New ruler at Adafruit... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: elafargue
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2013, 08:50:34 pm
content: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1554I wonder where they got the idea

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 01:53:16 am
content: Hmmm. Dunno...

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:23:46 am
content: That's really lame. Yeah, I know it's not a protected design by Dave, but they ought to at least either contact him or carry his ruler, or give him credit. I always liked Adafruit before and spent a lot there, now I have a more sour taste in my mouth about them.

author: Legit-Design
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:33:17 am
content: Pfff no need to worry thats only average 6 incher. EEVBlog ruler is a whoppy 7 inches. If they went for more than 7 inches it would have meant WAR.Cannot even measure depth with that since it doesnt start measurement from the edge. They clearly made it inferior.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:39:45 am
content: Quote from: Legit-Design on October 12, 2013, 02:33:17 amHowever I do like the little layouts that they did of common smd pad layouts.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:55:27 am
content: PCB houses have been doing rulers like this for a long time as promotion devices.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:56:06 am
content: tsop66 footprint is wrong...DDR3 footprint is also wrong... do they even check these things?

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 03:12:33 am
content: Quote from: ataradovYup, for over 30+ years, I had drawers full of them. I even made my own 20+ yrs ago for schools, slide rule type.Need another topic to get your 5+ posts :-)

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 07:10:46 am
content: QuoteIndeed. And they make really nice rulers, too, compared to the cheap plastic crap you find in most office supply stores. Both Dave and Limor have thought of other good stuff to put on the rulers...

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 06:12:47 pm
content: what good are rulers that don;t start at zero ...

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 06:31:16 pm
content: Funny enough I picked some up at my pneumatics supplier today, they have cutouts for assorted pipe sizes in them, so you can tell metric and imperial apart.

author: JuKu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 07:04:04 am
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on October 12, 2013, 02:23:46 amBesides, Dave's was a once only event.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:16:59 pm
content: Surprisingly it's not absurdly overpriced like the other stuff they sell...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:22:42 pm
content: Quote from: ataradov on October 12, 2013, 02:55:27 amYes, at least 20 years that I am aware of. I certainly didn't invent the idea. But mine is the first 6" thin flexible end-stop style engineering rule design I've seen.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:28:08 pm
content: Quote from: westfw on October 14, 2013, 07:10:46 amWell, mine was a rush job for the Electronex show. Richard from Circuit Labs in NZ originally made them with only hours to spare, and handed them to me on the stand when the show opened.And the Pozible campaign also had no extra thought put in because I rushed that too for the open hardware summit goodie bag. The back side silkscreen was free, so simply tossed on a big web address and some random stuff.If I do another version I'd add a bunch more useful stuff to the bottom side.

author: senso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 06:59:53 pm
content: Here goes the rant..For all that I have seen Adafruit is either basic breakout boards, borrowed designs, and more basic crap, like RPi cases, RPi cables, and the typical stuff, all with a nice and hefty markup.

author: envisionelec
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 11:09:47 pm
content: I recently bought a TQFP socket from Adafruit that was totally botched. The DIP pinout started at 11...Oh crap - this post is off topic. Sorry.

author: frank26080115
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 01:38:00 am
content: I'm the guy who designed this rulerQuoteThere is no "standard" DDR3 footprint, there are several various widths for TSOP, I picked some cool looking ones off Digi Key and made the footprints according to their datasheets. Also, did you seriously get a chip and put it up to the ruler or are you just going by the pictures?Those two footprints are basically artwork, I didn't want to leave too much blank space.QuoteAny ruler that is not made of metal cannot start at zero, if a soft material like FR4 is used and the corners get rounded, it makes the ruler useless. The gap between the 0 mark and the end of the ruler is there for a good reason.Metal rulers should start at zero because metal does not get eroded so easily.QuoteAbsolutely not inspired by Dave's ruler, it was inspired by my friend and classmate's ruler:, this was back in 2011, let's not start on who did it first.QuoteIf I gave you 7, you're going to want 8, when does it end?6 is a good number, half of a foot, 15 centimeters, which is a multiple of 5.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 01:45:41 am
content: Quote from: frank26080115 on October 17, 2013, 01:38:00 amI've never understood why some people insist on their rulers starting at zero. I've always found them perfectly useful when they don't, and you don't have to worry about the end getting banged.Quote

author: all_repair
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 04:43:14 am
content: It is nice. I am going to get it.

author: Seg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:39:36 am
content: The Adafruit markup pays for support and documentation. May not matter to an EE pro, but to a newbie starting out... it may be the only reason they start out in the first place.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:00:20 am
content: Quote from: frank26080115 on October 17, 2013, 01:38:00 amNo it doesn't make it useless. It is obvious if the ruler has the corner rounded or the end worn, especially so with the 0.5mm increments on mine. And even if that happens you can just compromise by half a tounge angle, or simply start at a different mark for normal length meaurements. It is also very unlikely that the entire ruler end will get worn down, so the use as a vertical end stop depth rule still works just fine if the corners get rounded.I've used an abused mine for quite some time now and they are pretty rugged.But sure, maybe not so great after 10 years tossed around on your tool box, but that is not the intention of these rulers.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 07:49:03 am
content: Quote from: Seg on October 17, 2013, 06:39:36 amTrue, I've not ever purchased anything from Adafruit, but I have made good use of their documentation on similar products.I've used their Linux distro on my Pi and also their web based programming environment for it.I didn't even realize until recently though that the Flora and Lilypad were two different products.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 11:48:17 am
content: Quote from: senso on October 16, 2013, 06:59:53 pmAnd then there's this...http://www.adafruit.com/inecklacewhich I'm not even sure if they're mocking their audience with it. Adafruit know that their clueless "Maker" and "Arduino" crowd will pay, that's why they can sell the stuff at those prices. /rant

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 11:53:27 am
content: Isn't that the whole point of any jewelry? Pointless crap that costs more than the value it actually adds to your life, that you wear because you like it and like how you look wearing it? I'm pretty much the grumpy king of function over form, and I wear jewelry from time to time too... it's just human nature. And if it looks as nice as it does in the photos, it's not really overpriced at all, considering how few of them they probably make.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 12:19:01 pm
content: Quote from: c4757p on October 17, 2013, 11:53:27 amFor the for the girlfriend with mood swings...Bipolar earrings.http://www.adafruit.com/images/medium/bipolarearrings_MED.jpg

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 12:35:07 pm
content: Quote from: c4757p on October 17, 2013, 11:53:27 amI agree. Try getting a few hundred of those manufactured any cheaper that provides a reseller margin. Adafruit don't buy in the thousands, they buy in the 10's and 100's