NEWSROOM

Unleash your stories: James Barclay

James Barclay. Is a fourth-year physics student and self-taught electronics whizz who is the most frequent user of the Maker Space, and is working on as many DIY projects as his schedule permits.

James’ story

James’ creative momentum comes from reading about DIY projects on an online forum. He does not hesitate to purchase off-the-shelf parts with his own funds and enjoys finding ways to modify those parts and turn them into into novel contraptions. One of his recent achievements was augmenting a Hitachi oscilloscope, designing an external circuit so that he could read the data in a specific file format which could be plugged into and downloaded to a computer. Additionally, James is proficient in using KiCAD, a software tool that assists him in designing  and understanding PCBs (printed circuit boards). 

His current project is to create a remote-controlled, colour-changing light that can switch between red, green and blue colours. The device is a chip-on-board (COB) type of light emitted diodes (LEDs), which means most of the control circuits are already embedded on the PCB. Humorously, James calls it a “RGB LED COB PCB”. James has been working on this latest innovation since April 2019  and promises that it will be completed soon. A natural tinkerer, James is not shy to test courageous ideas, such as using candle wax and aluminium components to insulate 200,000 volts of cascaded diodes in order to charge a giant capacitor. 

James thoroughly enjoys time spent in Unleash Space and says he appreciates the encouragement. He is often approached by both staff and students for his expertise and assistance. He states that the next step is to build marketable products, and is busy conjuring up ideas with good potential.