Electronics

TinkerMill has a well equipped Electronics Area for member use. Long time members with many small projects, or product developers doing something absolutely new – gather in the TinkerMill Electronics Area. More than just the availability of technology for testing, there are like minded interesting people to find collaboration with. With an open layout, people 'working' in electronics are in visual and verbal communication with other unrelated areas. Electronics is bordered by the metalwork area and the overhead doors in the Main Space. It is the first area past the entry.

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On Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 9pm there is a Soldering 101 that can host up to 4 students. Hands-on with Mechanical, Electrical, & Electronics soldering and de-soldering. Class is held at the benches in the electronics area. Text for this class is TinkerMill Soldering 101
On odd numbered Wednesdays at 6:30pm there is Electricity Made Fun. Learn the basics about the parts; read diagrams; assemble electronics. This class is held in the large classroom.
RSVP for classes is required via MeetUp. Classes lacking RSVPs may be cancelled.
On Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm there is an Electronics Open Shop where members can learn how to use equipment; get help with a project; or help others with your knowledge and experience. Open Shop does not require an RSVP; members show up and share.

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Test Equipment & Tool Manuals
Rigol DS1000E Digital Oscilloscope
LCR-T4 Mega328 Transistor Tester Diode Triode Capacitance ESR
Pick & Place Machine
LCR Tweezers
Fluke 115 Handheld Meter
JST Check-Points for Correct Crimping
PoScope Software & Manuals
HP 54512 Front Panel Reference

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Hardware Engineering Datasheets
Texas Instruments Standard Linear Guide
Texas Instruments Standard Interface Guide
Panasonic CGR18650CG Lithium-Ion Cells

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Developer Software Resources

Electronics Assistant install for Windows
Electronics Assistant is very worthy donation-ware. A variety of calculators for Resistance, Capacitance, Inductance, Power, Frequency - including an elegant 555 timer calculator. Don't know the formula, but know what you want the result to be? This is your Electronics Assistant.
Works in any version of Windows, and WINE. This is a link to the install file.

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Practical use of tools on our bench: Tip Change Video

The electronics classes often use this document Symbols reference chart for electronic schematics.

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Available Components Free SMD Parts available

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Online Electronic Parts Stores

• Sparkfun -
  • Local Pickup Information - We print Local Pickup orders 3 times a day. If your order is placed by 10am, it will be ready by noon. If your order is placed by noon, it will be ready by 2pm. If your order is placed after noon, it will be available for pickup at 10am the following business day. One exception to this rule: if your order goes directly into the Exception status, it may not be ready at the time stated. You can now also order from the computer at the lobby of Sparkfun's headquarters and wait for parts. Generally this is a 15 - 20 minute wait if there before 2 - 3 pm.

• Seed Studio

• Arduino

• Adafruit

• Parallax - Robotics Kits

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TinkerMill Electronic Ordering

1. Ensure you are logged into Google Drive with your @tinkermill.org account
2. Access the this TinkerMill Sparkfun Order Sheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Not5_Mrj2ctzskmoeUO-1uboN3aHTThw1gXfUJ835uU/edit#gid=248796716)
3. Enter your name and the items you'd like to purchase on the tab with the highest order number adding additional rows as necessary.
4. Ping Ron via email or Slack to let him know your items have been entered. As part of our distributor account, we have a minimum $100 order. If your total item cost exceeds $100, we can order it right away. If it's not quite at $100, there's usually something TinkerMill needs that we can add to get us over the limit.
5. Check the TinkerMill Sparkfun Order Sheet again to see the total cost of your order including sales tax.
6. Submit payment to TinkerMill
7. Shipping might take a day or two depending on when the order was placed. Ron will let you know when your stuff is ready for pickup at TinkerMill.
8. Pick up your purchase from TinkerMill and enjoy!

ESS/IoT

ESS stands for Embedded Systems and Sensors. We like that name better than IoT (Internet of Things), but IoT is the more familiar term.

Some examples of what IoT is used for would be:

• Using a device like the Ninja Block and its range of add-on sensors you can track if a water pipe has burst in your basement, if there is motion inside your home while you are away, and have it automatically send you a notification by email or text message when it happens.
• Whether taking care of a small hydroponic system or a large backyard lawn, systems like HarvestGeek with their suite of sensors and web connectivity help save you time and resources by keeping plants fed based on their actual growing needs and conditions while automating much of the labor processes.
• Web enabled lights like the Phillip's Hue can be used as an ambient data displays (Glow red when my bus is 5 minutes away). These multi-functional lights can also help you to reduce electricity use (automatically turn off the lights when no one is in a room) or help to secure your home while you are away by turning your lights on and off.

These examples and many more can be found here [[1]]

Tools, equipment, and materials are available for working on projects that use embedded computing environments (small microcontrollers, Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, Teensies, that sort of thing) and sensors that connect to resources over computer networks. We have both resources for you to work on projects and classes to help you learn what you need to do to design and implement your own ESS/IoT projects.

Resources

• Tools and Software available at the ESS/IoT Shop
• A description of the ESS/IoT classes at Tinkermill
• The Drive folder that contains many class resources is found [here].
• Some external resources helpful for ESS/IoT projects