One of us has a web site that has the exchange rates swapped.
Below is what I used to get today's quote.
Nonetheless, coinage is generally worthless outside the country of origin as the oversea's money changers prefer to keep their inventory all in bills. It is just too difficult to manage accounting of small coins from a huge variety of foreign countries.
Maybe in the US you can get someone to accept Euros or Candadian Dollars, or even Mexican Pesos.. but it is a rarity. Trying to cash in 20 cents SGD at your local bank is hopeless.
I have a collect of Japanese Yen, Thai Bhat, Mainland China Renmen Bi, and Hong Kong Dollars in coinage that sits around until I return.
Most airports have a place to dump the coins to a local charity. Some airlines collect the coins in flight for charity.
But the usual money changer accepts only foreign bills and provides the exact amount in local currency in a combination of bills and coin. I have only seen cruise ships that prepare packets with foreign coins for each port of call.
The current currency exchange rate is one Singapore dollar for about $0.79 USD. So a Singapore 20-cent piece is worth abut 16 U.S. cents. Potentially, a 1987 Singapore 20 cent coin could have numismatic value, and the highest value I could find is 0.5 Euros for a mint condition coin. A circulated 1987 Singapore 20-cent coin would not have any value beyond it's face value, so it's worth 16 U.S. cents.
Here is a link to the PanaVise® website page for the Standard PanaVise® Model 301 it shows a price of $54.99, and it sells for $44.86 on Amazon.
I am curious about one thing...on the website it doesn't appear that this is sale/clearance price. To look at the page you'd think this was the normal price. Unless I missed something. Just trying to determine how it is listed as clearance so I can tell on other items.
I am curious about one thing...on the website it doesn't appear that this is sale/clearance price. To look at the page you'd think this was the normal price. Unless I missed something. Just trying to determine how it is listed as clearance so I can tell on other items.
One way to see clearance items is just search for "clearance" instead of an item description but I don't think you can see the original price.
Yesterday I saw the MS5067 Altimeter module on clearance for $19.97 and it doesn't even appear if you search the site for "Parallax"
Curiously, it's not obviously marked clearance, but Shack "insiders" know that anything ending in 97 cents is a clearance price. So if you're ever "on the fence" about purchasing an item ending in 97 cents, grab it, as you may not get a second chance.
IMO it would help them move merchandise faster if they did clearly indicate "clearance", plus the original price.
I saw that also but the standard jaws are only 2.5" wide...
I did pick up a couple of resistor assortment packs - 100 resistors for $1.97
The jaws on my old vice where 1-3/4", so this is better. Got the 100 pack of resistors, (Thanks for the heads up). I put the one back that had a staple in it.No tellin' what was missing from that one.
Got a Panavise today, plus I scored this solar cell for $4.97 (something like 60 or 70 percent off), 9V, 1.5W, SKU #277-0053 AKA #277-053. Perfect for the mini solar rover I've been contemplating. The cell has a strong backing, suitable for use as a light-duty chassis. Better than a CD for a chassis, I can promise you.
Got a Panavise today, plus I scored this solar cell for $4.97 (something like 60 or 70 percent off), 9V, 1.5W, SKU #277-0053 AKA #277-053. Perfect for the mini solar rover I've been contemplating. The cell has a strong backing, suitable for use as a light-duty chassis. Better than a CD for a chassis, I can promise you.
I plan to use them with Li-ion cells. Cheap & plentiful!
The Shack has a few different solar cells/panels on sale, IIRC this is one of the higher power output ones, I hope I can find a second one for a Boe-Bot sized rover.
I plan to use them with Li-ion cells. Cheap & plentiful!
The Shack has a few different solar cells/panels on sale, IIRC this is one of the higher power output ones, I hope I can find a second one for a Boe-Bot sized rover.
I picked up one of the 9Volt 1W panels at RadioShack. I'm interested in using it with a rechargeable battery in a weather station that will transmit via a prop-based nRF24L01, temperature and humidity data to another prop-based display unit. I found that the panel was very directional and had to keep repositioning it to get sufficient power just to run the board and its sensors during a partly cloudy NorCal day. Not sure if I can get enough power to charge a battery for the dark periods...
I would like to see how these work for you. And, what circuitry you'll use to charge the Li-ion cells.
Picked up a 1.5W 9V for $4.79and also a 0.5W 4.5V for $3.97. What's interesting is that none of the other panels are on sale.
Also interesting is that the What's a Microcontroller, ( 276-0625), is on sale for $39.97. Try finding it on the the Radio Shack site. It disappeared. I believe it was the first, and best selling Parallax product that Radio Shack carried. 'Sup with that?
What's A Microcontroller includes the HomeWork Board with a built-in BS2. The Discovery Kit includes a Board of Education, which is a more robust board with additional power options and a socketed BS2 Module. It also has a power switch and servo headers on it. There are other differences, but these are the main ones.
Aha... I didn't realize that, Chris. I assumed my Discovery kit had a HW board. Will re-examine. That's good news.
Now ROBUST is in the eye of the beholder. I view the HW board's 220-ohm inline protection resistors as making that board more idiot-proof and robust. About the only time I don't prefer the HW board is when I'm driving a tiny relay directly from the BS2 pin. Each output pin is rated for 20 mA, but that 220 ohm resistor prevents the relay from working.
Sorry, I was mistaken. What I got was the BS2 Activity Kit with a HW board, which includes the WAM book, version 3.0. SKU #2760625, shows up as "WAM" on the receipt. (can't find that item/sku on website)
Comments
Below is what I used to get today's quote.
Nonetheless, coinage is generally worthless outside the country of origin as the oversea's money changers prefer to keep their inventory all in bills. It is just too difficult to manage accounting of small coins from a huge variety of foreign countries.
Maybe in the US you can get someone to accept Euros or Candadian Dollars, or even Mexican Pesos.. but it is a rarity. Trying to cash in 20 cents SGD at your local bank is hopeless.
http://sgd.fx-exchange.com/
Even with that, I'm still getting 1 USD = 1.2748 SGD.
You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought something had crashed.
In any case he got ripped off.
Better yet, try putting it on ebay?
Most airports have a place to dump the coins to a local charity. Some airlines collect the coins in flight for charity.
But the usual money changer accepts only foreign bills and provides the exact amount in local currency in a combination of bills and coin. I have only seen cruise ships that prepare packets with foreign coins for each port of call.
I wonder if it is even legal tender in the U.S. and how did Radio Shack end up with it in their cash register?
Having purchased 5 LCD displays for $9.97 a piece and a clearance GPS, I won't complain about a 20 cent coin
I wasn't sure it was real currency so I did a Yahoo search and found the eBay link which proved to be a distraction from the intent of my post.
Now if I had received a three legged 1937-D Buffalo nickle - I would be dancing in the streets!
I am curious about one thing...on the website it doesn't appear that this is sale/clearance price. To look at the page you'd think this was the normal price. Unless I missed something. Just trying to determine how it is listed as clearance so I can tell on other items.
One way to see clearance items is just search for "clearance" instead of an item description but I don't think you can see the original price.
Yesterday I saw the MS5067 Altimeter module on clearance for $19.97 and it doesn't even appear if you search the site for "Parallax"
IMO it would help them move merchandise faster if they did clearly indicate "clearance", plus the original price.
I've always bought the little rubber feet (similar to those Parallax send with boards).
When I saw them on the end of an aisle with no price and since they no longer appear on the web site, I assumed they were clearance.
The clerk said they were $3.06 - not a clearance price so I put them back.
The jaws on my old vice where 1-3/4", so this is better. Got the 100 pack of resistors, (Thanks for the heads up). I put the one back that had a staple in it.No tellin' what was missing from that one.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12610005
I picked up one of the 9v solar cells early on - briefly checked out rechargeable 9v batteries. Not cheap - even on eBay.
The Shack has a few different solar cells/panels on sale, IIRC this is one of the higher power output ones, I hope I can find a second one for a Boe-Bot sized rover.
I picked up one of the 9Volt 1W panels at RadioShack. I'm interested in using it with a rechargeable battery in a weather station that will transmit via a prop-based nRF24L01, temperature and humidity data to another prop-based display unit. I found that the panel was very directional and had to keep repositioning it to get sufficient power just to run the board and its sensors during a partly cloudy NorCal day. Not sure if I can get enough power to charge a battery for the dark periods...
I would like to see how these work for you. And, what circuitry you'll use to charge the Li-ion cells.
dgately
Also interesting is that the What's a Microcontroller, ( 276-0625), is on sale for $39.97. Try finding it on the the Radio Shack site. It disappeared. I believe it was the first, and best selling Parallax product that Radio Shack carried. 'Sup with that?
I found two priced at 29.97 in the DFW area, could not pass them up at that price!
By Thankgiving all should be clear. You might see signs about late October saying, "Coming soon to your neighborhood, The Apple Pie Shack."
With good coffee and free refills they might give Starbucks a run for its money.
None of these deals are as good as James Bond's Lotus submarine, though. $100 investment, sold for nearly a miilion.
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/james-bond-lotus-submarine-car-sells-967-000-161552208.html
Thanks for the heads-up, Ron! I just snatched the last one off the post at the local RS. It is the perfect accessory for a flying lawn chair.
Glad you found it. I didn't buy it 'cause couldn't imagine what I'd do with it...
Great tip! Found the Panavise, only two left within 50 miles of Plano (Dallas/Metroplex).
The Panavise gave me that "Why didn't I buy this ten years ago" feeling. Awesome for soldering small parts/boards,
Rick.
So what's the difference between the BS2 Discovery kit and the What's a Microcontroller? kit sold by RS?
Now ROBUST is in the eye of the beholder. I view the HW board's 220-ohm inline protection resistors as making that board more idiot-proof and robust. About the only time I don't prefer the HW board is when I'm driving a tiny relay directly from the BS2 pin. Each output pin is rated for 20 mA, but that 220 ohm resistor prevents the relay from working.
I'll go back and edit my previous post.
None show in stock at any stores near me in Los Angeles. Good luck in the hunt!
The Parallax site shows the Xbee pack at $80 and out of stock: http://www.parallax.com/product/32440