My main project for 2014 was a combination of electronics, mechanics and software. The Topsy Turvy Clock uses an Arduino Micro, RTC and Darlington buffers to control two stepper motors to tell the time on this rather unique clock. It turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected with some unique challenges including a defective PCB on the microcontroller, avoiding overloading the onboard regulator and using opto sensors to locate the positions of the motors.
I was lucky enough to have my proposals selected for two roadtests this year, in the summer I tried out the CapSense MBR3 sensor evaluation board.
I had good fun with this board, testing it with different gloves and front panels.
I hope to use the MBR3 chips in a project next year. This required getting back up to speed on making PCBs so I've been learning Eagle and have bought some SMD components and tools to build the prototypes. The next step is to get the PCBs made.
My second roadtest underway, I'm looking at the Cel Robox 3D Printer so far having successfully made some toys for the family.
My plans for 2015 are to finish the Robox Roadtest, build a little Stirling Engine, details of that on http://www.workshopshed.com/ and get my board with the MBR3 sensors built. All of this is done in my spare time so progress could be slow but these are reasonable challenges to complete, no doubt there will be a few side project on the way.
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