hacklab.to

About a month ago, hacklab purchased a new USB Microscope: 2 megapixel, 200x magnification, 8 LEDs. The idea is to be able to use it to inspect circuit boards, to see how awesome our solder jobs are, etc. But of course in practice we quickly turned the device on anything and everything in the space! It’s super fun to project the live magnification video on our projector and just rove around the room. I took a set of pictures from one of the first play sessions with the device, and it shows how cool the device is. I think my favorite discovery was how organic the eink screens on the Nook are, I didn’t expect anything like what we found!

Hacklab will be having an open house party tomorrow night, Saturday April 13th, 2012, from 7pm onward.  If you’ve always wanted to check out the space but can’t make our Tuesday open house nights, this is your big chance!  Open to the public, come one come all!  Direction to the space are on our <a href=”http://hacklab.to/location/”>location</a> page, look for the black door!  BYOB.

We’ve booked another fun month of workshops:

Monday April 9th 6-9pm: Stitch and Bitch
Sen and Jammies are planning on holding a Stitch ‘n Bitch on April 9th @ 6PM. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means we will be having a ‘fabric hacking’ meet-up for sewers, stitchers, fabric-spinners, knitters and all other forms of fabric hacking. Sewing is one of the oldest forms of making and hacking in all of human-kind, so we figured it’d be a great idea to introduce it to Hacklab in a more official way.
Bring your gear or ask someone to share theirs with you! This is a general event and not a tutorial. We’re hoping a good number of people can show up to just talk about and exchange tips on fabric hacking.
This is an open event for Hacklab members and anyone who is interested. :)

Monday April 16: no workshop, members meeting!

Monday April 23 7-9pm: Sculpting Workshop. You must RSVP to attend:
http://hacklab-sculpting.eventbrite.com/
Come learn sculpting from Avinash Hedge, Sculptor. See his work at http://aysculpture.deviantart.com/. He makes amazing superhero sculptures for comic book companies and private clients, and he’s promised to show a small group of hacklabbers his techniques! Workshop will consist of: 20-30 minutes of explanation and demo by Avinash, followed by at least an hour of hands-on work with clay. You will make your own sculpture! Avinash will also answer any and all questions about sculpting!

Monday April 30th 7-9pm: Arduino Total Beginners Workshop
Arduino Beginners Workshop. For total beginners. All are welcome, no RSVP required. Eric will show you how to get started with Arduino, the super-friendly microcontroller platform that even artists love. We’ll cover getting the software installed and going, hooking up the Arduino, and a little bit of basic programming, via explanation of the Examples. You too can cut and paste your way to a working project! You’ll need to bring your own Arduino (any kind will do) and a laptop on which you can install software. Also please bring any cables required to attach your Arduino to your laptop – typically this means an A to B USB cable. If you do not have an Arduino, you can purchase one at Creatron, only a few blocks away from hacklab at 255 College Street.

Monday May 7th 7-9pm: Soldering Workshop #8. You must RSVP to attend:
http://hacklab-soldering8.eventbrite.com/
Want to learn how circuits are assembled? We’ll show you how to solder, the process of using a hot iron to place parts permanently unto circuit boards. Many easy to assemble and cool kits to choose from:
- Stefan’s hacklab blinky ($5)
- TV-be-Gone remote control kit ($20)
- Drawdio ($20)
- MiniPOV Kit ($20)
- Solder: Time watch kit ($30)
Instruction is free, though donation to hacklab is encouraged, of course! If you have your own project or kit, feel free to bring that instead! The instructor is knowledgeable about circuit design, layout and troubleshooting as well, so bring your questions :-)

Apparently I forgot to post this up when I made it, which probably explains why there are still five tickets left! If you want to learn how to solder and you’re still available tomorrow, Monday March 12th, here’s your chance!

Hacklab will once again be hosting Gamfternoon tomorrow, Sunday January 21st, from 2pm onward (sessions typically wrap up by 6pm). We’ll be playing board games like Dominion, Settlers of Catan, Laser Chess, Go, etc. Come and play games with us! Members of the public are welcome to come and play – you do not have to be a member to get in.

This event repeats every two weeks, so we’ll also be playing on Feb 5th, Feb 19th, March 4th, etc. Check our calendar to confirm dates beyond that.

Hacklab is pleased to announce more workshops for February: a learn how to solder workshop on Monday Feb 6th (RVSP at eventbrite), and an Arduino workshop on Monday Feb 20th. The soldering workshop will be taught by Sen of Strich Labs, and the Arduino workshop will be taught by Alaina. More details about Arduino workshop to follow as the date gets closer.

All workshops are open to the public (you do not have to be a member of hacklab to attend) and happen from 7pm to 9pm.

Due to overwhelming demand for our basic electronics class, we’ve created an eventbrite RSVP: Hacklab Electronics Class. Dates remain the same – three Mondays in a row, starting on Jan 16th. If you’d like to come, sign up and start prepping your questions!

Monday January 16th, 23rd and 30th: three weeks of basic electronics classes, 7pm-9pm.

The Basic Electronics Class is designed to help Arduino hackers and beginner electronics enthusiasts learn some of the important theory and terminology that everyone needs to know. The first set of three classes will attempt to cover as many fundamentals as possible. If you’re confused by ohms law, how to choose and use basic components, or even what basic electronic components are used for, this is the class for you!

Bring general electronics questions, or project ideas as the second half of each class will be an open discussion about electronics topics.

The class will be taught by Andrew Kilpatrick. Andrew has designed all kinds of electronics including his own line of musical equipment: www.kilpatrickaudio.com Andrew has been involved with Hacklab Toronto since 2008.

Update: Due to overwhelming demand, we’re now requiring RSVP/tickets: Hacklab Electronics Class at Eventbrite. Get yours while they last!

Hacklab is announcing three workshops for the end of 2011:

Monday Nov 28th, 7-9pm: RepRap Users Group & Workshop
Come to hacklab.to to play with 3D printers! See RepRap.org. We’ll have our MakerBot Cupcake working, plus a good chance of having a functional RepRap, and several other printers under construction. Bring your own and we’ll all help each other! Newbies welcome, want to come see what a 3D printer looks like and learn how it works? Maybe even get inspired to build your own? This night is for you!

Monday Dec 5th, 7-9pm: Soldering Workshop #5
RSVP at Eventbrite (limit 10 people)
For total beginners, or those with some experience. Learn how to solder. Soldering is a method of assembling an electronic circuit using a hot iron and solder, a metal which liquefies at a fairly low temperature. Instruction by Eric is free, and we’ll have a variety of interesting kits on hand for you to purchase as learning templates. You’ll take your kit home at the end of the night, working, guaranteed! Open to the public – you do not have to be a member of hacklab to attend.

Monday Dec 12th, 7-9pm: Arduino Total Beginners Workshop
Arduino Beginners Workshop. For total beginners. All are welcome, no RSVP required. Eric will show you how to get started with Arduino, the super-friendly microcontroller platform that even artists love. We’ll cover getting the software installed and going, hooking up the Arduino, and a little bit of basic programming, via explanation of the Examples. You too can cut and paste your way to a working project! You’ll need to bring your own Arduino (any kind will do) and a laptop on which you can install software. Also please bring any cables required to attach your Arduino to your laptop – typically this means an A to B USB cable. If you do not have an Arduino, you can purchase one at Creatron, only a few blocks away from hacklab at 255 College Street.

All workshops are free and open to the public.

We’re playing board games at hacklab again at 3pm this afternoon (Sunday October 30th)! We’ve got Dominion and Settlers of Catan, both are award winning super popular games. Or bring your own favorite game!

Gamfternoon is free and open to the public!