Happy Anniversary, PLC Basics!

Five years ago this month, on May 2nd, 2014, my Kickstarter campaign to create an affordable PLC video course was successfully funded thanks to forty five awesome people who believed in my vision to produce affordable PLC training for the masses.

Why PLC Basics?

At that time I was an automation specialist, a job I had been doing for well over twenty years.

The job required that I attend factory training a few times each year, and then shared what I learned with local users through demonstrations, training, and troubleshooting.

During my years in that role it wasn’t uncommon for Technicians, Electricians, and even Engineers to ask me if we offered affordable training options they could purchase on their own to learn how to program and troubleshoot the PLC, HMI, and SCADA products I specialized in.

In almost every instance the only honest answer I had was no, since the factory training options weren’t what most individuals would consider “affordable.”

That’s not to say there wasn’t the occasional exception.

Once such exception was the “MicroLogix 1000 Starter Kit” which included a MicroLogix PLC, programming software, a programming cable, and CD of hands-on labs bundled together for just $125.

But aside for the occasional offering, most of the time I didn’t have any affordable training materials to offer individuals to purchase.

That’s what lead me to the idea of launching a Kickstarter campaign to produce my own affordable PLC video training course.

And with the backing of forty five friends, family, colleagues and philanthropists, I received the funding needed to produce my initial course.

Since then, I’ve released several more courses, many of which still cost less than the price of average video game:

So on the anniversary of my successful Kickstarter campaign, I want to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to those forty five people who helped me bring PLC Basics to life.


Micro Programmable Controller Basics (aka PLC Basics)
Kickstarter Backers:

  1. Karen L. Tierney – Senior Exec. Producer
  2. Alexander Ponce-Bonano – Exec. Producer
  3. Andrew Barker – Exec. Producer
  4. Stephen J Tierney III – Exec. Producer
  5. Robert A Zeigenfuse – Exec. Producer
  6. John Weber – Exec. Producer
  7. Alan Carty – Exec. Producer
  8. Brett Truett – Exec. Associate Producer
  9. Kevin Tierney – Associate Producer
  10. Randolph Ames – Associate Producer
  11. Adam T – Associate Producer
  12. Jeffrey Turcotte – Associate Producer
  13. Steve Tierney – Associate Producer
  14. Marie C Lapham – Associate Producer
  15. Ryan Justen – Associate Producer
  16. Randall Powell
  17. Frank Riordan
  18. Anthony Wood
  19. Scott Steves
  20. Michael O’Brien
  21. David Koons
  22. Paulo Marafuga
  23. Amy Sluis
  24. Egan Company
  25. Ryan Thompson
  26. Jim Ralston
  27. John McGilvreay
  28. William K Butter
  29. Efren Holguin
  30. Jayce
  31. Richard Timperio
  32. Yoel Rodriguez
  33. Melissa Bukouricz
  34. James
  35. tjspeaks
  36. Raymond Coe III
  37. Jason Mahan
  38. Merrill Desrosiers
  39. Brian Gildersleeve
  40. Linda Gazaille
  41. Jaime Wyatt
  42. Rhea Pannell
  43. Raymond Gazaille
  44. Pamela Leary
  45. Steven D. Garrison

You can view the original Kickstarter campaign HERE.


Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

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Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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