In the course of a weekend we will learn the basics of electronic components and circuits, starting with fundamentals like Ohm's law, through circuit design and manufacturing custom printed circuit boards, culminating with a work session where we will build working headphone amplifiers you can take with you. After attending the sessions of this weekend you should be equipped to add things that light up, buzz, and spin to your next maker project. Our goal is to provide for a baseline level of electronics knowledge for area makers.



Lunch will be provided on Saturday afternoon with registration for this event. (I'm sorry but we cannot accommodate any dietary restrictions. Lunch will be Subway sandwiches, fruit, and an assortment of soft drinks).



Friday



5:30 pm Meet and Greet/ Social/ Setup FREE



Saturday



9:00 am Physics and Fundamentals (Kevin) FREE



10:00 am Basic Electronics Lab (Glenn) $15



12:00 pm Lunch (provided)



1:00 pm Soldering Workshop (Ron) $10/FREE



2:30 pm Circuit Analysis and Test Equipment (Donovan) FREE



4:30 Circuit Board Design in Eagle (Christoph) FREE



6:30 Dinner break (bring your own)



7:30 Make and Take Headphone Amplifier ($28)



Sunday



12:00 pm Build a BEAM bug bot ($15)



1:00 pm Build a brushless motor from scratch ($15)



3:00 pm Headphone Amplifier Build Part 2



SESSION DESCRIPTIONS



Meet & Greet



Friday night we bring all the materials for the weekend, test the equipment and then sit around and gab about what we'll be doing. If you have questions about, for instance, what to expect in an upcoming session, this is a great time to get answers.



Physics and Fundamentals (Kevin)



This is a atom-up explanation of electronics. To understand anything about how components like resistors, capacitors or transistors work you first need to know what makes electricity go. The physics part will be a very general and superficial overview--hopefully just barely what you need to get by for the rest of the weekend. It should be something everyone can easily understand. From there we'll walk through the common components in electronics and get you queued up for the practical lab to follow. This is a lecture with no material fee and no tools required.



Basic Electronics Lab (Glenn) $15



It's time to get hands-on with this two-experiment lab where you'll learn about relays and capacitors in some detail. You will construct something called a "relay oscillator," and then experiment with the relationship between time and capacitors. There is no soldering involved in these experiments, and you can take the components home with you to use in future adventures in electronics. This is a lab and the materials fee is $15. The first 22 participants to pay here via PayPal (http://wixsonit.com/) in advance are guaranteed a spot in the session.



Soldering Workshop (Ron) 10$ or FREE



Don't be afraid of soldering! With a little bit of instruction and a tiny bit of practice you can solder like a champ. You will be surprised by how learning just a few basic rules of soldering will transform your solder messes into solid circuits. In this session you'll learn the tricks and techniques, AND get hands-on with some practice soldering using sacrificial boards and components you won't need to worry about ruining as you learn. Alternately, you can for $10 get a collection of useful components to practice with, including breadboard layout circuit board, solder and an assortment of parts including resistors, capacitors, voltage regulators, transistors, ic's and a relay. This course will include some video presentations on proper soldering technique followed by a hands on practice session. We will focus primarily on through hole soldering but some surface mount soldering will also be covered. We recommend you bring all your own soldering equipment if you have any. It's best to learn how your own equipment feels and behaves when it's soldering properly. The first 22 participants to pay here via PayPal (http://wixsonit.com/) in advance are guaranteed a spot in the session.



Circuit Analysis and Test Equipment (Donovan) FREE



When you're working on your own projects, getting creative and trying out new ideas, it's almost certain things won't work right the first time. Figuring out where you went wrong can be tough, unless you have the right equipment and know how to use it. In this session we'll be learning about troubleshooting circuits using multimeters and a variety of oscilloscopes. Don't know what an oscilloscope is? This is a perfect time to find out.



Circuit Board Design in Eagle (Christoph) FREE



Did you know that you can create your own circuit board designs and get them professionally manufactured for a really decent price? Well you can. The design software is free, the boards cost just $15-$30 each depending on the size, and then you're ready to add your components, put it in an enclosure and before you know it you have a well made, functional electronic device. In this session you'll learn about all of that, from how to use the free software to where to get your circuit boards fabricated and for how much. As a demo we'll be learning about designing the very PCB used in the capstone project for the weekend, building a headphone amplifier. This is a lab. No lab fee required, but you should bring your own computer to follow along with the demonstration/tutorial.



Make and Take Headphone Amplifier ($28)



A headphone amplifier is an electronic device that sits between your audio device, be that a computer or cell phone, and your listening device. You've probably been in situations where the output of the audio device you were using is simply not powerful enough for the speakers or headphones you have attached, or else turning it up so that it's audible creates distortion. A headphone amplifier solves that problem, and also happens to be an excellent project to tie together all of the electronic bootcamp lessons. You'll solder and assemble a headphone amplifier to take home with you. This is a lab and it would be a good idea to bring your own tools, including wire cutters and soldering equipment, but the components are provided by the lab fee of $28. The first 22 participants to pay here via PayPal (http://wixsonit.com/) in advance are guaranteed a spot in the session.



Build a BEAM bug bot ($15)



This weekend is all about analog electronics, but that doesn't mean it can't be about robotics too! BEAM is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics, and is a style of robotics that explores the possibilities and range of behaviors achievable without the use of digital circuits. Typically behaviors and morphologies are modeled after biological inspiration, usually bugs, and as we see with bugs seemingly simple behaviors can achieve remarkable, complex results. In this session we'll dip our toes into the waters of BEAM robotics with a simple bot that moves around randomly using the power of the sun. This is a lab and you should bring your own soldering equipment, pliers and wire cutters if you have any, and there is a lab fee of $15 for the components of the bug bot you will make. The first 22 participants to pay here via PayPal (http://wixsonit.com/) in advance are guaranteed a spot in the session.



Build a brushless motor from scratch ($15)



One of the best reasons for learning electronics is learning how to make things move. Well, this session will show you how the movement is made in the first place! You will build your own, working, brushless motor from scratch (or from pre-cut pieces anyway.) You'll love this little project based on a motor design created as an "epic business card" for a maker space in Seattle. It's fun, and easier than you might think. This is a lab and you should bring any tools you have just in case (see the list at the end of the post for suggestions). There is a lab fee of $15 for the components of the motor you will assemble and take home. he first 22 participants to pay here via PayPal (http://wixsonit.com/) in advance are guaranteed a spot in the session.



Headphone Amplifier Build Part 2



People may have a hard time getting their headphone amplifier project built and tested in the time allotted on Saturday, so this session will focus on helping people finish their projects and test and troubleshoot any problems. Be prepared to rock!



Notes:



1.) Each lab with a fee has a link in the above descriptions. You will need to visit the link and pay the fee for each session you want to attend.



2.) We have a hard limit of 22 participants per session. Since some participants will be able to attend only some of the sessions, RSVP's for this event (the whole weekend) will not be limited. An RSVP for this event does not guarantee there will be a spot reserved for you in any particular session, only that you will have a name tag and lunch provided Saturday afternoon.



3.) Sessions may have recommendations for additional materials or tools to bring. Please check the session description for complete details.



4.) There is a "kids track" event with age-appropriate lessons in electronics. If you have kids under the age of 16 interested in learning electronics you are encouraged to check for the youth camp listing.



5.) We recommend you bring your own tools as much as you can. We will have some tools to loan but we don't have enough for the entire class. Solder will be provided.



Tool List



• Soldering Iron/Station (up to 45W or temp controlled stations)



• Solder braid



• Solder sucker



• Wire cutters (flush cut preferred)



• Needlenose pliers



• Tweesers



• Helping hands (panavise if you have it)