DorkbotPDX people doing strange things with electricity

Where: ADX, 417 SE 11th, Portland
When: Sunday, November 27 -- 1-5pm

Portland Synth Meet is a gathering for audio synthesizer enthusiasts. It's a chance for makers and collectors to show off their gear, share notes and make sounds. Synths of all kinds will be represented including modular and desktop synths, drum machines, circuit bent instruments and algorithmic one-liners. Anything that can synthesize or manipulate sound is welcome. Bring your own speakers and power strips. Local synth makers will offer demos at the top of every hour.

My ongoing effort to learn Final Cut Pro X......

Dorkbot PDX would like to welcome you to the latest installment of our semi-regular presentation series:

DorkbotPDX 0x07

• When: Monday, December 5th, 2011 - 8pm
• Where: Backspace ( map)
• Who: All ages -- open to the public
• Cost: Free!

What's happening? Three great and inspiring talks regarding art, electronics, computers, physics, and a hybridized mega monster of all things strangely technical. Did we mention 3D bluetooth kittens and RF aardvarks dancing to the synthesizer sounds of the microcontroller apocalypse? Ok, I made that up...or did I?

Art and Electronics: Arcing the Gap

Jesse Mejia

Jesse will present an overview of a few recently completed projects and a few works in progress. His talk emphasizes bridging the gap between artists and pseudo-engineers, and he challenges the community to come up with a proper term for this crossover behavior.

Jesse is an artist and AV nerd represented digitally at anestheticaudio.com.

Getting Started With RF

Ward Ramsdell

Slides can be found here:
http://www.dorkbotpdx.org/files/ward_ramsdell_0x07.pdf

Ward presents an overview of several affordable, contemporary wireless devices and demonstrates how they may be easily incorporated with today's microcontrollers. It's off-the-shelf RF demystified, and you too can go wireless with your projects!

Ward Ramsdell is a real engineer who helps takes real products to market.

SPROING!

Simran Gleason

SPROING! is a new web-based word game is like playing boggle in 3D, on platonic solids made of springs, with kittens (& aardvarks).

Simran will show off Sproing & its HTML5 implementation, show the design evolution of the game, and give you the math of spring physics simulations.

There will be a live multiplayer Sproing tournament during the talk, with chocolate at stake for the winner.

Simran Gleason is an artist and a nerd. Usually he makes noise, but sometimes likes to turn physics into games.

OpenDork

You!

An open-mic session for those looking to show off a project, ask a question, solicit help, or incite collaboration.

Disclaimer: This is what I’ve found that works, but it could definitely use some streamlining. If you have anything to add/change, please let me know and/or post accordingly.

Big thanks to Scott Dixon from DB and Seamus from ADX for helping to make this happen!

Process:

1. You’ll need to slightly shrink the solder paste aperture sizes of your design to accommodate the kerf of the laser. In Eagle, the “cream” (solder paste) layer defaults to the same size as the SMD pads.

Laen's extra SMT adaptors are mighty handy....

First to resolve the primary issue from my last post: It turns out that, while 16 MHz operation of a dorkboard on 3.3v is outside the spec'd window, it still works. :) Lesson: When in doubt, try it! Worry about fixing it if it doesn't work.

Next problem: odd data.

Concept

This is a natural extension of the Exquisite Corpse form of drawing/painting/writing/film into electromechanical form.

Implementation

1 piece. 12 collaborators. 12 months.

The Philosophy

• Equal parts creativity and geekery!
• Do no harm.
  • Work of one collaborator should build upon and not degrade the work of the previous collaborators
  • Caveat: Unless absolutely necessary, which should be a very rare exception indeed.
• Assert an aesthetic!
  • Provoke emotion, stimulate many senses.
• Embrace raw, nontechnical materials.
  • Fabric, paint, repurposed tech, biological materials, scrap, found items, etc, etc.
• Be robust and make it work.
  • We achieve implementations that lasts a long time.
  • Interaction is swell, but don't require it (humans are unreliable)
• Document extensively and provoke inspiration.
  • But keep it private before the ceiling.

Constraints/Logistics

• Each collaborator should use approximately 1/12th (0.0833) of the available pre-setup (constrained) space.
• When the work is passed from one collaborator to the next, the moment is referred to as a "boundary".
• When the final contributor's work period has expired, the moment itself and the final work are referred to as the "ceiling".
• Each collaborator is given a fixed work time of exactly one month. Boundaries always occur on the first of the month.
• Prior to a boundary, upcoming collaborators must not view the work nor its documentation.
• At each boundary and at the ceiling, the work must:
  • Fit into a large plastic storage tote (of a size determined before the first boundary)
  • Be able to be set up, configured, and activated by a nontechnical person with brief instructions in under 10 minutes.
• After a boundary, previous collaborators must not contribute to the work (except for repair, which should be a very exceptional case indeed).
• All materials/components contributed to the work by all contributor are considered final and may not be reclaimed.
• The ceiling is equally owned by and credited to the collective contributors.

Schedule

The schedule is now full.

• January : [COMPLETED: Jason Plumb]
• February: [COMPLETED: Colin Oldham]
• March: [COMPLETED: Don Davis]
• April: [COMPLETED: Brian Richardson]
• May: [COMPLETED: Michael Bunsen]
• June: [COMPLETED: Jon Garrison]
• July: [COMPLETED: Andrew Parnell]
• August: [COMPLETED: Libbey White]
• September: [COMPLETED: Mike Gilbert]
• October: [COMPLETED: Austin Whipple]
• November: [COMPLETED: Jim Eastman]
• December: [COMPLETED: Erik Lane]

FAQ

• How can I apply to participate?
  Unfortunately, the schedule for 2012 is currently full.
• How do I know if I'm skilled enough?
  You are, don't worry. Basic skill with building electronics is encouraged, but you also have a month to refine your skills and get help.
• Can others help me?
  Sure, but they may not directly work on the exquisite corpse if they are past or future contributors. When getting assistance from others, you won't be disclosing details of the work.
• What if I'm not in Portland?
  Sorry, you must live in the Portland metro area (suburbs ok) to contribute.
• Is there going to be another one?
  Probably, if there's interest! Let me know if you're interested in another go around.

I just got back from the Occupation area in the park on the river-side of the court house. There are 200 to 300 people there, spirits are good.

I asked what were the most immediate needs of O.P.

They are:

• FRS hand-held two-way radios for communication
• "AAA" alkaline batteries (many), for the above radios

They are also trying to make (or get) a human-powered bicycle-generator to re-charge batteries of cell phones, etc. If anyone happens to have such a thing, they could really use it!

Doing revolutionary things with electricity...

-Jim W.