There are plenty of SparkFun Simons wandering around out there in the wild. A lot of the owners of those Simons are aware that it is possible to modify them but could use some inspiration.

Come to the Simon-Sketch class to learn how to turn your Simon into a drawing tool on your computer. Add a breadboard, a few dials, an FTDI connecting your Simon to Processing on your computer and you’re ready to go. With the knowledge of how to connect your your Simon (or Arduino) to a computer interface the possibilities, which were huge to begin with, gain a whole new horizon. This class is intended for people with at least a little experience with Arduino programming, but little or no experience with Processing. So bring your Simon in and we’ll show you how to get started!

Class will start with a discussion on voltage dividers and how to use them to attach sensors to your Simon. Then we will explore how to pass information from the Simon through an FTDI board to the computer using Arduino and Processing. Last, we will write some basic Processing code. If you already have some experience with Processing we will help you explore more advanced concepts like function and class creation.

Prerequisites: You must bring a functioning Simon. If you've taken one of our soldering classes, chances are that you have one that you made yourself. If not, you can buy a kit and build it ahead of time. Simon kits are available in both PTH and SMD styles (And they're a lot of fun to put together). Also, you should have at least a little experience with Arduino programming.

**What to bring: **A laptop, your Simon and maybe a bite to eat. We will not have enough Simons to equip people who do not bring Simons.

Please download Processing and install it on your laptop. Processing download instructions can be found here.

If you do not have a laptop SparkFun has 15 laptops that will be offered on a first come, first serve basis. To reserve a laptop email education@sparkfun.com and we will let you know if there are any still available. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAPTOP YOU MUST CHECK TO SEE IF WE HAVE LAPTOPS STILL AVAILABLE FOR RESERVATION.

Date: October 11th, 2011

Time: 6PM to 10PM

Location:SparkFun

Instructors: Linz, Jeff, Dave, Rob, Jordan, Bobby