Hardware assembly / soldering tutorial at Arduino Miniconf
Jonathan Oxer
For those software gurus interested in trying their hand at something
different, the Arduino Miniconf will be running a hardware assembly /
soldering tutorial during the morning on Monday 18th.
http://www.lca2010.org.nz/wiki/Miniconfs/Arduino
Limited space and the need to provide personal assistance has forced us
to limit the number of people who can actively participate in the
tutorial, so the plan is to pair people up with a total of up to 40
people doing the assembly, that is, 20 pairs of participants. Each pair
will have access to a set of tools including a soldering iron, solder,
and cutters.
Experienced hardware hackers will also be on hand to assist so we will
probably have about 50 people in the room, with space for a few extras
to come and watch but not do actual assembly.
Registration for the assembly / soldering tutorial is on a first-come,
first-served basis, but if the numbers are high we may need to give
preference to those with less experience to give them an opportunity to
try soldering for the first time.
The tutorial will be run using an Arduino expansion shield known as a
"Pebble" (see twitpic.com/sztkt) which combines a number of I/O
functions into a single board and includes spare PCB area for adding
your own parts. It's a great board for Arduino development because it
incorporates several different functions that are commonly used in
different projects. The board features:
* 20x4 LCD module
* 3 push-button inputs
* 1 variable input (potentiometer)
* Temperature sensor
* Luminance sensor
* 2 relay outputs
* Support for ZigBee wireless mesh networking (XBee module
required: not included in basic kit)
Participants will need to either buy a Pebble kit (AU$44) to use during
the tutorial, or be paired up with someone else who has bought the kit.
After the tutorial those who have bought a Pebble kit can keep it and
use it for their own projects.
Because this is the first time we've ever attempted something like this
we have no idea how many people will be interested, so to help us figure
out how much hardware to bring along (and how many soldering irons we
need to buy!) there's a registration form up now. If you're interested
in doing the hands-on session please let me know ASAP by submitting the
form:
http://www.practicalarduino.com/amc2010
The registration form does not require any payment when you submit it.
Once we've collected details of interested people to gauge the number of
parts required we'll contact you regarding payment for any hardware you
need.
Cheers :-)
--
Jonathan Oxer
Ph +61 4 3851 6600
* Internet Vision Technologies (www.ivt.com.au)
* Practical Arduino (www.practicalarduino.com)
* SuperHouse Automation (www.superhouse.tv)
* Geek My Ride! (www.geekmyride.org)
Jonathan Oxer
A quick status report on assembly tute registrations. There's been no
follow-up discussion on the list but people have started submitting the
rego form and contacting me directly. So far:
Count:
* 11 registrations via the form
Pebbles:
* 9 requested a half-assembled kit
* 1 requested a bare kit
* 1 requested a fully-assembled board
* 0 requested no kit and to be paired up
Soldering experience:
* 1 has no soldering experience
* 7 have minor soldering experience
* 3 have extensive experience
Arduino experience:
* 4 have no Arduino experience at all
* 6 have basic Arduino experience
* 1 has extensive Arduino experience
Extras:
* 3 requested an Arduino
* 4 requested a USB cable
* 4 requested a 5V (USB) plug pack
* 7 requested an XBee module
* 6 requested an XBee Explorer board
That's a very good mix and it's reassured me that everything is going to
work out OK after all! I was worried that heaps of people would pick "I
don't want a pebble, pair me with someone who has", leaving us with a
problem. But not one single person has selected that.
In addition, two of those people said they could bring their own
soldering irons and other tools, and would be happy to help others do
their assembly. Sweet!
Those are just the regos submitted via the form. I've also had a couple
of people email me directly saying, in effect, "I'd like to come along
but I haven't submitted the form because I don't want to take up a spot
that could be used by someone else."
Overall my confidence that this is going to work out well is far higher
today than it was yesterday!
Andy will also be pleased by the level of interest shown in ZigBee. It
looks like we'll have enough people at the conf with ZigBee to try some
really interesting mesh networking with a decent number of nodes.
Cheers :-)
Jon
Luke Weston
> Extras:
> * 3 requested an Arduino
> * 4 requested a USB cable
> * 4 requested a 5V (USB) plug pack
> * 7 requested an XBee module
> * 6 requested an XBee Explorer board
A 5 V plug pack? If we're referring to a plugpack that is plugged into
the Arduino to power it, shouldn't it be a 9 V plugpack?
Also, XBee explorer boards? An xbee explorer board by itself is not
much use. If a person gets an xbee explorer board to communicate with
the xbee on the pebble, they presumably also want to purchase a second
xbee module to plug into the xbee explorer board? Otherwise what's the
point of having an explorer board?
Also, you want either one of (i) a normal xbee explorer board combined
with an additional Sparkfun FTDI basic adapter board or (ii) the XBee
explorer board with built-in FTDI USB bridge. You've got to have one
or the other, otherwise the xbee has got nothing to communicate with.
Cheers,
Luke
Jonathan Oxer
> > * 4 requested a 5V (USB) plug pack
>
> the Arduino to power it, shouldn't it be a 9 V plugpack?
No, it's a USB plugpack so it has a USB "A" socket on it. You just use a
regular USB cable to connect it to the Arduino, which receives the
regulated 5V through the USB port just like from a computer. Perfect for
running an Arduino in isolation and doesn't use the onboard reg, so the
Arduino runs cold.
> Also, XBee explorer boards? An xbee explorer board by itself is not
> much use. If a person gets an xbee explorer board to communicate with
> the xbee on the pebble, they presumably also want to purchase a second
> xbee module to plug into the xbee explorer board?
Yes, that's correct.
> Also, you want either one of (i) a normal xbee explorer board combined
> with an additional Sparkfun FTDI basic adapter board or (ii) the XBee
> explorer board with built-in FTDI USB bridge. You've got to have one
> or the other, otherwise the xbee has got nothing to communicate with.
Yes, it's the Explorer with the built-in FTDI bridge (which is why it's
called "XBee Explorer USB" on the actual form). The summary email
doesn't have exactly the same wording on each item as the form. The form
with the real wording is at:
http://www.practicalarduino.com/amc2010
Luke Weston
> No, it's a USB plugpack so it has a USB "A" socket on it. You just use a
> regular USB cable to connect it to the Arduino, which receives the
> regulated 5V through the USB port just like from a computer. Perfect for
> running an Arduino in isolation and doesn't use the onboard reg, so the
> Arduino runs cold.
That's cool... I've never seen or heard of such a beast before. Where
do you get it?
>
> Yes, it's the Explorer with the built-in FTDI bridge (which is why it's
> called "XBee Explorer USB" on the actual form). The summary email
> doesn't have exactly the same wording on each item as the form. The form
> with the real wording is at:
>
Yeah, that's my bad, I didn't read the actual form previously. But
we're clearly on the same wavelength about what to source for people
anyway.
Jonathan Oxer
> That's cool... I've never seen or heard of such a beast before. Where
> do you get it?
They're *very* cool. I get them from Satotech, which is one of those
bargain-basement suppliers who have found themselves a niche in cables
and related products.
http://ritmotech.com.au/satotech/product_info.php?cPath=21_41&products_id=119
> Yeah, that's my bad, I didn't read the actual form previously. But
> we're clearly on the same wavelength about what to source for people
> anyway.
Yep, I just didn't explain it clearly enough in the summary email.