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Registration

If all you came here for is the registration form, please see | Arduino Miniconf 2014 Registration Form

Email list

To stay in contact between conferences, the following Google Group email list has been set up. This will be good for technical support, letting each other know what we've done with our projects and preparation for the next Arduino Mini-Conference, LCA2014 in Perth.

Arduino Miniconf 2014

What

The Arduino Miniconf is a 1-day event that runs in conjunction with the linux.conf.au conference. It gives participants an opportunity to learn basic hardware skills such as soldering, by assembling their own Arduino-compatible project, and then the afternoon is filled with interesting talks about various projects and techniques related to Arduino and open hardware in general. To give you some idea what to expect, this is the hardware assembly session at the 2011 Arduino Miniconf:

(Photo by Andrew McMillan, CC2.0)

After the assembly session is over the room is cleaned up a bit and the talks begin. It's a fun and educational event!

When

Tuesday, January 7th, 2013, promptly after the LCA opening ceremony and morning tea. Please don't be late!

Where

Perth, as part of linux.conf.au. Note that to attend you must first register for the main conference, which provides the venue. The Arduino Miniconf is part of LCA as a specialist stream for conference attendees: it's not a stand-alone event. See http://linux.conf.au/schedule/30084/view_talk?day=tuesday for more information.

Registration And Cost

Attendance is free (to linux.conf.au delegates) but if you wish to participate in the morning hardware assembly tutorial you will need to pre-register and purchase a kit for $110. Space is limited so get in fast! If you just want to come along and watch or attend the talks, you don't need to do anything. If you wish to participate in the hardware assembly tutorial, please submit the registration form:

| Arduino Miniconf 2014 Registration Form

Schedule

• 10:40 - 11:25 ArduPhone workshop 1 (assembly)
• 11:25 - 11:35 Break
• 11:35 - 12:20 ArduPhone workshop 2 (assembly)
• 12:20 - 1:20 Lunch
• 1:20 - 1:45 Talk 1: ArduPhone electronics - Jonathan Oxer
• 1:45 - 2:10 Talk 2: ArduPhone software - ?
• 2:10 - 2:20 Break
• 2:20 - 2:40 Talk 3: TBA - TBA
• 2:40 - 3:00 Talk 4: TBA - TBA
• 3:00 - 3:40 Afternoon Tea
• 3:40 - 4:00 Talk 5: TBA - TBA
• 4:00 - 4:20 Talk 6: TBA - TBA
• 4:20 - 4:30 Break
• 4:30 - 4:50 Talk 7: TBA - TBA
• 4:50 - 5:20 Lightning Talks (and project showcase)
• 5:20 Close

Hardware Assembly Project: ArduPhone

The hardware assembly project this year is designed to be easy for beginners to put together, even if they haven't soldered before, while still resulting in an amazingly cool end result. The ArduPhone design uses mostly surface mount parts which are all pre-fitted, leaving a small number of through-hole parts for you to solder on. You'll need to fit some connectors, solder in some buttons, and clip on some modules that contain most of the functionality pre-assembled and tested, so even if you're a total beginner to hardware hacking you'll end up with a working ArduPhone by the end of the miniconf.

An early prototype and unfitted parts:

Prototype with screen, GSM module, buttons, and antenna fitted:

Features:

• Arduino-compatible: run your own firmware, have 100% control of the phone
• ATmega1284P MCU running at 3.3V, 8MHz. Custom board profile provided for Arduino IDE
• Onboard smart LiPo charger
• Charges from USB (variable charge rate to suit different batteries)
• 128x128 OLED display
• ADH8066 GSM module (quad band)
• Microphone and speaker connections for voice calls
• Send and receive SMSs, and load web pages via 3G
• Arduino headers so you can add more I/O: build it into your own project!
• PCB can be cut in half to remove keypad

Note: SIM card NOT provided! You can get a pre-paid SIM for the ArduPhone before the conference, or temporarily install your own SIM for testing.

The complete ArduPhone kit will be $110, which includes everything required: main PCB, OLED display module, GSM module, antenna, even a USB cable.

Previous Arduino Miniconfs

For historical reference:

• Arduino Miniconf 2013 (Canberra, AU)
• Arduino Miniconf 2012 (Ballarat, AU)
• Arduino Miniconf 2011 (Brisbane, AU)
• Arduino Miniconf 2010 (Wellington, NZ)