I did it! I can solder and make computers!
Today, I soldered for several hours and made my first working computer prototyping board. Its called a Boarduino and is a clone of the popular Arduino. I’m going to use the Arduino platform to prototype an art installation I’m doing for Burning Man 2009.
I’m a geek and an artist. I went to Georgia Tech and almost got a bachelors in electrical engineering but towards the end switched to computer science. So now, I get to build on all that knowledge and my work experience to make art.
Soldering isn’t easy for me. I tend to burn or overheat the components. They’ve got a few burn marks on them. I bought extras just…in…case. I tested the board half way through and it seemed to be working. Then at the end, I wrote and run the equivalent of “Hello World” on the board. Hello World is usually the first program taught to students and run on new computers. I had to do it. And on this computer, it makes a red LED flash.
So I’m off and running on the prototype and look forward to sharing my progress after I file my provisional patent on the art installation. I believe it is great!
Tags: Art, Burning Man, Computers
