The element14 Community, an online network that connects engineers, manufacturers, inventors, and other innovators in the maker movement, now counts over 500,000 members. The community was launched in 2009 as a way for electronics distributor Farnell element14 to engage more directly with its customers.

Challengers are invited to design a device that makes a vehicle safer, smarter or more efficient, whether it has one, two, three or four wheels.

Bristol Robotics Laboratory has been named as the winner of Farnell element 14’s ‘Win a Lab Makeover’ competition. The competition was open to educational organisations in the UK to win the opportunity to have their teaching space refurbished. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) is an academic centre for robotics research in the UK and builds on a collaborative partnership between the University of the West of England (UW...

Carmelito Andrade from the United States has been announced as the Grand Prize winner of element14’s ‘Upcycle it’ design challenge. Sponsored by Intel, element14 challenged 15 community members to Upcycle an unwanted or waste product to give it a new or enhanced lease of life. Anrade upcycled a mirrored clock into a truly functional household IoT Hub. It uses the Intel Edison to help users prepare for their day ahead. 

Designed for quick temperature checks on printed circuit boards and other small electronics the FLIR ETS320 Thermal Imaging camera is available at distributor Farnell element14. It can be used in the laboratory, for accurate quality assurance and factory acceptance testing. Heat can be an important factor in understanding how a system is functioning and the camera provides non-contact thermal measurement through a combination of a high sensitivel...

A new Design Challenge for designers and engineers called ‘IoT on Wheels’ has been launched by element14. Sponsored by STMicroelectronics, element14 is looking for 10 community members to demonstrate the power of IoT-connected transport solutions by creating a prototype that shows how current technologies can make today’s vehicles safer, smarter and more efficient.

The portfolio of Alpha Connect series by Alpha Wire has been expanded at Farnell element14 by the addition of 700 lines, available to customers within five working days. As the first to stock Alpha Connect in January, Farnell element14 is now offering customers over 1,030 products, offering an end-to-end solution for connecting sensors and actuators on the factory floor.

Resistors, capacitors and diodes to help design engineers optimise their end products and address key design challenges such as scale, performance and cost have been added to the Farnell element14 portfolio.   They represent the Super 12 range which is released annually by Vishay and consists of six semiconductors and six passive components with advanced technology capabilities.  

The RSA500 and RSA600 series Real Time Spectrum Analysers from Tektronix are now in stock at Farnell element 14. The instruments offer rugged, portable real time spectrum analysis for interference hunting, spectrum management and network maintenance tasks. When used in conjunction with a tablet running SignalVu-PC software, the RSA500 series is able to solve the toughest interference challenges, as well as supporting spectrum management and netwo...

  The PSoC 4 M-Series Pioneer Kit is a low-cost development platform enabling the design and debug of embedded systems based on the PSoC 4200M ARM Cortex-M0 MCU. Some features include 55 GPIOs, and RTC, CAN, and DMA controller peripherals.

VCC has signed Farnell element14 to its European distribution network. The agreement increases VCC's sales and engineering support services to its European customer base. Farnell element14 supports VCC's complete product offering throughout Europe, including panel mount indicators, light pipes, LED displays, LEDs and accessories.

PiDesktop, an innovative set of accessories that converts a Raspberry Pi into a fully featured Linux-based desktop computer housed in an elegant enclosure has been introduced by Farnell element14. When combined with the Raspberry Pi, the Pi Desktop provides users with all the functionality they would expect from a standard PC, including WiFi, Bluetooth, a real-time clock, an mSATA solid-state drive interface, an optional camera and a power switch...

You could win an easy to use ADICUP360 development kit, designed to help you to make your IoT ideas to come true. As an authorised distributor of Analog Devices’ products, Farnell element14 is stocking all key components to help your future designs in signal chain applications.

A new range of value test and measurement products from Rohde and Schwarz has been added to the Farnell element14 portfolio.  The products include a number from Hameg Instrument, which Rohde & Schwarz recently integrated into its Test and Measurement Division.

Farnell element14 is hosting a Northern Supplier Day at Jesmond Dene House, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on Wednesday April 26 for customers and potential customers. The event will bring together 21 suppliersfrom across the Farnell element14 technology segments to showcase products, tools and solutions that empower people and businesses to shape the future. 

The latest offering from the BeagleBone.org range, the BeagleBone Blue has been built specifically for use in the development of robotics and autonomous vehicles. Aimed at Hardware and Software engineers, makers and education markets, BeagleBone Blue is built around the familiar BeagleBone open hardware computer.

Students, makers and hobbyists can access National Instruments LabVIEW Home Bundle for the first time via from Farnell element14’s Design Centre. With the LabVIEW Home Bundle, students, makers and hobbyists can now also benefit from visual programming, removing the need to write lines of code and worry about semi-colons and syntax. 

element.com and Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Europe, together with a number of engineering schools from the UK and Germany, have launched a research project looking at innovative infrared people detection software in combination with the world’s first ever surface mount thermopile sensor – the Panasonic Grid-EYE Infrared Array Sensor.