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Small Electronics
for Your Makerspace
Arianna Schlegel
CLC Trendspotting: The Technologies of Makerspaces
9 September 2014
Wesleyan University

So many options…!
The Connected Home: Which Board Is
Right For Me? (2/7/14)
MAKE magazine,
volume 36
Inside: an illustrated
glossary and
projects, plus more
in-depth discussion
of each board.

3 Main Categories
1. actual computers
2. sensory processors
3. wearables

First: What is I/O?
Stands for Input/Output - think of your five
senses. Those are input. How you process
and respond to those senses? That is your
output.
What kind of I/O do the PCs
sitting in front of you have?

1. Raspberry Pi
● is actually a very tiny
(single-board) computer
running Unix
● currently on Model B+
● not a ton of processing
power for $35...but it’s
only $35
● can be written & rewritten over ad infinitum
● need some project ideas? http://makezine.com/category/electronics/raspberry-pi/

Some RPi Project Ideas
1. Use OpenElec to make your home TV a mini media center
2. Use Chromium to web surf on your TV
3. ArcadePi or gaming (Minecraft)
4. Go vintage with Windows 3.0
5. Write some code! (use the included Python compiler, start with
Scratch, or choose from many others)
6. Robotics
7. Learn hacking skills
8. Make a server (BitTorrent, cloud)
9. Make yourself a weather station
10. Or your own touchscreen “tablet” ($350!)
11. If you’re ambitious, your own quadcopter
12. Even a beer cans keyboard (with a little
help from Arduino)

1. BeagleBone
● “designed for makers” - designed from the ground up to work
with hardware
(sensors, etc.)
● like Raspberry Pi, it’s also
an entire computer and
also runs Unix
● moved the operating system
from the SD card to the board
itself (makes things faster)
● now costs $55 (down from $89)
● featured in the Kickstarted Ninja Blocks project

Not sure which to choose?
MAKE magazine to the rescue again!
How to Choose the Right Platform: Rasbperry
Pi or BeagleBone Black

1. Gizmo Board
An x86 board which MAKE
magazine calls “essentially a
laptop on a single board” that
is “blinding fast, extremely
flexible, and hugely powerful
by the standards of those of
us coming from the
microcontroller world.”
Cost: $189
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/01/amdgizmosphereboard.jpg

2. Arduino
● first of its kind (a single-board
microcontroller) - designed as a platform
for makers
● began as a project to give artists the ability
to embed microprocessors for use in
interactive pieces (like my dad’s, below)
● many different flavors
● used primarily for sensory computing
● available in a lot of places (Radio Shack,
Amazon, online)
● costs ~$35-$100,
depending on
features & power
● tutorials here
and a similar
coffee table -->

2. The many faces of Arduino
Zero ~ Yùn ~ Leonardo ~ Uno ~ Due
Mega2560 ~ Ethernet ~ Fio ~ Nano
LilyPad ~ Pro ~ Mega ADK ~ Esplora
Micro ~ Mini
(And these are just the official & current ones!)
See here for a still incomplete but much longer list...

Some Arduino Project Ideas
10 Simple-But-Fun Projects to Make with Arduino (all call for an Arduino and a USB cable)
LEDs resistors breadboard &
connecting wires
capacitors push
buttons
network
cable
battery tester
electronic dice
“traffic light”
stopwatch
a Twitterer

Some Bigger Arduino Project Ideas
10 Simple-But-Fun Projects to Make with Arduino (all call for an Arduino and a USB cable)
DFRobot
2A
Arduino
Shield
($16)
9V
battery
to DC
socket
cable
(2 for
$3.53)
Alkaline
AA
batteries
(48 for
$12.50)
Pololu RP5
Chassis plate
(10 for
$6.25 each)
Pololu RP5
Tank
Chassis
package
(10 for
$44.96
each)
SparkFun
GPS shield
kit
($59.95)
LCD module
or
Freetronics
LCD shield
($29.95)
digital
clock
1
robots 1 1 6 1 1
a GPS
generator
1 1 1

2. DigiSpark
● PROS:
○ costs just $8.95!
○ small and lightweight
○ works like an Arduino
● CONS:
○ less powerful (for more
power, see the TinyDuino)

2. TinyDuino
● Costs $39.95 for a basic starter kit (is not sold alone)
● GPS Cat Tracker (the ideal “typical librarian” project)

2. TI LaunchPad
● $9.99 - $19.99
● a comparison of
the 4 available boards
is available here
● used to be difficult to
program on, but they
have released a new,
open source platform (Energia) which works on all
OSes (much like Arduino)
● you can also use your Arduino code on it!

2. Netduino
● very different from the Arduino,
despite its name
● an open-source electronics
platform using the .NET Micro
Framework
● you have to know how to
program in C#, and it’s mostly
restricted to Windows
computers
● extremely powerful & flexible
● costs $29.95

2. Intel Galileo Gen 2
“Introducing Intel® Galileo Gen 2 development board, the first in a family of Arduino*-certified development boards based on
Intel® architecture and specifically designed for makers, students, educators, and DIY electronics enthusiasts.”
Old board cost
$79.95
New board
should be about
$60
(supposed
to be released
in August)

2. Parallax Propeller QuickStart
● the Propeller itself is a microcontroller
● not 1, but 8 microprocessors
- so it can control 8 things
at one time!
“That means eight separate processes
can be running simultaneously, monitoring
and responding to sensor and other inputs.
Think about it as eight simultaneously-running
Arduino loop() functions.”
-- Alasdair Allan
● this board costs $34.99
($7.99 for just the chip)
● good for robotics
● Instructables intro

2. AVR Butterfly
● self-contained, and the size of a name tag,
which is what it can be used for!
● includes an LCD screen,
joystick, speaker
● costs $20
● NOT compatible
with Arduino code

2. MaKey MaKey
A fun beginner project
that anyone can do!
Takes no time at all to
learn & set up, and
appeals to all ages.
Costs $49.95

3. Lilypad, FLORA, & GEMMA
Arduino board designed for wearable
computing.
(BONUS: They’re waterproof!)

3. Some other great examples...
Becky Stern is the wearable tech goddess! Watch her Adafruit tutorial videos
here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2B8A7560BC19F361
Which to use? FLORA vs GEMMA according to Becky.

FLORA ($25) or GEMMA ($8) projects
1. Amplitie
2. Firewalker Sneakers
3. Pac Man Suspenders

Just FLORA projects
1. PianoGlove
2. GPS Jacket
3. Citi Bike Helmet

Just GEMMA projects
1. Space Face
Galaxy Makeup
2. NeoPixel Ring
Bangle Bracelet
3. NeoPixel Tiara
4. Hoop Earrings
5. “A Bracelet Even the
X-Men Could Like”
6. Customized 3D
Printed LED Belt Buckle
(A NeoPixel costs
$25 at Adafruit.com)

3. the TinyLily
From the makers of TinyDuino, “tiny washable
circuits for e-textiles” (cost: $9.95) :

3. My first (misguided) project
www.youtube.
com/embed/nFjQWAFEo48

For your advanced users:
FPGAs (field-programmable gate
arrays) that start you with a blank
slate - you must design the chip at
the hardware level, so you can
dictate precisely how things work.
(This is good to know for those
who want to work for electronics
companies like Intel.)
The Papilio (http://papilio.cc/)

A great resource!
ALA’s
makeitatyourlibrary.org
website:

And many more!
There are dozens of options out there now.
You will have to decide which is right for your
library’s needs and community.
To consider: price, learning curve, available
tutorials quality, features, intended use

Evolution Continues
These boards are constantly being worked on -
new types are regularly introduced. The latest?
Wireless capabilities (Yún) and hybrid boards.
But things won’t stop there. Keep up to date
with the latest boards on places like http:
//makezine.com/category/electronics/ or http:
//www.adafruit.com (they call them “Dev
Boards”) or Kickstarter (seach on “arduino”).

Need To Know
UNIX
(learn here: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/)
...or...
Arduino code (C or C++)
(learn here: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage)
(But PLEASE don’t let this scare you away!)
#1
#2
and #3

Where To Learn
● Adafruit (highly recommended)
● MakeZine.com (Weekend Projects)
● YouTube
● books (like Make: Electronics or
Encyclopedia of Electronic Components,
Volume 1)
● fellow enthusiasts! (at other makerspaces?)

Use Your Categorization
Dewey Decimal?
Put signs in the following sections:
● 000 Computer science, knowledge & systems
● 338 Production / Entrepreneurship
● 500 Sciences (Pure sciences)
● 600 Technology (Applied sciences)
○ Patents
○ 620 Engineering
○ 670 & 680 Manufactures
○ 690 Building and construction
● 700 The arts
○ 730 Sculpture, ceramics & metalwork
○ 740 Drawing & decorative arts
○ 770 Photography and computer art
○ 780 Music
You know your patrons - what sections would you find them in?

Use Your Categorization
Library of Congress?
Put signs in the following sections:
● HB 615-715 Entrepreneurship
M - MUSIC
● N - FINE ARTS
● Q - SCIENCE
○ QA - Mathematics, Computer Science
○ QC - Physics
● T - TECHNOLOGY
○ T - Patents
○ TJ - Mechanical Engineering
○ TK - Electrical Engineering
You know your patrons - what
sections would you find them in?

References
This presentation pulled heavily from http://makezine.com/magazine/make-36-boards/which-board-is-right-
for-me/ while attempting to synthesize and reinterpret for newer techies. Thank you to Alasdair
Allan for a thorough and accessible presentation.
OTHER RESOURCES USED
● http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/desktops/25-fun-things-to-do-with-a-raspberry-pi-50009851/
● http://www.adafruit.com

Contact me!
Arianna Schlegel
Haas Library 409
Western Connecticut State University
203-837-8818
schlegela@wcsu.edu

List of 3s: professional allies (coworkers, library staff)
●

List of 3s: patron/community allies
●

List of 3s: community groups to tap
●

List of 3s: spaces (where?)
●

List of 3s: funding sources
●

List of 3s: small beginner projects
●

List of 3s: places to purchase
●

Other Considerations
● charge a fee?
● materials to purchase

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Small Electronics for Your Makerspace (CLC Trendspotting - September 2014)

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