Dorkbot DC November Meeting

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Dorkbot DC November Meeting
LED111308.jpg

Next Meeting:
25 November 2008
7 PM – 9 PM (ET)
ALWAYS FREE!

Location:
Smith Hall of Art, Room 114
(Map of Block)
George Washington University
801 22nd St NW
Washington, DC 20037

Schedule for next meeting Alden Hart : Practical Microcontroller LED Designs – lessons and gotchas from prototype to production

LED projects are a popular topic these days. This talk covers some microcontroller LED projects Alden has done ranging from at-home projects to manufactured units. Alden will have a variety of projects that should perhaps not have been attempted – such as Balls on Sticks and The Low Rider Christmas, Silent Music Box, and 10mi2 Lucites.

The talk will cover practical lessons that resulted, including:

  • Color theory, transformation and perception as related to LEDs
  • LED driving and dimming techniques, multiplexing – and some workarounds to common problems
  • PIC16F917 assembly programming, optimization, and tricks. Open sourcing the control stack from these projects.
  • How can this all be done as cheaply as possible?

Time permitting we may also get into some of the more arcane details about circuit board design, manufacture, and assembly; surface mount at home, mechanical considerations, and other topics.

Alden is a hardware and software engineer who started doing gate-level design in the late ’70s and has been working his way up the stack ever since…Only to fall down again a few years ago with a renewed interest in microcontrollers and electronics. His company Ten Mile Square is a small group of technology practitioners who specialize in the disciplines surrounding media and web systems.

1 thought on “Dorkbot DC November Meeting

  1. Dave "Dave Bort" Bort says:

    If I lived in DC (or somewhere closer than California) I would show up, but, alas.

    Any information on the possibility of a video or notes for the session? All of those bullet points are things I’m dealing with right now, and I’d love to hear about what he’s got to say!

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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