January 24 - 27, 2012

Midterm Examinations are being conducted throughout this academic school week (Tuesday through Friday.) All construction and work has been temporarily halted until their completion. STEMM Report (which will be graded as our Midterm Examination has been uploaded to the blog in correspondence with the rubric requirements.)

January 23, 2012

Due to the availability of parts, a crucial change had to be made to the USB port on the Left Face of the controller box because the right angle substitute would not be in stock, despite Amazon's claims. Instead, the Arduino Microcontroller will be oriented closer to the left wall and utilizing the existing ports on the board, as opposed to creating new ones as originally planned.

January 17 - 20, 2012

Formal Progress Update Presentations are being conducted in the Tech Studio for instructor and peer evaluation.

January 13, 2012

Submitted Formal Progress Update Presentation Outline for grading and started laying out the orientation for the hinges to be installed on the top face and the back plate for future construction work.

January 12, 2012

Pictures of the current construction were taken and uploaded to the blog in preparation for the Formal Progress Updates being conducted on January 17 - 20, 2012

January 11, 2012

Tests all leads with the volt meter for continuity. Tested the equipment in the lab for live video feedback and to test the circuit connection. Untangled the wires and reworked some of the wire configuration to be more compact and efficient as far as space is concerned.

January 10, 2012

Soldered Leads onto the Back Panel pieces including: Yellow and White Composite connectors as well as the "Type J" Power connector for the on board power. Lastly, these connections were placed in a wood clamp and epoxied for a professional connection to be worked with in the lab tomorrow, January 11, 2012.

January 9, 2012

The group looked over the new challenge issued by Marine Advanced Technology Education committee and considered its adaptability to our current structure and configuration. After much discussion, we were enlightened that it was possible, but due to it's change, it would take a long amount of time and lots of additional paper work to ensure the same cohesiveness between the two different projects.

January 6, 2012

Used dremel to sand out some tight points on the acrylic. The Drill  bits used during the construction phase were rounded down from the caliper size so they wouldn't be too big. Professionally, the holes on the side of the unit were sanded down using a dremel bit to more accurately fit the areas with components being inserted into them.

January 5, 2012

I cut down some of the hardware in order to fit better in the project enclosure with a dremel. This included delicate cuts around the 12V to USB Socket and the  tightening ring for the rocker switch. This was conducted successfully. The circuit still works without any flaw and is more compressed to a necessary state.

January 4, 2012

The circuit was rebuilt on the acrylic sheet and tested. The circuit works in its entirety without any flaws. The intermediate stages were conducted successfully. All wires and connections were tested with an ammeter and volt meter to ensure there was no unnecessary drop or loss due to poor connections. Everything is coming alone very smoothly and continuing as according to plan.

January 3, 2012

I conducted some soldering work and attached wires to my rocker switch and my fuse. In addition, I placed heat shrink tubing on all the connections to ensure professionalism was maintained throughout the project and that all connections were isolated.

January 2, 2012

Checked the joints on the existing hardware I already placed together. Made conclusions as to the adhesive I was using and for it's continuation throughout the project.

Uploaded Mentor Contact #1 for Marking Period #2 for Mentor, Peer evaluation before the due date by the end of the month.

December 23, 2011 - January 1, 2012

Winter Recess, Systems Engineering Labs Closed. Work will be continued on Sunday, January 2, 2012 with continuation of classes.

December 22, 2011

Tinned all soldering joints on the top plate of the controller box including the Fuse, USB Indicator Light, switches, and buttons.

December 21, 2011

Refreshed Soldering Skills on a few practice connections that will not be included in my overall circuit box to ensure cohesive and clean connections (in attempt to not have cold solder joints which are brittle.) These connections turned out alright and I tinned all of my components on the top layer in preparation for wires in the future.

December 20, 2011

Used Epoxy to mount the hardware into the acrylic pieces and allowed them to sit in a wood-block vice to ensure drying was done correctly and in the desired orientation.

In addition, the Front face and Right Face (containing no holes) were epoxied together at right angles using a Pony (Trademark) Right Angle Clamp. I also used Adhesive to ensure the connection was solid and mounded perpendicular to the work surface to take the benefit of gravity in the situation. Pictures were taken of each of these phases.

December 19, 2011

Drilled out holes using a dremel to ensure secure snug fit on the back plate, side plate, and top surface. Tested out the positioning of the pieces inside of the drilled out areas and took pictures for documentation.

December 15, 2011

Updated the plan of procedure, which is located on a Page in the top dock, to come in accurately on all devices and ensure cohesiveness between computers and networks.

Uploaded Press Release, which is available for immediate release, has been added to a New Page on the top dock of the website available for members to see.

December 14, 2011

Contacted my mentor Wynston Chew via Skype Call.

     - We discussed construction methods and tips as far as craftsmanship. I also updated him as far as to any updates in the plan of procedure, and sent him the templates to ensure accuracy.
     - In addition, due to where he lives, He got the opportunity to view the facilities offered here through video chat and it was a very convenient feature made easier through technological advances.