Spark Kickstarter

[Devin Pearson]

If anyone is interested in a group buy on the spark im going to be backing it.

Just message me if your interested.It closes closes at the end of the month.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible.

[Schalk Heunis]

Cool I am in!

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[Devin Pearson]

Ive created a spreadsheet for this.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuyMKzkDcvapdFI1ZmFSQ3lsb1A5Y3dKMS13NTB5cnc&usp=sharing

[Devin Pearson]

Is everyone who put their name on the spreadsheet happy with the number of cores and shields they want.

Im gonna update the order in on thursday to reflect whats been requested

[Devin Pearson]

Ive updated the  backing to reflect the current details on the spreadsheet.

[Devin Pearson]

Anyone interested in the little spark RC car they created.

They have added it as a reward level. $99 for everything you need or $60 for everything without the spark http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible/posts

Less than 66 hours before they get funded

[Andrew MacPherson]

Its a bit late here, Can I still add my name for 2 cores or have you guys already worked out how to get the cheapest options for your $ ?

-AM

[Devin Pearson]

There is still 29 hours to go so if you want me to add your order to the list I can

[Andrew MacPherson]

Excellent, let me know when you need the money by, I'll take 2 :D

-AM

[Devin Pearson]

My card will be charged tomorrow at 2 in the morning so ill be able to work out what everyone owes

[Andrew MacPherson]

Fantastic :) Excited to get my hands on it!

-AM

[Devin Pearson]

Here is amounts owed for the spark cores

Kevin  R852

Schalk R650

Dennis R650

Christiaan R1277

Marius R438

Org R1064

Andrew R852

If you guys can email me and Ill send you my banking details.

[Devin Pearson]

Here is an update on the spark cores:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible/posts

If anyone wants the spark with the aerial connector instead of the built in aerial. just email me and ill make the change on the order

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hi Guys,

Anyone have any idea on the range of the on board antenna? If its very small I think I'd prefer the connector (presuming they are easy to source -- anyone know about this?).

Regards,

Andrew

[Devin Pearson]

As far as ive seen on the spark device forums your not gonna get much better than your cellphone range with the device. you put it in certain protective cases and your gonna get less range. Because of this issue they create the second version so the  range can be extended. only issue with this is if you take the one with the ufl connector it requires a antenna to get any signal.

the community forums are located at the following link. they are pretty responsive to posts on there.

https://community.sparkdevices.com/ 

[Org Jansen van Rensburg]

Hi Devin,

Can you change one of mine to the aerial connector please. That way I will be able to test with both types :)

Thanks,

Org

On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 6:55 AM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za> wrote:

[Devin Pearson]

Anyone else want to change their aerial choice?

I need to submit the options by the weekend

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hi,

Naa i'll keep both of mine as is for now, I suspect it will be a hassle to go and find one of those antennas.

-AM

[Rudi Ahlers]

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 11:49 AM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za> wrote:
> Anyone else want to change their aerial choice?
>
> I need to submit the options by the weekend
>
> On Monday, 15 July 2013 21:31:32 UTC+2, Org Jansen van Rensburg wrote:
>>
>> Hi Devin,
>>
>> Can you change one of mine to the aerial connector please. That way I will
>> be able to test with both types :)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Org
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 6:55 AM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Here is an update on the spark cores:
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible/posts
>>>
>>> If anyone wants the spark with the aerial connector instead of the built
>>> in aerial. just email me and ill make the change on the order
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thursday, 9 May 2013 07:25:14 UTC+2, Devin Pearson wrote:
>>>>
>>>> If anyone is interested in a group buy on the spark im going to be
>>>> backing it.
>>>>
>>>> Just message me if your interested.It closes closes at the end of the
>>>> month.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible.
>>>>

I missed the rest of the discussion. What do these cost?



--
Kind Regards
Rudi Ahlers
SoftDux

Website: http://www.SoftDux.com
Technical Blog: http://Blog.SoftDux.com
Cell: 082 554 7532
Fax: 086 268 8492

[Devin Pearson]

$39 for the core and shields are $20.

Ive asked if I can add more to my order just waiting for a response from them

[Rudi Ahlers]

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 12:55 PM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za> wrote:
> $39 for the core and shields are $20.
>
> Ive asked if I can add more to my order just waiting for a response from
> them
>

Ok, so that's R400 then. Do I actually need the shield, or does it
just make life a lot easier? I have a couple of Arduino Mega2560 so
that shield essentially wastes some good "real estate".

[Devin Pearson]

I would recommend you check out their site https://www.sparkdevices.com/

Its arduino compatible, so its a standalone microcontroller that can be programmed wirelessly using arduino code. the shield shield allows you to add any the current arduino shields to your spark core and. the battery shield comes with a rechargeable battery and charging circuit. The relay shield allows you to control 4 relays and the JTAG Shield to flash code directly to the microcontroller.

[Rudi Ahlers]

Sorry, I guess I sounded a bit noobish. What I meant to say, does the
shield shield offer any benefits, over connecting The Spark Core
directly to the Arduino, via say an existing shield or some cables?

I've seen from experience that some modules work better on a shield,
and some don't, hence the question.




P.S. Is top posting preferred?

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 1:23 PM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za> wrote:
> I would recommend you check out their site https://www.sparkdevices.com/
>
> Its arduino compatible, so its a standalone microcontroller that can be
> programmed wirelessly using arduino code. the shield shield allows you to
> add any the current arduino shields to your spark core and. the battery
> shield comes with a rechargeable battery and charging circuit. The relay
> shield allows you to control 4 relays and the JTAG Shield to flash code
> directly to the microcontroller.
>
> On Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:07:37 UTC+2, Rudi Ahlers wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 12:55 PM, Devin Pearson <de...@blackhat.co.za>
>> wrote:
>> > $39 for the core and shields are $20.
>> >
>> > Ive asked if I can add more to my order just waiting for a response from
>> > them
>> >
>>
>>
>> Ok, so that's R400 then. Do I actually need the shield, or does it
>> just make life a lot easier? I have a couple of Arduino Mega2560 so
>> that shield essentially wastes some good "real estate".
>>
>>
>> --

\

[Devin Pearson]

What would you be intending to do with the spark core?

The spark core is not intended to connect to an arduino. it is an arduino replacement. The shield shield allows you to use the shields you already bought for the arduino with the spark core. e.g. you could add and lcd shield to your core using the shield shield. 

The power in using the spark core is its api and its wireless chip. 

You wont need to buy ethernet shields or wireless shields for your projects its already built in. 

it fits on a breadboard so its easy to make your own "shields".

[Rudi Ahlers]

Simple: to add wireless to an existing Arduino project. Wifi shields
for Arduino is quite expensive.

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[Devin Pearson]

The spark is an "arduino" with wifi so no arduino would be needed just the spark

[Rudi Ahlers]

Yes, I get that...... I guess I don't need it then.

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hey guys,

Any update on these?

-AM

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hi,

Sorry, should have RTFM'd first, https://www.spark.io/status, they should be shipping in november!

-AM

[Devin Pearson]

The spark cores were suppose to ship today but I received a new notice to say they will be another 2 weeks. They say the issue is the testing is taking longer than expected but spark cores are conning off the production line

[Gert van den Berg]

Random note: 

NuttX was ported to the Spark, if anyone want to play with that... (Git version at least... Patches for it is coming in at an amazing pace...)

http://sourceforge.net/p/nuttx/git/ci/master/tree/nuttx/configs/spark/ has some docs / code...

[Devin Pearson]

I got a kickstarter update a few mins ago.

Project Update #16: Thousands of Cores! Posted by Spark Devices ♥ Like

Hello, Spark friends! Today's a big day, and we've got lots to share! Open source firmware, documentation, and IDE, oh my! Unfortunately, we haven't started shipping Cores out of the factory quite yet. Our testing procedure had a bug that took a few days to resolve, and today more than 2,000 Cores have been completely assembled and tested. We've got another ~11,000 left, and with a potential daily yield of ~3,000 Cores we should be able to finish over the course of this week. Our distribution partner, Seeed Studio, has requested that everything be in their warehouse before they start shipping. We'd like to be shipping incrementally, and we're working with them to figure out how that might be possible. However all of the options that we offered have turned into a logistics challenge — our 5,549 backers ordered 372 different combinations of Cores, shields, and kits — so they really want to take on the whole order at once to make it easier to manage. It's really tough to estimate a shipping date when we're this close, because basically it could be any day now. If we can work things out with Seeed, we could be shipping later this week. However our best guess, assuming we have to ship everything at once, is that we'll be shipping next Monday, November 25. We've updated ourstatus page to reflect this latest estimate. Thank you again for your support and wonderful messages; the whole team has been working long hours to get everything ready, and your comments, emails, and tweets make it worth every minute. Firmware, documentation, and IDE are live! I can't tell you how excited we are to uncover some of the work we've been doing behind the scenes. Today we're publishing our open source firmware, our documentation for both the firmware and updated API, and the web IDE you can use to program your Core over the air! WARNING: Everything we're publishing today is still in development. There are gaps in our documentation, important features have not yet been implemented, and there are bugs. Please give us feedback and help us make everything better! Share your bug reports and feature requests on Github issues or by emailing us at he...@spark.io. DOCUMENTATION We've updated our API documentation, created documentation for the Core firmware, and generated a wealth of resources to help you get started with the Spark Core. Check them out here: http://docs.spark.io/ All of our documentation has been published through a Creative Commons license, so you're welcome to take it and do what you wish. Plus, it's editable! The documentation is hosted on Github: http://www.github.com/spark/docs We welcome all contributions to our documentation! Please share your example code, fill in missing content, and even fix our grammar! You can edit the documentation directly and issue a pull request through Github; check out the Github page for instructions on how to do so. FIRMWARE Our beta testers have been fiddling with the firmware for a couple of months, and it's finally ready for prime-time! http://www.github.com/spark/core-firmware http://www.github.com/spark/core-communication-lib http://www.github.com/spark/core-common-lib http://www.github.com/spark/bootloader These repositories give you everything you need to build the Core firmware locally on your own machine. Over the next few weeks we will also release a command-line interface to simplify the build process, and of course you can avoid the toolchain altogether by using our web IDE. We will also be publishing the open source repositories of the iOS app, the Android app, and the local Cloud over the next couple of weeks as we wrap up development on each one. SPARK BUILD: OUR WEB IDE Ready to start writing code? Check out our web IDE, Spark Build! https://www.spark.io/build The web IDE isn't currently hooked into our cloud compile service, so it can't yet flash and verify code. But we'll be putting the final pieces in place over the course of this week so that you're ready to go when you get your Spark Core. For fun and men's health: Spark Movember The team's been working so hard that none of us have had time to shave our upper lips.  Just kidding! As many of you know, Movember (formerly known as November) is the month where men often grow mustaches to spread awareness about men's health issues. None of our girlfriends or wives are particularly happy about this series of events, but they remain supportive nonetheless. Also the women on the team (Steph and Faye) support us as well, although they have chosen not to grow mustaches themselves. http://moteam.co/the-sparky-ones If you're not already familiar with Movember, check out their website and find out how to get involved! Sketchiest mustache wins. We'll be back soon with an update about shipping; thanks again for all the support, and as always, follow along on our status page, or chat with us on our forum,  IRC, Facebook, or Twitter! :{ :{ :{ :{ Mustaches :{ :{ :{ :{ - Zach and the Spark team

[Schalk Heunis]

looks promising :)

S

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hey guys, 

I see the spark cores are finally shipping! I am unfortunately moving to cape town on friday, do you think someone would be able to courier my 2 cores down to me when they arrive (I'd naturally pay for it!)

-AM

[Devin Pearson]

It shouldnt be a problem. they shipping in batches, ours unfortunately havent been sent yet

[Christiaan Burger]

Hi , Any updates on Sparkcores and shipping for our order?

[Devin Pearson]

They still havent shipped our order yet. Ill be contacting them tomorrow if they dont send me shipping details today

[Devin Pearson]

Project Update #18: Shipping update

Posted by Spark Devices ♥ Like

Hello, backers!  Shipping status: 61% shipped At this point, all of our rewards have been manufactured, and 3,393 packages have gone out, which means that 61% of Kickstarter backers have rewards en route or have already received them! We've started getting pictures and messages of unboxings around the world; please keep sharing your experience as your Cores come online! The rest of the rewards are currently at Seeed Studio and will be shipped out over the next week and a half; Seeed is expecting to finish shipping to the last backers on December 18. This is unfortunately longer than we were expecting, but is again the result of the complexity of our order and the number of variations that we had. In the meantime, Seeed has truly gone above and beyond ensuring that everything gets out during the very busy holiday season; packages have been sent through Singapore Post, Swiss Post, Royal Mail, Australia Line, SF Express, USPS, and more as Cores are delivered to 61 countries and all 50 states. New resources from the community You guys move fast! Some great new resources from the community for working with the Spark Core have popped up, including: Sparky: A node.js wrapper for the Spark API https://github.com/KevinGrandon/sparky Cylon.js: A robotics library for Node.js with a Spark adapter https://github.com/hybridgroup/cylon-spark Artoo: A robotics library for Ruby on Rails with a Spark adapter https://github.com/hybridgroup/artoo-spark Gobot: A robotics library for Go with a Spark adapter https://github.com/hybridgroup/gobot-spark Feedback welcome and encouraged! Don't forget as you're getting started with the Spark Core to share your experience with us! We want to hear what you love and what you hate, what you didn't understand and what features you'd like us to add. Your feedback is crucial, and every person who hits a snag during set-up can help us make sure that no one else runs into the same issues by improving our software and our documentation. Tell us about your experience on our forums,  IRC (#spark), Twitter,Facebook, and email (he...@spark.io)! Thanks a million,

Zach and the Spark team

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hey,

So has ours shipped?

-AM

--

[Devin Pearson]

nope. I did email them. they got back to me and didnt say much more than what was put in this update

[Devin Pearson]

Spark emailed me today to say they will be sending the cores via Dhl cause we ordered so many. Haven't received the tracking number yet

[Andrew MacPherson]

Woooot!

-am

On 23 Dec 2013 11:48 PM, "Devin Pearson" <de...@blackhat.co.za> wrote:

Spark emailed me today to say they will be sending the cores via Dhl cause we ordered so many. Haven't received the tracking number yet

[Christiaan Burger]

Have you received an estimated arrival time or tracking number? Do you guys think customs will charge us import tax?

[Ian Walker]

Spark Core recieved today via Post Office - R40 in fees and duties. Got the blinky program sent to core via web ide without any major hassles. 

 

[Devin Pearson]

The sparks from the group buy have been deliver to my house. Didn't pay any duties. Just won't be able to send them out at the moment as I'm in the UK

[Christiaan Burger]

When are coming back? I need to take over the world , wireless. =D

[Devin Pearson]

Ill be landing back in JHB on friday so I will hopefully sort it all out over the weekend. Anyone got any special requests on how its sent to them. Im guessing Andrew needs his sent to CT

On Thursday, 9 May 2013 07:25:14 UTC+2, Devin Pearson wrote:

If anyone is interested in a group buy on the spark im going to be backing it.

Just message me if your interested.It closes closes at the end of the month.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible.

[Andrew MacPherson]

Hey,

Yeah i'd need mine sent here, if you can please let me know how much and so on :)

-AM