Getting Parts for Your Project

Student groups have a budget of $50 per student as of fall 2023. This money can be accessed through your TAs CFOP number. The ways parts can be sources are listed below in order of desirability.

1. Lab Kit

Each group is issued a locker and lab kit. A lab kit should include banana plugs and a breadboard.

2. ECEB 2070 Lab

There are many parts available for free in the ECEB 2070 lab such as THT passive components, MOSFETs, and line operated DC power supplies.

3. ECE 445 Inventory

Your TA can check out parts ECE 445 stores in white cabinets at the back of the lab: link. This inventory spreadsheet has not been updated in some time. There are items on this list that may not be in the cabinets and there are items in the cabinets that may not be on this list. Use this form for checkout: link

4. Electronics Services Shop (A.K.A. ECE Services Shop)

The Electronics Services Shop is located on the first floor of ECEB near the cargo elevator in ECEB 1041. They have a large stock of THT ICs (such as op-amps), potentiometers, motors, resistors, connectors, etc. Visit them when they are open to pick up parts.

Self-Service Inventory

Recently, they have started stocking 0805 surface mount passive components, crystal oscillators, microcontrollers, and linear regulators. The microcontroller portion of your board can probably be built entirely with parts from the Electronics Services Shop. You do not need to pay for parts you obtain from the Electronics Services Shop.

SMD Component Inventory

To obtain parts from the e-shop, please contact your TA with a list. Your TA must email the e-shop and they will collect the parts. Your TA will get an email when the parts are ready. Your TA must pick up the parts from the e-shop . The e-shop will not release the parts to you.

SMD Parts Request Form

5. ECE Supply Center (A.K.A. ECE Store)

The ECE Supply Center is located on the first floor of ECEB in room 1031 near the loading dock. You must pay for parts out of pocket or with your TA's CFOP number. They stock breadboards, project boxes, jumper wires, THT LSI logic ICs, THT analog ICs, and more. This is a fantastic resource for building prototypes. You can search their catalog here: https://my.ece.illinois.edu/storeroom/catalog.asp.

6. Free Samples from Companies

It should be mentioned that companies many times are willing to provide small quantities of their products to students engaged in design projects. You might consider approaching the manufacturer directly, particularly regarding their newer products which they are interested in promoting. Don't count on success with this, but it has often been very useful.

7. MY.ECE Ordering (last resort)

You can order parts from amazon, digikey, mouser, etc. using the money provided to you by the course with your TA's CFOP number. Orders placed through this avenue must be approved by your TA through myECE. If you order multiple parts through digikey or mouser, please provide a shopping cart link. This method of ordering is best for parts that cannot be found in any of the sources listed above. This includes SMD MOSFETs, high performance ADCs/DACs, power converter ICs, SMD op amps, modem ICs, etc. Please refer to this tutorial for more instructions: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/lab/resources/ece_purchasing_app_tutorial.pdf

Personal Purchases

It is always possible and encouraged to purchase your own parts from a local store (Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc.) or order them from online vendors. Personal purchases will not be reimbursed by the department.

Featured Project

Idea:

To build a GPS-assisted, cloud-controlled quadcopter, for consumer-friendly aerial photography.

Design/Build:

We will be building a quad from the frame up. The four motors will each have electronic speed controllers,to balance and handle control inputs received from an 8-bit microcontroller(AP),required for its flight. The firmware will be tweaked slightly to allow flight modes that our project specifically requires. A companion computer such as the Erle Brain will be connected to the AP and to the cloud(EC2). We will build a codebase for the flight controller to navigate the quad. This would involve sending messages as per the MAVLink spec for sUAS between the companion computer and the AP to poll sensor data , voltage information , etc. The companion computer will also talk to the cloud via a UDP port to receive requests and process them via our code. Users make requests for media capture via a phone app that talks to the cloud via an internet connection.

Why is it worth doing:

There is currently no consumer-friendly solution that provides or lets anyone capture aerial photographs of them/their family/a nearby event via a simple tap on a phone. In fact, present day off-the-shelf alternatives offer relatively expensive solutions that require owning and carrying bulky equipment such as the quads/remotes. Our idea allows for safe and responsible use of drones as our proposed solution is autonomous, has several safety features, is context aware(terrain information , no fly zones , NOTAMs , etc.) and integrates with the federal airspace seamlessly.

End Product:

Quads that are ready for the connected world and are capable to fly autonomously, from the user standpoint, and can perform maneuvers safely with a very simplistic UI for the common user. Specifically, quads which are deployed on user's demand, without the hassle of ownership.