You can read about previous activity at:

2017-12-28

Jon finally had a moment at work to update the clock above his desk.

The old clock wasn't very conventional

The new clock numerals were laser cut at RML a few weeks ago - if you haven't guessed, Jon is a Chemist

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2017-12-26 Boxing day

There wasn't much enthusiasm for a meeting on Boxing day - Little House will be closed! See you in 2018!

2017-12-19 Tuesday

Paul B has ANOTHER 3D printer
Chris laser cut - the laser is very down on cutting power
Nick and Charlotte popped in
Martin continued working on his Tesla pump
Iain Paul E, Phaedra and Konstantin popped in and wished us Merry Christmas.
Peter borrowed disc duplicator
We welcomed Ally back to laser cut jewellery
Kevin Fixing an infra red security light
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-12-12 Tuesday

Morning

Andres met up with Artefact's Claudia & Fiorella. We are keen on doing some activity for British Science Week 9 -18 of March so the idea is to do a brain storming session Tuesday the 9th of January at 14hrs. At the moment the idea is to have a large event, in a church in Petersham, probably a Saturday or Sunday and just build some cool stuff for the community, we would like everybody to be involved, from young citizens to senior citizens. But what is the subject of the brain storming session: see you in Blog 2018
Talked about using Little House for hosting workshops.
Andres & Kim tidied up a bit and washed some mugs.
The hot water was left on - we should think about fitting a timer switch so it can't be left on again.
Kim did some lasercutting.
Windows computer did an update: "only" took 3 hours.

Evening

Peter and PaulB continued the hard disk investigation with Spinrite, started last week
Martin made adjustments to the Tesla generator. There are mechanical issues to resolve.
Garret is quite interested in doing a little work on the model plane, leading to a test flight.
IanB had prepared a Raspberry Pi for the VineyardComputers project
Garret made some adjustments to the wooden automaton. It's getting better.
Chris came to use the laser cutter, and cut clear acrylic snowflakes
Later on it was Simon on the laser cutter
Paul E worked on adding a display screen to a stage effects power supply of his own design.

Dan continues his Raspberry Pi project, and is thinking about building a robotic drum player.
Peter is planning a wireless heating control, to replace an existing control which is plainly unsatisfactory.
Vina dropped in briefly, and had an example of free-motion embroidery which she recently made.
William continued with the microprocessor-based wind speed sensor.
Yaroslav gave advice on building a robotic drum player, and had something to produce on the 3D printer.
Attendance tonight = 13

2017-12-05 Tuesday

Paul B brought along an inexpensive 3D printer. It's a delta-style printer with the trade name BIQU Magician. Like many things it needs a lot of reading of the manual and setting up before it can produce beautiful shapes.
Peter used SpinRite to investigate a suspect HDD. That always takes a long while.
Paul E (LeoNerd on IRC) had his AVR programmer connected to the precision voltmeter. Every now and then it stopped responding and had to be power cycled. This was tracked down to an uncommitted option pin.
Paul E also helped IanB with a ESP32 battery backup question
Simon used a step cutter to open up a hole in a metal box from 1/2 inch to 1 inch (sorry for the non-metric references). It was a noisy process.
Vina did some laser cutting of Christmas-themed shapes. Also showed a landscape picture made from wool and a felting process involving bubble-wrap. Vina also assembled some cards with Cricut cut patterns.
Chris was mainly into laser cutting.
Jon claims to have designed a clock, but I didn't see it so it's just hearsay at present.
Imi discussed a new project for The Vineyard with IanB. More on this when there's time to write it up.
William is configuring an ESP32 to generate three frequencies: 1Mhz, 30kHz and 1kHz (I may have got the exact numbers wrong) for a wind-speed indicator. This is a huge simplification over his first try which involved a lot of CMOS wired together.
Martin added an air pipe to the Tesla generator. The mechanical side is looking to be close to completion now, but probably needs a winding and magnet for the electrical aspect.
Martin has expressed an interest in seeing the model plane fly again. Perhaps this could be done over the Christmas break?
Dan has had success using a R.Pi for logging indoor air temperature every 10 minutes to an SQL database, and showing the result in a browser window. He's going to build on that foundation.
Ryan might be opening Little House some days during the Christmas holidays, so if you want a break from Santa and all the crowd, make some mention of it on the mailing list and we will get coordinated.
Attendance tonight = 11

2017-11-28 Tuesday

Martin fixed the servo mounting in the model plane. This was the final piece of necessary repair work.
Jane made plans and measurements for a device that everybody thought was a zoetrope (but may not be).
Dan has had success with adding sensors to a Raspberry Pi. Now he's looking at ESP8266 and ESP32. William gave some advice.
Leticia laser-cut some odd materials, Simon laser-cut some more model buildings
Paul B continued his experiments into building a spot welder. Needs more power!
Imi modified an alarm that detects mains power loss.
Kevin fitted a new jack to an electric guitar
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-11-21 Tuesday

PaulB needs more current for the spot welder. He's attached a second transformer and will connect the secondary in parallel.
Chris did a bit of laser cutting, but not as much as he had planned. Also, he did some 3D printing.
Kai collected his laptop, upgraded to Ubuntu Linux by Martin.
Jon tidied up around the CNC router, then moved onto the shelves next to the kitchen. Next, label all the items.
We met some new faces, Chris E, Richard and Jonathan L. Welcome, you all.
Dan picked up a digital temperature sensor, and will be connecting it to a Raspberry Pi using the 1-wire interface.
Most of the evening there was no WiFi, though wired Ethernet was working fine. IanB connected to the router and tried guessing without any result.
Ryan responded to a plea for help. He connected to the router from wherever he is in the USA, and he miraculously brought the WiFi back to life.
Attendance tonight = 11

2017-11-14 Tuesday

Kai brought a memory module for the laptop, IanB fitted it and it worked! He's wanting to install Linux on the laptop, to replace Windows. The Linux install failed to complete, and Martin agreed to take it away and have a go with it before next week.
Jane fixed a fearsome-looking curved blade into a wooden handle
Laser cutting work was done by Mark, Kim, Chris and Simon
Tamsin's wooden drinking cup is making progress
PaulB added a wooden frame and a hinge to his spot welder. It's based on a microwave oven transformer. Then he tried it out on a piece of metal. There was no weld but plenty of satisfying smoke. Later, Paul added another turn to the the transformer secondary.

Welcome and hello to Jonathan, a visitor from the Kingston Inventors' Round Table. He's interested in using the 3D printer to make parts for his own 3D printer.
Paul E continued to puzzle over a small non-linearity in his precision voltmeter. He may be able to make a correction in software that would produce a reading accurate to a few parts per million over the whole range.
Garret had an image of a dragon with a 3-dimensional appearance if you looked at it right. (If you looked at it wrong, it would jump off the table and devour you in flames, so we looked carefully)
Carl talked about a folded acetate pyramid that you can put over a phone screen, to produce the appearance of a 3-dimensional hologram image. Possibly we will be seeing Princess Leia in combat with a dragon before long. Carl also had a model parrot, based on a coke-bottle and paper-maché.
Outside in the yard, John was using an angle grinder to cut metal mesh. He's making a 6-foot high cage for a gerbil or chinchilla, though it's large enough to hold a leopard.
Attendance tonight = 18

2017-11-07 Tuesday

Martin's Tesla generator is making good mechanical progress
PaulB checked the output from his spot welder power supply: 1.8v at ?MegaAmps
Paul E was puzzling over some small non-linearity with the Precision Voltmeter
Chris did laser cutting
Two visitors, hopefully to become regular visitors, looked at the laser cutter and the 3D printer
Dan is planning to become more familiar with Raspberry Pi and networking
Jon turned two axles on the lathe, they are for the new wheels on his suitcase - he is tired of it dragging on the ground. The steel raw material started out as part of a laser printer!
David W brought along a computer with an internet connectivity problem. IanB did his best to advise, but the problem may remain with the router
Attendance tonight = 10

2017-10-31 Tuesday

A lot of activity with the laser cutter today, Mark & Kim, Simon, Chris and Ant
PaulE devised a way to synchronise three separate movement-sensing path lights
Paul E also found a solution to Peter's brake light problem
Mention of brake lights got Tamsin and Peter looking at her car
Tamsin started on another wooden cup, using experience gained on the first two prototypes
Jon continues to curse Fusion360, but has respect for it, too
Garret is still assembling his wooden automaton, and is plannig to add an electric motor to it
Jane pulled apart a Scart cable in an attractive blue colour. The moulded plug covers survived.
PaulB repaired his twisty copper pipe challenge game, and had a look at Jan's iPhone problem
Mark also had a go at Jan's iPhone problem, but no solution could be found
Konstantin and Dan had a talk about file sharing -Samba was recommended
Dan and IanB talked about data-logging using a R Pi
Carl came along and looked at a bike, might have been donated by Briony?
Attendance tonight = 18

2017-10-24 Tuesday

PaulB continued with his spot welder from a microwave transformer project
PaulE compared his home made voltmeter to a calibrated source
Garret continued working on his wooden toy
Dan tried to repair a homogeniser that had burnt
Martin worked on the lathe
We were visited by Thomas, Alejandra and Edward
Jean was hoping for some help repairing some extending pruning shears, but we concluded they were beyond repair.
Kim and Mark came and did some laser cutting
Kai came along to modify some hinges with the grinding wheel
Tamsin Worked on her wooden cup
Peter
Imi
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-10-17 Tuesday

Jon laser cut a hot wire cutter table
Garret Steamed his miss-glued wooden toy apart to repair it
Tamsin Worked on her wooden cup
Charlotte worked on felt animals
Jane glued the wrong end of scissors (intentionally)
Andres opened up then went to a Ham Close regeneration meeting then popped back.
Paul E worked on his voltmeter
Martin used the lathe and had a demo of the laser cutter
Simon continued lasering wargaming scenery
Paul B
Dan consulted
Peter and Michael discussed forth software languages
Ian popped in to say hello
Dave visited us and filled out a membership form
Imi has borrowed the big vacuum pump to preserve fruit.
visitor - didn't catch name
Jon got really cranky about the state the kitchen is being left in - please wash up after yourselves!
Attendance tonight = 17

2017-10-13 Friday

Donated HP desktop, laptop, Screen, keyboard, mouse and Ethernet cable. The screen was faulty and flickered off (at a later date replaced with a working screen).
Gave a short introduction to Ubuntu gnu/Linux. Conclusion very intuitive
Loaned 2 Apple pickers, applepress and Apple cruncher with bags to Russell school PTA. They have an event the next day.
Donated a LEDE WiFi home system. Refurbished from a BT Home Hub. Needs a bit of user learning, but should function OK. Loads of remote support provided by Ian and Ryan via messaging. Talk about after sales support!
Attendance today =5

2017-10-10 Tuesday

A visitor had a faulty electric scooter - alas I neither caught her name nor fixed the scooter(Andres note: Justine)
Jan came to visit - she is involved in Farnham's repair cafe and was is interested in what we were doing
Martin continued lathing his aluminium engine.
Jon did remarkably little but talk about model railway wagons and German Technology Museums with Peter
Konstantin drilled holes in a case for a footswitch for an amp
PaulE printed some label stickers for power plugs on the CNC mill and other places, supplied some 4mm test leads, and worked on his voltmeter project
Paul B helped various people
Garret unglued his automaton kit
Simon continued lasering wargaming scenery
Another visitor was interested in the lasers capability to cut fabric - we did a quick demo
Imi popped by
Attendance tonight = 12

2017-10-03 Tuesday

Ian is out of action for a couple of weeks (get well soon) his replacement blogger didn't start very well, but has eventually recalled most of what happened.
Paul B and Martin investigated replacement of the lathe speed controller, replaced it and then believed it was broken again. Peter had a look and it now seems to work.
Jon wasn't really in the making mood and would have sat around doing nothing if it wasn't for the tours and demos for 5 new visitors.
Joe had a mobile phone that had lost the soldered joint to the wifi arial that needed re-soldering, however closer inspection revealed that the solder pad had come away with the tab, and couldn't be repaired.
Tamsin bought new belts for the belt sander, but it seems there are two different versions of the same sander part number, and the ones she bought didn't fit.
Sam donated a couple of vintage laptops and various other bits to the computer room.
Briony came by and left a bag of computer magazines - not sure if that was intended as a gift, or just forgot to take away?
Jean appeared to measure the folding tables and was releaved to find them in store downstairs not in the loft.
Imi popped in to use the internet
PaulE worked on his voltmeter, adding dBV and relative dB gain display
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-10-01 Sunday

Ian repaired the model airplane portions to prepare for future flights
Ryan cleaned and hauled recycling and rubbish off to Townmead Recycling Centre and re-imaged PaulB's RasPi3 computer.
Garret brought in some set-top boxes and cable modems to take apart and recycle. Recovered 500GB HDD and some nice PCB switches.
PaulB recovered the (heavy) apple press & related equipment from the loft
Jon, Andres, and PaulB went apple picking with the HUG Apple Pickers and recovered lots of apples for brewing!
Jon cleaned and prepared the apple cider brewing kit
Discussion about opening Little House during a weekend morning (could be really useful!)

2017-09-26 Tuesday

Laser cutting replicas of WWII Iron tank stoppers for wargaming
Briony brought a Kindle that was stuttering when playing internet video. It worked fine at Little House, so Briony concluded it must be her home broadband connection
Martin is planning the housing for the Tesla generator piston, and this may involve the laser cutter
Martin also did a 'glide test' on the model plane and told us it's nose heavy, which may explain its tendency to munch grass after launch. The wheels have come off and need re-fixing.
Jane was fixing up two boiled eggs, using Sugrue. She had spare Sugrue, but no-one else had any immediate need for it.
Tamsin worked on a second wooden drinking vessel, using experience gained from the first one. It involves a mix of power tools, hand tools and skill.
Nice to see Iain (the one with the extra i) back. He had an Apple power supply that gets hot when it shouldn't, a frayed power cable and an alarming rattle when shaken. Paul B helped Iain get the case open, everything was fixed, and the case was closed up again. It now needs a rubber band to keep it together, but the important thing is, it works.
Paul E used his in-progress electronic load to check the newly-repaired dual power supply. The current display is accurate to 0.001A, which is good enough for us. Paul also did an experimental cut using the CNC router. This would have had a better result if the workpiece had been held steady on the bed. There's room for some improvement here.
Ken brought a HP compact computer which we had previously supplied. It's for use for a charity, but because everybody else uses Windows, this one needed Windows too. The installation stalled because there were no HP drivers for Windows to use. We downloaded all the relevant drivers from HP, and tried again. This time the installation halted because Windows couldn't load the drivers from the USB stick, as Windows had no usb driver. This seems so awful, and explains why some of us have an inbuilt disdain for MS Windows.
Jon washed up the mugs left ion the sink, then cleaned the sink then looked out the glassware used for apple pressing and cider production, HUG intend to go Apple Picking from 2pm on Sunday 1st October, then try and turn some of the resultant into apple juice and cider.
Attendance tonight = 19

2017-09-23 Saturday

Donated a Sony Vaio laptop PCG-8T1M. Working windows XP installation, user needed basic computing. (Thank you Yaroslav & Andres!)
Fixed radio antenna with an alligator clip.
Discussed RoHS testing and compliance
Discussed community amended CoD
Debated the merits of the FORTH programming language
Chat about history, genetics and identity
Reviewed entry system and suggested using the main metal door using a motor to open the latch and the handle without having to cancel the use of the key.
Thought about grinding/fixing the main door so that it was not so difficult to open (once unlocked)
Attendance = 5

2017-09-19 Tuesday

The electric toaster that Garret has been working on is definitely back in full working order. Garret did some test toast, added butter and jam, and he pronounced it excellent.
Jon has a design for a vacuum pipe-holder for the drill press, to collect wood shavings as they are produced. Seems a neat idea
Paul B came along with a coloured LED controller and some RGB LED units. The wires had been cut so the lights couldn't plug into the controller. By the end ofthe evening, they were working again. Paul also fixed an audio cable with an intermittent fault, and gave some assistance to John H who had called in to see us with a Mac problem. Thanks for the donation, John!
Teddy is a new member who is currently working on Sky boxes. He was interested to see us pull apart a very old Sky box to retrieve the Hard Disk inside. He gave Ian B a hand with a bit of fault-finding on the lathe speed controller, Teddy is interested in Ham Radio as well as everything else we do here.
Imi brought a number of boxes of Nature Valley Peanut & Chocolate bars. Please take as many as you want. They are all free (because they have just reached expiry date) and they will be thrown away if not eaten.
Tamsin continued working on the wooden drinking-vessel, this time taking off the external bark. Plenty of hammering but a good result.
Peter solved a USB-to-serial problem that he had been dealing with
Martin has an piece of aluminium rod that will form the piston for the Tesla generator. We have to get the lathe speed controller repaired first, and locate a suitable cutting tool. But we will.
There was some talk about regular opening on a Thursday evening. Two or three members indicated they would be regular attenders. We should try it and see where it goes.
Attendance tonight = 13

2017-09-12 Tuesday

Martin is definitely going to build a Tesla generator.
Welcome to some new faces: Rick, Chris and Tamsin. You all got involved in activities from the start, that's great.
Rick has a water-powered generator and an electrically controlled water valve, has some plans to add WiFi control using the MQTT protocol. But Rick spent his time more usefully in repairing the model plane so grievously damaged in its test flight.
The new Chris has some ideas about the applications of home automation. We have the tools if you have the ideas!
The other Chris said he has a job translating from Geek to Legal, and the other way too. He is a geek to legal translator. You see, we have clever people amongst us.
Tim started soldering components on to a board, to make a permanent version of his ultrasonic bird scarer. Hasn't soldered for tens of years, is rediscovering a skill.
Thanks Franz, for donating some rechargeable AA size batteries and a charger. They are in the 'batteries' bin on the shelf, if anyone wants some.
Andy was looking to repair a really elderly electronic timer, for a heated towel rail. We recommended the kind of timers that we now have on the Little House heaters. They can't be accidentally left on all week.
Tamsin writes software for a job, but plans to use RML to unleash her creative skills. She started with an old bit of a tree which she wants to transform into a drinking cup. Some amongst us said it couldn't be done, but within a couple of hours and with a bit of help from Jon, it was undeniably coming together. Tamsin also was able to give Phaedra some advice on making accessories for the bee costume.
Paul E is starting another piece of electronics, mainly from home. He's made his own brand of Arduino Nano, using a new chip that has more I/O options than the older ones.
Peter talked a little about the ST8 and Forth, and discovered a blown fuse on the lathe front panel that we others had missed!
Peter and Ian B opened up the lathe motor control to discover why it wasn't working. That's a storyline that will be continued when we know more about it.

Not just blokes!

Attendance tonight = 13

2017-09-05 Tuesday

Chris brought a dial gauge and adjusted the carriage angle on our lathe. A much needed adjustment.
Martin is looking at gcode and how it is generated.
Paul E took apart our two-channel power supply unit, to discover what's wrong with one of the channels. Made progress.
Jane asked for help in removing the springs from some fluid pumps. Also turned more pegs on the lathe
Phaedra still adapting the Beelievers logo, and working for the benefit of bees
Letitia had some fabric to be laser-cut
Kye continued cutting the wooden tubular ring. We couldn't provide a power tool for this, so he did it by hacksaw. Note to self: We need better lighting in the yard.
Nice to meet Vipul, already well known on our IRC channel as <vagarwal>. He will be along next week, I hope he will become a regular
Jean L dropped by to discuss a 'No Fishing' sign for the pond on Ham Common, that will be made by us. She took away a sample sign and the Pond Committee will decide what they really need.
Simon doing a bit more laser cutting
IanB has begun the task of rewiring the "zombie 3D printer", with the goal of bringing it back to life.

Attendance tonight = 14

2017-08-31 Thursday

First flight of the model plane !
It took a year to build and it's been quite an achievement for two of our younger members Ben and Emm, who put in weeks and weeks of effort, building up the plane from pieces of balsa wood, plenty of glue, and some plastic heat-sensitive sheeting for the covering. The plane is a Tomboy Senior, with a 39" wing span. It's a well established design, recommended to us by our senior mentor, Tony Tomlin. Thanks, Tony!
IanB added an electric engine, battery and radio remote control.

(click on any picture for a larger view)

We all got together on Thursday, in a field by Ham House, for the maiden flight. Switched on, engine on full power, and Emm launched the plane by hand into the air. It flew! It gained height. It didn't fly straight, it seemed to curve round to the right. Within moments, it was heading for the trees and crashed into the branches, about 40 feet above the ground.

The next hour was spent trying to get the plane out of the tree. Gavin and Graham had a good thick rope. If we could get the rope over a branch, we could maybe shake the plane free. Couldn't quite get the rope high enough. Even with the help of a stepladder, couldn't get the rope 40 feet into the air.
Ken tried slinging a small weight on the end of a long piece of string. On his first attempt, the string was over the branch! We tied the rope to the string and hauled it up. With a good deal of pulling, shaking and grunting, we got the plane to fall to the ground. We expected to find it broken to pieces, but it was in good shape. The tailplane needed to be straightened up, an elastic band needed adjustment, but it was all ready for a follow-up flight.

This time we moved well away from the trees. If only we had done that for the first flight, the outcome would have been so different.
Launched the plane into the wind, but the flight was not so good. The propeller may have come loose, or lost a shim. After a short distance, the plane headed for the grass, and broke the motor mounting on landing nose first. Maybe that was just as well, for there was no other damage.
It was all over for the day. We will get a new propellor, we will replace the engine mounts. The Tomboy will fly again.

2017-08-29 Tuesday

Welcome to Will. He's doing image recognition software in Python, using an algorithm that learns from a large set of training data. If we had regular talks, this would have been a welcome subject.
Martin would like to build a Tesla Generator and has drawings. As a first step, the drawings need to be converted from an image into 3D CAD software files. If anyone can help with this -see Martin.
Jon brought a destination blind from an underground train. You don't see them these days, they've been replaced with LED matrix signs.
Ryan was kept busy bringing computers back to life when all seemed lost. He helped Andy and Richard.
Kevin brought cake. And wired up a substitute battery for a Roberts Radio. The original PP9 batteries are getting expensive and hard to find.
Chris called in to see us and see what we do. Recommended by his friend Simon, who couldn't come in today.
Peter is still thinking about the ST8 microprocessor and a Forth programming environment for them. Very good low-cost device for connecting to peripherals. If anyone would like to try their hand at it -see Peter.
PaulB tried to work out why his first 3d printer is still not printing correctly - issue seems to be temperature control, but the thermistors have already been replaced.
Yaroslav completed building the fidget spinner engine, but there's a little more work to do in testing it.
Emma is still helping Phaedra with graphics design.
Phaedra brought us an old, old variac. I said we didn't need it, but we've got it anyway. It might come in useful after we have put a plug on and tested it.
At the end of the evening, the place was still quite tidy. That's a Good Thing.
Attendance tonight = 16

2017-08-26 Saturday

Jon and Ryan did some tidying
All the non/semi-functional 3d printers and spares have moved to a new set of shelves, this should:
- Allow more workbench space
- Allow easier access to the 3d printers that are being worked on - Ian has plans to re-commission the donated makerbot, but it was stored on a difficult to reach shelf.
- Opens up the window between the main room and the office - it should make working in the ffice a little less 'cut-off' from everything else going on.

we identified some stuff to donate to mind (or scrap).
we fitted timers to the heaters - so they cannot be left on all week - they still need repair/replacement of the blower units - is anyone prepared to take this on?
we discussed could we try another opening day? - maybe a 3d printers evening, or a Saturday morning session?
We tidied the wood stack in the corner and moved the 2/3rds of the blue stools into the corner
the remaining 1/3rd of the blue stools went up into the loft - we don't need more than 15 seats ever, so this should make a bit of space for your knees when sitting at the bench.

Attendance today = 2

2017-08-22 Tuesday

Paul E checked his own-built precision voltmeter against the Fluke multimeter and they agreed within 0.001v (is that the figure, Paul?)
Jane scavenged parts from an inkjet printer, quite a messy business, and was last seen stripping insulation from copper wire.
Jon had a mass of laser cutting prepared and managed to get good results. Terry was in attendance too.
Garrett completed the repair of the electric toaster, with the crimp connectors he had ordered last week.
Andy was watching and helping out where possible. David M looked in briefly. Imi also visited to see how things were going
Phaedra brought her PC for repair but it came to life when plugged in. Wish that would happen to other equipment that comes along to be seen to! Her keyboard flaked out, and we found her a replacement.
Hi to Martin, don't know what you were doing this week.
Peter showed a small 8266 device that he will do some work on when he has some time. He has a pair of laser-protection safety glasses and would like to assess whether they are effective. The answer seems to be to use them to interrupt the laser beam and see what difference it makes to a burn mark on wood. Peter also has a couple of 50mW laser sources.
Kevin has acquired a tiny USB camera (for £2 on eBay!) he's planning to use it to inspect the bridge support inside an acoustic guitar body.
Attendance tonight = 13

2017-08-15 Tuesday

Welcome to some new faces: Vanita, who had her mobile phone expertly mended using the hot-melt glue gun. Akshay had a small quadcopter with a broken-off motor. We showed him how to reconnect it and make solder connections. Sachin had a radio controlled car using a glow-plug engine. He asked if we could get it started, but no-one knew anything about glow-plugs. We tried but were not successful.
Welcome also to Andy, who looked in to see what we do. Before long, he was showing Jane how best to cut a piece of MDF with a handsaw.
Jane had a glass-front display box that needed a cosmetic upgrade. It took rather longer than planned and wasn't finished today.
Ian B handed back to Lisa a laptop she had brought in last week. During the week it had run a long diagnostic program that helped to explain why Windows was running sooo slooow on it. With the recommended fixes all carried out, we wait to hear from Lisa whether it's helped or not.
Emma continued helping Phaedra with logo design. Emma also had a need for a straight cut in a piece of wood she had brought along, and Jon kindly did it.
Phaedra had a lav seat that was missing a part in one of the hinges. Ian B turned an aluminium peg to replace the missing plastic part and a successful repair was achieved.
Peter is looking for a lightweight Windows-based development environment for STM 8 microcontrollers
Yaroslav did more to fix his coffee machine and started a 3D print.
Paul E got his high-resolution voltmeter working, did some de-soldering, and gave assistance to Garrett
Garrett is fixing an electric toaster, and was also repairing an electric fly-swatter
Kai came along with a large steel ring that needed to be cut into three sections. He used a hacksaw and got started. There's no power tool to do the job, so it just needs applied human energy. Kai will be continuing next week.
Nice to see Carl at the end of the day.
Attendance tonight = 18

2017-08-08 Tuesday

Jon is honing his skills with Fusion360
Phaedra's Bee song is now recorded and mastered. She has been getting help from Emma with a BeeLievers logo.
Jeremy brought a large piece of aluminium and turned it on the lathe
Jane brought a xylophone and proceeded to take apart for the useful pieces it's made of. It has a sturdy wooden box -that's got to be useful too!
Imi's making a blood pressure monitor that takes readings every hour. These things can cost hundreds of pounds to buy, but can be hand-built for a fraction of that cost.
Good to see Jez and daughter again. They cut out a wood heart using the laser cutter.
Charlotte completed a hand-stitched penguin, about 8 cm high and cute.
Paul B helped to identify a problem on a visitor's laptop, and helped Ian B with installing software on a MacBook.
Garrett had a computer to be fixed, got some help from Martin, with a successful outcome.
Jean L was researching methods and materials for a "No Fishing" sign for Ham Pond. We are able to help.
Simon has accumulated an impressive collection of intricate laser-cut model buildings. Some pics shown last week.
Welcome to Dogan and to Mike F.
Konstantin used the 3D printer and has just about completed the valve amplifier he was building.
Carl has a bicycle back-light in need of repair (again). This time, we couldn't solder the rechargeable battery, so it may have reached the end of the road, so to speak.
Attendance tonight = 18

2017-08-01 Tuesday

Welcome to new member Jeremy, hope you'll drop in regularly
Paul E investigated the CNC router and got some good results, on paper
Tim did some more work on the ultrasonic bird scarer -it's now producing a loud noise, though we can't hear it!
Imi was modifying a blood pressure monitor (why not!)
Paul B replaced a thermistor and got the 3D printer running again
Jane spent some time wood-turning on the metal lathe, using wood chisels as the cutting tools. It worked surprisingly well.
Peter knows how to make a profiling tool from an HSS blade. Offered to show how.
Simon used the laser cutter to create more model buildings

we were donated a couple of printers - usually we say no to these, but the colour laser was better then the B&W we have, and Jon wants a few stepper motors, which dismantling a scanner/printer will provide.
we were also donated a reportedly non working Dyson DC19 vacuum cleaner - later in the week Jon pulled it to bits and cleaned it - it seems to work OK, so maybe just neglected?

Kevin completed the electric guitar repair
Attendance tonight = 12

2017-07-25 Tuesday

A busy evening, a good mixture of activity and socialising
There was a queue for the laser cutter, Jon, Leticia, Jane, Simon all had work to do
Dan A completed the reverse geolocator mystery box with some help from John
John demonstrated a 6-legged box that could scuttle across the floor
Garrett continues to be developing a solar-powered fan, to work with low levels of light
Tim continues to develop an ultrasonic scarer for parakeets
Jane constructed an electrical exhibit
Phaedra is recording a song to publicise the perilous state of bees
Attendance tonight = 21

2017-07-18 Tuesday

We had some interested visitors, with a photographer, they were students doing a study of makerspaces
Andres, PaulB and Ryan helped show our visitors what we do
Jon was studying Fusion360, (he's going to become The Expert on that software)
Leticia continued her experiments with fabrics and laser cutting
Tim and IanB got some early results with an ultrasonic device to scare off parakeets
Welcome to new member Paul E (also known as LeoNerd on our Telegram group). He has plans for using the CNC router. He's also a fully hands-on electronics person.
Simon still progressing with the reverse geo whatsit
Had some chats with Garret and with Peter on various topics
Noisy drilling of large holes in an electronics case by Peter
Paul B investigated the thermistor problem with the 3D printer. More progress next week.
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-07-11 Tuesday

Ryan upgraded Paul B's TS100 soldering iron with new open source firmware and a more powerful AC adapter
Ryan installed the LaserWorksV6 application on all of the Linux machines to help with the bottleneck
Jon and Ryan discussed laptop upgrade options
Jon built models with the laser cutter
Jane created a pair of scissors with the blades inside the handles, and repaired our donations dish
Paul B provided laser cutter and 3D printer advice for some visitors
Simon was busy with the laser cutter, too
Konstantin machined parts for his amplifier project
Yaroslav joined us for some general tinkering with a coffee machine
Harry is starting on a design for a specialised 3D scanner, IanB advised on the mechanics
Dan S continued his reverse-geocache project
Jean has migrated the bag o' bees to a more proper box of bees.
Vina brought by some kind Canadians curious about the makerspace movement
IanB kindly stewarded visitors around the space and discussed CCTV cameras with Raymond.
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-07-04 Tuesday

Jon laser cut some models from cereal packet
Simon, Jon and Paul B helped Jane with the laser cutter
Leticia returned to laser cut more fabric samples, she brought some fabulous examples of what she did last time.

Quite a queue for the laser cutter this week
Ryan looked at installing the laser cutter software on a PC running Wine to increase capacity on the cutter - so design and cutting can happen on different machines in parallel.
Peter helped Jane fix the hands of a clock
Yaroslav and Anton worked on a 3d printed figure
DanS continued the geo-unlocking box.
Harrison came along and did some de-soldering and remounting of surface mount components.
Gavin and Isobel came to 3d print a holder for a weighing cell upgrade PCB
Harry came along wanting advice on 3d scanner construction - we suggested coming back when Ian was around.
Carl popped in with fresh supplies from B&Q
Imi was computing.
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-06-27 Tuesday

Kevin was making a washer to fit a ¼ inch jack
William was looking for thin nuts to fit ¼ inch jacks. He was repairing a very interesting retro sampler
Jon designing model buildings, prior to laser cutting
Vina on the laser cutter produced some very intricate pieces
Imi and Nigel were investigating importing VHS video via USB capture card -Ryan was able to help
Peter looking for M5 screws of a certain length, also gave some help on mechanical issues
Yaroslav donated a Windows XP laptop and came in with a wooden cricket stump in need of repair. He fixed it and went on to look into the fidget spinner motor. Meantime, his son picked up tips on 3D printing from PaulB
DanS continued the geo-unlocking box.
A good time was had by all
Attendance tonight = 12

2017-06-20 Tuesday

YaMatt looking at a device to take along to DEFCON Hacking Conference
Paul B making a tiny saw table for a Dremel
Imi doing a bike repair
Jon cutting wood, and laser cutting models
Jane filing a couple of fans, and removing the handle from half a secateur
Tim is making a parakeet scarer, because they are noisy beasts
Dan A's reverse GPS box is getting better each week
Simon laser cutting of models
Ryan built a Raspberry Pi-based MAX7219 moving LED sign
Gavin and Ben consulted on the upgrade possibilities of a laptop
Konstantin was drilling a metal chassis, then inserting studs, and finding novel ways to do so
Yaroslav is collecting parts to make a fidget spinner motor, reputedly to get it turning at 1500 rpm.
Many other familiar faces, busy people, I didn't manage to mention everybody. \But special thanks to Carl who brought ice lollies for all.
Attendance tonight = 19

2017-06-14 Wednesday

Special Makerspace Giving Day to Surrey & Hampshire Makerspace:
- Gave away four laser tubes (one good, one bad, two so-so) for their laser cutter which was not coincidentally Paul B's old one
- Gave away flat panel screens, a gigabit switch, a couple of compact PCs, and some RS232-to-Ethernet serial devices
- Had a good chat comparing notes on the makerspace movement
Attendance tonight = 3

2017-06-13 Tuesday

Paul B was getting a miniature weather station set up
Ryan gave Little House a good clean-up. What would we do without you!
Ian B brought a laptop that Just Wouldn't Work. Ryan took all the important bits out of it, assisted by Ben, and quite soon the laptop was buzzing with activity again.
Welcome Jane, a new face. Very interested in what the laser cutter could do, also applied herself to sawing the end off a wooden thingammy to re-purpose it. That's the spirit!
Jon gave Jane some help with understanding the laser cutter, with advice on suitable materials.
Philip was here again, last week he made a replacement clip for a step counter, this week he implemented a design improvement to it.
A re-welcome to Mosely, who's been here before, but some time ago. This time he brought a petrol-engine model helicopter, which Paul B thought he could get flying again if only it had rotor blades. For the present time, it's been put into the Mezzanine store room. Maybe that's as high as it will get until the rotor blades are found.
Gavin and Ben looked in. Gavin to seek a date for the maiden flight of the model plane, and Ben to continue learning how to take apart laptops and desktop computers.
We are going to say goodbye to Kris, who has done so much good for us through his connections with Cisco. Kris is moving to the USA to show them how it's done. His last contribution is a big and beautiful A0 poster promoting RML.
Simon did a bit more model-making with the laser cutter. He's good at doing really small intricate work.
New member Peter has some ideas that could be worked out on the 3D printer. He hopes to get his hands on it during the coming weeks. Also, he made an offer to provide the club with RFiD equipment and cards, which he has surplus to requirements. The details are not yet clear.
Hi also to those who came along, watched, chatted but didn't get written up this week.
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-06-10 Saturday

It's Ham Fair 2017 !
About 6 of us gathered at Little House in the morning, to load up Paul B's car
We set up gazebos and tables on Ham Common, despite a strong, gusty wind.
Great day was had by all, with plenty of interested visitors, and with the help of RML members taking turns on our stall.
Thanks to all who provided graphics, water, cakes and equipment
Took it all apart again and stashed everything back at Little House.

2017-06-06 Tuesday

Gavin and Ben put finishing touches to the plane. It's likely to get a first flight some time mid July
Paul B did some 3D printing. He also has a carbon tetra-chloride vapour chamber that imparts a glossy finish to printed objects -if you use the right kind of PLA filament to make them.
Dan's reverse geo-cache makes further progress. If you don't know what that means -don't ask!
Philip had some 3D printing to do. This was to make a replacement for something that had broken during the week.
Jez called in with his two daughters, to see whether we had been able to repair the Chromebook. Yes, it worked when switched on! High fives all round.
Nice to see Vina after a long absence -been very tied up with other things. Vina made some customised coasters, using the laser cutter.
A large old Panasonic microwave oven came in with Yaroslav. He took it apart to see why it would only run for 20 seconds, then turns off. We looked for thermal cutouts and the like, but finally found a service manual online that explained it. It said if there's a fault in the HV power supply or in the magnetron, it would switch itself off after 23 seconds. Knowing we couldn't fix the HV power supply or the magnetron, the microwave was destined for the recycling pit. Yaroslav kindly detached a couple of motors and a lampholder, which we put onto the component shelves for future hacking.
Kevin repaired a bass guitar. Pretty good one. It needs a thin brass washer or fixing plate to complete the repair. Sorry we had not got one of those.
Simon did some laser cutting
Phaedra brought doughnuts and cookies, and Paul B helped her with a yellow and black Bee logo. She's looking for an available voluntary film crew to make a good job of recording an activist infomercial video, for the benefit of bees everywhere. If you can help, speak up.
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-05-30 Tuesday

A quiet start, then it got really busy, and later quietened down again
Nice to see some local residents calling in to see what we are up to. All are welcome.
Paul B was building a vacuum chamber to help extract air bubbles from castings. He has taken a short-cut and purchased one instead. This is a good step because he can now get on with the casting.
Nick had written code for the ATtiny microprocessor and got it working.
Charlotte was wrestling with flamingoes, but getting on with penguins.
Jez came with his daughter, who had a laptop with a broken micro USB power connector. IanB fitted a new one which involved a combination of soldering and microsurgery. With help from Gorilla Cyanoacrylate Glue, it seems to be working again.
Yaroslav brought the robot arm, fully coded to pick up a lump of sugar and drop it into a cup. There was a hardware problem at switch-on, which got resolved during the evening with a bit of help from Nick. So it's ready for the Ham Fair.
Garrett soldered up a kit of parts to produce a working mechanism involving flashing LEDs and a servo-motor. It worked first time, which says a lot for Garrett's skills and the excellent RML facilities.
Attendance tonight = 16 (about)

2017-05-24 Wednesday

Nearby resident Clive was having trouble auto-programming his television for the local digital channels and was concerned about having to buy a new telly.
- Subsequently, Ryan made a house-call and setup the television, hooked up the DVD/VCRs to the televisions and took away a combination CRT-based DVD-Television for recycling.

2017-05-23 Tuesday

Nick was seen programming an 8-pin Atmel ATtiny microprocessor, using an arduino as the programmer. This was another step in the creation of an auto/manual speed control for the CNC router.
Emma had some ideas for a Ham Fair flyer, and discussed these with IanB.
Dan had edited the video taken at last week's meeting. This will be shown at Ham Fair on a continuous loop.
Simon had a session on the laser cutter and quickly produced a scale model of a bank. There's no money in it, but he will be adding IT equipment.
PaulB was into creating a re-usable precision mould for casting small parts. It's still at an experimental stage but involves mixing silicone with cornflour, and making a vacuum chamber to remove air bubbles.
There will be a small robot arm on display at the Ham Fair. Yaroslav will be doing the Arduino programming, and he called in briefly to pick up the hardware.
A couple of laptop stories: William had a spare connector assembly for his laptop. Even though it had the right part number, it was the wrong size or shape. I don't know the outcome, I hope it didn't involve a hacksaw. And Imi returned a laptop he had been borrowing from us. It might be used for showing the video at the Ham Fair.
Interesting project involving a wooden box and a GPS receiver. The box, once locked, can only be unlocked by taking it to a pre-determined location. Reverse GPS, you might call it.
Imi took apart a combination bicycle lock, so see how it worked. No-one could guess the right combination, so Imi used the hacksaw method. Interesting inside.
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-05-16 Tuesday

Dan took some photos and video for us to use at Ham fair - showing the equipment that we can't take to the fair - may also have been for our new website?
Paul and another member were doing battle with some sort of gearbox - I didn't determine its end use.
We laser cut an allotment sign from scrap perspex, then moved onto wargaming tokens, then to some name tags for school kid's book bags.
Paul was printing Groot on the 3d printer with mixed success, out of polywood filament.
Carl, Gareth and Jon practiced making balloon animals!
Michael dismantled a chrome-book to find out why a socket was erratic, and discovered some very small solder joints - I think a new socket was ordered?
Jon put the batteries required for Ham Fair on to charge. Also the laptop booster battery.
We discovered a flood on the floor of the loo - the water heater leaks slightly - the outlet pipe must be left over the washbasin otherwise we get a puddle!
Ryan has put up an electric hand drier in the loo - just needs connecting up (proper hookup via fixed fuse-switch, metal conduit to ceiling junction. Plug cable attached for test only.
Attendance tonight = 13

2017-05-09 Tuesday

Ben & Gavin putting finishing touches to the model plane. Should soon be ready to fly
Colin got a bit of help with making Firefox run more smoothly
PaulB successfully combined potato flour with silicone to make a rubbery cover for his smartphone. That's a process worth documenting for others to follow
Bartek donated a number of CNC router bits. Used, but still got some life in 'em.
Andrea, Emma and Dan looked at the Wordpress installation, and discussed the Ham Fair poster
There was a GPS receiver which got connected to an Arduino. It started receiving satellite positional information instantly. It looked so easy!
Arduino was talked about by several people. Is it time for us to organise an Arduino teaching session?
PaulB, Jon and others opened up the laser cutter's extractor fan enclosure, and found a lot of dust. The extractor hadn't been working very effectively recently, and that's why. Debated the possibility of changing to a different type of extractor fan. No conclusion that I know of.
Ham Fair not far away now. Planning, anyone?

2017-05-02 Tuesday

Less crowded today, but just as good an evening as ever.
Gavin and Ben were putting finishing touches to the model plane. We attached the wings and assessed the centre of gravity. Some small adjustments remain to be made, and then we are ready to see it fly!
Tim had 3D printed an acoustic amplifier for any mobile phone. It worked really well. Who needs Bluetooth speakers?
Paul B showed Yaroslav how the 3D printer is used.
Chris asked for training on the laser cutter (I don't think he got it though, sorry).
Colin had a problem with an old Thinkpad laptop, and Tim worked through it with him
Cal and IanB worked on a stagelight which wouldn't start up. Parts of it are working excellently, but the problem couldn't be solved in one evening. To be continued.
Tim brought in an obscure Akai audio device, and was impressed to find that Cal was already very familiar it. What are the chances of that!
Attendance tonight = 12

2017-04-25 Tuesday

We had a short talk from Andrea on Wordpress - an excellent tool for setting up your own website without writing any code and without need for technical knowledge. Wordpress can be configured as a website, blog, shop or forum with a wide range of plug-ins which extend the basic capability. Connectivity with the social networking websites can easily be achieved. Andrea offered to assist any RML member who wants advice, and she can be contacted through our mailing list.
Sheena and Cathy both brought in laptops that were running Windows painfully slowly. In one case, Dan found there was a background service hogging much of the processing time, but no-one knew how to throttle it back. The other had a memory card not properly connected, so it was limping along on 2GB instead of 6. We put that right and the laptop felt a good deal better.
Kevin has been working on a laptop with a dead screen. He got a replacement screen of a slightly different type but with much the same connections at the end, and after two goes, third time lucky, he got it actually working! High five, Kev!
Dan discussed Wordpress with Andrea and later with Emma. Longer term it would be good to replace the RML website front page with a Wordpress version, with the existing wiki linked to it.
Arthur is still working on a switching power supply from last week. This week he gave Imi some assistance with Linux, but could not understand why the laptop could not see the RML WiFi. IanB was puzzled by the same thing, but later in the evening the question got resolved.
Charlotte had an evening of stitching small birds in felt, but also told us the story of the Banana Surprise. It's too awful to repeat here.
Nick was investigating how to interface to an encoder switch, which has a lot of contact bounce. IanB promised to offer software he had previously written for an encoder input.
The 3D printer was going to start on a 14-hour print, of an acoustic amplifier for a mobile phone from Thingiverse, for Tim. More about this next week, maybe.
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-04-18 Tuesday

Arthur is designing a variable-voltage, switching power supply
Dave was shown more about OpenOffice
Ryan had a Type 706 (Mk2) telephone apart, thinking of reviving it
Kevin was working on a laptop with a blank screen
Alexandria and Leticia both used the laser cutter
Chris made an Arduino mount using the 3D printer
Nice to see Kris again, he arrived with several used computers for us
Kevin's thinking about building a bike repair stand.
Attendance tonight = 11

2017-04-11 Tuesday

Ryan helped revive a couple of dying PC's
Kevin tried brazing a bike component
We were joined by Leticia who was lasering some materials as part of her PhD
Jon delivered the laser cut holder for the lathe parts
Arthur was assembling some sort of power amplifier
Welcome extended to several new faces, we hope you are inspired to come back again
Arthur and IanB taught soldering to someone who asked.
Three RaspberryPi computers with touch-screens were here. These were configured for assisting people with senile dementia, part of an ongoing project by David Penney, who was visiting us today.
PaulB repaired Phaedra's bee-costume glasses, making a new hinge and fixing in optical lenses.
The 3D printer ran, but I know not what was printed.
Attendance tonight = 22

2017-04-04 Tuesday

Five new faces, thanks to the Craft Fair and Ryan's talk. Hope to see you regularly!
Looked at a laptop with a hard disk problem
Jon continued cutting bits for the lathe accessories holder - more success this week, it now needs sanding, varnish, and final assembly.
CNC router did some routering - holding down the material to be routed still needs some work.
A flat Li-on battery was revived
More felt birds were stitched
Tim showed us his formerly defunct battery electric screwdriver which he has now tidily hacked into a mains-powered useful tool.
Laser cutter was given a spring clean, all the smoke residue was cleaned from the vents, and the stray chads of cut material vacuumed out of the honeycomb and from the tray below.
We were left a tin of chocolates - mmm!
We actually had TWO pints of in-date milk - Tea was drunk!
Attendance tonight = 16

2017-04-01 Saturday

Ham Library Craft Fair

Thanks to the efforts of Vina, Nick, Ian, Jon, Paul, Ryan and others, Andres was able to book a table at the craft fair to show our possiblities.
Vina did some lovely egg baskets with some chocolate eggs in them.
Nick and others developed the eggbot which was used for children (and some adults) to decorate some plain white eggs. It was a great success!
Andres did some "limited edition Ham Close Coasters".
We got contact with some possible new members.
Two laptops that Ryan fixed up where there to take up for any donation money.
Lessons: forgot to bring flyers and HUG membership forms, a nice looking mantel piece would make it look nicer, a day that is not so near school holidays might be better. Having a more varied items would have helped!

Table Set
Children egg Lathe mode
Children setting it in Eggbot mode.

2017-03-28 Tuesday

Ian still wasn't here and our record keeping didn't improve!
We had two guests from a local school, who are thinking of setting up a makerspace for their pupils
Ryan tinkered with the PC pile - he is giving a talk on Makerspaces in Richmond on Thursday - https://www.meetup.com/Richmond-New-Technology-Meetup/events/238006180/.
Andres demonstrated how quickly the space fills with smoke when the fan for the laser cutter does not work, Jon and Andres identified a faulty fuse, replaced it and cleared the smoke.
Vina and Ben made felt bees.
Arthur recovered a couple of computer power supplies for a project.
Nick & Jon tinkered with the eggbot - Jon cut and tapped an adaptor in the lathe. - still a bit wonky!
Gavin & Ben progressed with covering the model plane.
We had two visitors with a broken Mac - Paul's idea of heaven? they will return next week with something to put any recovered data on.
Andres returned the playstations that we tested to the MIND shop - did we tell them which bits didn't work? The leads were left behind! Two new speaker type things appeared from the same source?
Last Tuesday of the month talk was Jon demonstrating the use of Polyurethane resin and silicone moulds to produce small batches of parts.
Vina engraved some gifts on the laser.
Carl and his Penguin appeared late on
Phaedra came to collect the bicycle that has been stored in the loo for weeks, it was missing! replaced with 5 folding paste tables? - eventually bike was rediscovered.
Phaedra did the washing up - is definitely welcome back!
Attendance tonight = 17?

2017-03-21 Tuesday

Ian wasn't here and our record keeping suffered!
Paul helped a new member 3D print a case/stand for a Rasberry Pi Camera.
Paul helped another new member laser cut a stencil.
Nick & Jon tinkered with the eggbot
Charlotte continues with crafting small felt creatures, next up an elephant.
Jon, center drilled some bolts using the lathe - could have done with a chuck that can close on a 1mm drill.
Konstantin and Nick discussed the merits of very expensive wire crimpers.
Gavin & Ben progressed with covering the model plane and tested Jon's geographical knowledge.
Imi was looking for an expert in video editing - I'm not sure if he found one?
Andres and a friend popped in.
Paul reviewed the functionality of some playstations that we had been given, most worked.
Attendance tonight = 13?

2017-03-14 Tuesday

Jon continued to create comed-boxes on the laser cutter
Gavin & Ben progressed with covering the model plane
Charlotte continued with her impressive collection of hand-crafted birds
Ryan spent most of his evening reviving a specialised Windows98 computer for a visitor
Mark demonstrated a homebrew midi synth based on Arduino and Propeller and laser-cut a new panel for it
Nick and Paul were involved in building an Egg-Bot in time for Easter, using the 3D printer
We had a donation of surplus-to-requirements PC parts from Serena. Thanks!
William was making sense of his music system based on a Pi Zero
Tim had an old battery-powered screwdriver that needed a new lease of life. He will be converting it to make the world's first mains-powered portable screwdriver. We will be around to give further help and advice.
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-03-07 Tuesday

Jon laser cut a very fine plywood box for holding spare parts for the lathe. Needs the floor and a few more little bits cut to finish it off.
Paul B had been practising on the lathe during the week, and we now have the 4-jaw chuck.
Welcome to Chris, making his second visit here. He was given an introduction to 3D printing.
Paul B received a vintage Mac, and assisted in the disassembly and repair of another Mac
Peter devised a way of driving an antique voltmeter using a model control servo
Attendance tonight = 10

2017-02-28 Tuesday

Simon was using the laser cutter
Gareth was programming a Mono as a binary clock.
Jon assembled an impressive comb cut box (pictured)
Nick used the CNC router to engrave tracks on copper laminate, producing a printed circuit board using milling in place of etching. He went as far as assembling this board, powering it up and testing it, all in the same day. The PCB will be used to provide programmable speed control for the CNC router. At present the spindle speed is set manually.
Charlotte continues with crafting small felt birds, probably destined for a mobile.
We ran out of glue sticks for the glue gun, at about 8PM. Charlotte ordered some more from Amazon and they were delivered at about 11PM the same evening. Impressive.
Vina looked into how easy or hard it would be to adapt the programme on the TimePeace clock. Also showed us some felt crafting which she had been teacing to Ben.
Ben was meanwhile progressing with covering the plane fuselage, and Sasha continued making an air pump, using some discarded helicopter parts, a valuable source of gears and motors.
Attendance tonight = 12

2017-02-21 Tuesday

Another evening of great activity. Peter Harris called in see us (maker of the crazy coffee machines) and he showed some photos of his creations.
The model plane is really in its final stages. Ben started covering the fuselage.
Nick made some progress with the instrument control panel he's making.
Charlotte continued creating small animals in colourful felt.
The lathe and Jon were getting on fine for a while. Then one of them needed to take a break. But really, Jon is on his way to becoming our resident expert.
A little inconclusive discussion of holding an Arduino teaching day/evening. We will return to this idea.
Between them, Nick and Paul B devised a way to CNC mill a block of wood, making a base for Vina's illuminated bottle. There was smoke at one point, but fortunately we have no smoke alarms.
Hello to Imi, Ryan, Dan and Kevin.
Simon was using the laser cutter and getting good results.
Carl dropped in carrying the beginnings of a giant penguin. It will be covered in paper-mache (should that be papier-maché?) but it was a bit wonky at the feet.
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-02-18 Saturday

Jon popped in this morning to investigate why the shutters didn't close - there is a switch on the other side of the door frame to where the up/down controls are located - this provides power to the shutters! We could take the fuse out for the window shutters to see if it kept Little House a bit warmer on cold evenings?
Jon's real purpose was to have a practice with the lathe after training last weekend. He has a couple of model railway wheel forming tools imported from Germany, however they needed a holder to fit our quick change tool-post, so a length of hex bar was cut down, faced off in the lathe, bored to a suitable diameter to take the tool cutter, and then a hole was drilled and tapped for a grub screw to retain it - unfortunately he couldn't find a small enough Alan key to tighten the grub screw, so wheel re-profiling will have to wait until another day.
Attendance today = 1

2017-02-14 Tuesday

The CNC cutter was going through its paces. Jon brought some board for 3-D cutting practice, and Nick made egg-shaped recesses in a spare wooden chopping board.
Nick 3D printed a perfect control knob, despite it being modelled in OpenSCAD which he doesn't like.
Charlotte was crafting small birds.
William's digital anemometer is getting on well, with a bit further yet to go.
The laser cutter is working a lot better since the tube was replaced. Both Jon and Simon had some successful sessions on it.
Mono is a touch-screen and micro-controller package. Carl had been sent one, and Gareth has programmed it as a binary clock, showing year, month, day, hours, minutes and seconds, all in binary.
Saw a beautifully-made rosewood pinhole camera brought in by Iain. He's wondering about adding a motorised shutter lever, remotely controlled by a Bluetooth link to a mobile phone.
Fixed a 'Sun Jar', an ingenious use of solar panel, battery and LED to catch and store sunlight, for use after dark.
Hello to Jean L, who came in to see how we were getting along
Konstantin has 3D printed a case for the Universal Component Tester.
Attendance tonight = 15

2017-02-11 Saturday

Jon, Ian and Paul had a day of Lathe training from Alan White.
Almost no actual cutting took place but the lathe is now set up parallel and we have some clue how to use it.
Homework was set!
We now need to practice some of what we were taught.
Alan is happy to come back and give another starters session, or an improvers course later in the year, can accommodate 3 members around the lathe - please ask Jon if interested.
Attendance today = 3 members plus the trainer = 4

2017-02-09 Thursday

Special arts and craft day

Vina brought here Arts and craft equipment for making greeting cards.
The theme was clearly valentines day.
Some original and professional looking cards were made.
With little training Andres made two cards in 2 hours and have to very satisfied costumers.
Vina of course was able to do 10 more in the fraction of the time!

Vina example set shows more options
Andres Looks for inspiration on the web
Learned to use a pattern cutter.
Use the a ruler to make patterns concentric
Even the off cuts can be used for the inside! Nothing goes to waste!
Cut triangles off the circle bend them so they are equal
Check that the pattern fits nicely!
Start gluing with PVA
Do another complex feature, but carefully keep the offcuts!
The cutter has a shadow feature too!
Give features some height with this double sided stick foam
Proudly display!

Attendance today = 2

2017-02-07 Tuesday

The CNC router cut a test piece on MDF. Result: needs better clamping of the workpiece.
The laser cutter produced a coffee-bean logo on ply, and cut some plastic sheet
The 3D printer was making control knobs for an amplifier project
The biplane is now a 3-wheel propeller-driven car. We ran it round the car park and it moved quite impressively.
The other plane is waiting to have the fuselage covered, then it will be complete.
We have this big box of broken helicopter parts - Please plunder it for motors and gear-wheels. Anything left will go for recycling.
Thanks to Jon for doing the housekeeping this week. Someone has to. A rota would be more fair.
Welcome to a couple of new faces. Hope to see you regularly.
Carl's bike's rear light let him down again. IanB and Carl combined forces on fixing it up properly, involving wire, solder, gorilla glue and hot-melt glue. It earned the RML 100-year guarantee. (Terms and conditions are: If it goes wrong during the next 100 years, you have to fix it yourself!)
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-02-02 Thursday

Emergency light testing: we failed so we will be getting new lights. A recommendation will be set in to have extra emergency lights in kitchen and cloakroom.
is working on the 2 extruder 3D printer
Andres started 3D printing half a heart
Attendance tonight = 3

2017-01-31 Tuesday

We tried the suggested 7-minute talk format:
- Carl spoke about his method for removing a verruca and was persuaded to show his related TV appearance
- Andres spoke on Open Street Map and about ways of adding paths and trees.
- We had an open discussion with the outcome that talks like this would be held on the last Tuesday of each month
- Next talk: Maybe Gareth and Vina
Nick continued to get the router working, and had brought water for the cooler
Nick took another look at the CTC 3D printer. We really need some help from Matt on that one.
Des called in with a heap of broken remote-control helicopters. We could salvage some small motors, perhaps.
Openstreetmap is needed in Scotland!
Showed where the sewing machine is and some nice textile found in the loft.
Previous vacuum cleaner taken down from the loft to be donated to Mind.
Andres Reviewed all the outstanding projects that he knows about with a young member.
3D printer now working! the problem was the protection tube was shoved into the feeding gear. Not good!

Panorama view Thanks to Richard Woolf!
Panorama View 2

Attendance tonight = 12

2017-01-26 Wednesday

Nick did massive job on CNC
Andres removed the inner tube of a unicycle.
Ian pop by to get some bits for the model airplane.
Attendance = 3

2017-01-25 Tuesday

Sascha continues to build a pump, using a Dremel cutting wheel
Ben has condemned the biplane as not airworthy. It will be converted to a prop-driven three-wheel car.
Jon was laser cutting acrylic sheet for 00-gauge models.
Nick looked at driving the CNC router, then looked at the problems with the CTC 3D printer, and finally tried out the unfinished 3D Delta-printer.
William was making an electronic anemometer, one with no moving parts.
Good to see Dan, Konstantin, Imi and Carl
Carl is considering giving an explanatory talk on Binary to primary school-children. Will he get his message across?
Attendance tonight = 10

2017-01-17 Tuesday

Mended a USB microscope
Fixed a faulty laptop
Sascha has started building a pump, laser cutter, drill press and lathe have already been used
Nick, Paul and Jon discussed the laser power problems.
Nick helped Jon turn a 2d AutoCAD drawing into a 3D .stl file using fusion360
The model plane tail was covered in Solartex
Welcome to three new faces today
Anthony gave a 30 min talk that generated a lot of discussion
Andres put some draft blocker on the glass door. A young maker helped!
Vina, Kevin and Andres discussed about repairing leatherwork (a coin pouch).
Discussed about joining forces with a certain department of Kingston Uni.
Attendance tonight = 21, maybe many more. I lost count...

2017-01-10 Tuesday

Very busy tonight
Further progress on the Tomboy model plane - the tail assembly has now been skinned by Ben and his dad
Spontaneous group discussion and analysis of modern consumer router hardware between Ryan and three new RML members
Jon and Terry discussed model railway items, Jon is developing his own kit and the first 'approval' castings have arrived.
Sascha shadowed Jon at the laser cutter then made his own keyring.
New member Jaroslav diagnosed a faulty electric fruit juicer controller
PaulB helped a HUG member transfer his files from a failing hard drive to a new one
Dan made an appearance holding up a mobile phone and looking makerspace brilliant
Kevin refurbished a laptop for a nearby resident
Jon and Paul discussed the cause of poor laser performance, Paul cleaned the lenses, and together we measured the laser power, our 60W tube is only delivering about 30, and by the time it reached the lense it seemed to be down to only 14 - no wonder everything is taking so long - a prolonged session of test firing and adjustment of mirrors ensued - net effect TBC.
We left one of the heaters on overnight :( - new project to set it on a self timer required!
Attendance tonight = 14

2017-01-03 Tuesday

Good progress on the Tomboy model plane by Emm and Ben
More instruction in the ways of Linux by Ryan, for Emm and Ben
Kevin had a problem laptop that might have been past repair
David W brought a laptop with trouble at boot-up. The Hard Disk was put under analysis by SpinRite, a process that might still be in progress.
Three new faces today, with interests in 3D printing and robotics. We hope to see you all regularly.
Carl arrived late, after a hard day's work. He was interested to see the mechanical binary counter prototyped by IanB.
Attendance tonight = 12

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