Hi AAC,
I'm doing a two year electronics degree and doubt I can go on to engineering school so I want the best AAS I can get. That means doing honors projects. So I'm curious what you think of my project ideas and/or if you have other interesting ideas.

Electronic Circuits 2: 24 character alphanumeric marquee /w custom font. I'll make a custom power supply and PCB, there will be a little math for getting the circuits sized right, just wish it was a bit more 'circuits 2' oriented. If I pull it off, it'll look awesome and my art friends will think I'm cool, but I think it's more a fabrication challenge than Circuits 2 challenge.

Electronic Devices: variable Darlington power supply. Custom schematic and PCB with power supply load calculations from class. This will force me to understand Zener voltage references once and for all.

Intro Microprocessors: Arduino fish tank controller?
After several ideas, the fish tank controller incorporates wifi stuff, robotics, and pretty things. However, not only has world+dog already built one of these, there is already an off the shelf Arduino solution!
https://www.cooking-hacks.com/docum...arium-aquaponics-fish-tank-monitoring-arduino
So I guess I can buy their sensors then do the hardware/coding myself, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot reinventing the wheel, just doesn't feel too original.

Interested in what you think. Also, I'll need you to send code, specs, schematics and build journal please. (Just kidding)

 

Hi AAC,
I'm doing a two year electronics degree and doubt I can go on to engineering school so I want the best AAS I can get. That means doing honors projects. So I'm curious what you think of my project ideas and/or if you have other interesting ideas.

Electronic Circuits 2: 24 character alphanumeric marquee /w custom font. I'll make a custom power supply and PCB, there will be a little math for getting the circuits sized right, just wish it was a bit more 'circuits 2' oriented. If I pull it off, it'll look awesome and my art friends will think I'm cool, but I think it's more a fabrication challenge than Circuits 2 challenge.

Electronic Devices: variable Darlington power supply. Custom schematic and PCB with power supply load calculations from class. This will force me to understand Zener voltage references once and for all.

Intro Microprocessors: Arduino fish tank controller?
After several ideas, the fish tank controller incorporates wifi stuff, robotics, and pretty things. However, not only has world+dog already built one of these, there is already an off the shelf Arduino solution!
https://www.cooking-hacks.com/docum...arium-aquaponics-fish-tank-monitoring-arduino
So I guess I can buy their sensors then do the hardware/coding myself, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot reinventing the wheel, just doesn't feel too original.

Interested in what you think. Also, I'll need you to send code, specs, schematics and build journal please. (Just kidding)

Projects look nice but competitions really show where you stand against your peers. Too bad you didn't start sooner but, in the US, most college IEEE robotic competitions are in early April. Building a device that senses its surroundings and completes a task (or competes with another autonomous bot) will really make you understand how electronics work, experience with time lines, budgets, presentation and documentation.

This final project may dictate who is interested in your story and what kind of job you ultimately get. If you go for a display / artistic project, then you may end up at a sign-making company. If you want some instrumentation and controls position, I suggest a robotics project with sensors, PID control logic and motors to get the job done. Most importantly, pick something you are interested in. Pick something that you have the skills and tools to complete. Pick something you will actually complete. After you have one under your belt, do another one and another until you get a job. I know school only needs one. But what company wants to hear that you haven't done a project since you graduated and you've been working at a non-EE job since graduation.

Sit down and make a list of things you would like to honestly say about your skills and experiences at an interview. Then make those experiences happen while you have free time between interviews.

 

I would add that if you want a job where you are developing or designing things, then pick a project that demonstrates that you had to develop or design something as opposed to just gluing some off-the-shelf items together or building some project from some schematic you found on the internet.