I finally finished placing my order for the pcbA printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board (PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with electronic components is a printed circuit assembly (PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). source for my bio-feedback belt.  I used futurlec again, they have been consistantly cheap and reliable with pretty good customer service to boot.  I ordered silkscreening and soldermask to see how well their finished part quality looks.  I added in the Pumping Station: One Shock Shop Logo  too, which I added to the library repository I made for eagle.
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When we last left off a git repository was up and running to utilize an organized Eagle library.  I've been working with the git/github/eagle workflow for a couple days now and I'm really enjoying how the whole thing is working out.  I've created a secondary repository for my own electronics projects in the default directory Eagle uses.  And I've been taking
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I put together a guide for configuring your computer and Eagle for utilizing github and starting version controls for hardware projects. Check it out after the jump.
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Version control systems have been around for a while.  They were developed to be used for software but their utility for electronics design is apparent only after a little teasing.  Systems like Git were designed to allow for collaboration on huge, disparate pieces of code (like linux).  Open Source hardware still doesn't have the right tools to provide high quality collaboration.  Jeff Atwood's Responsible Open Source Code Parenting article details what causes a bad open source project.  The meat of his argument applies directly to our community:  Disorganized and scattered documentation (that is accessible to the first timer as well as the pro), easy access to the developer to improve the project, and turn key collaboration from day one.
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I've been moving forward with the warm strings project with Jasna's help.  She's been doing the knitting and I've been doing the electronic design.  I got in new circuit boards today for the frets from futurlec.  They did a fantastic job and you can send them eagle files directly which makes all the shenanagans dealing with creating gerbers go away.  It took about a week for them to get fabricated an another week and a half to get here from china.
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First off, huge thanks to my sister for helping name this project!  I threw together the basic design for the finger board for the violin scarf.
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I've been MIA on this blog for too long.  I blame Pumping Station: One for creating the most amazing cult I've every been apart of.  On the plus side it's really a brand new driving force in my life.  So that being said here are some projects that PS1 has inspired me to attack.
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I've been tossing ideas around for idea features for NixieAn open source software project that combines schematic capture and PCB layouts with software repositories and 3D animation tools. Project Page.  Here's an overview of what's changed and what's what to expect.  First, I think it's best to change the project to be cross platform, so Linux/UNIX, Mac and Windows is now the goal.  I've been looking around for what would ease cross platform development and I think QT is a must.  Secondly, I've been thinking about what sort of underlying engine would work best for this environment.  Using existing EDA tools like gEDA may be
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I was talking to a member at last Tuesday's Pumping Station: OneA hacker space in Chicago that has it's residence on Belmont and Halsted. Think of it as a YMCA for geeks, nerds and artists. Home Page meeting named John who's a really fascenating guy but I have trouble understanding him and figured there has to be a way for us to communicate in person.  Today I remembered that the new iPhone/iPod Touch can talk to devices plugged into the dock connector with operating system version 3.0.  How cool would it be if a small device could be attached to the iPhone and run a voice synthesizer that can either be sent back to the
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EvolutionChanges in a population of organisms over time inspired me to start this blog.  The battles over teaching it in public schools and the false sound-bite that it’s “just a theory” drive me nuts.  My goal is to educate you about the mechanisms of evolution and to share with you its beautiful nuances, both as a scientific theory and as a natural process.

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