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🔌 Learn to Wire a Plug – New Workshop at Tog!

We’re excited to launch a new hands-on workshop at Tog Hackerspace where you’ll learn a practical and empowering skill—how to wire a plug and build your own extension lead. The session takes place on Wednesday, September 25th, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at our space in Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V.

🛠️ What’s It All About?

Ever wanted to fix a broken plug, wire up your own extension lead, or just feel more confident around household electrics? This workshop is for you. We’ll guide you through the entire process of safely wiring a 13A plug and connecting it to a 4-gang extension lead. No prior experience needed.

Each participant will:

  • Wire up their own 3-core cable into a standard plug
  • Connect that cable to a 4-way socket block
  • Learn about fuses, cable strain relief, and wiring safety
  • Get their work PAT tested so it’s ready and safe to use at home
  • Take home a functional, tested extension lead they built themselves!

All tools and materials will be provided.

🧷 Note: This workshop involves the wiring of a portable extension lead by individuals for personal use. It does not fall under Restricted Electrical Works as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and Safe Electric. You can read more about Controlled and Restricted Works here: Safe Electric Guidance

💶 Booking Info

Tickets cost €25 and include all materials, tools, and a small donation to support Tog Hackerspace.
🔗 Book your ticket now on Eventbrite → https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/learn-to-wire-a-plug-tickets-1619013024539?aff=oddtdtcreator

Places are limited to keep things hands-on and safe, so grab your spot early!

🌍 Why This Matters

This workshop is part of European Sustainable Development Week 2025, an initiative that highlights practical actions contributing to a more sustainable world. We’re proud to align our event with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

  • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: Encouraging repair and reuse over landfill.
  • SDG 4 – Quality Education: Providing lifelong learning opportunities through hands-on workshops.
  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: Building community resilience through practical skills.
  • SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: Raising awareness of safe and responsible energy use at home.

Learning how to wire a plug might seem small, but it’s part of a bigger movement toward repair culture and sustainable living. Plus, it’s surprisingly satisfying!

This workshop is led by our own Jeffrey Roe, a long-time Tog member, maker, and electronics educator. Jeffrey has been teaching hands-on skills for over a decade through hackathons, Repair Cafés, and community events. You can follow his making adventures over on Mastodon

📍 Workshop Details Recap

🗓️ Date: Wednesday, 25th September 2025
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Location: Tog Hackerspace, Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V
💶 Cost: €25 (includes all materials + donation to Tog)
🎟️ Tickets: Eventbrite link (insert your link)
👥 *No experience necessary – beginners welcome!

We’re looking forward to seeing you there and sharing this very useful, very fix-it-yourself skill. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a message.

Let’s keep things wired—and out of landfill!

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Tog at Dublin Maker 2025

Dublin Maker is back! 🎉 This year it’s taking place at Leopardstown Racecourse on Saturday 30th & Sunday 31st of August 2025, running from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Best of all – it’s completely free to attend.

Tog Hackerspace is delighted to be both a community sponsor of the festival and to have our own stand packed with projects from our members. We’ll be showcasing everything from interactive carnival-style games you can try out to amateur radio demos, and plenty more hands-on creations from our makers. It’s the perfect chance to see what our community has been up to and maybe even get inspired to make something yourself.

Repair Café at Dublin Maker

We’re also bringing a special edition of our Repair Café to Dublin Maker on Sunday, 31st of August, from 10:30 am to 1 pm in collaboration with Creatie Spark.

Do you have broken items at home – clothes, small appliances, toys, electronics?
No need to throw them away!

Bring them along and our team of skilled volunteers will help you fix them. We’ll have tools, materials, and plenty of expertise on hand. Together we can give your items a new lease of life, save you money, and keep waste out of landfill.

At our Repair Café you can:

  • Learn essential repair techniques from our expert makers and volunteers
  • Discover the joy of fixing things and reducing waste in a collaborative, community-focused environment
  • Connect with others who are passionate about sustainability and the maker movement

If we can’t fix your item on the day, we’ll do our best to advise you on sourcing spare parts or the best recycling options.

What can you bring?

  • Clothes and accessories
  • Toys
  • Small electrical appliances and electronics (PAT testing available)
  • Small furniture
  • … and lots more!

Dublin Maker is always a highlight of the year – a huge celebration of creativity, invention, and making. We’re thrilled to be part of it again and can’t wait to meet you at our stand or at the Repair Café.

👉 Mark the dates in your calendar: Saturday 30th & Sunday 31st August, Leopardstown Racecourse.

See you there!

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What the Irish Embassy Got Up to at WHY2025 🇮🇪🛠️

Every four years, hackers, makers, and digital mischief-makers descend upon the Netherlands for a one-of-a-kind outdoor hacker camp. WHY2025 – short for What Hackers Yearn 2025 – is the latest in a legendary line of Dutch hacker camps stretching all the way back to the Galactic Hacker Party in 1989. This was the 10th edition, keeping the quadrennial tradition alive with thousands of attendees camping, soldering, coding, and connecting in Geestmerambacht.

The name WHY sparked plenty of jokes — “Why am I here?”, “Why is everything on fire?”, “Why not?” — but the answer, in the end, was always the same: because hacker camp is magic.

Tog was proud to be part of the Irish Embassy, a village formed by members of Irish hackerspaces and our wider community. We pitched tents in the Milliways Cluster, representing Ireland alongside friends old and new. Two Tog members made the trip over — Isabella (Z80Kitty) and Jeffrey Roe, and each has written a short piece about their time at camp below.

🎮 Isabella aka Z80Kitty here :3

My experience at WHY2025 was… chaotic good.

I spent about 99% of my time at the Arcade tent, getting thoroughly destroyed by rhythm games and later by Jeffrey in air hockey. It was brutal, but fun.

That said, I did manage to escape the arcade long enough to give my talk:
🎤 Sega Saturn Architectural Hell – a deep dive into the 90s console with the weirdest architecture I’ve ever worked with. It was stressful, but so rewarding. Big love to the folks who came along and laughed with me (and not just at me).

As a speaker, I discovered the fact I had unlimited club mate, which meant I was coked up on caffeine 24/7, So idk if that was a good thing. There was also golfing, which I sadly never took advantage of. One of the villages had a Cisco tap, which their mix tasted weirdly like mouthwash. They had other stuff on tap but didn’t get a chance to try. They also had a little window with some neat stuff like a boxed copy of OS2 Warped and a pager

But it wasn’t all talks and arcade games. The best part? The people. I had incredible conversations with some of the most interesting, friendly, and weirdly prepared hackers from around the world.

Also, the fog. At night, the camp looked like Silent Hill. Genuinely surreal. Check the gallery and you’ll see what I mean.

🐘 Find me on Mastodon

🛠️ Jeffrey Roe – Delays, Drills & DIY Satellites

WHY2025 kicked off with the most hacker-appropriate challenge: a 6-hour travel delay. I eventually arrived with about 35kg of camping gear and equipment in tow, ready to run three workshops in the Hardware Hacking Area.

The atmosphere? A wonderful blur of fake fog, LED lights, live bands, wild tents, and absolute hacker camp energy. Between sessions, I hit the on-site supermarket (great vegan options!) and caught the nightly chaos of live music and synth beeps.

Over the course of the event, I ran:

Big thanks to the local fablab, Serendiep, for letting me use their drill press before one of the sessions — absolute lifesavers.

Outside of workshops, I also joined in amateur radio fox hunting at the Back to the 80s village, grabbed a tasty breakfast at Hackers @ Tiffany’s, and watched the fog roll in across the camp like some kind of hacker horror movie.

🐘 Find me on Mastodon

📸 Gallery

Relive the fog, the fun, and the flashing LEDs in our full photo gallery:
👉 View the WHY2025 Photo Gallery

🔭 Looking Ahead: 39C3 in Hamburg

The hacker camp may be over, but the hacker calendar rolls on. The next big international event on our radar is 39C3 – the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg this December.

It’s the largest European hacker conference and a brilliant chance to reconnect with the community, share knowledge, and of course, hack the planet.

Will we see you there?

💚 Slán from the field,
Tog Hackerspace

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DIY Solar, Home Battery and Home Automation Meetup

We’re excited to host a special evening on Monday, the 18th of August 2025, from 7–9 pm in Tog Hackerspace. This informal meetup is all about sharing knowledge, projects, and experiences around DIY solar, home batteries, and home automation.

If you’ve been experimenting with adding solar panels to your home, wiring up batteries, or tinkering with smart switches and sensors, this is the night to come along and swap stories with like-minded makers.

On the night you can expect:

  • Show and Tell from people who have installed their own solar systems or set up home automation.
  • Hands-on kit: we’ll have solar panels, inverters, and some home automation gear like Shelly devices on display.
  • A DIY camper van demo showing off a converted setup with batteries, an inverter, and more.

This will be a casual, friendly evening—bring along your questions, projects, or just your curiosity. There’s plenty of parking, it’s free to attend, and no booking is required.

If the evening proves popular, we’d love to make it a regular thing.

📅 When: Monday, 18th August 2025, 7–9 pm📍 Location: Tog Hackerspace, Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, D12 CF6V, Dublin

Come along and join the conversation about powering your home (or van!) the DIY way.

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New Weekly Group Night: Hack and Chill

We’re launching a new regular night at Tog Hackerspace, and if you’re into computer security, hardware hacking, or just the hacker mindset, you’ll want to be there.

Hack and Chill is a space for folks who enjoy exploring systems, poking at protocols, reverse-engineering things, flashing firmware, or just chatting about exploits over a cup of tea.

What’s it all about?

It’s a chill, hacker-friendly night for messing with code, gear, networks, or ideas. No pressure to present or perform — just a place to learn, share, and maybe break a few things (ethically, of course). Think more Hackers (the movie) than hot glue and 3D printing.

Whether you’re a seasoned pentester, a hardware tinkerer with a soldering iron in your backpack, or just curious about the scene, come hang out.

📅 Opening Night: Friday, 22nd August
🕖 Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Location: Tog Hackerspace, Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, D12 CF6V, Dublin

Hack and Chill will run every Friday night, except for the first Friday of the month — that’s when we’ll be over at 2600 Dublin.

So grab your laptop, your favourite hack, or just your curiosity — and swing by. We don’t bite (but we might packet-sniff your phone).

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Capturing a Swarm…..

Bee Swarm

…..Of the beekeeping kind!

Beekeeping is one of the many and varied interests of TOG members. Our member John is a keen beekeeper, and he recently captured a swarm to create a new colony.

As the number of honeybees in a hive increases, the usual natural way to prevent overcrowding is by swarming.  A few scout bees will find a new location, and the old Queen will leave the hive with about two-thirds of the bees. They often cluster on a tree branch before settling into a new location.  

One way to catch a swarm is to put a box containing comb frames in a tree. Drops of lemongrass oil act as an attractant because they resemble the pheromone of a Queen bee. 

In this case, a swarm of honeybees have gathered under the box, rather than inside. These bees were removed by gloved hands and placed in the box. The Queen will start to lay eggs and establish a new hive. The bees remaining in the old queenless hive will raise a new virgin Queen who will fly out, get mated and return to lay eggs.

Taking some inspiration from our aquarium project in the space, John is planning a monitoring project for a hive, including some sensors and a camera to watch the bees remotely.