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Announcing the OFFICIAL Gadget Gangster Designer Contest — Parallax Forums

Announcing the OFFICIAL Gadget Gangster Designer Contest

Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
edited 2009-01-30 18:38 in General Discussion
We've put together a little contest to encourage designers to share their projects, we're offering $1,000 in prizes (and 1 Gadget Gangster T-shirt, which is practically priceless). The contest is simple - Post a cool project! There's more info on our site.

In other news, I've created a reference design for Propellers on the Full Board. Photos n' all. Feel free to use this as the base for any prop project. You can download it here (1.5MB odt) (pdf). Also, a few new projects; I put up a propeller based Music Visualizer (I just converted the open source Pixelmusic project). Another designer put up a parallel port LCD.

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Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!

Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 1/30/2009 6:40:24 PM GMT

Comments

  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2008-12-02 03:59
    Time is one of your judging factors. Is there a specific date when the timeliness factor starts to hurt the designer, or does it slowly degrade from the start of the contest to the end date in January?

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    PG
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2008-12-02 04:41
    The time scoring factor is probably -arctan(t), in which case, you have a couple of hours to get it onsite... Might be too late now that you've posted the rules, but what about a timeliness bonus instead of a factor? It doesn't really change anything, but it sure feels more motivational to do it that way. With a bonus aspect, I feel more inclined to try to get it done early (it being speculative) but, not enough to sacrifice testing and design just to get it done. On the other hand, with time being a detriment, I feel as if every day makes my 'it' more futile, and I might as well give up now.

    I know it's just the parallax of different conceptions, but it feels more in the Christmas spirit to give than to take...

    Ha! I used the definition of parallax! Score...
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2008-12-02 17:58
    It's linear. It's only a small % of the total score, so I hope it's not too discouraging. But I want to encourage you to not put it off.

    Of course, you can see what's already been submitted and judge for yourself - there are only 2 projects entered right now, so it seems like you'll have a good chance of winning!

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2008-12-03 03:38
    2 projects with 2 months 2 go until deadline. Not so good anymore, is it? Besides, the project I'm working on now has been a pain in my rear. You can find it in the bottom link, but I'm thinking about starting a new string dedicated to the project instead so people aren't confused·by the title and the first 1/2 which is different. Right now, though, I've just been trying to produce accurate results on the rpm. Everytime I try to make it more accurate, it just seems to get worse. Tomorrow, though, I plan to get some extra help from the pros and see if I can get something more productive done.

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=762886

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    PG
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2008-12-03 17:27
    Your project looks pretty cool! It can be a pretty tough development cycle - I have a few projects where I feel very close to having it, but I get stuck on a certain part. Those stumbling blocks have taught me a lot, though. Personally, I work on a few projects at the same time and switch when I get stuck. Another thought - there are dozens of open source projects & libraries that can give you a headstart. That's what I did with my music visualizer.

    I don't have any forecast on submitted projects. There might be a ton of entries or just a few - but the only way to compete is to submit a project!

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2008-12-05 01:19
    Good News!

    The "Designers Contest" honorable mention prize of a Gadget Gangster T-shirt has now been upgraded to a Gadget Gangster HOODIE. BOOM!

    If you had been holding off because you live in an icy tundra or the artic circle... you probably should still wait, because this hoodie won't be enough. BUT, if you live in just a 'chilly' area, the sweet warmth of a 100% cotton, double stitched hoodie is just a project away!

    Also, if you're considering entering, you should sign up and get a set of project boards. We send them out, free, when you sign up. You'll need these boards to design your project on & they'll be helpful in building your howto. You can sign up here.

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2008-12-09 04:59
    I just got hoodies and ringers in the mail. I only got a few hoodies, the ringers I'll give away at Maker Faire in May. Anyway - here's a picture I just took;
    shirt.jpg

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2008-12-09 06:17
    Oh! I'm going, I'm going... I spent the day soldering, but found that I had installed the voltage regulators backwards. Maybe can fix it tomorrow, but I have finals and an essay due...
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-12-09 16:47
    Nick...ringer?

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Engineering
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2008-12-09 17:13
    I know you've seen it, but you probably didn't know the name. The ringer came out a bit better because it's white instead of gray. But I didn't want to get white hoodies - they always get dirty. Here's a picture;
    ringer.jpg

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-02 00:36
    Just a month left & 4 submissions so far;

    Cylon Lights from hittconsulting

    LCD Computer Display from Turd

    Remote Control Tester from Brian218

    Fuel Injector Pulse Width Tester from HBSkirmit

    Remember, the contest ends on Jan 31st, so get your project in soon!

    Also, I just sent out the latest issue of The Designers Notebook newsletter. You can also grab it online here.

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-14 19:14
    Only 2 weeks left!

    Two more submissions:

    The NoiseAxe from grandtippler.

    Digital Logic Probe from HBSkirmit.

    Still no Propeller projects, but there's still time to enter! Just sign up as a Designer and I'll mail you a pack of boards to do your design on.

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!

    Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 1/14/2009 9:07:48 PM GMT
  • mparkmpark Posts: 1,306
    edited 2009-01-15 12:15
    I'm thinking about a Prop-based submission. So I would order the Propeller Development Kit from you and build a board?
    I would also need one of the LCDs in your inventory. I would buy one of those from you too? And other components?

    Then, putting the thing together, I would take photos along the way? Or do you take the photos when you build it yourself? Who makes the .pdf?
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2009-01-15 16:11
    You only really need the boards to build the project on in order to be able to submit a project, but if you don't already have the other items needed to build the setup then you can order multiple packs. You are responsible for choosing how to create the instructions, and it's your duty to write them.
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-15 20:46
    Yeah - you don't need to order a development kit. I do offer a few packs of components, but if you just need a few components, once you register and login, click 'submit your project'. There will be the list of inventory we carry and a link 'source'. You can just click on that link and get the components straight from the distributor. Also when you register, I'll send you a pack of boards.

    You can do your howto any way you like. Most people grab a word or openoffice template (you can grab it when you login) and take photos. They usually submit the word doc with their project & we convert it into a PDF. We don't do photos for the howto guide, but we'll sometimes do a few promotional photos (like the thumbnail for the remote control tester) and videos.

    Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. I've attached a screenshot, too.

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!

    Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 1/15/2009 8:53:14 PM GMT
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  • DgswanerDgswaner Posts: 795
    edited 2009-01-20 15:39
    Nick, have you considered using pre-made PCB's? I'm all for doing kits, but point to point wiring on pref boards can get old fast and leaves room for error. typically if I order a kit from some where it's because I want/need what it does, and I'm not getting it for the fun of building it.

    just a thought,

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    DGSwaner
    "When in doubt, use C4" - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-21 16:53
    Well, it isn't quite as bad as point-to-point wiring, but I know what you mean. Although, with overlays, it's almost as straightforward as a custom PCB. take Brian's Remote Control Tester as an example.

    We considered custom PCBs, wire wrap, and a bunch of other ideas. Every method requires compromise, but we went this way to support the widest range of projects. We also didn't want to be gatekeepers, deciding what projects we'll build PCBs for and which not to support.

    Not that we're content - we have a few ideas how to make it easier. Any other suggestions?

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-30 18:38
    2 Days Left! Be sure to submit your project by end of day, tomorrow.

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
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