Feb 15

Welcome to the Spring 2022 Gadgets class.

getting started

We'll meet once weekly to work through and discuss projects in the Sparkfun Inventor's Kit , which builds simple circuits with buttons and lights and what-not, controlled by an Arduino (well, a Redboard, which is an Arduino clone).

Along the way you'll learn

• some coding (in Arduino's "Processing" C-like language)
• some circuit physics (volts, amps, multimeters)
• some debugging (why doesn't it work?)

We may also do a bit with some other maker technologies ... 3D printing, perhaps - we'll see.

The point is give you a chance to start to develop some of the skills that will let you create your own DIY (do-it-yourself) gizmos.

The first assignment is posted - click on the "assignments" link at the left.

Please do check out the course syllabus ; I'll wave my hands over what I have in mind for the term schedule and work expectations.

introductions

Let's go around and say hello.

jumping in

Once past the nuts-and-bolts, I'll get us started with a little show-and-tell to get us going ... see the attached images.

You'll need to understand basic circuits for this course : volts, amps, watts, ohms, resistors, and all that - what they are, how to measure them, and how to use them to get things done. There are many online resources to read about these topics - I've listed several on the resources page. I'll also do some explanations and demos in class.

Here's one site that goes over the basics which I will go over briefly today.

• makerspaces.com basic electronics

questions

Any questions about anything?

attachments

		last modified	size
	blink.mp4	Mon Feb 14 2022 03:41 pm	4.2M
	code_screenshot.png	Mon Feb 14 2022 03:41 pm	630K
	lab_screenshot.jpeg	Mon Feb 14 2022 03:41 pm	639K