This month we'd like you to meet element14 Community's  Member of the Month for March: gadget.iom

element14: First of all, congrats on being named Member of the Month.

gadget.iom: Thank you for the nomination. It was a pleasant surprise.

element14: I see that you have been a member since May of 2012. What originally brought you to the element14 Community?

gadget.iom: My involvement began as one of the many people who missed out on the on the initial Raspberry Pi release. After placing a pre-order on the Farnell website I wanted to find out as much about the project in advance. element 14 seemed the natural choice. The members are supportive and the environment is relaxed.

element14: Tell me a little bit about how you got interested in electronics?

gadget.iom: It was my father who got me started in electronics, at about 7 or 8 years of age. He would bring components and old electronic devices home, and we would spend evenings making, fixing, and breaking. From this I developed a habit of dismantling anything mechanical or electronic to see how it worked (or at least used to work). My grandfather was also into electronics and specifically amateur radio, so I had plenty of support.

I spent most of my pocket money in the local Tandy store buying components to extend the capabilities of my 60-in-1 electronics kit. These early experiences sparked an interest in electronics that continues to develop, even today.

element14: What do you do professionally?

gadget.iom: I am currently a programmer and systems developer for a local company here on the Isle of Man. We specialize in Hygrometers for use in various industries, so the work is varied and interesting. It also means I get to travel to some rather interesting places.

Prior to that I was an apprentice mechanical engineer for the Isle of Man Government. I was further trained as an installation electrician and electronics engineer, and then moved to their technical services section in 2009, maintaining and repairing all manner of infrastructure.

element14:  I enjoyed your blog series on the Qlab Midi controller; can you talk a little bit about why you decided to focus on that for a blog post?

gadget.iom: The QLab controller was originally developed when two of my hobbies converged. I regularly use a piece of software called QLab for audio at theaters and concerts. Timing is very important with some of the performances, and QLab has options to enable remote operation. After seeing the commercial offerings available, I wondered if a different approach would be better.

Having built and tested the first version, I decided to create a series of blog posts to document the build so that others could follow. It also provided an excellent opportunity for the community here to offer suggestions and provide feedback.

Despite the rather specialist nature of the project, there has been some interest, and I know of at least one person locally who has created one with some additional functionality, but based on the original design.

element14: Walk me through your routine on the site, what spaces do you check? Who do you follow?

gadget.iom: A visit to the element14 website usually begins with a cup of coffee. After logging in I check my inbox for actions and messages, then respond to any on-going discussions.

After getting up to date, I will typically spend time in the main content feed and catch up on new activity. My favorite spaces are Arduino, Top Members, and whatever design challenges are active at the time.

element14: What advice would you give someone new to the element14 Community?

gadget.iom: Don’t be afraid to participate. I started by answering some questions asked by other users, and progressed from there. The community is very supportive, we don’t have a down-vote system, and any helpful response is appreciated.

Create content, blog about your experiments, even if they don’t go as planned. Your experiences will help others and you may get some answers yourself.

element14: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions, any parting words?

gadget.iom: Just to say a big thank you to Premier Farnell for providing this community, and the members that make element14 a great place to be.