DerbyHack - A venture up the A52?

Last night's excellent Drawdio & Soldering 101 workshop by our very own pedal-power Matt Little was a huge success. There was something for all levels of experience. I'm chuffed with my Drawdio, a good little soldering project with just the right level of tinkering required to practice a little debugging and use the multi-meter in anger (but not with violence). Mostly I enjoyed the feeling that Hackers got a little bit of gratification from their efforts, smiley faces when your pencil starts to sing.

Nottinghack and the proposed "Hackspace East Midlands in Nottingham" has a number of interest hackers in Derby. As a trial to see if it will work Nottinghack propose to run the Drawdio Hack & Soldering 101 workshop at a Derby venue in the next few weeks. This will give Derby based hackers the opportunity to experience a hack without the extra commitment of getting to Nottingham. If the event proves successful we'll try one in either Leicester or Loughborough.

Ideally some hackers from Nottingham will join us to help make the workshop a success, maybe we can arrange a lift share? Eventing across the catchment area will be an important part of making hacking accessible & perhaps encouraging potential hackers, put off by the distance to get involved in forming local groups.

Alternatively it maybe a total calamity! If you'd like to be part of Nottinghack you can register for updates at www.meetup.com/nottinghack

Don't want to join meetup but want to hack anyway? Then email me (nottinghack@gmail.com) with your interest for any advertised meetup and I'll ensure a space is saved for you.

Please leave any comments below.

Nottinghack - Drawdio

Nottinghack - Drawdio 

By Matt Little 

Circuit Diagram and PCB layout were done on KiCad - an open source PCB design package.

Parts List:

BT1       BATTERY

C1         Capacitor Polyester 0.1uF

C2         Capacitor ceramic 680pF 

C3         Capacitor Electrolytic 100uF

Q1        Transistor 2N3806 PNP

R1         Resistor 270K Ohms

R2         Resistor 10kohm 

R3         Resistor 10M Ohms

R4         Resistor 10ohm

SP1       SPEAKER

U1        Timer NE555N

1. Turn your circuit board so it look like this (below) 

2. Add the resistors:
From the left: 

R3 - 10M Ohms (BROWN, BLACK, BLUE)

R2 - 10k Ohms (BROWN, BLACK, ORANGE)

Top right: R4 - 10 Ohms (BROWN, BLACK, BROWN)

Bottom right: R1 - 270k Ohms (RED, VIOLET, YELLOW)

3. Add the capacitors:

4. Add the buzzer: 

to holes on far right, + on the left and - on the right (speaker not shown)

5. Add the transistor:

6. Add the 555 timer IC:

6: Add the battery pack & test:

7: Solder the copper foil to the long plate on the other side of the circuit board:

8: Enjoy! 

Hackspace - The Final Frontier

About a week ago a task team from Nottinghack met with a man... a man from the council at a destination that will remain classified!

The teams instructions were clear, meet in the car park and Tom will have the key. A few days before I'd been in contact with Tom, the keeper of a property which on paper seemed too good to be true. A low rent and rate, near enough to the station and bus routes to make it's slight out-of-town location not to concerning. Better still this space has parking and the Victorian artisan charm that I really like.

Tom opened up a door wedged closed by the weight of letters from the Inland Revenue that the former tenants are probably happy not to get any more. I don't know if anyone was watching but at this point my face dropped. The lower room was dark and damp. The walls festooned with iron bracketing for storing lumber. A broken (well if it isn't I'm not switching it on) gas heater hanging, abused from the non-to-safe looking ceiling. To the left of the door is a small (very small) office with a BT Viscount phone in original Beige (no dial tone).

I ask Tom about the ablutions, there are non. I ask Tom how we get to the upper floor and he takes us back outside and shows us the a very steep fire escape stairs. Up we go. We enter the upstairs room which has the most gorgeous bow topped windows, letting in a lot of light on a sunny April day at two o'clock. This room feels bigger (though it can't be) and drier. A suspended ceiling is bowed and deformed with damp above our heads. The rough thick floorboards have several large gaps allowing us to see the room below. At the far end of the room a kitchenette with tap!

The power sockets hang rusting from the wall and at least their is a fire alarm system. It doesn't take a huge amount of dream fuelled imagination to picture the space in full swing on a hack night!

Alas though, we'd out grow it so quickly. If given the space on a tiny peppercorn rent, our list of demands before we could move in...

- Fix power and lighting

- add toilet

- Fix roof

- Survey for soundness

- Fix floor

...would not make this appetising for the landlords, and we know we'd use any money we could raise patching the place up before we'd even got a soldering iron to share. Truth is the Hackspace would become the project and not hacking.

Over a cup of coffee back at Doc Little's workshop we chewed over these facts. The trip had been useful as a reality check for me. I now understand what your $$ can get you, how big it looks and what sort of a state it might be in. There is another much larger (and who knows better) space at the same site which we'll have a look round. It's 3x the price of course...

At least we now know what to ask for and how much discount and funding we'll need! Leave a comment below or let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas about our future home, where ever it may be!

Announcing - The BIG Rube Goldberg Weekender

click on picture for larger image

The BIG Rube Goldberg Weekender -

Rube Goldberg was an illustrator who drew very similar picture to the British cartoonist William Heath-Robinson , ridiculously protracted devices to perform the simplest tasks. Goldberg Machine (RGM) building contests are wildly popular the world over. Recent Rube Goldberg machines have been seen on a Honda advert and in one of "Ok Go's" excellent videos to their song "this too will pass"

I've always wanted to make one. A search of You Tube will show you some smashing examples. Don't be fooled RGM are very hard to make and take planning and patience. Be prepared to reset them many times.

Nottinghack now present the BIG Rube Goldberg Weekender. At the Trent Navigation Nottingham on the weekend of the 5th and 6th of June we'll be running a major RGM building event over 2 open days (Saturday & Sunday) with some preparation work by Nottinghack in the week proceeding. The official kick-off for this event will be An-Evening-of-Rube-Goldberg (Nottinghack only) for planning.

The planning evening will involve a few RGM videos lots of blueprint paper for ideas and many real ales (for they have a micro-brewery at the Trent Navigation) this is likely to be in early May. It is intended to position the BIG Weekender as a recruitment, fund-raising and awareness event for Nottinghack. Open to all ages.

We're going to need lots of bit-n-bobs so if you know your interested then start saving bits now. Have a look at the video on You Tube many of the best ones are here on the Nottinghack meetup page. Nottinghack will prepare a few RGM set-pieces to which others and members can create links between the elements.

The Trent Navigation can provide two rooms (on an upper floor) which we can use, and also a store room (which we can use any time prior and after the event). They also have at least 10 parking spaces and a plenty of outdoor space. They provide free WiFi for the event as well as a great and tasty menu.

If you have an idea for the RGM or want to start working on an element then please let us know on the discussion forum HERE. We'll be inviting and involving the press and the community. This is an opportunity to have a great fun hack and also to drum up massive amounts of buzz around Nottinghack taking us one step closer to a real Hackspace.

Please do comment below or email me through Nottinghack meetup site to get involved. We'd be very happy to have visitors from other Hackspaces or any sponsorship. We are also looking for film makers, engineers and any interested folk to get involved.

LAB #2 Arduino & Processing at Broadway TODAY

Our friends at LAB are doing an Arduino workshop tonight at the Broadway Cinema on Broad St in Nottingham (on the Mezzanine floor) at 18:45.

I'm just downloading the Arduino software onto my laptop as I hadn't replaced it after a recent catastrophic Windows failure earlier this year. I've packed up my Arduino, found my USB A - B cable and am ready for an evening of building little Arduino drawing machines. You can find out all the details of this workshop here.

Looking forward to going to a session where I'm not the organiser. Be good to actually be able to concentrate on doing something geeky rather than worrying about everyone else. Quite a few of the members of LAB are also Hackers on Nottinghack and there's at least 14 folks going. Should be a great night. Also a first for me, though I've intended often to go there, have never actually been too the Broadway.

In other news I'm chuffed and a bit nervous that about 20 people have actually found and read some of my blog... I'd better think more carefully about what I put! As I've had no comments I have no idea at all how my ramblings have been received. I'm no Shakespeare I'm sure of that.

Planning to do some Kite Aerial Photography in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to post it as a meet-up though it doesn't matter if no-one else shows up. Well, except for a dismal attempt to launch my kite at Wollaton Park in January when I was on my own, so someone to throw the thing into the air. Will need a fairly decent wind to get the camera rig up too. It's untested in the air as yet and it maybe too heavy for light winds. The huge Cody Box kite I bought off eBay in December is supposed to have super lifting power. I'll be sure to post any resulting pictures here and on the meet-up site.

Interestingly I posted the KAP idea on Meet-up and it's currently top in the ideas section with 9 "I like this" type votes. If you interested in Kite photography and want a go keep your eye on www.meetup.com/nottinghack weather permitting!

The Question of Money

It a difficult question, can Nottingham and it's surrounding area produce enough paying members to sustain a Hackspace?

So far on the Nottinghack meet-up site there are 38 members if you include the members of LAB who aren't also members of Nottinghack you can bump this number up to about 50. The membership varies (though it's early days yet) in a number of key respects.

• Some have joined, but not posted or attended a meet-up as yet.
• Some have attended one meet-up but not engaged with the meet-up page or returned for later meet-ups.
• Some have been very active on the page but don't attend meet-ups so far.
• A smaller number are absent from the meet-up page but attend meet-ups.
• The rest are both active and attend meet-ups.

Of these pocket groups (each of which alone is only a handful) could Nottinghack expect a regular membership payment monthly? What's more in the early days, if we had a Hackspace membership costs would be "lost" on covering administration, rent, rates, utilities and other sundries before a penny could be spent on tools, kit and visiting speakers. What would keep them coming back?

So the question is how to raise funds? There is a chance, though I know not how, of applying for grants, sponsorships and other "free money". I don't think there is much spare money about in Nottingham at the moment. Enquires with Nottingham "Science City" have confirmed that they have no budget at all to speak of. To gain a corporate sponsor I'd assume we'd need a greater number of consumers. Many I've spoken to are will to help in various ways short of providing things or money.

I've had a number of models for cost in my head for a while and I want to in a very loose way capture those.

First I want to describe the Hackspace.

Imagine a large open plan room with plenty of natural light and lots of workbenches. The workbenches have stools or chairs and lots of power points as well as good lighting. Various folk are sat at different workbenches. Some are working alone of small projects listening to music on headphones, others are working in small groups.

Around the room are longer workbenches and smaller anti-rooms. The anti-rooms have larger tools in them. One is dedicated to wood and metal working kit and another has an AV suite. One room near the entrance has a small kiosk and behind the kiosk are consumables like wood, electronic components, a pick-n-mix of screws, nails, bolts, nuts, washer and other ironmongery. In a small walk-in cupboard you see shelves lined with boxes marked with "Soldering Kit", "Glue Gun Kit" and "Dremel Multi-tool" and some of the folks are at the counter collecting boxes of tools.

At the far end of the room are a few big colourful sofas and some home-made bean-bag chairs where a couple of hackers are drinking coffee and drawing a plan on a white board. Next to them is a long shelf with lots of books and magazines. You notice this includes all the back issues of Make Magazine amongst other instructive and informative periodicals and books.

So to dig out a few bits from the above little story this includes:

1. Large tools and equipment - e.g. laser cutter, printers, lathe, pillar drill, band-saw, CNC mill, silk screen, AV kit and so on (get up and go to kit)
2. Small tools to check out and use - e.g. soldering irons, hot air blowers, Dremel tools, glue guns, small tool kits, sewing machines, bench-top power supplies, multi-meters and so on (pick-up and take kit)
3. Consumables to buy - e.g. wood, rod stock, ironmongery, components, glue etc (which can't just be given away - or can they?)
4. Books and magazines
5. Coffee and tea etc
6. Workbenches with power

All ideas assume we are about to or do have a real Hackspace.

They are (in no order of preference) a mix and match of the following ideas:

• Pay-Per-Use

Pay-per-use is open to anyone, you turn-up at the space whenever it's open and you pay a set cost depending on the level of access or stuff you want to use. Maybe like this?

Premium - gives you either unlimited access to all tools, Wifi, tea & coffee, consumables (with some limits) and a workbench.

Standard - gives you access to smaller tools, tea & coffee, no consumables and a workbench.

Economy - just gives you access and a workbench (you'd probably bring your own tools).

Pay-As-You-Use - just like the car wash you get a ticket and use the bits you want

• Pro Membership

Pro Members pay a monthly membership fee for which the Pro gets several privileges. This may include a nottinghack email address, a free TShirt, key holder status, unlimited access to tools.

• Guru Level (or the rumoured Jedi members)

This gives all the same benefits as Pro Membership but with a couple of very important and distinct differences. The guru member pays less (maybe nothing), but with great privileges comes a code of honour. Guru level members will be responsible for coordinating a major project (like building a robot), providing workshops and teaching as well as helping members learn to use the tools. Guru members are NOT self electing. Any member may apply to be a Guru level member but acceptance to the order... I mean level will be by pier selection. In the first instance this will be identified by the leadership team based on experience, professional background and general attitude.

• Open Events & Workshops

Open to all comers events and workshops, special days and projects will be advertised and open to all who wish to come. There will be a varied entry fee dependent on content (from free upwards). These are likely to include visiting tours (like Mitch Altman), kit workshops (like Soldering 101) amongst other things. Members will get discounts.

It's NOT evil to generate income

I feel certain that there are other ways to generate income for the Hackspace. This would likely include some or all of the following:

• The making and selling of kits
• The making and selling of TShirts
• Open days and special projects
• Rapid prototyping work
• Product reviews
• Art installations
• Special boffin work for paying customers
• Sponsorship
• Grants
• Provision of training or education
• Provision of meeting rooms or conferencing

We've had a survey (or Poll) on the meet-up page for a while here. Which only 7 so far have completed. If you are reading this blog and are a member and haven't completed it please consider doing so. It's very important to know what the group want to do.

Anyway enough ramblings for one day... Please fill in the comments section below!

Dominic's Philosophy of Nottinghack

Well believe it or not their is a philosophy in my head about the whole project and they aren't easy to get out but I'll have a go...

Like the Prime Directives maybe... maybe not. Kirk was always flouting them anyway.

...and in no particular order:

Number 1: Be Open Source

I love creative commons and Open Source stuff... I recently had a pod-cast "Free, the future of a Radical Price" by Chris Anderson the editor of Wired Magazine in the States (it's still available as a podcast on iTunes). I love kits from AdaFruit and lots of good open source software. Giving stuff away, like content and plans, is an excellent way to get lots of interest and buzz around something. Nottinghack and the Hackspace Foundation have Open Source at their core.

Number 2: Be a Maven

It was Dave H who mentioned Mavens at the very first meet-up. What I mean is Nottinghack won't be about "My Geekiness is greater than your Geekiness". When I used to work in IT support folk used to torment "newbies" for asking questions, holding their knowledge like Golum holding the Ring. There are no Cliqués, unless we're all in the Cliqué. I did say there are no "Newbies" but unfortunately that also read as "No New People Please". Nottinghack is for the mentor and the mentored not for showing-off. Respect is earned, no-one was born with a soldering iron in their hands!

Number 3: Look what you are missing

Lots and lots and lots and lots of content online. Videos, photos, tweets, forums, instructions, you name it we'll post it. The more stuff interested people can get access too the more they will know about Nottinghack, the more they know, the more they'll want to come and be a part of it. A hackspace lives and dies on it's member participation. Lots of content is a really good way of keeping things "inclusive".

Number 4: It's not about "Sticking-it-to-the-man"

Huh? What's Sticking it to the man? Who's "the man"? What I am trying to say is that Nottinghack isn't a cause or a movement, it's not subversive, it's not political, totally secular... it's just about Hackers and Making... there maybe a few tools, and even some art! But when did art become so political? Look I want to save the planet as much as the next guy and I'm very annoyed about the Digital Economy Bill (or Act now I suppose).

This isn't an underground movement. It's not about a rag-tag line of hackers soldering for world peace or an Arduion project that strive to raise awareness of saving the whale. We WILL be about community and a place to hack within it.

Number 5: Lets hear it for planet Earth!

OK, I know I just said we're not about anything political... the environment and technology have not mixed well over the last 200 years. It's time for that to change. If anyone can act on climate change it's a bunch of boffins like Nottinghack. Now I'm not saying we're going out to campaign with Greenpeace, but we will dispose of our waste responsibly, keep an eye on our energy usage and look for ways to make Nottinghack environmentally sound and an example to others too.

...and then there were 4

Back in February 2010 I happened upon this YouTube video and I'd been pondering a hacker space in Nottingham. I wanted a place where I could go and make stuff. I could go there whenever I wanted and get use of great tools, help and meet other people who just want to make stuff too.

I posted the group idea on meetup.com and eventually a few chaps got in touch and we had a meetup... just the 4 of us.

Now it's April 2010 and Nottinghack has 38 members and we've had 3 meet ups. Meetup.com has been an excellent virtual place to post, discuss, put pictures and manage the membership. It wasn't long before I decided to buy the domain names nottinghack.com and nottinghack.co.uk with grand ideas about a website for the hackgroup.

Ideas can remain just that, not having particularly good web skills myself, Nottinghack will live on meetup.com for the timebeing.

So far we've had a "show and tell" workshop, at least 30 hackers turned up to meet each other, talk about the future, have a beer and put the world to rights. Folk came with MBED and Arduino projects, Matt Lloyd brought his "nearly-finish" RepRap along... it was a great start.

I'm nutty about Mythbusters (the title of this blog is a nod to that fact) so sometime ago I'd purchased a load of the blue paper they use on the show for the "Blue Print" ideas. We stuck a whole roll of it to a table in the middle of the room and chalked ideas onto it (see image).

One of the ideas was to buy some toys and hack them. We did "Hack-a-toy" last week and it was a great laugh. Posting pictures and YouTubes of "hack-a-toy" online has helped us get another 5 members in the last few days!

This blog will be a place for me (Dominic) to personally splurge my thoughts and ideas about Nottinghack and a Hackspace for Nottingham. Just because I have the page access to Nottinghack doesn't mean I should swamp it. I'll swamp here instead. People might even read it!

I'm really excited about Nottinghack... maybe I'm still smitten with the idea. Perhaps one day in a distant future I'll read this blog and think... you were SO naive... I've always been naive. If you knew all the problems you were going to face and all the things you had to do or know to get a project started, you'd never reach step 1.

A motto of mine has always been "If your not make mistakes, your not making anything!"