Tabitha and I are going to try to make out PCB in the design of a sheep. We are hoping to have the LEDs be in a necklace around the neck of the sheep and/or in the eye. We will also try to silkscreen some tufts on to the body.
What I learned:
During this process, I learned how to use Eagle and design a circuit on there. Additionally I re-learned how circuits work and the differences between series and parallel. I got a lot better at problem solving when a circuit was not working and figuring out what was going on. I also learned about circuit boards and how they are made and designed.
Amplifier Ideation Sketches
I am going to build my amplifier as an owl. I chose this design for a few reasons. I like owls and I like how the design is a box but with a few simple changes will look like an owl. It is also simple enough to achieve but hopefully will look cute and not just like a box. The sides will be curved and the beak and ears will stick out. Additionally on the top there will be a screen which will display owl puns/jokes when the speaker is on. It is possible that I will add feet; I am still deciding.
My design is somewhat finished. I still have to make the circles holes and add the engraving but then I will be pretty close to done.
I learned that my speaker looks how I want it to other than the fact that it is larger than I imagined. I also learned that in its current form the engraving cuts through instead of engraves so I have to fix that.
I am considering taking out the screen that shows owl puns and I might just put that on the side. I think it will be too complicated and I am not sure if I will have time. Additionally, I am considering making the whole speaker smaller.
I learned that capacitors have different volt amounts and also that they are sometimes polarized but sometimes unpolarized. I see the purpose of breadboarding to be laying out a circuit and making sure it works before actually making the final version of the circuit. I see it as the space for trial and error and testing out different things.
For this project I was partnered with Sachi. On the left is a photo of what the circuit board will look like with all the connections and each item. On The right it the schematic which lays out all of the actual connections and how everything fits together and all of the parts are labeled.
Nikoli and I made our microcontroller change colors by row. We programed it to cycle through colors at random.
Max and I made our microcontroler display an image of a spider along with the words "enjoy life".
My idea is to program a OLED screen to display the temperature in Fahrenheit. If I have time I would like to build a little box to hold it in. In an ideal world it would be battery opperated and have a motion sensor so it turns on if someone is close by. It will use an OLED screen with a motion sensor. It will also need a battery. It is possible that it will need another device but I am not sure.
Tabitha and I made this circuit board in the shape of a sheep.
The viewer is looking at the completed and soldered amplifier circuit board. It contains wires going to both speakers, a LED, a switch, and a volume control amongst other things.
My enclosure is almost done. I have cut all the parts and I just need to glue on the beak and ears. Once I do that my speaker will be done. My goal is to finish the speaker next class so I can use the remaining classes to work on the other projects.
I made an amplifier that is an owl type creature. I am most satisfied with the amplifier because it took a lot of work and perseverance but I was able to finish and make something that I am proud of. I would make a smaller speaker originally and think carefully about how all the parts were going to interact with each other. A lesson from this class that I will take with me is that even if something is frustrating I should not give up and keep trying.