MAKER PORTFOLIO
CIRCUIT PROJECTS
[2015]
Arduino LCD
After learning the Arduino basics, I began working on more complicated circuits. In this project, I coded and wired an LCD to display my name. The white knob controls the screen brightness/contrast. The black box is a tilt sensor that, when moved forward or backwards, causes my name to scroll sideways off the screen. I programmed it such that the text would leave on one side and come back through the other, stopping when my name returns back to its original location.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMgqomGTpos]
Homemade Flashlight
In my first attempt to learn about circuits, I hacked this flashlight. All I had were two batteries, a Christmas light, a pill bottle, aluminum foil, tape, and some wires. I did it twice using two batteries. The first time, I wired them in series, the second in parallel. Everything was stored in the pill bottle. To make it feel like a true flashlight, I hacked up a switch, by wrapping the ends of two wires in aluminum and taping an aluminum square to the pill bottle. By pressing down on the flaps, they were connected via the square, completing the circuit and powering the light. When the finger was lifted, the flaps lifted up as well, opening the circuit. To make sure no current ran through the thumb, I covered the top of the flaps and part of the aluminum square with tape.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjlAHr19tc]
Drawn Circuits
At the end of junior year, I got a CircuitScribe kit, which allows me to draw circuits on paper. I created several cool mini-circuits using this technology. The two images in the top-right show a circuit in which an LED is turned on by pressing my fingers against two drawn circles, to close the circuit. The bottom right image displays a circuit in which a motor is spinning. The motor is connected to a DPDT switch, which controls the direction in which the motor turns. Finally, the three images to the right show a color mixer. The flow of current is directed by the dial, controling the brightness of a red and a green LED. The brightness of the red LED is inversely proportional to that of the green LED.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe2Dqruyu_w]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWIHDm7qx4]
First Arduino Project
I received my first Arduino, an Arduino Uno, at the end of Junior year. Since then, I have done several small, fun projects to learn more about circuitry and make cool stuff. The images to the left display my first ever Arduino project, a simple LED that is turned on by the push of a button. The images to the right show my second project, a "rocket launch panel." When the button is not pressed, the green LED is lit to indicate that the "rocket" is ready for take-off. When the button is pressed, the "rocket" launches, causing the two red LEDs to alternately light up.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOep6roGnfk]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXQ3chgg2GI]