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My New term is going to start a couple of weeks from now. And as it goes in colleges here the first few months of the semester are easy. I have lots and lots of spare time to learn something new. I like to learn things by myself. But have not done much since a couple of months due to submissions and finals. I would like to dive into something exciting to learn this new semester.

My main interests are into uControllers, intelligence, analog electronics and robotic locomotion. Can you please recommend something which would take a few months to learn and would add to my engineering skills?

Regards.

Edit
My really lazy question has provided the community with a nice list of things to do once you have some knowledge under your belt. The problem is not with starting things, but continuing them. I faced that problem and also many before or after me. I propose we continue adding to this list. Here is a small summary of what I gathered.

  1. Start with BEAM robotics: It has been a very facinating branch of robotics which uses only descreet electronic elements and it also has possiblity of adding intelligence using Nv Nets. But the problem is its still in its research phases and there are not many resources. I had to use the web archive to get to some papers and I dont think thats a very good sign.
  2. Making your own PCBs: This is different and you wont get to learn this in class. So if you have to access to cheap PCB manufacturer I propose this to you.
  3. Learn C: C is one of the oldest and most widespread languages and still used in industry
  4. Learn ARM
tyblu
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Rick_2047
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  • this is clearly a community wiki type of question right? – vicatcu Jun 14 '10 at 21:58
  • why don't you tell us a little bit more about what you already know? – vicatcu Jun 14 '10 at 21:59
  • Wish you were at my school, we could have you trained and doing microcontrollers in our design labs within that time. – Kortuk Jun 14 '10 at 22:14
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    your in college man, get yourself a book of pick up lines, try them all out at least 5 times. Record the results :) – Mark Jun 15 '10 at 00:53
  • Yes, get your priorities straight! :) – endolith Jun 15 '10 at 03:02
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    I am getting my priorities straight. I joined up to learn, but I don't get much of that out of the classes and assignment and tutorials (we sleep through the former as most of the lecturers dont know much and copy the latter as they are just from the books and not very challenging). So I look up other ventures to take to expand my knowledge. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 06:23

5 Answers5

10

Learn to program seriously in C. Nothing will benefit you more broadly as an electrical/computer engineer.

Kortuk
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vicatcu
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  • I know some avr C so I think I can expand on that. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 06:26
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    C++ is not used as widely in embedded systems as C. Hopefully, it will stay that way. – Toby Jaffey Jun 15 '10 at 08:42
  • @Joby, I agree with the anti-C++ sentiment in the context of microcontrollers, @Kortuk modified my original post and added the C++ rhetoric. – vicatcu Jun 15 '10 at 13:31
  • @Joby - Why should C++ be avoided for embedded systems? – J. Polfer Jun 15 '10 at 14:56
  • I've created a new question/wiki for this. http://chiphacker.com/questions/3027/is-c-suitable-for-embedded-systems – Toby Jaffey Jun 15 '10 at 15:56
  • @Rick_2047, for the love of God, when you say "avr C" I hope you mean that you are using the avr-gcc compiler (WinAVR toolchain), and eclipse-AVR as your development environment. At least you stand a chance of your C knowlege being portable in that case :). – vicatcu Jun 15 '10 at 20:27
  • I find very few applications where an object oriented design paradigm is really a win in readability and maintainability. Even less often do you find an application where object oriented design fits and was implemented in a way that it was at all an advantage over a functional design. – Mark Jun 15 '10 at 20:40
  • I rolled back my changes. I did not mean to cause a fuss. I think C++ would be valuable, but it seems many here do not. I like C++, but the articles I read from some of the Guru's of embedded systems are what caused me to add this. – Kortuk Jun 15 '10 at 20:47
  • @Kortuk, no worries I appreciate the dialogue – vicatcu Jun 15 '10 at 21:04
  • @vicatcu, Oh yes, I mean AVR-GCC + Vim. – Rick_2047 Jun 16 '10 at 04:05
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I'd try to learn things that you won't learn in classes. For me, the biggest target is how to lay out your own PCB with a microcontroller on it. It's not particularly hard to do, but it's intimidating if you haven't done it before. Once you've made a few boards, it's easy.

I'd recommend picking something small, on the scale of an Arduino or a Lilypad, and try making a board. You can start with the free version of Eagle for PCB layout; use batchpcb.com for ultra-cheap (and ultra-slow) PCB manufacture.

Maybe an Arduino shield with a cool peripheral on it? Then you could learn to program the Arduino to control it.

pingswept
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  • I consider myself good with making boards out of General purpose PCBs. The types which look somewhat like a breadboard or have some other pattern on it. I once thought of learning the skill of making real PCBs but the problem is where I live getting a PCB manufactured is expensive as hell. So there is just no motivation. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 14:29
  • FYI I have already assembled a shield ready Arduino on a General Purpose PCB. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 14:30
  • You can learn about PCB layout without getting boards professionally manufactured. Google for "toner transfer", or you can just scribble on a copper clad board with an etch resist pen. It needn't be expensive. – Toby Jaffey Jun 15 '10 at 15:27
  • @Rick_2047: If you don't mind me asking, what EE stuff do you have available? I would have guessed that PCBs are cheap in India, but it seems I would have guessed wrong. (Apologies for googling your country of origin-- figured it was fair game since it was on your blog.) – pingswept Jun 15 '10 at 16:37
  • @Rick_2047: Also, if you've already assembled an Arduino, I'd focus on making it do something awesome. Maybe build an H-bridge for driving a small DC motor or stepper motor? That's the start of a robot. – pingswept Jun 15 '10 at 16:39
  • @pingswept no problem, I am not one of those privacy freaks. On another note what do you mean by "EE stuff"? I assembled an arduino but have decided not to take that path. I am comfortable with C so I have taken up avr-gcc. I made a robot control board using a atmega32 and l293d. Was working on interfacing some sensors but for some reason it seems boring.Thats why I posted this question. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 16:45
  • @Rick_2047: I was sort of surprised that PCBs are out of the price range of students-- in the US, small PCBs cost about as much as 2 sandwiches or 1 book. I was wondering what else is available to students for embedded elctronics. For example, do you have access to oscilloscopes? Just multimeters? Can you buy ICs through the mail? I know that in some places, shipping electronics is unreliable, slow, and expensive. Just curious about what India's like for a young engineer. – pingswept Jun 15 '10 at 18:16
  • @pingswept, now that you have got me started listen, read rather, to the rant. PCBs cost about 500Rs that is around 25 McD burgers or two first hand or 5 second hand books. Forget about purchasing through the mail, its really slow and shipping is way up and over my usual order. But that does not deter me, I go regularly to a local electronics dealer. So much so that as soon as I reach there he goes "Harshal (his servant),get two of his PCBs, one 28 pin socket, one 16 pin socket, 1 Meter roll of 10 color hookup wires". Then he asks what else I want. Oscillosocpes are expensive. I thought cont.. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 18:30
  • of purchasing one from the local scrap dealer but thought that a little damage, will give me wrong readings so I didn't purchase it. ICs are not usually a problem. The local vendor gets me those in a few days or I go to the city market. Where most of everything is available. This is the senario in India. Now you may be wondering 500Rs is just 10$. But bear in mind that my allowance is non existant and my usual order costs me 120Rs or so. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 18:33
  • If you do not mind me asking, What part of India are you in? I plan to visit Bengaluru(Bangalore) in the next two years, hopefully make it to the ESC. I know many students at my school whom are from India, but I think in most cases have very rich families. Thank you for the information about what happens there, I think the different cultures can be very very interesting. – Kortuk Jun 15 '10 at 19:03
  • I am in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. What do you mean by ESC? Also by previous posts I infer you are an academician, so by any chance you are visiting IISc Banglore? Just curious. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 19:08
  • http://www.esc-india.com/ is what I am interested in. I am still involved in academia, I am currently at okstate.edu. I am also working at a start-up company. My Girlfriend is raised in the USA, but her mother is born mumbai and raised in Bengaluru. Her grandmother still lives in Bengaluru, I would like to meet her, and I would like to see some of India. – Kortuk Jun 15 '10 at 20:53
  • This is a fantastic answer – vicatcu Jun 15 '10 at 21:05
  • @Rick_2047: Interesting. In some ways, it sounds better than where I'm from (Boston, USA), because you can actually buy components locally. Because shipping is relatively cheap and fast in the US, virtually all of the hobby electronics shops have been destroyed by Digikey and such. Thanks for the perspective. Will you keep us posted on what you learn/build? – pingswept Jun 15 '10 at 22:34
  • @pingswept, it may sound better than boston in case of availability of ICs and components (I can virtually buy any of the things used in industries somewhere in my city) but bear in mind that there is no market for hobby kits. I couldn't find any local suppliers for Arduinos or such. – Rick_2047 Jun 16 '10 at 04:23
  • @Rick_2047 Perhaps take a look at the question I just posted (http://electronics.stackexchange.com/q/15513/4159). It seems like a project down your alley... it involved PCB layout, couple of sensors with different interfaces, interesting control algorithms, and some communication networks. – NickHalden Jun 16 '11 at 19:06
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Get your Amateur (HAM) Radio License :-). http://www.arrl.org/.

As a EE who just graduated, I got a 90% on the practice test without any studying. It should be relatively simple to take the test if you have the background, or the drive.

Kortuk
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vicatcu
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  • Yea, if you have have an EE background, you should at least be able to get the "Technician" class by taking the exam cold. You might even be able to eek through the "General" class exam. – vicatcu Jun 15 '10 at 13:34
  • i just took practice tests again. The Extra level was easier. The first practice test i took for technician had very few rules about FCC in it. The others gave me a 60% because I do not know the rules. The extra level seemed to mostly be technical, but I am also specialized in RF. – Kortuk Jun 15 '10 at 18:56
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I vote for BEAM Robotics!

This kind of thing.

Toby Jaffey
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  • Umm... interesting you mentioned it. I had been planning to dabble into Nv Nets for a few weekends and see what comes out of it. I have already made some hoppers and a mousey. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 06:25
  • I was just wondering if it is really alive right now. Except for the mailing list at yahoo groups there is not much activity I can find. – Rick_2047 Jun 15 '10 at 16:46
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"The problem is not with starting things, but continuing them." I recognise that in some of my students. My advice is to find some end goal that motivates you. Just some hints:

  • entering a robot competition (and win!)
  • setting up a StackExchange type of website for breeding stick insects
  • writing an compiler for
  • creating some electronic/embedded product and actually sell it on your website
  • protecting your dorm room with the best anti-burglar system ever created

Some 15 years ago I wanted build a laer tag system, and I wanted to introduce the kids of the local electronics club to PIc programming. So I

  • created a PIC programming langauge and compiler (Jal)
  • creaded a PIc programmer (Wisp, now Wisp648)
  • started selling PIC chips because the local electronics store was way too expensive

One or two of the elctronics kiddies indeed programmed a few PIc chips, but I never got around to build the laser tag system. That's just to show that once you have a goal there is plenty to do!

Wouter van Ooijen
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