CircuitMess Chatter - DIY Encrypted Wireless Communicator | Learn Electronics and Coding | Engineering kit | STEM Projects for Kids Ages 11+ | Science Kits for Kids | STEM Toy

Update:Awesome customer support. After downloading a firmware update the battery drain issue is resolved! I am true to my word this product went from a 2.5 to a 5 ⭐️!I’d say 2.5/5 ⭐️ with a few minor tweaks it would easily be a 5/5.I want to start by saying my 9 year old LOVED building this and playing with it. The main issues are this: first the build was very simple, plug a few things in, turn a few screws and it’s done. Was expecting a bit more as the original chatter says it teaches soldering. Lastly this thing drains aaa batteries faster than I can replace them. To the point where we don’t use them because we can’t keep up with the battery change. Which is a shame because it really is a cool little device.

their web based native coding section of their website doesn't seem to like do to not being on a desktop (although i am on a desktop and I've tried all the browser to get the same result)but there is some hope since there's an extension that i found for them in the Arduino IDE. lets see what i can do with that

The built-in texting is fun and might entertain some kids for a while. But for those interested in coding, mess around with circuit blocks... play around, look at what it spits out in the micropython section. Next level -> download the Arduino IDE, head over to the "Circuit Mess" github and DL the Chatter 2 C++ libraries. Ask claude 2 to explain the code or chatGPT. This company does not make the next learning steps obvious after their "demos" but Circuit python and the arduino IDE is relatively easy to learn and there are resources if ya google. Unfortunately Circuit Mess didn't show us the bridge.

They are interesting gadgets but I was under the impression I would be soldering connections and using some real tools. They were completely assembled other than some screws and buttons.

Those are "chatter 2" devices (red, not green), already soldered ("chatter 1" was the one for practicing soldering).The price is really low for such a nice product!Currently (July 2024) there is WIP for Meshtastic support, which is the reason I bought it. If you are a hacker, it's possible to make it a perfect Meshtastic standalone device!Congrats to CurcuitMess, you really did a great job!

I ordered these to play with just for the fun of it. One of these days I might even find a use for them. They work perfectly as advertised and are easy to assemble. Interesting gadgets.The only small complaint I have is it would be nice to have a placard around the buttons to label their function -- like a telephone keypad. Although I'm sure any little kid these days would have the buttons memorized in no time.

Arrived broken

Reading the product details, I was expecting to get a project where I could do some soldering along with all the other things mentioned on the product page. I was disappointed to learn as soon as I opened the box, all the soldering was already done. No soldering is needed.