Public:Electrical Onboarding Fall 2026 - Revision history

Bthaik2: Bthaik2 moved page Electrical Onboarding Fall 2026 to Public:Electrical Onboarding Fall 2026 without leaving a redirect

2026-08-30T18:15:05Z

Bthaik2 moved page Electrical Onboarding Fall 2026 to Public:Electrical Onboarding Fall 2026 without leaving a redirect

Adam Kaszok: Clarified instructions for Horns Board and provided more examples

2026-08-29T23:18:40Z

Clarified instructions for Horns Board and provided more examples

Bthaik2: /* Library Setup */

2026-08-17T03:14:46Z

Library Setup

Bthaik2: /* KiCad Setup */

2026-08-17T03:14:16Z

KiCad Setup

Bthaik2: /* KiCad Setup */

2026-08-17T03:13:55Z

KiCad Setup

Bthaik2: /* KiCad Setup */

2026-08-17T03:13:44Z

KiCad Setup

Bthaik2 at 03:12, 17 August 2026

2026-08-17T03:12:56Z

Bthaik2: /* GitHub Setup */

2026-08-16T18:34:51Z

GitHub Setup

Adam Kaszok: updating for 2026

2026-08-16T05:01:56Z

updating for 2026

Adam Kaszok: Copy over old onboarding (initialize)

2026-08-16T04:05:14Z

Copy over old onboarding (initialize)

Show changes

@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 #Open KiCad. Start these Instructions from the home screen
 #Click on ''Preferences --> Configure Paths...''
-#Add a new path (press "Add") with the name <code>ISC_SYMBOL_DIR</code> and insert the path to the Libraries in your repo: <code>PathOnYourComputer\ElecOnboarding25\Hardware\Libraries</code>
+#Add a new path (press "Add") with the name <code>ISC_SYMBOL_DIR</code> and insert the path to the Libraries in your repo: <code>PathOnYourComputer\ElecOnboarding26\Hardware\Libraries</code>
 [[File:Kicad symbol path.png|center|thumb|590x590px|Your environment variable should look like this]]
@@ Line 133: / Line 133: @@
 *Make sure you have KiCad v9 downloaded. You'll have a hard time opening any files if you don't.
-*In your File Explorer, you'll want to navigate to the folder you copied the Onboarding Repo into (make sure that you copied the ElecOnboarding25 Repo when setting up Git rather than the B-fw or PCB repos).
+*In your File Explorer, you'll want to navigate to the folder you copied the Onboarding Repo into (make sure that you copied the ElecOnboarding26 Repo when setting up Git rather than the B-fw or PCB repos).
 *In the Hardware folder, you should see a Dev folder. Navigate into that and then go into the Template_v0.0 folder. There is another folder named Lights_Onboarding_v0_1 that has a developed project inside that you can take a look at, but for right now you won't be needing it.
-*Select everything in the folder and copy/paste to a new folder in the Hardware directory (two folders back); you can name the folder something like "prog1" to differentiate that it is your first hardware project!
+*Select everything in the folder and copy/paste to a new folder in the Hardware directory (two folders back); you can name the folder something like "proj1" to differentiate that it is your first hardware project!
 *Now you have a couple of files in your folder. These should be the seven files you see: (don't worry about the v7 tag, you should be able to open these files)
 *#fb-lib-table (your footprint libraries table, this is crucial to making your layouts exist and print properly!!)
@@ Line 189: / Line 189: @@
 *We will have 2 of these horns  in series, so it would be nice to add the link to the specs
-*We will have 2  main High-Level Requirements
+*We will have 2 main High-Level Requirements
 **A Horn On/Off which will be a digital signal for whether or not it should be on
 **A Horn Output which will output 24V at 150mA
 *As far as communication protocols, we use a digital GPIO to switch the horn
 *We will have 4 connectors for the board
-**Power in
+**Power in (INPUT: where the board gets power from)
-**Horn Control
+**Horn Control (INPUT: where the digital On/Off Signal is received)
-**And then 2 Horn outs linked in series
+**And then 2 "Horn Outs" linked in series (OUTPUT: the signal the board is sending to the horns)
 *There are will be no ICs
 *You can choose to add a Button that would be used to debug the board
-*The power system is 24V from the LV Bus
+*You can add test points to any net you would like (these are little points of exposed metal that you can probe with a multimeter to diagnose the circuit)
 *You can add LED Indicators to any net you would like
@@ Line 207: / Line 206: @@
 *The first thing to set up for the schematic is the connectors
 **You will need a 1x3pin connector for power, we use 3 pin connectors for Power so that they do not get plugged in backwards. We put +24V in the middle and two GND pins on the outside
 **You will want a 1x2pin connector for Horn Control. We want 1 pin to be grounded and another to be connected to a "Net Label" (Click L to add one). Give it a meaningful name
-**You will want two 1x2pin connectors for Horn Out. You need to link them together in series, from HORN_IN to 24V.
+**You will want two 1x2pin connectors for Horn Out. You need to link them together in series, think, there needs to be one path that current can take and it needs to be through both horns starting at +24V and ending at a net we will call "Horn In" (we will come back to this).
 *You will next want to add a way of switching from "on to off." To perform a switch at this level, we use a MOSFET. We recommend using the IRFR010PBF (this is the MPN), but you can go to octopart.com to find replacements.
-**Source should be tied GND, Drain should be tied to the HORN_IN of the series connectors, and Gate should be tied to the horn control net label you created earlier.
+**Source should be tied GND, Drain should be tied to the "Horn In" net label you created earlier, and Gate should be tied to the "Horn Control" net label you created earlier.
 **You will want a 1k ohm resistor and a .1uF capacitor between HORN_CTL and GND before it reaches the MOSFET to help with noise reduction.
-**Between the MOSFET and the connectors, add a 2A fuse.
+**Between the MOSFET and the connectors, add a 2A fuse
 *The next thing to add are capacitors between +24V and GND
 **We recommend adding 3 .1uF capacitors, 2 1uF capacitors, 2 10uF capacitors, and 1 100uF polarized radial capacitor in parallel
 *Finally, you will want to add a rectifier diode from HORN_IN to +24V to ensure we do not short power to ground. You can use ES2DA-13-F or find an alternative from octopart.com.

@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 #If you still have issues, follow the '''Initial Setup''' instructions [[Public:GitHub/PCB|here]]. (The page is setup for using the PCB repository. Don't use that! We are using the new Onboarding repo this year for an easier work space. Please follow all the instructions but use the Onboarding repository instead.)
 #Setup KiCad by following the [[Public:KiCad|KiCad]] '''First Time Setup''' instructions.
-#*Note: We use KiCad v8. If there are any files in the future that are in previous versions, just save them as v8. Anything v5 and below will have a libraries issue that can be resolved by copy/pasting the lib files from a v8 project into that folder.
+#*Note: We use KiCad v9. If there are any files in the future that are in previous versions, just save them as v9. Anything v5 and below will have a libraries issue that can be resolved by copy/pasting the lib files from a v9 project into that folder.
 ===After Completing Setup===

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 KiCad is an electrical CAD software that our team uses to design the custom printed circuit boards (aka PCBs) for the solar car. All of our designs exist on the [https://github.com/IlliniSolarCar Illini Solar Car GitHub page] in the PCB repository. You will clone this repository later and any hardware contribution you make to the team will be in here.
-#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0
+#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0.9
 ===Library Setup===
 ''Note: This applies to KiCad v6+ projects on GitHub since''  isc-hw-libs#84.''This should cover most projects, and all new projects. But if you need to view older projects please update them following the instructions at [[Viewing KiCad v5 Projects]]''

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 #First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0
 ===Library Setup===
 ''Note: This applies to KiCad v6+ projects on GitHub since''  isc-hw-libs#84.''This should cover most projects, and all new projects. But if you need to view older projects please update them following the instructions at [[Viewing KiCad v5 Projects]]''

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 #First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0
-##<code><nowiki/></code>
 ===Library Setup===

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 During this time you will be involved with 3 major phases. First will be software setup; this will involve setting up GitHub and Git on your machine (if you don't have it already), KiCad for the hardware projects and MCUXpresso for the firmware projects. We will be guiding you through setting up all of the software you will need along with some projects that will give you basic practice on the software we use. Each of these projects will be detailed here, with links to relevant pages that you will need to properly do the work. To begin, you'll need to set up a few accounts and download some apps. See below. Please complete the setup of GitHub, KiCad, and MCUXpresso before the first onboarding meeting. If you have any questions, ask them in a Slack Public Channel. We use public channels because you are likely not the only person to have this question. If you are still stuck, you can ask us at the first meeting. Remember, everything you need to know for Onboarding will be in '''public pages on the wiki!''' you don't need any other pages than the ones provided to you.
 <u>Additionally, note that you are '''REQUIRED''' to complete the the first Firmware and Hardware project, if you fail to do so within the onboarding period, you will be denied membership to the team for the fall semester.</u>
@@ Line 40: / Line 41: @@
 *Download Git Bash for Windows: https://git-scm.com/downloads
-*Run the Installer
+*Run the Installer for the first option
 *When ''Adjusting your PATH environment'', I recommend selecting "Use Git from Git Bash" and not using it from the Windows command prompt.
 *When ''Configuring Line Ending Conversion'' please use the default for your operating system unless you know what you are doing.
@@ Line 47: / Line 48: @@
 *Make a Solar Car folder in your file explorer app or equivalent app to copy all your GitHub Repos into in your main directory for organization!
-*Copy the '''ElecOnboarding26''' Repo from Illini Solar Car's GitHub group, ''not'' the PCB repo! The PCB repo is not public and not what we are using for this semester.
+*Clone the Onboarding repository.
 *Only follow the GitHub install instructions!
 *Check out this video series! It will teach you 95% of everything you will need on how to use Git for Illini Solar Car and your classes
@@ Line 59: / Line 62: @@
 KiCad is an electrical CAD software that our team uses to design the custom printed circuit boards (aka PCBs) for the solar car. All of our designs exist on the [https://github.com/IlliniSolarCar Illini Solar Car GitHub page] in the PCB repository. You will clone this repository later and any hardware contribution you make to the team will be in here.
-#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0.9
+#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0
-#Next, clone the Onboarding repository.
+##<code><nowiki/></code>
 ===Library Setup===

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==GitHub Setup==
-GitHub is a tool we use to share all of our work as a team. It is a great way to ensure all the current work stays updated and there are very little conflicts when working together. Most industry professionals use GitHub for code, however we also use it with our KiCad projects as well as code. You may already have GitHub and Git Bash set up on your machine if any of your classes utilize it for version control, otherwise do not worry there are a few resources here to help you get familiar. '''Git is hard to learn so don't be upset if you don't understand how it works at the end of onboarding, you'll get more practice as the year progresses.'''
+GitHub is a tool we use to share all of our work as a team. It is a great way to ensure all the current work stays updated and there are very little conflicts when working together. Most industry professionals use GitHub for code, however we also use it with our KiCad projects as well as code. You may already have GitHub and Git Bash set up on your machine if any of your classes or projects utilize it for version control, otherwise do not worry there are a few resources here to help you get familiar. '''Git is hard to learn so don't be upset if you don't understand how it works at the end of onboarding, you'll get more practice as the year progresses.'''
-Be aware that you may or may not have access to the ISC GitHub right away. We will have a form sent out in early onboarding days to get everyone access, but if you still have trouble joining later there will be a channel for questions on the Onboarding Slack.
+Be aware that you may or may not have access to the ISC Onboarding GitHub right away. We will have a form sent out in early onboarding days to get everyone access, but if you still have trouble joining later there will be a channel for questions on the Onboarding Slack.
 #Go to the [[Public:GitHub|GitHub wiki page]] and ensure you have a working version of Git on your computer. Here's the installation process for each computer:
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 '''Important: When setting up your git folder, keep this in mind!!'''
-*Make a Solar Car folder to copy all your GitHub Repos into in your main directory for organization!
+*Make a Solar Car folder in your file explorer app or equivalent app to copy all your GitHub Repos into in your main directory for organization!
 *Copy the '''ElecOnboarding26''' Repo from Illini Solar Car's GitHub group, ''not'' the PCB repo! The PCB repo is not public and not what we are using for this semester.
 *Only follow the GitHub install instructions!
@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 #*All of the coding that you do for Onboarding will be pushed to the Onboarding repo. Don't worry about pushing to the others for now.
 #Follow the Building and Debugging Code instructions to ensure you are able to setup the project files and build the skeleton code. '''For the Flashing/Debugging Section:''' we'll work on getting that situated as you get your firmware project closer to being completed.
-#*Most likely, you will learn this through watching members and looking it up on your own for another project down the line. Don't be afraid to ask for help!
+#*Here are the slides on how to setup flash/debug: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vxjturFUq9u8SnvNFm79tsirZM7t3lhF6cf8rJeeiv0/edit?usp=sharing but you will need some hardware at later slides to fully complete everything.
 #*Unfortunately, the building and flashing process is a little janky and takes getting used to, but we are actively working to try develop an easier way.
@@ Line 132: / Line 133: @@
 This project is relatively simple: in order to get used to the KiCad application and a few of its typical shortcuts, you'll build an LED circuit in the schematic editor before laying it out. Ryder has made a few videos on youtube to walk through the process, but here are the steps written out:
-*Make sure you have KiCad v8 downloaded. You'll have a hard time opening any files if you don't.
+*Make sure you have KiCad v9 downloaded. You'll have a hard time opening any files if you don't.
 *In your File Explorer, you'll want to navigate to the folder you copied the Onboarding Repo into (make sure that you copied the ElecOnboarding25 Repo when setting up Git rather than the B-fw or PCB repos).
 *In the Hardware folder, you should see a Dev folder. Navigate into that and then go into the Template_v0.0 folder. There is another folder named Lights_Onboarding_v0_1 that has a developed project inside that you can take a look at, but for right now you won't be needing it.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ==Planned Dates and Deadlines==
-A majority of electrical onboarding will be done in person in the ECEB. This will allow new members to interact with and receive advice from more senior members on the team if they need extra help with their onboarding projects. Additionally, we have online resources to assist with onboarding and provide detailed guidance throughout a majority of the process. Listed below is a general timeline of when and where meetings will take place. Make sure to show up to these and other upcoming new member events to get to know more returning members and become more comfortable with the team.
+A majority of electrical onboarding will be done in person in the ECEB. This will allow new members to interact with and receive advice from more senior members on the team if they need extra help with their onboarding projects. Additionally, we have online resources to assist with onboarding and provide detailed guidance throughout a majority of the process. Listed below is a general timeline of when and where meetings will take place. Make sure to show up to these and other upcoming new member events to get to know more returning members and become more comfortable with the team. We have included every day of the week at least once to make sure as many people as possible get a chance to show up.
-'''Meeting Days and Times''': Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 7PM
+'''Meeting Schedule''': Mon 9/7, Wed 9/9, Fri 9/11, Tue 9/15, Thu 9/17 ALL BEGINNING AT 7pm
 '''Location''': ECEB 3017 (other rooms as needed depending on capacity)
+During this time you will be involved with 3 major phases. First will be software setup; this will involve setting up GitHub and Git on your machine (if you don't have it already), KiCad for the hardware projects and MCUXpresso for the firmware projects. We will be guiding you through setting up all of the software you will need along with some projects that will give you basic practice on the software we use. Each of these projects will be detailed here, with links to relevant pages that you will need to properly do the work. To begin, you'll need to set up a few accounts and download some apps. See below. Please complete the setup of GitHub, KiCad, and MCUXpresso before the first onboarding meeting. If you have any questions, ask them in a Slack Public Channel. We use public channels because you are likely not the only person to have this question. If you are still stuck, you can ask us at the first meeting. Remember, everything you need to know for Onboarding will be in '''public pages on the wiki!''' you don't need any other pages than the ones provided to you.
 <u>Additionally, note that you are '''REQUIRED''' to complete the the first Firmware and Hardware project, if you fail to do so within the onboarding period, you will be denied membership to the team for the fall semester.</u>
@@ Line 49: / Line 47: @@
 *Make a Solar Car folder to copy all your GitHub Repos into in your main directory for organization!
-*Copy the '''ElecOnboarding25''' Repo from Illini Solar Car's GitHub group, ''not'' the PCB repo! The PCB repo is not public and not what we are using for this semester.
+*Copy the '''ElecOnboarding26''' Repo from Illini Solar Car's GitHub group, ''not'' the PCB repo! The PCB repo is not public and not what we are using for this semester.
 *Only follow the GitHub install instructions!
-*Look through the plethora of Git tutorials to get a better understanding of why we use git along with a few basic commands.
+*Check out this video series! It will teach you 95% of everything you will need on how to use Git for Illini Solar Car and your classes
 *If you'd like more practice with Git, checkout the interactive tutorial on how Git works:
 **Git Branching: https://learngitbranching.js.org/
@@ Line 60: / Line 59: @@
 KiCad is an electrical CAD software that our team uses to design the custom printed circuit boards (aka PCBs) for the solar car. All of our designs exist on the [https://github.com/IlliniSolarCar Illini Solar Car GitHub page] in the PCB repository. You will clone this repository later and any hardware contribution you make to the team will be in here.
-#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable/download/kicad-8.0.5-x86_64.exe here], use version 8.0.5
+#First download KiCad onto your computer from [https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable here], use version 9.0.9
 #Next, clone the Onboarding repository.
 ##Use <code>cd</code> to move to the location you want your Repository to go; it's best to use your default User directory in files; making a Solar Car folder helps keep all your solar car repositories in one place!
-##Run <code>git clone <nowiki>https://github.com/IlliniSolarCar/ElecOnboarding25</nowiki><nowiki/>.git</code> in either GitBash (Windows) or Terminal (MacOS) to clone the repository to your local machine. It should copy the code in the online repo into a local folder on your computer-- you can see it now in your file explorer!
+##Run <code>git clone <nowiki>https://github.com/IlliniSolarCar/ElecOnboarding26</nowiki><nowiki/>.git</code> in either Git Bash (Windows) or Terminal (MacOS) to clone the repository to your local machine. It should copy the code in the online repo into a local folder on your computer-- you can see it now in your file explorer!
 ===Library Setup===
-''Note: This applies to KiCad v6, v7 and v8 projects on GitHub since''  isc-hw-libs#84.''This should cover most projects, and all new projects. But if you need to view older projects please update them following the instructions at [[Viewing KiCad v5 Projects]]''
+''Note: This applies to KiCad v6+ projects on GitHub since''  isc-hw-libs#84.''This should cover most projects, and all new projects. But if you need to view older projects please update them following the instructions at [[Viewing KiCad v5 Projects]]''
 Our libraries, as well as KiCad's own schematic symbol libraries, have now been moved to a submodule of the main repo. Make sure you've followed the GitHub directions in order to get those libraries on your machine. They are in the Libraries folder of the PCB repository. If you first open a schematic in KiCad, without setting this up, you'll probably see a lot of question marks (?) all around the schematic. To fix this follow the below instructions.
@@ Line 103: / Line 102: @@
 In order to control our various hardware components, we write firmware code to allow various processes to happen. For example if the brake is pressed, we have a hall effect-sensor that gets triggered which sends an enable signal to our Dash in order to turn on the brake lights. All of our firmware is written in C++ and we use MCUXpresso, an eclipse based IDE.
-#Go through the [[Public:MCUXpresso|MCUXpresso]] '''setup instructions.''' Don't worry about setting up PCB, ARGO-fw, B-fw (or any of the FW repos) as we are using the Onboarding repository for everything.
+#Go through the [[Public:MCUXpresso|MCUXpresso]] '''setup instructions.''' Don't worry about setting up PCB, ARGO-fw, B-fw (or any of the FW repos) as we are using the Onboarding repository for everything
-##'''DUE TO ISSUES WITH THE MCUXpress Website, use this Box [https://uofi.box.com/s/i9jgenu8blyqc4tdbkxgl1fcyb80l0i6 link] to download MCUXpresso'''
+#*All of the coding that you do for Onboarding will be pushed to the Onboarding repo. Don't worry about pushing to the others for now.
 #Follow the Building and Debugging Code instructions to ensure you are able to setup the project files and build the skeleton code. '''For the Flashing/Debugging Section:''' we'll work on getting that situated as you get your firmware project closer to being completed.
 #*Most likely, you will learn this through watching members and looking it up on your own for another project down the line. Don't be afraid to ask for help!
 ====After Completing Setup====
@@ Line 167: / Line 164: @@
 **Follow Rahul's KiCad tutorial steps. This will teach you important knowledge on building circuits, what tools we normally use, and how to import your schematics from one editor to another. Be sure to watch through the videos to have a good understanding of what our interface looks like! Some of what Rahul explains in his videos is already written out here. You can start watching from his second video to go straight to the onboarding project!
 **There are a few differences from Rahul's video to our onboarding. ''Please be aware of a few things while you watch this tutorial!''
-**#The version of KiCad we use is v8. Rahul uses v5, but that was a couple of years ago! Make sure you're aware of the version you're using since some library errors can occur between different versions.
+**#The version of KiCad we use is v9. Rahul uses v5, but that was a couple of years ago! Make sure you're aware of the version you're using since some library errors can occur between different versions.
 **#Use the onboarding repo for your work only.
-**#When adding power flags to your circuit in the first Schematic video, you will need to add ''two more'' components: one PWR_FLAG on both your +3v3 and GND wires. It should look like this[[File:PWR FLAGS.png|center|thumb]]
+**#When adding power flags to your circuit in the first Schematic video, you will need to add ''two more'' components: one PWR_FLAG on both your +3v3 and GND wires. It should look like this. The power flag is what tells KiCAD where the power is coming from in your circuit.[[File:PWR FLAGS.png|center|thumb]]
 **#''In the layout tutorial,'' when you add dimensions to your board, you'll need to go to the top bar, select User.Drawings layers, and select ''[Place -> Add Orthogonal Dimension],'' seen below:[[File:Add Orthogonal Dimension.png|center|thumb]]
 **#Remember that your version of KiCad will look different from Rahul's! Things change with time, as did the software. Don't panic! Everything he can do in the video, you can too. Try playing around with the tools for a while before asking one of the elec members if you're having issues with the software.
@@ Line 306: / Line 303: @@
 Once again, you will be instantiating a pin object. However, instead of a DigitalOut object, you will be instantiating an input pin object for a potentiometer (hint: pay attention to the comments!). If you're not familiar with a potentiometer, it is a variable resistor. As you turn the knob on the potentiometer to reduce resistance across a path, the voltage across that path will increase (following Ohm's Law). We can read this voltage and use it to carry out a task in firmware. You will be able to find more information about the object that you should be instantiating in <code>mbed</code>. Be careful about what value is being returned by the function you are using to read your input! Once finished with that, you will write code in the <code>while (!shutdown) {...}</code> loop in '''main.cpp''' that uses the potentiometer object to modify the task rate that you used in Project 1.