Remote Control using Infra Red

"Action at a distance" is fascinating ! The possible applications of being able to control a switch from a distance can open up a lot of interesting opportunities.

IR (Infra Red) is probably a good choice for a remote control, as the circuitry might be much simpler compared to using radio frequency. Also, it is a proven technology with almost all household remote controls using it.

Our remote control system (The controller + target) may have the following (growing) list of features:

• A button press on the controller should toggle the state (ON/OFF) of the target.
  
• Two systems should be able to operate in the same environment without interference.
  

Session 4 ... Ideas ?

Please post ideas about our next session (or about the activities in general) as comments. Following might get you started ...

• Make a microcontroller programmer
• "Past week in electronics" - a member gives a short presentation about his latests finds in the world of electronics
• Build more amazing transistor circuits on the breadboard and try them out
• ...

Session 3: PCB Design, Soldering

What image comes to your mind when you think about electronics ? ... Let me guess, a PCB ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed_circuit_board

The Printed Circuit Boards are ubiquitous as electronics. Hence, its important for us, the electronics enthusiasts, to have a working knowledge about them.

Softwares like Eagle (www.cadsoftusa.com) allows one to draw the schematic of the circuit, layout the tracks and components and finally generate the necessary files (called gerber files) that can be handed over to a PCB maker. What we then get is a PCB with all the tracks (the interconnects between components) laid out and connected to pads. Then, its a matter of 'populating' the board with the components by soldering. Voila! we have our circuit ready.

The details of a PCB maker nearby the IITM campus (on the Ascendas side):
Zeta Microsystems
zetapcs@yahoo.co.in
044-22541618

"Hello World"

We are students of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) and we are fascinated about the world of electronics.

Through this blog, the attempt is to share our interest with others within and outside the campus. Also, we hope that over time, the blog becomes a log of our activities.