Week 4: Electronics Production
Week 4 was a week where we received an introduction to electronics, more specifically electronics production. Initially, we were eased into the topic with talk of some of the theory behind electronics. We were informed about Ohm’s Law which was to simplify, Voltage (Volts) = Current (Amps) x Resistance (Ohms), V=I*R. Another important equation to keep in mind was Power (Wats)= Current (Amps) x Voltage (Volts), P=I*V.
After we went through some of the basic theory for this topic, there was a discussion about some of the equipment that we will need. Some of the equipment and terminology we learn about included breadboard, wires, resistors, and switches, which are all components I was already familiar with.
The first piece of physical electronics which we worked on was creating a simple circuit on the breadboard, and power it using a 9V power supply (a battery). We learned some simple concepts with this first circuit, the most important of which is that an LED should always have a resistor in series with it so that it does not burn out. Below is an image of the circuit.
ss After getting this simple circuit out of the way, we then needed to implement a button. This was a simple implementation, as I simply needed to add the button to the circuit in series with what I had already made. Another note was that I powered this circuit by hooking it up to a generator. Below is an image of this circuit, and a video of it working.
After this little introduction into electronics, we moved on to make a bundle sensor of some sort, and the sensor I decided to make was the moisture sensor. It was our first look into sautering as we needed to Sauter the parts of this circuit, and below is an image of the sautering iron I used, as well as the part of the circuit I actually sautered.
This was not my first time sautering, but it had been a while since I last used a sautering iron. Not bad if I do say so myself. Below is an image of all the components of the circuit which I had constructed. It was easy to put the sensor together as at the back it more or less tells you where each part goes as seen in the image above.
Once the sensor was made, all I had to hook it up to a generator and test it. Below is an image of the finished sensor, and a video of me testing the moisture sensor.
