If you are looking for a cool project have a look at this Open Source Hardware Sentry Gun Controller. The board you see above is a new version that has mainly surface mount parts to make the board much smaller than the older version which used lots of through hole components. The board has lots of I/O pins for added functionality. You can see a few of the main features that system has below. Watch the video to learn more about this version of the controller (version 7).

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• Provides solder points for wires to an optional ‘disable plate’ button and optional Reload Position switch.
• Can handle up to 5A current before getting warm, for using high-torque and heavy-duty servos.
• Status LED’s for Power, Mode, Firing, and USB RX and TX.
• 12 user-programmable digital I/O pins for your own expansions and prototyping (8 of these can also be used as analog inputs).
• Supports USB 2.0 communication (with mini-B USB cable).
• On-board ATMega328 processor pre-loaded with Project Sentry Gun code.
• Fully compatible with Project Sentry Gun’s code.

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