OnBoard

Program Prospectus

Introduction
Onboard is an innovative program designed to support and inspire 1,000 teenagers to
make their first printed circuit board (PCB) within one year. By providing funding,
tutorials, and an open-source community platform, we aim to reignite the passion for
electronics in today's youth.

Program Overview
Budget
● $100,000 for PCB manufacturing costs
● $50,000 for operational and marketing costs

Potential Partners:
● IEEE
● FIRST
● NAE
● Industry
● FreeCodeCamp
● Make Magazine
● Instructables (Autodesk)
● Hackaday
● Adafruit
● Sparkfun
● Unexpected Maker (Makes dev boards + Discord community)
● Digikey
● Arduino
● Youtubers:
○ Styropyro
○ 8 bit guy
○ GreatScott!
○ Ben Eater
○ Grant Sanderson (3Blue1Brown)
 ○ Phil’s Lab

Open Source Grant Flow

● Participants submit a pull request to https://github.com/hackclub/onboard with
their PCB design
● Designs are evaluated and approved based on 3 basic criteria:
○
● Approved participants receive funding in a Hack Club Bank account for
manufacturing
● PCBs are built and populated using a proven low cost, rapid turnaround producer
(e.g JLCPCB)
● Completed PCB designs are showcased in the GitHub repository for others to see
and learn from

Participant Funding
● Each participant receives up to $100 for PCB manufacturing costs
● Multiple iterations are allowed within the $100 budget

Training Material
We will begin with exciting project tutorials eg:
1. Magic Card: a PCB business card with NFC and blinking lights
2. Spectaculars: light-up rainbow glasses
3. Self-balancing robot PCB
4. DIY Sprig game console
5. Orpheus Shield
6. Macropad?

Marketing Channels
● Computer science teachers
● Hack Club channels
● FreeCodeCamp YouTube video
● FIRST Robotics mentors (with a letter from Dean Kamen)
● GitHub
● Physical posters
● Hack Club Affiliated Hackathons
 ● Other partnership

Key Success Factors

● Distribution - getting the word out
● Inspiration - getting kids excited
● Training - leveraging new and existing ‘how to’
● Funding Pool ($150,000)
● Operational Excellence - Project management, Infrastructure, Logistics
● Teenager Leadership - Involve ‘the customer’

Landing Page
● A visually stunning landing page at hackclub.com/onboard
● Reuse infrastructure from other campaigns https://hackclub.com/winter/)

Open Access
● No application process required
● Open to any teenager aged 18 or under
● Designs must meet the 3 requirements and be within the grant fund limit
Transparency
● All operations, financials, and program details will be fully open source and
transparent

Conclusion
Onboard is poised to spark a new generation of electronics enthusiasts by providing
funding, resources, and a supportive community for teenagers to explore PCB design and
manufacturing. Together, we can empower the next generation of makers to create and
innovate in the world of electronics.

Timeline:
Prep
Kickoff
References
● Electronics and Electrical Engineering Jobs on the Decline—Can They Be
Saved?
● Engineers on the brink of extinction threaten entire tech ecosystems
● Fewer and fewer students are studying electrical engineering: A series of
image studies identifies reasons and possible solutions
To-Do List:
- PR flow in .github folder. Could be similar to Winter’s flow
- Figure out better way to “link” projects to central OnBoard repo
- Create KiCAD/Eagle compatible template for Orpheus leap Sheild
- Brainstorm beginner template project for students and record yourself
teaching them?
- NFC Business Card -> teaching about all the layers (top, bottom,
silkscreens, keep outs, etc)
- USB C hub -> routing of buses?
-