I thought I’d start posting some photos of Tesla Coil parts I have built with the help of some of the great resources available at Workshop 88
Completed primary coil, built at Workshop 88
Tesla Coil Capacitor Bank, built at Workshop 88
My simple static spark gap – built at Workshop 88
This what I like to refer to as my “Tesla Table.”
I have more photos, showing some of the details. I might add them if there is any interest.
I hope to have a demo of at the space sometime this summer.
Bart’s Delta Router – Not going to be there on Saturday, but look at how awesome it is!
Bart Dring of MakerSlide fame is going to be out at Workshop 88 on Saturday, March 1 demonstrating CNC concepts and giving a brief talk about how he has constructed several CNC builds. This talk immediately follows Arduino 301: Controlling The World, so come out for both! He has designed and built many great tools, such as a laser cutter, several types of 3D printers, including delta style printers. One of his most recent creations is a delta-style CNC router. Very cool! We look forward to having Bart out at Workshop 88 to share his expertise.
This event is FREE and OPEN to everyone! Please come out and bring a friend.
This past Thursday night gathering at the Workshop, Rick Stuart showed up all smiles- though I’m not sure if this was due to his enthusiasm to show off his new gadget or in anticipation of Rachel’s shortbread which had been announced earlier via email.
Rick with his entertainment center
Rick has built a personal entertainment center which has the capacity to display high-defintion videos and music through an upcycled touch-screen LCD. Rick had recovered some of these screens from his previous workplace and had decided to put them to use in a new project. He has created a running loop for the system to operate: he utilized a Raspberry Pi running OpenELEC in order to run XBMC (a media center) and connected an HMDI cord to a LVDS adapter board. The adapter runs to the LCD, which is connected by USB to the Raspberry Pi. For sound, the system will be attached to speakers. Files are stored on an SD card inserted into the Raspberry Pi, and streamed files are accessible through connecting an ethernet cord.
By using HDMI instead of the normal video output connection, Rick was able to make his display high-definition. Rick said that a great advantage about his system is that he was able to essentially create his own media center out of materials he already had on hand plus the low cost of a Raspberry Pi.
Meanwhile, Zach showed me how to create very intricate origami elephants using printer paper. While there’s no hope of me recreating one on my own, I thought it was important to highlight how awesome they turned out.
Workshop 88 is offering a continuation of the Arduino classes featuring a concentration on interfacing the arduino with external devices. solid state relays, H-bridges and other ways of controlling high voltages sources and motors.
If you already have an arduino, you have all the materials you’ll need for this class. Otherwise, you can order a kit and we’ll have it for you when you come to the class.
What you need to bring to the class: a laptop with the arduino environment already installed, your arduino, and your breadboard. What you’ll get from the class: an understanding of how to work with the arduino to control higher current and higher voltage DC devices, 110-volt AC devices, and various servos, steppers and motors.
The class was originally scheduled for 2/15/14, but is being rescheduled. Watch this space!
This class will cover Schematic capture, PCB design, and CAD File generation.
What you should know before coming to this class: You should be somewhat familiar with electronic circuits.
What you should bring with you to the class: You should bring a laptop with the free version of CadSoft Eagle PCB installed and running on it.
What you will leave the class with: After the class you should have the ability to capture a electronic circuit into a schematic, build new components, layout the physical printer circuit board and generate the files needed to have a PCB manufacture make your board.
(This is the first in a series of 4 classes on printed circuit board design and prototyping.)
This class will cover topics in Eagle related multi-page schematic design:
What you should know before coming to this class: You should be somewhat familiar with electronic circuits. You should be familiar with all the material covered in the first class on using Eagle.
What you should bring with you to the class: You should bring a laptop with the free version of CadSoft Eagle PCB installed and running on it.
What you will leave the class with: After the class you should be familiar with creating multi-page schematics and using the auto-router tool. You will be prepared for the third class in the Eagle series.
(This is the 2nd class in a series of 4 classes on printed circuit board design and prototyping.)
This class will start with a review of pcb layers Gerber file generation then cover:
What you should know before coming to this class: You should be somewhat familiar with electronic circuits. You should be familiar with all the material covered in the first class on using Eagle.
What you should bring with you to the class: You should bring a laptop with the free version of CadSoft Eagle PCB installed and running on it.
What you will leave the class with: After the class you should be familiar with creating multi-page schematics and using the auto-router tool. You will be prepared for the final class in the Eagle series.
(This is the 3rd in a series of 4 classes on printed circuit board design and prototyping.)
This class will cover:
What you should know before coming to this class: You should be somewhat familiar with electronic circuits. You should be familiar with all the material covered in the first three classes on using Eagle.
What you should bring with you to the class: You do not have to bring anything with you.
What you will leave the class with: After the class you should be familiar with preparing circuit boards for surface mount soldering.
(This is the 4th in a series of 4 classes for learning how to design and prototype printed circuit boards.)
Borg Bouquet
Somewhere in the depths of downtown Glen Ellyn, hackers and crafters alike have come out of the woodwork to conquer Rachel Hellenga’s latest project: creating LED roses out of duct tape.
Rachel is developing a kit for her website, Conducti.com, to help people combine technology and crafts. She requested beta-testers and lucky volunteers Rudy Ristich, Mike Emerick, and 
me were peeled away from their projects to tap into their crafty sides. Girl Scout Leaders and educators alike have been clamoring for Rachel’s electric rose how-to guide, so the pressure was on for us to come up with fast solutions to any problems which would arise from her guide. We followed Rachel’s step by step tutorial for the rose-creation from her blog post for Makezine to ensure all directions were coherent and effective.
Throughout the process, several problems arose for our two all star techies, who quickly solved the problems by applying creative solutions. I suffered from a few misreadings and ill-placed conductive tape pieces. One difficulty arose from keeping the two AAA batteries (which were connected with a tightly rolled piece of paper) together to maintain a strong connection. Rudy used his tech-pertise to offer an ingenious solution through the use of rubber bands and duct tape.
The use of duct tape provided a new learning opportunity; the tables were turned as I was able to contribute to troubleshooting by assisting my hacker friends in the art of duct tape application which I had gleaned from my many years of experience in paper crafts. In the end, we all finished with fabulous electric roses and were able to help Rachel make necessary changes to her tutorial before it’s published in a kit.
We’re teaching a soldering class at Winfield Public Library on Tuesday, February 11. You’ll get to make a TV-B-Gone and take it home with you!
Non-Winfield residents are welcome to come, just check out their registration page for details.