Easter & Bank Holiday Information: Kitronik is closing for the Easter bank holidays, orders placed after the Thursday cut off will ship Tuesday 2nd April.

Introducing: Exciters, Solar Cells, & How To Use Them!
We’ve got a few new products for you this week that will hopefully push you into getting back to that kit you started and left in a draw (we all do it), or maybe even inspire you to start a whole new project!

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Added to the store this week is a new solar cell for our range of solar power options, and it’s our biggest cell yet!

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In the current climate where more and more people are looking at alternative power sources, solar power remains one of the most popular, simple options as it can be achieved with very little expense and few resources. At 5V and 200mA current, and with a size of 110mm x 110mm, the solar cell on a British Summer's day can generate 150mA of current. Our solar cells also come PET laminated, meaning their cell faces are protects and waterproofed, and have rear mounted solder pads making them suitable for a wide range of uses in both indoor and outdoor applications. If you were looking for a fun little project for the weekend, why not try making yourself a solar powered light-up jacket like our Director Geoff made before?

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  Also this week we have a new 2W Exciter/Bodyshaker to get you excited... 3337_additional_exciter_2w 3337_large_exciter_2w Exciters (or bodyshakers as they are sometimes known) are basically loudspeakers without a membrane. By applying an audio signal to the contact pins, the oscillating mass then starts shaking with the frequency of the applied signal. This oscillation is transmitted to the mounting plate and from there on to the surface the exciter is stuck to. The surface then emits the audio signal just like a speaker! There are some differences in how the sound is emitted compared to a speaker. The excited surface is very large and heavy (when compared to a lightweight cone membrane in a speaker), and thus unable to oscillate coherently. That means that not every point of the surface moves into the same direction with the same amplitude at the same time. Simply attach the speaker to the surface of the plate by gluing or sticking. At Kitronik while testing, we had great results using sandwich panels with honeycomb structures (e.g. hexagon-structure), thin particle boards (e.g. HDF / MDF) and acrylic sheets. Here is a video we put together, demonstrating exciters in action:
  Just a small product launch this week, though do sign up to our newsletter here if you want to be the first to hear of new products and more exciting features!

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