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The toner transfer technique of fabricating PCBs is a essential in every maker’s toolbox. Usually, tutorials for this technique of making PCBs depend on a clothes iron or laminating machine. They work completely well, however with both of these techniques (sans high-end laminators), you’re only heating one side of the board at a time, making ideal double-sided PCBs somewhat of a challenge.

[Mark] just came up with an fascinating service to this problem. A waffle iron PCB press. Technically, [Mark] is utilizing his ‘grill as well as waffle baker’ as a two-sided griddle, with a few aluminum plates sandwiching the copper board for great thermal conduction.

After a whole great deal of trial as well as error, [Mark] ultimately got a great transfer onto a piece of copper clad board. now that he has the process dialed in, it ought to be a snap to replicate his results with a new job as well as a new PCB design.

This low-resolution memory gadget packs in just a few bytes of data. however it’s sufficient to spell out [Michael Kohn’s] name. He’s been experimenting with utilizing paper discs for data storage.

His method becomes promptly remove when you view the demo video below. The disc spins several times with the sensor arm reading one track. This provides the system the possibility to determine the black band in order to get the data timing figured out. when the outer track has been checked out the servo controlling the checked out head swings it to the next up until all of the data is captured.

An Arduino is tracking the QTR-1RC reflectance sensor which makes up the reading head. It utilizes the black band width in order to establish the size of an private byte. Interestingly enough, the white parts of the disc do not contain data. digital 0 is a black area 1/4 the width of the big black strip, as well as digital 1 is half as wide.

[Michael’s] set up the generator which makes the discs to ensure that he can quickly boost the resolution. The limiting factor is what the reading hardware is able to detect.

For those that experience them, seizures are a hazardous thing. outside the neurological effects, there is always the possibility of injury from the surrounding atmosphere also – think about the dangers of having a seizure near a hectic road, or even just a glass table. Some detection techniques exist for seizure sufferers, however they are mostly based on detecting the jerking movement of the patient. [akhil2001us] believes it’s possible to do much better – by measuring brainwaves to find the onset of seizures.

The develop is centered around the Neurosky Mindwave headset. This is an off-the-shelf product created particularly for catching EEG data. It outputs raw brainwave data which is crucial for doing appropriate analysis. The job then utilizes an Arduino Mega to tie whatever together, together with some Sparkfun Bluetooth modules to speak to a cell phone to send an SMS for assist in the event of a seizure.

The genuine problem in a job such as this comes from establishing an algorithm that can reliably find seizures, in addition to a system robust sufficient to work in the genuine world. It’s no utilize if your headset is detecting a seizure in progress, however the assist message is never sent since a cable fell out of your breadboard. It’s considerations like this, integrated with the danger of litigation, behind why medical gadgets are so rigorously engineered as well as certified. For a proof of concept, however, such worries are not as important.

We’ve seen Mindwave develops before – brainwave research study is an interesting field!

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When [Scott] saw our announcement of a contest to win a Fubarino, he had the remarkable insight that designing new hardware wasn’t required. Instead, he took a Simon soldering kit and added a Hackaday easter egg that beeps our favorite URL in Morse code.

[Scott]’s entry began with a Sparkfun Simon says Soldering Kit. It’s a great kit featuring an ATMega328, four buttons and LEDs, and a speaker. Stock, this board comes programmed with a run-of-the-mill Simon game, but it also includes a serial bootloader and a set of serial pins for reprogramming.

The new firmware for [Scott]’s Simon uses Morse code for ‘hackaday.com’ to determine the time in between the button flashes for each round. compared to the old-school Simon toy from the 70s, [Scott’s] version seems just slightly more difficult; the game is basically the same, but trying to remember the pattern when the buttons don’t light up in a regular pattern is more challenging than usual.

Because [Scott] isn’t the greatest at Simon, he added another method to generate the full Morse for ‘hackaday.com’. While pressing one button starts a new game, holding down two buttons simultaneously will write out the full Morse of ‘hackaday.com’ on the upper left-hand button: a great easter egg that also adds some difficulty to a classic game.

This is an entry in the Fubarino Contest. submit your entry before 12/19/13 for a chance at one of the 20 Fubarino SD boards which Microchip has put up as prizes!

Project-based learning, hackathons, and final projects for college courses are fulfilling a demand for hands-on technical learning that had previously fallen by the wayside during the internet/multi-media computer euphoria of the late 90’s. By getting back to building actual hardware yourself, Hackers are influencing the direction of education. In this post we will review some of this progress and seek your input for where we go next.

Hackathons to solve the world’s problems

Hackathons are now being run to solve many of the world’s problems. recent examples include MIT Media lab ‘make the breast pump not suck,’ and Yale’s ‘hacking heath’. Both of these hackathons were one-weekend sprints with the goal of developing rapid proof-of-concept prototype solutions.

In the case of Yale’s hackathon, the outcome was a 5 minute pitch for a new startup company. According to Hacking Health’s organizer, [Chris Loose], “the event generated extraordinary energy and a number of impressive product concepts. many of the teams continue to drive their ideas ahead and are pursuing grant funding…”

Hacking health @ Yale.
Recently, [Tony Kim] ran MIT’s 6.002 Circuits and electronics course as an EdX program in Mongolia. After learning the background theory students built many of the analog and digital circuits labs, created their own circuits and systems, and even built a coffee can radar which I’ve been told was on Mongolian national Television. one of the students from this effort became known as the boy genius of Ulan Bator.

Project-based learning

Project based learning is making a come back. Whether it is requiring a final project or basing a course entirely around a project.

Senior design or capstone courses have carried the torch on project-based learning for decades, in this every EE student (or ME or physics, or etc) completes a working prototype by the end of the semester. These courses are usually the very last thing you would take in your undergraduate program.

Electromagnetics was made more interesting by the MIT Coffee can radar course that I created with my fellow MIT Lincoln laboratory colleagues. This course continues to be extremely popular, with numerous spin-offs and professional education (open enrollment to anyone) variants also including build a phased array and a search and track radar. This course has been used at Northrup Grumman Inc., internal to MITRE corp, MIT Lincoln Labs, and many others. It has also been used as a capstone project at numerous EE programs across the world. UC Davis has created a full semester course based on this work. For those more interested in radar experimentation than building the radar itself, a fully assembled kit is now being offered. This was the top-ranked MIT professional education course in 2011, demonstrating the demand for project-based learning in electromagnetics and radar.

The ubiquitous coffee can radar is making the subject of Electromagnetics interesting to a new generation.

Michigan state University’s undergraduate antennas course ECE405 offers a final project where students design then build antennas for an end-of-semester design challenge ranging from a fox hunt (.PPT warning) hidden transmitter, communicating with an amateur satellite, to maximizing the distance on a wi-fi link (.PPT warning).

Recently, the final project has been to develop a full communications system, including a phased array transmitter and an envelope detector receiver, where the group achieving the greatest power transfer across the communications link wins. This project is broken up into four phases:

Characterize the microwave substrate using a transmission line resonator printed on the substrate,

Design an envelope detector circuit

Design a single patch antenna

Design an antenna array

ECE405 is a project based antennas course, where a microwave communications link is constructed using a phased array of antennas.

According to [Prof. Prem Chahal], “the projects make the lecture material much more interesting and the students are able to realize the importance of the material being covered.” Project-based learning can be more work for the prof, but not in this case according to [Prof. Chahal], “the instructor time is recovered during lecture hours (because) the lecture material becomes much more interesting and simpler to explain, and students actively participate during the lecture hour.”

student groups in ECE405 each build their own microwave communications link, where the link with the best power transfer wins.

Similarly, Harvard’s introduction to Electrical engineering ES 50 is providing an exciting experience for all involved where small groups of students make anything from a tri-corder to a Rubic’s cub solver as the final project.

This is just the beginning. In the near futureI believe that final projects will be transforming what would otherwise be difficult or uninteresting courses.  Who else is challenging students with final projects? tell us about your school’s program in the comments below.

The transition between undergrad and your professional career

For those of us who did not have the chance to build much hardware during the undergrad EE experience, [Chris Gammel] offers an alternative option in the form of the short-course, Contextual Electronics. It involves just about everything needed to take small integrated products from idea, through circuit design, to PCB. The basic idea behind Contextual electronics is that anyone can design and build electronics systems as long as they have the resources to fill knowledge gaps between a typical heavy-in-theory undergraduate electrical engineering degree and what you will actually be doing in your career. According to [Chris]:

This idea came from my own struggles. I learned so much ‘on the job’, even after going through a 4 year college curriculum at a top school.

He goes on to point out that the biggest issue with undergraduate programs today,

is that they are designed for making everyone into professors, starting everyone from first principles and solely focusing on the rigor in the mathematical side of learning. This is a completely unrealistic way of preparing most engineers for their career.

Contextual electronics fills the knowledge gab between your undergraduate EE degree and the real world.

With over 300 members and growing fast, Contextual electronics is proving that there is a strong demand for practical engineering education.

The value proposition

Project based learning is your path to becoming involved in high value startup companies. In hardware-based startups you must develop proof-of-concept fast therefore having the ability to create, design, fabricate, then actually make work your idea is extremely valuable. Experience from project-based learning is the basis for this skill set.

An example is the incubator 4catalyzer founded by [Jonathan Rothberg]. almost all startup companies coming out of 4catalyzer are hardware based. one of these, Butterfly Network Inc., is developing a new approach to ultrasound imaging and has raised $100M in funding.

Lead by Example

We must act to make a change. think of your most difficult and least-liked undergraduate course. how would you make it more interesting with a good project?

For Faculty

Consider a final project instead of a final exam. less work for you and more value for your students. nobody likes the final exam. everyone will remember the final project.

For Students

Not finding many opportunities for projects in your college? seek out independent study credit for your own projects. Independent study credit in one form or another is available at most universities, but only if you ask. everyone in the Hackaday community is making something (or should be), go get credit for it. If you knock on enough doors you will likely find a professor who will sign-off on independent study credit for your project. seven of my 128 undergraduate credits were from independent study.

Technical Clubs and Organizations

Align yourself with the closest or most applicable undergraduate course. Your activities should receive some degree of course credit for club members. For example, why not provide some extra credit for everyone who earns an amateur radio license and makes 20 QSO’s (two-way contacts), then reports on why and how the ionosphere enabled those QSO’s?

Lead the discussion. Come up with an idea, keep it in the back of your head, ready to pitch at the next alumni dinner, faculty event, or recruiting fair. together we can hack away at education.

Author bio

Gregory L. Charvat, is an advocate for project based learning, the author of small and Short-Range Radar Systems, co-founder of Hyperfine research Inc., Butterfly Network Inc. (both of which are 4combinator companies), visiting research scientist at camera culture group Massachusetts Institute of technology Media Lab, editor of the Gregory L. Charvat series on practical approaches to Electrical Engineering, and guest commentator on CNN, CBS, sky News, and others. He was a technical staff member at MIT Lincoln laboratory where his work on through-wall radar won best paper at the 2010 MSS Tri-Services Radar symposium and is an MIT office of the Provost 2011 research highlight. He has taught short radar courses at MIT where his build a small Radar course was the top-ranked MIT professional education course in 2011 and has become widely adopted by other universities, laboratories, and private organizations. starting at an early Age, Greg developed numerous radar systems, rail SAR imaging sensors, phased array radar systems; holds several patents; and has developed many other sensors and radio and audio equipment. He has authored numerous publications and has received press for his work. Greg earned a Ph.D in electrical engineering in 2007, MSEE in 2003, and BSEE in 2002 from Michigan state University, and is a senior member of the IEEE where he served on the steering committee for the 2010, 2013, and 2016 IEEE international symposium on Phased array Systems and technology and chaired the IEEE AP-S Boston chapter from 2010-2011.

[Shahriar] just recently published a evaluation of a 6.8 GHz network analyzer. You can see the full video — over fifty minutes worth — below the break. The gadget can act as a network analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a field stamina meter, as well as a signal generator. It can tune in 1 Hz steps down to 9 kHz. before you rush out to buy one, however, be warned. The expense is just under $2,000.

That seems like a lot, however test gear in this frequency variety isn’t cheap. If you truly requirement it, you’d most likely have to pay at least as much for something equivalent.

[Shahriar] had a few problems to report, however general he seemed to like the device. For example, setting the step size as well broad can cause the spectrum analyzer to miss narrow signals.

If your needs are more modest, we’ve covered a much easier (and less expensive) system that goes to 6 GHz. If you requirement even less, an Arduino can do the task with a great bit of help. The Analog discovery 2 likewise has a network analyzer feature, together with other tools at a more inexpensive cost, too. Of course, that’s only great to 10 MHz.

[Colin Bookman] lives in a Fraternity house and apparently the remote for the cable television box has a way of walking off. He figured out a method to give everyone control of the TV channel in one form or another.

The cable television box can be seen perched on that shelf, and [Colin’s] addition is the wooden box sitting on the floor. inside is an Arduino board, and the cable television snaking out of the enclosure is an IR LED. This give the Arduino the ability to send remote control commands to the TV box. The two arcade buttons on the front will switch the channel up or down.

But this is hardly a remote control replacement because you have to get up to use it, so he went a few steps further. The Arduino board was paired with an Ethernet shield. It serves up a web page that has a virtual keypad. So anybody with a smart phone or laptop can log into the server and start changing the channels. We’re not sure if this offers relief from a missing remote, or promotes impromptu fist fights when brothers can’t agree on what to watch. It certainly opens up the possibility of long-distance trolling as you could be sitting in class and decide to change the channel to lifetime every ten minutes or so.

If you don’t have an Ethernet shield useful we’ve seen a similar setup that uses Bluetooth instead the network.

Infra-red (IR) remotes are great, unless you’re in a hackerspace that’s full of crazy blinking lights as well as random IR emissions of all kinds. Then, they’re just unreliable. Some wise people at Metalab in Vienna, Austria cut out the IR middle-man with a couple transistors as well as some audio software. They phone call the job HDMI Whisperer, as well as it’s a adorable hack.

Metalab’s AV system has a web-frontend to ensure that nobody ever has to stand up unless they want to. They purchased an extremely affordable 5-to-1 HDMI switch to switch between showing several video streams. however exactly how to link the switch to the Raspberry Pi server?

Fortunately, the specific switch has a remote-mounted IR receiver that links to the primary system with a stereo audio jack. Plugging this sensor into a laptop as well as running Audacity while pressing the buttons on the remote got them audio data that play the remote’s codes. just playing these back out of the Raspberry Pi’s audio out as well as into the switch’s IR input with a small transistor circuit does the trick. now they have a networked five-way HDMI switch for $10.

Given the low data rates of many IR remotes, we might envision utilizing the exact same technique for gadgets that have built-in IR receivers as well. just clip out the IR receiver as well as solder in a couple wires as well as then inject your “audio” signal directly.

But IR hacks are tons of fun. We’ve seen a lot here, from the traditional video camera shutter-release hack to a much more general tutorials on cloning IR signals with Arduinos.

Thanks [overflo] for the tip!

A few years ago, [patchartrand] made a decision to build a robot arm. The specs were simple: he needed a drive system that would be at least as strong as a human arm. After checking out motors, couldn’t find a option for under $3,000. This led to the creation of the Ultra Servo, an embiggened version of the standard hobby servo that provides more than ten thousand oz-in of torque.

Your normal hobby servo has three main components. The electronics board reads some sort of signal to control a motor. This motor is strapped into a gear train of some sort, and a potentiometer reads the absolute position of a shaft. This is generally what the Ultra Servo is doing, although everything is much, much bigger.

The motor used in the Ultra Servo is a very large brushed DC motor. This is attached to a 160:1 planetary gearbox and the electronics are built around four reasonably large MOSFETs. The electronics are built around the ATmega168 microcontroller, and the specs for the completed servo include 12 V or 24 V operation, TTL, SPI, and standard RC communication, 60 RPM no load speed, and 60 ft-lbs of torque.

This is not your standard servo. This is a massive chunk of metal to step stuff. If you’ve ever wanted a remote-controlled Cessna, here you go. That said, servos of this size and power will always be pricey, and is checking out a cost of $750 per unit. Still, that’s much less than the thousands of a comparable unit, and a great entry to the Hackaday Prize.

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In the world of sailing, there are lots of records to contend over. speed records, endurance records, size records. The fastest crossing, the longest solo journey, the largest yacht.

But not all records worry superlatives, for example in the size stakes, there are likewise records for the smallest vessels. The Atlantic crossing has been completed by a succession of ever smaller boats over the years, as well as the present record from 1993 is held by the 5’4″ (1.626m) boat Father’s Day.

Records are made to be broken, as well as there is now a challenger to the crown in the type of the impossibly small 42″ (1.067m) Undaunted, the development of [Matt Kent], who means to sail the boat from the Canary Islands to the USA in around 4 months.

The boat’s style is absolutely unusual, with a square aluminium hull of equal beam as well as length, as well as a extremely deep keel that has an emergency drinking water storage tank as its ballast. The sail is a square rig — envision picture-book pictures of Viking ships for a minute — as well as it has two rudders. We are not nautical engineers right here at Hackaday, however reading the descriptions of the boat we comprehend it to have a lot more in typical with a buoy in the method it handles than it does with a smooth racing yacht.

Unfortunately the very first sailing attempt experienced a setback because of a style flaw in the method the vessel’s emergency flotation is attached. This was exposed by its interaction with some unusual waves. however [Matt] will be back for one more try, as well as with luck we’ll see him on our TV screens sometime next year as he emerges into the Florida sunshine from his cramped quarters. on the other hand his unusual boat as well as its building makes for a interesting checked out that we’re sure you’ll appreciate.

We don’t commonly cover boat building right here at Hackaday. however if unusual ocean crossings are of interest, here’s an autonomous one we looked at back in 2010.

[via yachting World]