What are you working on now?

[RogerS]

Hey, I was looking at my Google Groups subscriptions and saw this one.  Nothing for several months!  That's not all that odd - we're all busy people.  I'm interested in hearing what everyone is up to ... that you want to share, anyway.  Lots going on at i3 Detroit.  Personally, I worked up a re-design of the Aurora LED device on Instructables using an AVR instead of a PIC.  It was a good challenge to learn more about Eagle, PCB design issues, and try out another fabbing service.

In that vein, for those of you who get PCBs fabbed, any suggestions on the best, least expensive US-based service?  The two I've tried so far are from China.  The boards look really great and, of course, it's a kick to see something you designed in real FR4 and copper.  :)  A friend of mine insists on using US-based sources though, so I'm curious.

Having the Makerbots at the competition energized me to get out Cupcake working.  It's mostly good now, but still has a minor skipping issue.

Saw a few people at the Makerfaire in Detroit in August.  That was fun!  Hope that if you get to the area and have some time you'll look us up.

Hope all is good with you.

[John Arclight]

Roger,

We've been busy with quite a few projects - a new mobile disco booth,
our open-source access control system, hacker pot luck every month.

You can check out our blog at:

http://shop.23b.org

For PCB services, I have been really happy with Flashline Electronics
in Sunnyvale. They are USA-based, and they have some excellent
specials. Check out this one:

http://flashlineelectronics.com/Main/special2.html

It's actually less expensive than China for my bigger boards, and the
quality is excellent.

Cheers,

Arclight

[Dillon Hodapp]

Roger,

I haven't actually tried this service, but you may find that it works for you:

http://dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/pcb_order

--
Dillon

[RogerS]

Hi John,
Any more detail on the security system? It's a very timely topic: we're about to rework ourz!
Thx
R

[Arclight]

Sure, check out:

http://code.google.com/p/open-access-control/

We've been runing a security and access setup for over a year based on Arduino, a tiny Linux plug computer, and Linksys IP cameras.

Also, we're selling kits, assembled units and working on more open source access/security designs.  Site for that is:

http://www.accxproducts.com

Arclight

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Harford Hackerspace (http://harfordhackerspace.org/) has been working on a few projects, but most of our members like to keep quiet until they are done so we have been pretty quiet on the news front. I'll just say one of the projects we are working on is developing a simple kit/class that will walk a person through the pcb design/fab process using kicad, diptrace (possibly eagle too) and how to etch pcbs both at home and through board manufacturers.

I typically have my boards made in China so I can't suggest that many on the U.S. front. When looking around at U.S. shops, you should ask if they actualy make the boards in the U.S. or not because some simply act as a front-end to Chinese factories.

Regards,
Jeff