Expanding the toolbox 2015
Contents
Project
* Find or design a project / circuit to build * build it * modify / adapt it * document
There are a few requirements
* The project needs to have a relation to your own practice. * The circuit is part of the entire aesthetics and concept. * For the final project there is no breadboarding allowed (you can use a breadboard for prototyping though) * Remember your focus is to expand your toolbox, experiment and process is important. Document! * Don't overcomplicate, you need to be able to explain what is going on. * A written reflection document including documentation of your circuit.
Inspiration
* Stan Wannet, Logica / 0 * Tristan Perich, 1-Bit Symphony * Tristan Perich, Drawing Machine * Peter Vogel, The sound of shadows * Tom Verbruggen, Crackle Canvas * Tom Verbruggen, Module #2 * Jerobeam Fenderson, Oscilloscope Music * Jerobeam Fenderson, Khrang * Aram Bartholl, On
Techniques
* Circuits, dead bug style * Volumetric circuits (related to the dead bug style) * Wire wrapping * Parallax breadboard tutorial * PCB making, Toner transfer method * PCB making, etching * PCB making, fab house
Week 1 homework
Although this homework may be a bit boring, it is fundamental to your understanding of electronic circuits. Look at it as a material study. You can use a resistor calculator to help you with the resistor color code (See resources below)
* Create a personal wiki page and link to it here. You will need to keep your progress and document your results on this page. See for an howto: http://opensource.wdka.nl/wiki/Wiki_Writing_Workshop
Circuit with one resistor
* Make a circuit with one battery and a resistor. Note the voltage of the battery and the resistance of the resistor. * What is the voltage across the resistor * What is the current through the resistor * What happens to the current and voltage if you double the resistor value * What happens to the current and voltage if you half the resistor value
Circuit with two series resistors
* Make a circuit with one battery and two resistors in series. Note the voltage of the battery and the resistances of the resistors. * What is the voltage across each resistor * What is the current through each resistor * What happens to the current and voltage if you double the resistor value of one resistor * What happens to the current and voltage if you half the resistor value of one resistor
Circuit with three or more series resistors
* Do the same for three or more resistors in series
Circuit with two parallel resistors
* Make a circuit with one battery and two resistors in parallel. Note the voltage of the battery and the resistances of the resistors. * What is the voltage across each resistor * What is the current through each resistor * What happens to the current and voltage if you double the resistor value of one resistor * What happens to the current and voltage if you half the resistor value of one resistor
Circuit with three or more parallel resistors
* Do the same for three or more resistors in parallel
Extra: Circuit with resistor and LED
* Make a circuit with a 9V battery, a 470 Ohm resistor and an LED. * What happens when you use a higher value resistor, how high can you go, what happens? * What happens when you use a lower value resistor, how low can you go, what happens?
Week 2 homework
For this week you need to find and build a (small) circuit using the 555 timer.
* For this weeks homework it is fine to build the circuit on a breadboard and make sure it works. * For bonus points use one of the other techniques we discussed, e.g. the dead bug style or the volumetric style.
A good primer on the 555 timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX01x1z7fTY 555 timer circuits:
* http://www.555-timer-circuits.com/ * http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/50%20-%20555%20Circuits/50%20-%20555%20Circuits.html * http://electronicsclub.info/555timer.htm * https://duckduckgo.com/?q=555+circuits
Choose a simple circuit of which you understand what it is supposed to do and you think you can build. This most likely will be something with sound or blinking LEDs.
Week 3 homework
* Download and install CadSoft EAGLE * Download the EAGLE 555 blink template with schematic and PCB layer here: Media:Eagle_555_template.zip . * The template contains all the components needed to create a simple 555 Astable circuit (aka a Blinking LED):
* Recreate the schematic. * Create the PCB layout * Following the SparkFun tutorials on EAGLE (see resources below) will be very helpful along the way!! * Don't not make your PCB larger than 3 x 3 cm (as in the template). * Don't make your traces smaller than ~0.3mm (12mil)
Note:
* You may use any other program (KiCad, gEDA or even Illustrator) to create the PCB layout but this is on your own account. * You can create your own schematic instead of the template but you will need to figure out yourself where to find the components in the library (HINT: use the search option with wildcards (*) in Eagle). * I will be providing enough components for everyone to build the template on a 3x3cm board. If you need other components let me know which ones or what size your board did become. However I can not guarantee they arrive in time. * Remember this is an exercise in create a circuit from scratch not in designing the coolest gadget in town (that is what your project is for ;-).
Resources
Circuit elements and theory
* Resistors in Series * Resistors in parallel
Handy tools
* Resistor color code * Resistor color code calculator
Tutorials and informational resources
* Ladyada on Multimeters * 555 monostable and astable modes explained * SparkFun EAGLE Schematic tutorial * SparkFun EAGLE PCB Layout tutorial
Circuit collections
555
* 555 timer circuits * http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/50%20-%20555%20Circuits/50%20-%20555%20Circuits.html * http://electronicsclub.info/555timer.htm
Programs
electronics CAD packages
* Cadsoft Eagle * KiCAD * gEDA
circuit simulation
* online java circuit simulator with many examples * quite good online circuit simulator (timed trial)
Buy electronic components
Shops
* DIL electronics components shop in Rotterdam * Radio Centrum electronics components shop in Utrecht
Online dutch
* http://www.conrad.nl * http://www.floris.cc * http://www.eztronics.nl * http://www.antratek.nl * http://www.sossolutions.nl
Online international
* http://www.sparkfun.com * http://www.adafruit.com
Wholesale (need VAT for most of them)
* http://www.farnell.nl * http://www.rs-components.nl * http://www.mouser.com * http://www.digikey.nl
