Module Box

The box for what did not fit in the sensor kit and is not a consumable: relay modules, keypads, battery holders, prototyping boards, connectors and the rest of the glue that turns a breadboard into a working device.

The contents here change more than anywhere else: things get brought in, things go off into projects. So the list above is about types rather than particular boards.

About the relay modules in particular

The relays in this box are the most common reason someone connects something to 230 V for the first time in their life. So, briefly and plainly:

• The low-voltage side of the module (control from a microcontroller) and the high-voltage side (the relay contacts) are separated, but the separation ends where you started soldering wires.
• Mains wires on the module go under the screw terminals, insulated, with no strands sticking out. A bare relay contact at 230 V on a bench is not a prototype, it is an injury.
• A module switching mains must not lie bare on the bench. An enclosure is required, even a temporary one.
• Check what current the contacts are rated for. The 10 A printed on a relay is for a resistive load, not for a motor and not for an incandescent lamp.

If you are about to switch mains and it is your first time, tell us before, not after.

How to use

1. Take a module together with its bag if it is in one: the bag usually holds the headers and the hardware.
2. Look for the chip marking on the board — that finds you the schematic, the pinout and the library.
3. Built it, tested it, taken it apart — put the module back in the box and in the same bag.
4. If a module is blown or does not work, do not put it back among the live ones. Set it aside and tell us.

Passive parts, jumpers and consumables are in the component boxes. Sensors for first experiments are in the 37-module kit. Screens are in the display container.

Access

The container is in the hackspace room, so a plan that includes hackspace access is required. No induction is needed.