I just ordered one of these from Brookstone to make an Imp demo! 
I am just a nube, but could you use a small transistor to trigger the mosfet. Like how a darlington pair works.
I had dropped this again for a bit, but I would like the parts off my bench so I am picking it up again. I have the âcorrectâ MOSFET coming today.
@RDB - Yes, I thought about using a transistor to trigger a small relay, actually. But I wanted to resolve the original issue with the MOSFET. I stumbled across the answer in a blog post, but I donât remember where.
The IRL510 that came with the âkitâ from JamesCo is apparently wrongity-wrong. The IRLB8721 is apparently the one to get. I will update when I have success (or failure).
@BuzzKill - good find. I hadnât looked too closely at the JamesCo kit, and assumed they had the proper parts - Iâll have someone get in touch with them and make sure they change that part.
Success! The new MOSFET from Adafruit worked a charm. So it is confirmed the IRL510, or itâs equiv from Radio Shack will not work with the April board, at least not for this application. The IRLB8721 works perfectly. Now to find all the screws and see if I can get this thing back together. Plan B will be to run the whole thing off a little 6V adapter. I believe the April board will take care of its own voltage regulation. But I am happy for now that I finally have a working project. Yea!
I always thought the internet gumball machine could be a viable marketing product, the idea being than every time a bar (for example) gets a mention on social media it releases a goodie, it wouldnât take long for patrons to start tweeting in return for candy!
@BuzzKill - very glad you got everything working! The April board will happily step the 6V down to whatâs needed!
For what itâs worth weâve reached out to Jameco about switching that FET, so your pain and frustration will not be all for naught