Getting Parts for Your Project :: ECE 445 - Senior Design Laboratory

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. Group Lockers

Each group is issued a locker for storing project materials. The course does not provide lab kits. If your team needs a breadboard or other parts, talk to your TA and use the resources below.

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.

E-shop website

To obtain SMD parts from the E-Shop, download and complete the Fall 2026 ECE 445 Order Form below, then email it to your TA. Your TA will submit the order, pick it up when it is ready, and bring the parts to your group in the lab. Your TA must pick up submitted orders; the E-Shop will not release them directly to students.

Fall 2026 ECE 445 Order 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.

Champaign MTD Bus Tracker Map

Ziad AlDohaim, Daniel Vlassov, Amber Wilt

Featured Project

# Champaign MTD Bus Tracker Map

# Team Members:

- Amber Wilt (anwilt2)

- Daniel Vlassov (dvlas2)

- Ziad Aldohaim (ziada2)

# Problem

Champaign has a very large and complex bus system through the MTD. It can be hard for students to know when the buses are coming when they are in buildings such as the ECEB, since the bus times are only displayed at the stops. Furthermore, these buses can be late or early, causing students to miss their bus or not arrive at their destination on time.

# Solution

To fix this, we will come up with the design for a large display that shows real-time locations of all buses (color-coded using RGB) in the surrounding campus area. This can be used by students in buildings to easily visualize where the bus they want to take is currently located, making it easier for students to time when to leave classrooms and when to expect their ride. The display will update the locations approximately every 30 seconds and will light up every LED along a bus route every few minutes to make it easier for students to visualize which bus route they need to take. Furthermore, the system will include various light settings (theme/brightness).

# Solution Components

This system will mainly include the subsystems of the LED matrix, the controller, and the power supply.

## Subsystem 1 - LED Matrix

The LED matrix will be located on a large PCB or 3D printed map of the city (cost dependent). This subsystem will be made of addressable LEDs, photoresistors to automatically modify the intensity of LEDs, and will be controlled by the microcontroller (to indicate positions).

## Subsystem 2 - Microcontroller

The microcontroller will utilize wifi to access the MTD API to gather real-time bus data as well as provide control to individually address each LED within the matrix. Furthermore, it will control/communicate with other modules/displays in the system, such as a real-time clock or menu. The microcontroller will be an ESP32

## Subsystem 3 - Power Supply

The power supply will provide ample power to a large number of LEDs (and the entire system). We will need to include a buck converter to step down the power supply to be usable by the LEDs.

# Criterion for Success

To demonstrate the success of our project, we will need to prove the accuracy of the data we are displaying (how accurate are bus timings/locations). Additionally, we will need to show that the data is easy to interpret for a user and can be utilized for easier bus system use.

Project Videos

Business Office

If none of these methods work, you can go through the business office with the help of your TA.