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Top Members Secret Santa - Unwrapped

spannerspencer

I don't know if everyone's aware, but there's a private section of the element14 Community for the Top Members, who are brought in by invite (as decided upon by the existing Top Members and the element14 team), where they discuss matters around the direction of the Community, where they help out with beta testing Community updates, and even test out new products, RoadTests & Reviews-style. But mostly they just go waaaaaay off-topic and descend into rants and raves about which Minion avatar is the strangest, or who has the biggest... soldering iron.image

 

Anyway, in December the Top Members all gathered together around the eggnog tree to exchange techno-gifts, which we (The Management) facilitated to some degree by way of distribution. Now, I know the Christmas season won't get into full swing again until late August, but their Secret Santa gifts are now arriving upon their workshop doorsteps.

 

So I'd like to invite those Top Members to give us all a big unveiling of what they got, who their Secret Santa was and why they chose the gifts they did, and for the whole Community to join in with a few ideas on what these insane elite engineering eccentrics ("improved" meaning for IEEE?) can do with their hot tech gifts.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Hmm? Oh, to become a Top Member is simple, but not easy. All you have to do is make a fantastic contribution to the element14 Community by way of great projects, insightful blogs, helpful suggestions (in Feedback and Support particularly) and generally spending all your free time on here enjoying yourself image  Trust me, these guys see everything that happens, so your efforts aren't going unnoticed image  Keep it up, and you'll be a Top Member in time for this year's Secret Santa!

  • Applied, but didn't get any response. Wasn't sure if I should pester someone, or if it is better to "act" humble image

     

    Jack

  • in reply to mcb1

    Similar stuff happens in India, but i've found a way around it- Simply use the Govt. Postal Service and declare it as a gift of no commercial value. They will allow plutonium without any warning bells!

  • in reply to mcb1

    An update on my Secret Santa ...

     

    I received a MicroBUS cape for a Beagle Bone and a MicroBUS ADC Click module.

    Unfortunately the Export regulations to NZ got in the way of the last part of the gift, which was a Beagle Bone Black Wireless.

     

    To give you an idea, this is one part of the form

    I/we confirm that the goods will not be used in relation to nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, or missiles capable of delivering these weapons.  I/we also confirm that the goods will not be re-exported or sold to a third party who is known or suspected to be involved in relation to nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, or missiles capable of delivering these weapons, or to any sanctioned entities.  I/we confirm that the goods will not be used for any type of military end-use.

    I/We also confirm that any re-export or sale to a third party, is carried out in compliance with the originating/supplying and receiving countries’ export control laws, as applicable.

    Now I'm not too sure, but I'm betting that the average bad person is not going to admit to any of these, regardless of the actual intended use.  image

     

     

    Anyway, with a lot of help from and some really great customer relations work in the element14 office in Sydney some time ago, we were able to get it sent to my friend in Australia and not require to do any paperwork as all.

     

    His family visited him last week, and were kind enough to bring it back to NZ for me.

     

     

    So whomever my secret Santa was, thank you very much, I'm sorry it took so long to get into my hands, but rest assurred it won't live in the large box (well maybe until this challenge is completed image  ).

     

     

    Mark

  • in reply to clem57

    image You did have a very clear HINT, so it was easy to confirm my choices

  • I was the Secret Santa for , I picked the fibre optics toolkit in response to a comment that he might be experimenting with fibre optics.

  • in reply to ciorga

    I am curious of your next creations image

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    Thank you Enrico,

    I look forward to implement my next projects on the PSoC kits that you chose for me.

    Best Wishes,

    Cosmin

  • I was the Secret Santa for I saw he has a great interest in small devices application, has done a lot of wearable good articles and also found some interest in the PSoC devices from Cypress. What I thought is to try to give him the possibility to explore better and with the widest range of possibilities this micro controllers series as I am using them in several projects and found them really good for both hardware control and complex logic development.

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to shabaz

    I should say that reading of your choice and many others, this TM minion sub-community (but it is a super-group with a super-minion ) is absolutely great ! Reciprocal interests goes beyond the bare technical and engineer knowledge sharing involving the individual knowledge too. Long life to minions and TMs! I have not participated too much during last two weeks as I was sick, here in Spain

     

    you have done more than the right choice. Some of these components will be introduced replacing something else used for testing in the MuZIEum project. Good suggestions for end-stops and a couple of other stuff. The motors are great ! As you know I have just finished the two stepper motor controller board based on the PSoC. One version will manage many stepper motors controlled by an PI master via I2C but the board alone is also great to manage a couple of DC motors. What will be the use of these very nice DC you provided?

    Take a look to this project: 3D printer filament roll support and the video below and you have the answer !

     

    And you will have the answer (update with cheaper and more powerful PSoC 4200 based board).

     

    About the microcontrollers, also these are very useful for a couple of projects I am working to that will be revealed soon (after the completion of the cycle "I2C explained" )

     

    Cheers and thanks fo all TMs, and Element14 again image

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to Robert Peter Oakes

    Opps, you did not see https://www.element14.com/community/message/213620/l/re-top-members-secret-santa-unwrapped#213620 ? Sorry no video, but I have already built the Pi 3 into a project using the Pi camera! I will drop a blog on it soon. Thanks Peter for a very thoughtful gift!image

     

    Edit: BTW, I like the cases for the camera the best once I figured how to assemble.