Virtual Electrical Training

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

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Electrical Training:

Week 1

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

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Welcome to the Electrical

Subteam!

Introductions:

• Name
• Grade
• How long have you been on the team?
• Favorite food

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Voltage, Current, and Resistance

Voltage:

Voltage is essentially pressure. It allows electrons (current) to move through a circuit a conducting loop.

• Measured in Volts

Resistance:

Resistance is the “stopping power” of current. It reduces the amount of current (Amps) in a circuit.

• Measured in Ohms (Ω)

Current:

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Current is the movement of electrons. It refers to the rate of flow of electrons past a point on a circuit.

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• Measured in Amps

V

I

R

Analogies

• Pushing marbles through a tube.
• Water in a river.

https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use this to draw analogies

Electrical Week 1 Review

Review:

• What is voltage, current, and resistance?
• What do the variables V, R, and I represent?
• What is one thing you’re looking forward to this season

Any Questions?

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Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

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ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 2

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

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Google forms, housekeeping stuff

• Electrical Members info Google Form:

https://forms.gle/zoLvCsYZc7KLFsvX8

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• Improvements Google Form:

https://forms.gle/eeMghH6CBzfJVn528

The Very Basics...

• What is electricity?

→ Electrical Circuit Basics

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• Voltage, Current, Resistance
• Voltage → Volts → V
• Current → Amps → I
• Resistance → Ohms → R

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• Ohm’s Law → What is it?
• V = IR
• I = V/R
• R = V/I

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I

V

R

V = Volts

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I = Amperes (Amps)

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R = Ohms (Ω)

Ohm’s Law Cont.

• Ohm’s Law
• V = IR
• I = V/R
• R = V/I

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• What is it used for?
• Ohm’s law is used to identify the relationship between voltage, current and resistance in an electrical circuit

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• Practice Questions:
• If there are 10 Volts across a 5 Ohm resistor, what is the current?
• If there are 40 Volts and 5 Amps running through an electrical circuit, what is the resistance of the circuit?
• If there are 7 Amps running through a 3 Ohm resistor, what will the voltage be across the resistor?

There is a Fourth value of electricity

• Watts.
• What is a watt? It is a number that signifies the amount of work that electricity can do.
• How do we calculate it? W = I*V, or W = I*I*R, or I²R. These are all exactly the same, just written differently.

Demo of Ohm’s law in TinkerCad

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/4VmKtkNwh5F-ohms-law-demo/editel

Ohm’s Law Video

Ohms Law Explained - The basics circuit theory

~ 10 mins

Electrical Safety

101

• Electrical safety
• Talking points:
• Ohm’s Law applied to safety
• What situation is dangerous, lethal?
• Ground, neutral, and hot
• Correlating colors ↑
• Outlet terminals
• Safety protocol for probing a circuit
• How do I avoid electrical shock?

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Video about ground, neutral, and hot wires.

Ground Neutral and Hot wires explained ~ 11 mins

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Cleaning a Battery Spill:

1. Notify a mentor of the spill

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• Protect your hands by wearing disposable gloves (latex, rubber or nitrile) and eyes with safety goggles.

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• Place battery in a non-metallic leak proof container (OR double bag the battery and tie/seal closed immediately if a container isn’t available)
• For smaller batteries transparent bags are okay
• For large batteries (eg. a car battery) double bag with large trash bags

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• Clean the spill:
• Pour sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) on all wetted areas to neutralize any exposed acid electrolyte
• After the spill has been neutralized, clean the resulting residue conventionally (rinse with water)
• If skin comes into contact with any chemicals seek medical attention immediately

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• Properly dispose of the battery

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Safety 101 Kahoot!

https://play.kahoot.it/v2/?quizId=e8a3416b-9788-4850-abfa-43ebdc7a9379

OR

https://create.kahoot.it/share/electrical-week-2-kahoot/e8a3416b-9788-4850-abfa-43ebdc7a9379

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Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

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ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 3

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Getting Started with Arduino

What is it?

• The arduino board allows you to write code and then execute that code to interact with different outputs

Parts of your Arduino Kit

• Arduino
• Breadboard
• LED
• Buttons

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• Jumper Wires
• Ultrasonic sensor
• Resistors
• USB

Arduino UNO

Downloading the Arduino Software

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

→ Open link

→ Select option that applies to your computer software

→ Just download

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Project 1:

Light up an LED

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1. Plug your Arduino into your Computer
2. Open the Arduino IDE
3. Connect longer leg of the LED to the digital pin of your Arduino
4. Connect a resistor between the shorter leg of the LED and the negative column of the bread board.
5. Connect the GND pins of the Arduino through your breadboard

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The LED

• Longer leg is called anode, which means positive.
• Shorter leg is called cathode, which means negative.
• LEDs only allow electrons to flow through it in 1 direction, so identifying these are important.

Direct Current

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• Direct current (DC) is an electric current that is unidirectional, meaning that the flow of charge is always in the same direction
• Commonly used in household electronics and most anything that uses a battery
• Some DC sources include: batteries and solar cells (panels)
• DC can be converted to AC through an inverter

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Alternating Current

• Alternating current (AC) is an electrical current that periodically reverses the direction it travels in
• Transporting AC across long distances is much easier than transporting DC
• In the US the voltage reverses itself 60 times per second (this is the frequency which is expressed in hertz)
• AC powers nearly all households and offices, our outlets are AC
• Eg. refrigerators, toasters, the TV, any chargers for your computer or phone, etc.

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

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ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 4

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Moving Deeper into what Voltage, Current, and Resistance are

• We’ve talked about how voltage acts as a pushing force for electrons, how current is the amount of electrons passing by per second, and resistance is the resisting force of a circuit, but what is it really?
• V = J/Q = Work per coulomb (work measured in joules (J), coulomb (Q) = 6.242 x 10¹⁸ electrons.
• I = Q/S = Coulombs (Q) passing by per second (S).
• R = V/I = ratio between voltage (work per coulomb) and current (coulombs passing by per second).
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use to draw examples.

Parallel and Series Circuits

• What’s the difference?
• Why use parallel as opposed to series?
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use to draw examples.

Kirchhoff’s Current Law

• States that all current amounts (measured in amps, which is electric charge per second) going into a junction (where wires meet) is exactly equal to the current amounts leaving the junction.
• Current entering a junction can be seen as having a positive value, while current leaving a junction can be seen as having a negative value.
• Analogy: A single river splitting into multiple rivers.
• The water would be split between multiple smaller rivers.
• The amount of water in each mini river depends on the width of the river (The wider the river, the more water can fit, and the thinner, less water can fit).
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use to draw examples.

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law

• States that all the voltage is “used up” from a voltage supply like a battery in a series circuit (In a loop).
• Ex: A series circuit connected to a 12v battery will “use up” all of the 12v.
• In more specific terms, the sum of the voltage drops across each resistor in a series circuit will be the same as the voltage supplied by the battery.
• Voltage in a purely parallel circuit stay the same. However, if there are resistors in series in the branches of the parallel circuit, then the voltage would be divided among those resistors.
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use to draw examples.

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How do Voltage, Current, and Resistance work in Series?

• Voltage: Voltage gets split amongst the components. Think back to V = IR. The V represents the voltage drop across the resistor you are finding values for.
• Current: It stays the same throughout the series circuit, calculate using I = V/R.
• Resistance: To get total resistance of circuit, simply add the ohms of each component. To get unknown resistance of component, use R = V/I. (V being voltage drop of resistor).
• You can also find the last missing resistance value by finding total resistance, and subtracting the known resistances to get the unknown resistance.
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use to draw examples.

How do Voltage, Current, and Resistance work in Parallel?

• Voltage: When voltage goes into a parallel circuit, each branch gets the same voltage. Now, if there are resistors in series in a branch, then the rules for voltage in series apply (it gets split).
• Current: Current gets split when going into a parallel circuit. Why? Current is the amount of electrons, and if there are multiple branches of connections, then that current has to be split among the branches. More current goes to branches with less resistance (I = V/R).
• Resistance: Calculated by 1/(1/R₁)+(1/R₂) etc…
• https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp Use this to draw examples.

To Sum it up...

• Voltage gets divided in series, whereas it stays the same in parallel.
• Current gets divided in parallel, while it stays the same in series.
• To find total resistance in series, you add, but in parallel, you take the reciprocal of the sums of the reciprocals of the resistance values (1/(1/R₁)+(1/R₂) etc…)

TinkerCad Demo

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/iW83nACPH22-series-vs-parallel/editel

Project 2:

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1. Using your knowledge of circuits and working with LEDs on your Arduino, use TinkerCad to create a series circuit that will light up 2 LEDs.
1. What might happen if one of the LEDs stops working? Will the other continue to light up by itself?
2. Now, try to create a parallel circuit that can light up more than 1 LED.
• What do you notice about the LEDs? (Their brightness compared to each other?)
• What happens if one LED stops working?
3. Which of the two types of circuits needs all of the LEDs to work? Why?

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Making Multiple LEDs Light Up

Things to Consider...

• When might someone use a series circuit as opposed to a parallel circuit, and vise versa? (give examples)

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• How are voltage, resistance and current affected by series circuits vs. parallel circuits?

Thanks for Coming!

Electrical Training:

Week 5

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

What is Capacitance?

• Capacitance is a unit used to describe the ability of a component to hold charge (like electrons).
• C = Q/V
• So, for the equation above, C is capacitance, Q is coulombs of charge (like electrons), and V is voltage, or how much work is needed per group of electrons (coulomb).
• How is capacitance determined in a component? It deals with the area of the conductive plates, and the distance between the two plates. We won’t need the equation to solve for capacitance as we won’t create a capacitor ourselves.

Capacitors

• Capacitors are like mini batteries, in that they can hold charge (like electrons), just not that much.
• Capacitors do have a trait that sets them apart from a battery, which is that it can discharge energy really fast, quicker than a battery.
• Applications include: Temporary power storage, gradual decrease of voltage, and electronic noise filtering.
• Symbols on the capacitor: There is a white stripe on some capacitors, like the one in the picture, which indicates that it needs to be connected to the negative side of the circuit.
• Voltage across a capacitor is the same amount as the voltage being supplied to it (ex 12v battery would mean 12v across the capacitor.)

Analogies

• River flowing into a lake.
• Water tower.
• Use this:https://whiteboard.fi/t9urp to draw analogies

Capacitors in Series

• Capacitors in series would actually not be the sum of the capacitance of each capacitor.
• Similarly to finding the amount of resistance of resistors in parallel, you would need to take the reciprocals of the sums of the reciprocals of the capacitance.
• So, 1/(1/C₁) + (1/C₂) etc…) for capacitors in series.
• Why? Capacitors in series basically lengthen the distance between the conductive plate of the first capacitor and the last capacitor. If the distance between the plates increase, the capacitance decreases.

Capacitors in Parallel

• The total capacitance of the capacitors in parallel is simple. You add the values.
• Why do we add? Well as said before, capacitance is determined by the area of the conductive plates, as well as the distance. More area = more capacitance, and less distance = more capacitance.
• In a parallel circuit, the distances of the conductive plates are considered the same, while the area of the conductive plates are combined, increasing capacitance. This is why we add the capacitance values together in parallel.

Demo of capacitors in TinkerCad

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/gq4lrIZeUkz-capacitor-demo/editel

Video on Capacitors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hFC9ugTGLs

Push Buttons

• What are they for?
• How do they work?

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• A simple switch mechanism used to operate/control a specific part of a machine or process

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button is pushed → allows a mechanism to function by making a temporary electrical connection

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This connection is made when the button is pushed → two pieces of metal are joined → metal completes the circuit → allows the mechanism to work

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Project 3:

Push Buttons in TinkerCad

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TinkerCad Demo:https://www.tinkercad.com/things/bXZbfzsjZZO-pushbutton-demo/editel

1. Watch short demonstration on how push buttons can be added to an LED light circuit.
1. How does the push button effect the mechanism?
2. Create an LED circuit with your kits.
3. Using what we have learned today about push buttons, play around with adding a push button to your own circuit until you reach something that works.

Push Buttons Further Applied:

How does what we learned today relate to robotics?

• When might push buttons be used for in robotics?
• What about at home?
• What are some examples of when we might use buttons on the robot?

How could push buttons be used in a series circuit?

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How could push buttons be used in a parallel circuit?

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Electrical Training:

Week 6

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

• Arduino Applied to Robotics
• Sensors: Photoresistor

• How can we relate Arduino to our competition bot?
• Arduino compared to roboRio

Similarities:

• Both control electrical components
• Both have digital pins and analog pins.
• The roboRio can take in sensor information just like the Arduino does

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Photoresistor

• What is it?
• When are they used?

• A photoresistor is a light controlled variable resistor
• This means its resistance can change/be adjusted
• The resistance of a photoresistor changes based on the amount of light it receives
• Resistance decreases with the increase of light intensity

Examples: streetlights, night lights, camera light meters, clock radios

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Photoresistor Demo

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/ldtUaTUrAu8-photoresistor-demo/editel

Project 4:

Photoresistors in TinkerCad/Arduino

1. For this project, try to incorporate a photoresistor, or two in your own circuits.
2. There should be an input (the photoresistor) and an output or two, like an LED connected to the photoresistor to demonstrate the component.

Time to play with your Arduino Kits!

• For the rest of the meet, we will be playing around with the Arduino Kits!
• Only word of caution we would give you is to not power and LED with 5v supply, its too much for it.
• Similar to last meeting, we will give some answers to your questions if you have any.

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

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ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 7

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Sensors:

Potentiometers and Ultrasonics

Potentiometers

• Like the photoresistor, the potentiometer is also a variable resistor
• Resistance can be changed/adjusted when the user turns a knob
• the farther the metal slider is from the power source, the greater the resistance

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Project 5:

Applying Potentiometers to Arduino

1. With your arduino, create a circuit that includes both an LED light and your potentiometer.
1. If you need inspiration, feel free to use the images.
2. How does adding a potentiometer change your circuit and its function?
3. Can you think of any real-life applications of a potentiometer?

Ultrasonic Sensors

• An ultrasonic sensor measures the distance of an object by emitting ultrasonic sound waves, and converting the reflected sound into an electrical signal

• Used to detect objects and measure their distance away.
• Ultrasonic (ultrasound) is often used in the medical fields as well

How it Works

• The Ultrasonic sensor only gives a signal when it receives the ultrasonic wave.
• It doesn’t actually do the measuring.
• Coding has to be used to measure the distance.
• Code is used to time how long it took between when the ultrasonic sensor emitted the wave, and when it received it.
• It takes that time, divides it in half (to get time it took to get to the target).
• D = S/T.
• D = Distance, S = speed (speed of sound which is given), T = time.

How it works cont.

• There are 4 pins: VCC,Trig,Echo, and GND.
• VCC connects to the power supply like 5v.
• GND is connected to ground.
• Trig and echo can be connected to any of the digital pins.
• Trig is used to send out an ultrasonic signal, while echo is used to let the Arduino know when the signal returns to the ultrasonic sensor.
• Ultrasonic Demo: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/2EYztgKIGSg-smashing-lappi-densor/editel?tenant=circuits

Ultrasonic Sensor

Project

• We’ll be working on it for a while in addition to other electrical projects and lessons
• Time will be given for members to work on this project each week, the length of time allotted to the project will vary depending on how everyone is feeling

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Utilizing these components, your circuit should be able to provide distance readings at just the press of a button. The reading will be given by the ultrasonic, but shown through your LED lights.

Objective: Create a breadboard/Arduino circuit that utilizes an ultrasonic sensor, push button, and multiple LED lights to carry out a function that shows what they’ve learned during their electrical training

Ultrasonic Sensor Project Time

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

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ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 8

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Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Electrical Training Projects Available in sub-team Folder

• You can find it here:Fall Training Arduino Projects - Google Docs
• Alternatively, there is a team wiki version, but only 1 project from the 5 currently available is on there.

Sensors:

PIR

Passive Infrared Sensor: measures infrared light radiating from objects in its field of view

→ used to detect motion

• Commonly used in security systems and lighting mechanisms

How it works

• When a PIR sensor detects motion, it sends an electronic signal through its signal terminal.
• An Arduino can be used to receive this signal, and can use it as information.
• Power has to be provided to the PIR sensor to work, so a voltage supply has to be connected to the power terminal, and the ground of the Arduino has to be connected to the ground terminal.

Demo of PIR sensor in TinkerCAD

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/4vyICX52NQA-pir-demo

Project 6:

Applying Motion Detectors (PIR) to Arduino and TinkerCad

1. Using past knowledge, try to make a circuit using a PIR sensor that has inputs and outputs (input needs PIR sensor)

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• Once you’re done, work on your ultrasonic project.

Ultrasonic Sensor Project Time

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

​

ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 10

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Motors:

Intro to Motors:

When motors are connected to a positive and negative of a battery, it can rotate the shaft → make things attached to it rotate.

In this the motor is indirectly connected to the battery. Whenever the user presses the button, the motor will rotate.

• Demonstration of a motor in TinkerCad.

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Demo of Motor in TinkerCAD

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/kJ137UpITiR

Project 7:

Applying Motors to TinkerCad

• make a circuit with motors as the output that also has various inputs
• Your circuit can have any input, but it will need the motor to be the output/result of those inputs.

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• Once complete, check it over with one of the presenters and start working on your Ultrasonic Sensor Project

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Voltage Regulator

• Regulates voltage (whoa big surprise)
• Simply put, the voltage regulator takes in input voltage and lowers it to the set lower voltage it was designed to give to the output.
• If the voltage is too low, it won’t work, as you can’t create more voltage from less.

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Project 8:

Using a Voltage Regulator in TinkerCad

• Watch Ryan demo the voltage regulator circuit
• Build your own circuit and try to start using the voltage regulator to alter it on your own.

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• Once complete, check it over with one of the presenters and start working on your Ultrasonic Sensor Project

Google forms

• We will be collecting anonymous information so that we can improve the team.
• Leads fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/responseDocumentationForm
• Trainees fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/roboResponseFeedbackForm
• Go over metrics sheet to address any problems: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A-r7oST2cy7iQqF-jV9WFd45hufE7SOJL2ihepYd2z0/edit?usp=sharing

Ultrasonic Sensor Project Time

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

​

ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

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Electrical Training:

Week 11

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Parts of the Robot:

• PDP
• roboRIO
• Motors
• Motor Controllers
• Sensors
• Radio
• Voltage regulator

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Power

Distribution

Panel

roboRIO

Motors

CIM motor

Motor Controllers

Talon SRX

Spark Max

Sensors

Ultrasonic

Infrared

Encoder

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Radio

Google forms

• We will be collecting anonymous information so that we can improve the team.
• Leads fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/responseDocumentationForm
• Trainees fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/roboResponseFeedbackForm
• Go over metrics sheet to address any problems: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A-r7oST2cy7iQqF-jV9WFd45hufE7SOJL2ihepYd2z0/edit?usp=sharing

Ultrasonic Sensor Project Work Time

Ultrasonic Sensor

Project

• We’ll be working on it for a while in addition to other electrical projects and lessons
• Time will be given for members to work on this project each week, the length of time allotted to the project will vary depending on how everyone is feeling

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Utilizing these components, your circuit should be able to provide distance readings at just the press of a button. The reading will be given by the ultrasonic, but shown through your LED lights.

Objective: Create a breadboard/Arduino circuit that utilizes an ultrasonic sensor, push button, and multiple LED lights to carry out a function that shows what they’ve learned during their electrical training

Fill out Status Update Document

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

​

ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

​

Electrical Training:

Week 12

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Electrical Tools

1. Multimeter
2. Amp meter
3. Voltmeter

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Multimeter → can carry out many different electrical measurement functions… eg. can measure voltage, current, and resistance (sometimes more)

Amp meter → measures amps (current)

Voltmeter → solely measures volts

Multimeter

Amp meter

Voltmeter

Most Commonly Used Electrical Tools

• Wire strippers
• Crimpers
• Soldering Iron
• Anderson Crimper
• Ferrule Crimper
• Heat Gun

Google forms

• We will be collecting anonymous information so that we can improve the team.
• Leads fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/responseDocumentationForm
• Trainees fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/roboResponseFeedbackForm
• Go over metrics sheet to address any problems: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A-r7oST2cy7iQqF-jV9WFd45hufE7SOJL2ihepYd2z0/edit?usp=sharing

Ultrasonic Project Update

• Where do you guys stand with the ultrasonic project?
• Do we need more time to complete them, or would you like to move on to the next/final project?

Final Project:

Pair up with another member, and go all out on either an Arduino creation or TinkerCad creation.

• They should be fun and out of the box, but still functional

Fill out Status Update Document

Thanks for Coming!

Team Wiki: http://wiki.team2537.com/wiki/ControlSystems/Electrical

​

ryandnguyen123@gmail.com I margaret.tyson@gmail.com I shyam.b.pillai@gmail.com

​

Electrical Training:

Week 13 + 14

Atholton Robotics 2020-2021

Google forms

• We will be collecting anonymous information so that we can improve the team.
• Leads fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/responseDocumentationForm
• Trainees fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/roboResponseFeedbackForm
• Go over metrics sheet to address any problems: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A-r7oST2cy7iQqF-jV9WFd45hufE7SOJL2ihepYd2z0/edit?usp=sharing

Fill out Status Update Document

Continue to work on your own projects :)