CARPE is one small part of a great maker and tech scene in central Ohio. Here are some other communities and events worth checking out, plus where to pick up parts locally. For what our own members are building, see Member Projects.
Other Local Communities#
- CORE — Central Ohio Radio Enthusiasts — An informal, all-are-welcome group for ham radio, GMRS, software-defined radio, mesh networking (Meshtastic), and anyone curious about radio. Monthly meetups, no experience required.
- Columbus Vintage Computing Club — On hiatus for now; we hope they’re back soon. Billed as “the home of vintage computing in Columbus,” the club has hosted workshops, demos, presentations, and social gatherings around retro and vintage computing, meeting roughly monthly in the Hilliard area.
- East Columbus Maker Meetup — Local Makers gathering monthly to connect, create, and share projects, swap ideas, and pick up new skills. CNC, CAD, and 3D printing are frequent topics.
- Columbus Hardware Meetup — A newer community for people building physical products and hardware around Columbus: designers, founders, engineers, investors, and anyone curious. Everyone is welcome; events are posted on Luma.
- Midwest Hard Tech — A newsletter by Mike Liang building community for hardware, hard tech, and deep tech builders and entrepreneurs across the Midwest.
Regional Events#
Worth a road trip — conventions and festivals around the Midwest:
- Vintage Computer Festival Midwest — A yearly celebration of computer history in Schaumburg, Illinois (near Chicago) each September, with exhibits, speakers, and a roomful of vintage hardware.
- Tandy Assembly — An annual gathering for fans of Tandy/Radio Shack computing (TRS-80 and friends) — exhibits, talks, auctions, and technical sessions. Held in Cincinnati, Ohio each October.
- CORGSCon — Columbus’s long-running retro gaming convention at the Ohio Expo Center: a vendor hall, special guests, and plenty of classic video games.
Shop Local#
Need parts for your next project? Columbus has been Micro Center’s hometown since 1979, and the local store carries a big selection of maker hardware. These links go straight to the Columbus store’s inventory. (CARPE isn’t affiliated with Micro Center; it’s just handy to have nearby.)
- Raspberry Pi & Pico — Boards, Pico microcontrollers, accessories, displays, cameras, and other Raspberry Pi hardware.
- Arduino & Microcontrollers — Arduino boards, starter kits, microcontrollers, and development hardware.
- Electronic Components — Resistors, capacitors, LEDs, ICs, transistors, switches, relays, sensors, wire, and other project components.
- 3D Printers — 3D printers in stock at the Columbus store.
- 3D Printing Supplies & Parts — Filament, resin, nozzles, build surfaces, replacement parts, tools, and accessories.
Electronics Design & Learning Resources#
Useful online tools and references for electronics enthusiasts, makers, students, and hobbyists.
Circuit Simulation & Design#
- Falstad Circuit Simulator — Interactive circuit simulator for experimenting with analog and digital circuits.
- Wokwi — Simulate Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, and electronic components directly in your browser.
- LTspice — Free SPICE simulator for analog circuits, power supplies, and signal analysis.
- TI WEBENCH Circuit Designer — Design and simulate power supplies using Texas Instruments components.
PCB Design & Components#
- KiCad — Free, open-source software for schematic capture and printed circuit board design.
- EasyEDA — Browser-based schematic capture and PCB layout tools.
- SnapMagic Search — Find schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and 3D models for electronic components.
- Octopart — Search, compare, and locate electronic components from distributors.
- AllDatasheet — Search for datasheets and technical specifications for electronic components.
Learning & Reference#
- Wolfram Demonstrations Project — Interactive demonstrations of engineering, electronics, mathematics, and physics concepts.
- DigiKey Electronics Calculators — Calculators for Ohm’s law, resistor values, filters, voltage dividers, and other electronics applications.
- Virtual Labs — Educational virtual laboratory experiments covering electrical and electronics engineering, including power electronics.
- Raspberry Pi Pinout — Interactive GPIO pin reference for Raspberry Pi boards.
Community & Open-Source Projects#
- EEVblog Electronics Forum — Active electronics community for troubleshooting, design discussions, and project advice.
- GitHub — Discover open-source electronics projects, microcontroller firmware, libraries, and hardware designs.