Weekend in Review
A few things from the weekend. With pictures, as promised!
Beau brought the MakerBot to life. It's a very impressive design. Calibration process is going on:
Christopher worked on building a custom amplifier and speaker cabinet. It will house the tube amplifier he already made. A mini stack design:
The microcontroller code finally works for the laser pong game for the upcoming Art|Everywhere closing night. Harold contributed hardware-wise, Ethan some hardware and software, and Matt software.
Other stuff:
David dabbled with JSON calls to XBMC running on an Apple TV that will be running a screen up near the front window of the lab. Dave worked on repair of a chicken toy for a friend. Mike was working on monitor stands for his LCDs. Just a few items that was going on.
CNC router table was disassembled. Ethan wants to re-do it in T-slot once some surplus T-slot can be sourced.
Open Hack Night this Friday (June 17th)
MakerFaire NC on Saturday (June 18th)
Non-Lab Meetup and Event Calendars
We've had a calendar of lab-related events and meetups running for ages now (it's right over there -->) but figured it would be a good idea to put together another calendar for local events not hosted at the lab. So we're sharing a second Google calendar with anything we can think of locally that might be of interest to our members and the local hacker and maker communities.
Thanks to HR Geeks for having a great list of local meetup groups to get us started. If you run a local event that's not listed here please contact us (757labs@gmail.com) and we'll get it added.
World IPv6 Day
Tomorrow, June 8th, 2011, is World IPv6 Day and we are on track to have the website live with a IPv6 address by that time. O'kay technically it has had one for months, but no AAAA record has been in place for it. Sadly we forgot to submit our participation by the cutoff date, so we will not be listed on the dashboard for the event, but even so we expect all services to be IPv6 accessible by 00:00 June 8th.
If you aren't one of the lucky few to have native IPv6 connectivity from your ISP, and haven't setup a tunnel with a broker yet, there is still time to do so with Hurricane Electric as their approval process is nearly instant. The lab's internal network gets it's address space from them, but the outward facing site gets it's address from SixXS. If you prefer not to setup a tunnel account with a broker you can use Teredo on Windows and Miredo on pretty much anything else. They give you less control, but are designed to 'just work'.
What ever option you choose, we encourage you to join in on the event in any way you can. IPv6 has been around a while, and it's not going away. The sooner you get acquainted with it the better prepared you'll be.
757Labs Android Users + Developers Group
We will have a first time meeting of an Androids Users + Developers Group on Monday, June 27th starting around 7pm. As a starter it will be an open discussion for introductions and individual interests in the platform. Some basics of the system will be covered and topics may include current marketplace applications, interface useability, present and future hardware releases, phone manufacturer complaints, carrier dependencies, and development approaches. See you there!
Lab Updates
It's been too long since the last lab update.
Projector bulb has been replaced. A "clone" carrier that supposedly houses the same brand bulb (Philips) as the original replacement Sanyo sold. Some people had suggested replacing the projector, the specs are actually pretty decent on the unit. 1024x768, LCD, 2500 lumens. It has ethernet, ethernet streaming of video to the projector, and ethernet control of functions.
Laser engraver stand is in place. Two others offered to help with the enclosure for the unit. Dave took the measurements to cut sheet metal for it.
Android software development continues to progress.
New creations are being built for the Art|Everywhere closing ceremonies event on Granby Street.
Outboard equipment for Radio757 is being wired up soon. Mics, mixer, preamps, phantom power units are all in place now.
Other things going on as always!
757 Python Meetup Rejuvinated
Just when it seemed the 757 Python Meetup group had declined like the popularity of Perl, a bunch of people showed up! Motivated, excited, and ready to present.
So the Python group seems like it's in swing again! Next meetup is Wednesday the 15th. RSVP at the meetup group site.
757 Labs on WVEC
757 Labs was tapped by a local news station for some help with a story that had a technical side. Jody F. and Mike B. assisted, and for those paying attention a few weeks ago the lab got some screen cred! Thanks to WVEC for the shout out!
Weekend in Review
Just a few things that were documented with photographs from over the weekend:
Beau jams on Vex's self made tube amplifier. They are working together to build a custom cabinet for the amplifier and speaker.
Mike sanded and restained the wood pieces from the Radio Systems ESA-10 console. Graffiti is all gone. Some other work was done as well to finish up restoration of this broadcast console that spent it's earlier years at William & Mary's college radio station.
Radio757 is coming along. Touchscreen was tested (will replace the computer) and equipment racked. Next step is console integration and microphones. Cables should arrive today.
There was definitely other things going on as well.
Progress was made for the drum circle python code (Rock band drums to MIDI.)
Matt, George and Mike started coding and designing an Android game. It's an exercise to get familiar with development on the platform. I believe the plans are to release the game for free. Very cool that app development is underway at the lab.
There was definitely other things going on as well, but this is a short recap of a few things happening.
Art was Everywhere in Downtown Norfolk
It was a beautiful evening on Granby Street for the Art Everywhere opening. The street was alive with activity. The other artwork on display is great, with some of it being interactive.
We felt the love from some of the other artists, and overall had positive feedback about the 757 Labs creation. During the process of building Hidden Norfolk, ideas were already flowing for next year.
The good news about our piece is that is can be updated all summer long. If you'd like to help or have ideas, contact us.
Much thanks to all of the people that helped build Hidden Norfolk. There are plans to tape a behind the scenes video as well.
Hidden Norfolk, halfway completed.
Last Weekend…
Over the weekend the lab was once again busy. People were working on a project for the RedBull Creation contest. 757 Labs has a team:
The laser engraver came to life. Fully. And works. Vex's controller providing the power control between the computer and the laser. Soon will come a training class that will be required to operate the laser engraver. We need to build a case for it, and vent it, as well. Until then there will be limited to no use of it.
Art|Everywhere project is under way in a big way and will be finished later this week. Huge party on Granby Street to celebrate Art Everywhere on the 30th.
Lab still needs members, projects and participants! If you are interested in 757 Labs and what goes on, please drop us a line! More to come!
Location
Google Calendar
@757Labs
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Links
User Groups
- 757 CCC Comic & Cartoon Creators
- 757 Objective C Group Objective C and Cocoa programming group.
- 757 Python Users Group
- 757.rb Ruby Users Group
- HR Geeks Hampton Roads Geek Community