Tag: electronics

Strange Attractors Project for Northern Spark 2013

Posted on by oldpostholder in Electronics, Northern Spark, Raspberry Pi, Uncategorized

David Bryan, Riley Harrison, Cali Mansty, and Aaron Prust are presenting multiple projects for Northern Spark 2013 on June 8th in Downtown Saint Paul! Northern Spark is an overnight interactive festival starting at 8:58pm and ending at sunrise!  We are inviting everyone to come and hang out, and enjoy the festival!  The Hack Factory will have three spaces setup for people to come and interact with the Art.

We are also in the process of fundraising for this project, currently we need about $3,800 to help cover the costs of materials, and $4,200 total to cover rewards. We receive all funds that are pledged.

Go donate now!

So lets talk about one of the projects, Strange Attractors.  You may remember me from such things as the Raspberry Pi powered cat feeder.  While I’m at it again, and making stuff with the Raspberry Pi.  I was asked create a few blog posts for MCM that talked about the Raspberry Pi Camera module that I’m going to use in my next project.

Strange Attractor1Image credit: Alex Weber, http://www.flickr.com/people/8123185@N02/

I am creating an art piece, Strange Attractors, for the Northern Spark Art Festival on June 8th.  Continue reading “Strange Attractors Project for Northern Spark 2013” →

Handmade music – January 30th

Posted on by oldpostholder in Uncategorized

HMM3.png
On January 30 at 8 pm, the HackFactory be hosting a Hand Made Music night.

Special Guests include

Matte Resist from Resist Instrument Works showing some cigar Box Guitars and other cool stuff.

Ryan Olcott From Food Team.  Ryan will have some crazy electronic instruments and a great performance.

So stop by and meet some old friends, make some new ones and make some stuff that makes music. Hope to see you there

More about Handmade Music: Minneapolis including info on past events can be found over at TCMaker’s Hmmm Page.

Monthly electronics day

Posted on by oldpostholder in Posts

I’ve decided to start a monthly electronics day, on every third Saturday afternoon (well, all day, if you want, but I’m only going to be there in the afternoon).

What does this entail? Several things:
1. One class a month, guaranteed. In May, it’s going to be Soldering 101 (one of the most roundly requested classes), where you’ll get a chance to watch a real pro at work (as soon as I find one) and build a kit to take home. We’ll have scrap boards that you can practice on with no fear of damage and no pressure. I’ll set up an EventBrite page ASAP; expect the class to run about two hours and cost $30, which includes scrap for practice, but not the cost of the kit. Bring your own iron and solder; I’ll make some recommendations about what to buy.
2. Ask-an-EE sessions: along the lines of Lady Ada’s popular “Ask an engineer” chat, I’ll give all comers a chance to ask me anything they want about the art and science of electrical engineering.
3. Swap-o-tron: I’ll bring stuff that I’m perfectly happy to part with, gratis, and I ask anyone who has similar stuff to do the same. Take what you need, but please use what you take, or bring it back and re-release it the next month.

I’m expecting to start the Ask-an-EE about 2pm, the class about 4pm, with another Q&A after the class.  I’ll set up my goodies in the workshop.

The date for the first one is May 15.

Intro to Electronics class

Posted on by oldpostholder in Posts

I’ll be offering an introductory electronics class on 17 April at the Hack Factory.

This will be a basic class, covering amps, volts, ohms, watts, and the relationship among them.  Also covered (briefly) will be batteries and switches, and then we’ll get into some exercises intended to demonstrate concepts and get you familiar with using a multimeter.

Please register at least four days in advance of the class with Eventbrite. I will need to know how many people plan to attend in advance so I can plan for how many parts kits to assemble.  The parts kit will contain all the bits and pieces needed for this class, as well as a breadboard and multimeter, some wire, and a wire stripper.  It will also include some parts useful for other projects and parts that may will be helpful in other upcoming classes I plan to teach.

Salvage night at Leonardo’s Basement

Posted on by oldpostholder in Posts

electronic_scrap_1TCMaker is sponsoring an electronics salvage night. Bring in old electronics and we’ll all pull them apart finding useful and usable parts.

Please bring tools, if you have them! Useful tools for this project are heat guns, butane or propane torches, soldering irons, solder wick, solder, screwdrivers, bit drivers with replaceable bits, extension cords, and side cutters.

Join us at Leonardo’s Basement from 6:30 to 9:00 on Wednesday, Aug 26th!