[RubberChipmunk]

As part of the plan to turn the Electronics forum into an actual place of discussion, I had the idea to start circuit design contests as a monthly occurrence. After obtaining my modship here, I had to put this on the back-burner for a couple of reasons. The first is time, which I don't always have a lot of. The second is that, really, how do you start a circuit design contest for a guitar forum?

After putting in a considerable amount of thought, I'm pretty sure I've come up with a working solution, at least for the first. And here it is.

CGR Electronic Design Contest #1
THE CHALLENGE:
Create something, based on electronics, that could be useful to a musician. I thought it would be good for a Christian Guitar Forum electronics contest to at least be about musical applications, at least for the first one.

THE RULES:
-First, no copying. This is a pretty lax requirement. Every electronic device in existance today is mostly based on standard, simple circuits put together in some way that they affect each other. You may use as many simple or complex circuits as you wish to create your own invention, however you may not make, for example, an MXR Micro Amp Clone and pass it off as your own creation, unless you take steps to improve the Micro Amp design's functionality.

-Second, you MAY modify existing devices. This is called modding or circuit bending. For the first contest, mods are acceptable. However, be aware that modifications that don't add additional functionality tend to not be as useful as original creations.

-All entries must be accompanied by a schematic diagram. No exceptions. There are plenty of free(ish) schematic programs available such as PSpice or ExpressSCH. Google them, learn them, make use of them. You can also hand-draw and scan them. The schematics must be either images or .pdf files. They should be accurate and legible enough that any member of these forums could build your device, provided they know how to read a schematic. You may use either American or European conventions, your choice.

-All entries must also be accompanied by written description of its purpose and operation and as many photographs as are necessary to show it in action. Creating a video showing its operation and providing a spoken description is also accepted as an alternative to writing and taking pictures, or you can still write out the description and provide the video instead of pictures.

-If you use a microcontroller, you must also provide your source code.

DUE DATE
This contest is due before midnight of the first Saturday after the first Monday in January. For those who don't know how to use your Calendar program, that is 11:59 PM on January 9th, 2010. Why so far off? This is the first contest, and we're about to experience Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas right after one another.

PICKING THE WINNER
All entries received will be voted upon by the users of CGR. The winner is the one that receives the most votes. Each user participating in the vote is encouraged to personally build and test each device, though this is certainly not expected or required. The top three designs get permanently preserved in a contest winners thread, which will provide quick reference for any CGR member that might want to build one of these themselves. If you are not a winner, hold on to your design. You may be able to re-enter it next time.



I believe that covers everything. This is a new thing that will, naturally, get streamlined and figured out over time. Until then, good luck.

[RubberChipmunk]

So, how are everyone's projects coming along?

[RubberChipmunk]

The deadline is coming soon!

I, for one, have been so busy with my constant moving and with the holidays that I have been unable to work on any project at all.

How many members have decided to enter? How many members have started their projects? How many members have finished their projects? How many members feel they may need more than ten days to finish?

If you were ever interested in this competition, your reply to these questions would prove most beneficial; I, for one, would appreciate an extension on the deadline, but being that I am the organizer, it would be in poor taste to grant an extension if I am the sole beneficiary. Thus, if the consensus is made among the entrants that an extension on the deadline to entry would improve the quality of this first-run of the electronic design contest, then such a resolution shall be made reality. However, lacking a need, those out-of-luck this time around will have plenty of time to refine their entries for the next bout.

[RubberChipmunk]

Alright, there have been no replies. At all. I assume everyone is good. Your contest entries are due on the ninth.

[RubberChipmunk]

And there have been... zero entries.




Awesome.

[Plexi8759]

Is this something that might still happen? I've got a simple design that I could post.