.11n	2.4 GHz 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth:	No			4.1	4.2
Bluetooth Low Energy:	No			Yes
HDMI:	Yes
Analog video:	Yes1
SD socket:	microSD
Onboard regulators:	switching
Expansion header pins:	40
USB ports:	1	4
Mounting holes:	4
Dimensions2:	2.5″ × 2.2″ × 0.47″	3.35″ × 2.2″ × 0.8″
Weight3:	23 g	42 g			50 g

1 Audio and analog video provided by a single four-pole 3.5 mm jack. This 3.5 mm jack also has its own dedicated low-noise power supply for improved audio.
2 Length and width measurements are for the PCB only; several of the connectors extend past the edge of the board.
3 Weight does not include microSD cards.

Related products

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

On Monday, Colin McGinn launched a Kickstarter in order to create a 3D short film using Tru.D 3D, which is a volumetric display system that he designed and patented. The system quickly feeds 3D volumetric objects into a specific viewing area, and each 3D piece forms a frame of an animation to tell a story that can be viewed from any angle.

Included among the Kickstarter rewards is a mini Tru.D 3D machine, which uses our micro metal gearmotors and magnetic encoders to perform a short, two-second animation. The machine is small enough to hold in your hands, and backers have the option of choosing from one of three different animations.

You can find more information on Colin’s project, including the full digital version of the short film, on his Kickstarter.

Related products

Magnetic Encoder Pair Kit for Micro Metal Gearmotors, 12 CPR, 2.7-18V

We just added 16 new micro metal gearmotors to our already huge selection, including three totally new MP (medium power) gear ratios: 5:1 MP, 210:1 MP, and 250:1 MP. With these new additions, we now have dual-shaft versions available in any combination of our 11 gear ratios and four motor types, giving you 44 different options that work with encoders like our magnetic encoder pair kit.

Magnetic Encoder Kit for Micro Metal Gearmotors assembled on a micro metal gearmotor with extended motor shaft.

In all, this increases our total selection of micro metal gearmotors to 85 unique options:

Motor Type	Stall Current @ 6 V	No-Load Speed @ 6 V	Approximate Stall Torque @ 6 V	Single-Shaft (Gearbox Only)	Dual-Shaft (Gearbox & Motor)
high-power, carbon brushes (HPCB)	1600 mA	6000 RPM	2 oz-in	5:1 HPCB	5:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		3000 RPM	4 oz-in	10:1 HPCB	10:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		1000 RPM	9 oz-in	30:1 HPCB	30:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		625 RPM	15 oz-in	50:1 HPCB	50:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		400 RPM	22 oz-in	75:1 HPCB	75:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		320 RPM	30 oz-in	100:1 HPCB	100:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		200 RPM	40 oz-in	150:1 HPCB	150:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		140 RPM	50 oz-in	210:1 HPCB	210:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		120 RPM	60 oz-in	250:1 HPCB	250:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		100 RPM	70 oz-in	298:1 HPCB	298:1 HPCB dual-shaft
		32 RPM	125 oz-in	1000:1 HPCB	1000:1 HPCB dual-shaft
high-power (HP) (same specs as HPCB above)	1600 mA	6000 RPM	2 oz-in	5:1 HP	5:1 HP dual-shaft
		3000 RPM	4 oz-in	10:1 HP	10:1 HP dual-shaft
		1000 RPM	9 oz-in	30:1 HP	30:1 HP dual-shaft
		625 RPM	15 oz-in	50:1 HP	50:1 HP dual-shaft
		400 RPM	22 oz-in	75:1 HP	75:1 HP dual-shaft
		320 RPM	30 oz-in	100:1 HP	100:1 HP dual-shaft
		200 RPM	40 oz-in	150:1 HP	150:1 HP dual-shaft
		140 RPM	50 oz-in	210:1 HP	210:1 HP dual-shaft
		120 RPM	60 oz-in	250:1 HP	250:1 HP dual-shaft
		100 RPM	70 oz-in	298:1 HP	298:1 HP dual-shaft
		32 RPM	125 oz-in	1000:1 HP	1000:1 HP dual-shaft
medium-power (MP)	700 mA	4400 RPM	1.5 oz-in		5:1 MP dual-shaft
		2200 RPM	3 oz-in	10:1 MP	10:1 MP dual-shaft
		730 RPM	8 oz-in	30:1 MP	30:1 MP dual-shaft
		420 RPM	12 oz-in	50:1 MP	50:1 MP dual-shaft
		290 RPM	17 oz-in	75:1 MP	75:1 MP dual-shaft
		220 RPM	21 oz-in	100:1 MP	100:1 MP dual-shaft
		150 RPM	28 oz-in	150:1 MP	150:1 MP dual-shaft
		100 RPM	36 oz-in		210:1 MP dual-shaft
		90 RPM	41 oz-in		250:1 MP dual-shaft
		75 RPM	46 oz-in	298:1 MP	298:1 MP dual-shaft
		22 RPM	80 oz-in	1000:1 MP	1000:1 MP dual-shaft
low-power	360 mA	2500 RPM	1 oz-in	5:1	5:1 dual-shaft
		1300 RPM	2 oz-in	10:1	10:1 dual-shaft
		440 RPM	4 oz-in	30:1	30:1 dual-shaft
		250 RPM	7 oz-in	50:1	50:1 dual-shaft
		170 RPM	9 oz-in	75:1	75:1 dual-shaft
		120 RPM	12 oz-in	100:1	100:1 dual-shaft
		85 RPM	17 oz-in	150:1	150:1 dual-shaft
		60 RPM	27 oz-in	210:1	210:1 dual-shaft
		50 RPM	32 oz-in	250:1	250:1 dual-shaft
		45 RPM	40 oz-in	298:1	298:1 dual-shaft
		14 RPM	70 oz-in	1000:1	1000:1 dual-shaft

We’ve updated our Wixel Shield for Arduino with a few minor improvements. The Wixel Shield provides an easy way to connect a Wixel wireless module to your Arduino or A-Star 32U4 Prime, enabling wireless communication and even wireless programming (on some Arduinos). However, the original version of the shield was released many years ago, so it was not designed with the modern pinout of the Arduino Uno R3 in mind.

The Wixel Shield v1.1 adds pass-throughs for the four new pins—SCL, SDA, IOREF, and an unused pin—introduced by the R3 and present on all newer Arduinos, making it easier to stack other shields with it (especially ones that make use of the new I²C pin location). It also features improved level shifter circuits that make use of the IOREF voltage provided by the Arduino, allowing the shield to work automatically with both 5 V and 3.3 V Arduino boards.

The Wixel Shield for Arduino v1.1 is available by itself and as part of a combination deal that includes a pair of Wixels and a USB cable. See the user’s guide for the shield for additional information.

Related products

	Wixel Shield for Arduino, v1.1
	Wixel Shield for Arduino, v1.1 + Wixel Pair + USB cable

The updated MP3 Trigger V24 from SparkFun is now for sale. This new version features improved firmware that can read a configuration file from the SD card, making it much easier to use without a microcontroller. We posted previously about a project using an A-Star 32U4 and an MP3 Trigger to make a Scary shaking tombstone. The MP3 trigger also pairs nicely with the Maestro Servo Controllers because you can use a Maestro servo controller’s scripting capability to trigger sounds to play in sync with motion. You can see examples of how people are using them on our forum here and here.

Related products

	MP3 Trigger V24
	Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller (Assembled)
	Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB Servo Controller (Assembled)
	Mini Maestro 18-Channel USB Servo Controller (Assembled)
	Mini Maestro 24-Channel USB Servo Controller (Assembled)

We started the Pololu Forum in 2004 as a place for product support and discussion, where Pololu customers can interact directly with each other and Pololu engineers. The forum is our preferred medium for handling technical support since the answers can potentially benefit multiple people and can include the experience of other helpful members of the community.

Recently we changed the forum software from phpBB to Discourse, a more modern and mobile-friendly forum package. We migrated user accounts and posts, so you should still be able to use your same forum username and password to log in. (Your forum account is separate from your Pololu.com account, though.) If you don’t have an account, now is a great time to sign up and join in the robotics and electronics discussion! You can read a lot more about Discourse on its “About” page.

We would be happy to hear how your experience is with Discourse, and if you have any suggestions or feedback on the change, you can post a comment here or in the “About the Pololu Forum” category on the forum.

Here are some technical details about the migration: before migrating, the forum had around 11 thousand user accounts and over 45 thousand posts, so I was very happy to find that following the instructions from the Importing from phpBB3 topic worked well. One thing the importer does not support is handling redirects from the old phpBB URLs. We really wanted to keep all those forum links working, so I modified the import script to generate an Nginx configuration mapping the old URLs to the new ones. I also made an improvement to the Discourse string remapping utility to fix some of the BBCodes that were not rendering well. It has been convenient to contribute to Discourse because they use Ruby on Rails, just like we do for the main Pololu website.