37 Sensor Kit

20160328_180851Last week Danielle was ordering some stuff off of Amazon, and I asked her to look up Ultrasonic Sensors, she did and they should be here latter this week.  But this is not about them.  Instead is is about a related item that we purchased at the same time.  A 37 piece sensor starter kit, from Robotlinking Inc. (though my kit the parts say that, but says Elego on all the documentation )… Continue reading “37 Sensor Kit”

FTC – First Tech Challenge

This week I started helping one of the local schools get ready for their upcoming FTC competition.  Well…as of right now I have not done much other then gathering my ideas.  It is a 4 person team, each with their own roles.  They are running Java to control their robot, using Android phones.

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KiCad – PCB Design Software

Eagle Cad is my preferred PCB design software thus far.  Though its expense has encourage me to try out KiCad.  Back in Jun 2015 I started to use KiCad.  Below are a few notes that I have taken.   Let me know if you are interested in some videos on this software.  These notes are current as of 16 Jun 2015. Continue reading “KiCad – PCB Design Software”

CERTs for the Electronics Technician

As you may know I started my journey in Electronics through Ham Radio in the mid 90’s.  Then about 15 years ago I went through a trade school learning more about basic electronics.  After I was working for some time, I earned a BS in Computer and Information Science.  A lot of jobs/vocations prefer that a person continue their education, if it doesn’t help with promotion it can help with job security.  Most of all it helps stay current in today’s/tomorrow’s technology and keep our skills up.  Below are a few CERTs I have started or would like to have.  Most of these CERTs and courses are either low cost or free.

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My start with PCBs (Printed Circuit Board)

Don't give up when things go wrong.
Don’t give up when things go wrong.

I have been making my own PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) for some time now.  First, I had to create the schematic using software like EagleCad or KiCad.  Most of my work has been done in EagleCad, though KiCad is free.  Then from the schematic I go to creating the board layout.  Dell-Ray got me stated in using this software, and thought me the basics.  If there is any interest, I might be willing to make some youtube videos on EagleCad or anything else I am covering here.  Well after I design the circuit and its board layout the next task is to get that design onto a board. Here I will talk a little on my journey through making circuit board.  Starting off with chemical etching, then why I moved onto using a CNC router.  Last, some of the pitfall to doing it your self.

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Time Lapse Photogrophy

Time Lapse photography has been an interest of mine for a very long time, but I have not had the proper gear.  Some cameras, such as my Nikon Coolpix, have a time lapse feature built in, but it is limited on the intervals for taking the photos.  The professionals use a Intervalometer, also called a timer remote controller.  Naturally, I wanted to make my own remote controller!

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Solar Powered Hydroponics Garden

DSC_0116
Controller for the garden. A raspberry pi with relays.

Last year I built my first hydroponics garden.  I was trying to do it all inside, and in doing so my lighting bill was eating away at my spending cash.  This summer I have decided to move the garden outside where there is plenty of sun light.  The only problem is I do not have power to run the pump.  This is how I am getting around that issue.

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W5BOB Transmit Converter

As you might have already seen from my previous post, I made my first 6 Meter Receiving Converter with Bob, W5BOB.  Well he gave me his 6 meter transmit converter and together we modified it to work with my TS-120s HF radio.  Knowing that I was new to ham radio, Bob typed up some simple instructions on how to operate the transmitting converter and gave me the basic schematics of the system.

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