MN USA

[liuzengqiang]

Anyone interested in arduino projects in MN USA? I'm in central Minnesota.

[micah161]

twin cities close enough?

[liuzengqiang]

Within one hour reach. There's at least a couple more people here at the party university 

I thought if we get to know local arduino fans, we can share some local resources, like where to buy stuff, who has what equipment for rent or else.
I shop at the axeman shop at Fry with University SE almost every time I drive to the cities. They have lots of stuff you can use for projects, both mechanical and electrical.

[micah161]

I was just at axman this past weekend - got some stuff for my first arduino project.   Still haven't found a good retailer for IC's, etc.   Mail order is kind of a pain when you need an $0.89 part.

There is a Maker club in Minneapolis that has an arduino class coming up in February.

http://www.studiobricolage.org/node/290

Sounds a little pricey but if my project doesn't go well maybe I will sign up for it.

[liuzengqiang]

That's expensive if it's just intro level. I'd try watch some videos first and ask questions here. Many people will help you if you ask your questions properly, with details and such.

What's your background in electronics?

[micah161]

What's your background in electronics?

Minimal.   Just a hobbyist.  I've built a few kits but never had to design anything myself.  The forums here do seem to be a great resource.

[liuzengqiang]

You can start with the arduino's examples included in the software. Then proceed to playground to see what others have done and try their codes and circuits in tutorials. I wish there were more fans in MN so we can meet up once in a while to talk about projects and maybe troubleshoot together.

[mstadtler]

I'm a EE and live in the twin cities. I use DigiKey for parts located in Thief River Falls.

[liuzengqiang]

They charge you tax although their price is pretty competitive. If I purchase online, I also go to Ebay, sparkfun.com or dipmicro.com

LCDs are the cheapest on Ebay but shipping is slow (1-2 weeks). dipmicro is in Canada so shipping is less than a week. sparkfun is usually fastest and most expensive.

[KentaGrace]

Plus one on Axman being an amazing place for hobbyists.  I live in St. Cloud, and I was hoping to find a hackerspace somewhere closer than the cities.  Currently going to the technical college and designing my Analog Circuits project around an Arduino main controller.

[liuzengqiang]

Great! Add yourself on the arduino users google map, will you?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=106367500863692290311.00048bf511125d88d5fc7

You'll see where I'm at!