Ivan’s Final Project
Well , after 6 Weeks at Bluestamp Engineering, I finally finished my project. My Solar Charger is made up of 4 Solar Panels, 2 Perfboards, a Battery, multiple wires, and a USB Port. All the hard work was worth it. Well, I just want to say that I have learned so much from Bluestamp. Before this program, I thought that building circuits was impossible for someone my age that knew nothing about circuits, nothing about soldering, and nothing about electricity flow. This program has also helped me develop problem solving skills. For example, whenever we needed help, instead of just giving us the answer, they helped us find it. Because of that, I’ve learned that I can do what a lot of tasks that most people would consider “Challenging” on my own.
So in the future I plan to make a solar charger that is the length and width of just one solar panel and I would use a smaller battery, with no assistance whatsoever. In the meantime, please check out my video!
Progress On Solar Charger
After a few weeks at Bluestamp, I have a circuit that can charge my phone with only the sun. I’ve used a temporary breadboard to connect the circuit because the breadboard has built in Rails. But I plan on transferring it to a perfboard because they are smaller and more convenient.
Unfortunately, The Sun was not providing enough current during the video, so I could not demonstrate the Solar Charger charging my phone.
Ivan’s Solar Speeder
My Starter Project was the Solar Speeder. A small toy car that is powered by solar power. Basically, The Solar Panels charge the capacitors, and the transistors make sure that the capacitors are fully charged before they release the energy to the motor, which makes the motor run. The Diode makes sure the car runs on the entire energy of the Capacitor.
First Two Weeks At Bluestamp
Well my first two weeks at Bluestamp have been just plain awesome. I have learned so much in so little time. And most of it has been on my own. At first, I was working on a solar powered toy car for my starter project, after a week of effort I found that the motor was defective. But I wasn’t discouraged; I got started on my intensive project immediately: A Solar Powered USB charger. My Plan is to charge a battery with solar power and when a handheld device is plugged in via USB port it would charge. Well, I was successful in charging my phone with solar power, That was a huge milestone! But I really appreciate the instructors. Dave, Robin, Rachel, and Allen have been nothing but helpful. Rachel with technical and electrical issues, Allen with software issues, and Dave and Robin have been making sure that everyone here is on top of their project. Both Dave and Robin have given me great health advice that I plan to follow for a while. I was very inspired when Robin invited Allison, The CEO of Rebellion Photonics to speak to us. She was 27 years-old, and the CEO of a company because she had vision and never gave up. One day, I aspire to have my unique devices patented.