The Maker's Holiday Gift Guide
Check out this guide for gift ideas that makers will love!
Do you have a friend, family member, or significant other that's into making/technology and you don't know what gift to get them? Do you want to treat yourself over this holiday season with a cool gift? Fear not, the Maker's Holiday Gift Guide is here.
These gifts are all under $100 and will provide hours of fun tinkering and exploring. Let's dive in. (I own all these products, and can verify their fun and/or usefulness!)
This kit is one of my top suggestions. If you're not familiar, SDRs, or Software-Defined Radios, are devices that allow you to explore the electromagnetic spectrum from your computer. With them, you can do things like listen to airplane communications and amateur radio contacts, view fire/public safety messages and weather radio, download images from satellites, and so much more. One can honestly spend hours snooping around on the airwaves. This particular kit includes an antenna and everything else you need to get started.
SAMD51 Development Board - $22
The SAMD51 is an up-and-coming microprocessor architecture in the maker community based around the Cortex M4. What makes the SAMD51 so special is the incredible increase in power it provides over traditional architectures like the ATmega328-based Arduino Uno. This board executes instructions almost 10 times faster than an Uno, and provides orders of magnitude more on-board storage. The maker in your life will appreciate this!
This device is an all-in-one multimeter, oscilloscope, and data logger. It connects via Bluetooth to smartphones and tablets, and provides a very convenient way to measure many electrical circuits. Its small form factor means you can carry it with you just about anywhere.
Cellular connectivity for projects can take them to the next level, enabling remote monitoring and control on an impressive scale. This is one of the best cellular development boards out there.
Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit - $99
This kit has everything one needs to get started with the powerful Raspberry Pi 4. This is one of the few actually complete kits that I have been able to find; it literally has everything needed, minus some kind of HDMI-compatible display.
This is an invaluable tool for any project that involves soldering. These "helping hands" hold parts and wires for you, freeing up your own hands to hold solder and a soldering iron.
Beginning Radio Communications - $24
This book provides a fantastic overview of how radio technologies are used in our modern society. In it, you'll find intuitive instructional content and numerous hands-on projects that allow you to apply concepts you've learned in the book to the real world. This text assumes no prior knowledge of radio or electrical engineering, so it's great for all ages. [Full disclosure: I wrote this text]
This is the go-to magazine for makers, and is one of the few magazines I look forward to receiving every month. It provides a great mixture of instructional content, guides, and projects. The format linked above is the digital Kindle version, but you can find the print version on Make's website.
300 W Adjustable Power Supply - $60
Power supplies are a must-have for makers, and this one doesn't disappoint. It can supply up to 10A at 30V. I have had this particular model for a while, and it has held up nicely to all kinds of abuse.
4.3" E-Paper Display (UART) - $55
E-paper displays are fun to play around with, and this display is no exception. The possibilities with these things are endless; one can use them to make everything from a DIY e-reader to a wall-mounted calendar/clock/weather portal.
This kit is a very fun way to explore the world of supercapacitors. Supercapacitors are like traditional capacitors, except they provide a much larger energy storage capacity capable of powering projects for a short period of time. They can discharge large amounts of current and can charge back up in seconds, making them an attractive alternative to rechargeable batteries for many projects.
These curious devices allow one to sense all sorts of motion, enabling many interesting applications. I've seen them used to classify hand motions, detect vital signs, measure speed, and more. They also require a suitable instrumentation amplifier (such as this one) to boost the small output signal.
This is a great gift for individuals wanting to get involved with amateur radio. This little device is all you need to get on the air, provided that you have an amateur radio license.
Conclusion
That's all, and thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions for items to add to the list, don't hesitate to contact me.