The Dublin Hackerspace
We are back this year at the Big Day Out in Merrion Square . A family friendly day, filled with all sorts of goings on. We will be showing off our brain waves reading machine, Fabric Cadaver TwitterKnitter and 3D printer. TOG Duck is just back from his winter home and is set to make an appearance, roaming around outside.
Sunday 15th 12pm – 6pm
Our very own Jeffrey Roe was on News Talk‘s Pat Kenny Show to talk about Skull Radios and engineers week. A bone conduction kit that allows the user to listen to sound without making a sound. The full interview can be found on the news talk website 27 minutes into the clip. Click here to listen back.
If you want to make your own skull radio come along to our workshop.
TOG is six years old! We’ll be having cake to celebrate this Saturday 24th of January. It’ll also be our last birthday in Chancery Lane as the lease is up and we need to move. So, the details:
The Birthday Party
There’ll be cake! There’ll be friendly neighbourhood hackers! There’ll be good times! Did we mention cake? TOG will be open from 7.30pm till late on Saturday 24th of January. Just drop down and enjoy yourself. You don’t have to be a member and there’s no cost to attend, though we’d welcome donations for the move (see next section). If you want to bring any nibbles to share, that’d be great but not obligatory. Likewise, if you want beer, bring your own (you don’t have to share that). If you’ve not visited us yet, this is the perfect time to scope us out!
We Have to Move
TOG need to leave Chancery Lane by the end of April. We are currently looking for a new place to lease, so if you know of anything that we can’t find ourselves (we’re keeping a close eye on daft), suggest it to one of our members or send a note on the contact page. We want to stay in the city centre so it’s easy for everyone to get to the space, and we’d like to be able to have a few sub rooms so we can keep workshop gear separate from the sewing machines and nights of talks (similar to our current set up).
Once we find a place, we’re going to have some extra costs (deposits need to be paid upfront, vans and skips need to be rented), so if you’d have a few bob to spare, consider donating some €€’s to help us out through the paypal link below or by dropping in to the space. If you want to help us in the longer term, consider becoming a member and sharing the month to month running costs. We’ll have a laser-cut collection box at the birthday party, so if you want to donate lovely anonymous cash, we’re prepared for that too.
We’ll keep everyone posted on how things are going with finding a place and moving. Group nights will continue as normal in Chancery Lane until we’ve settled elsewhere.
We are teaming up with Intel, Coder Dojo Girls and Coder Dojo DCU to bring about a special event for the International Day of the Girl on October 11. A day long hackathon style to give an introduction to the Galileo board. The participants will learn basics of coding an embedded environment and get hand an experience with hardware. The second half of the day will focus on creating electronic fashion wearable technology and funky robots.
For more information and booking visit the event page.
TOG Duck is on migration this month to EMF Camp, a 3 day camping for those with an inquisitive mind or an interest in making things: hackers, artists, geeks, crafters, scientists, and engineers. TOG Duck transport costs are being supported by the event shiny fund. Check out some of the other shiny projects too. We are making a host of changes to our duck from its last outing at Dublin Maker. We are adding lights , quacks, position logging and remote control. If you can’t find us roaming the campsite we can be found at our village. Check out some photos of the build in the gallery.
TOG was mentioned in the Irish Times on 10th June 2014: No wasters: how to repair a throwaway culture.
Tog, a collaborative makers’ space or “hackerspace” based in an old warehouse on Chancery Lane in Dublin, will help out at the cafe. Tog shares knowledge and tools in everything from 3D printing to knitting. One of its innovations is the Twitter Knitter, whereby Becky Yates, a software engineer, has repurposed a 45-year-old knitting machine to knit tweets.
Next door to Tog is a marketing company, and Tog members love scavenging from its waste. One find was a quantity of rubber ducks, which have been fashioned into a Duck Matrix display. “We’re terrible for puns in this place,” says Tríona O’Connell, part of Tog and a PhD research scientist at Dublin City University.
Ireland’s second Repair Cafe takes place on June 28, at Christchurch Hall, Sandymount, Dublin 4, 2pm-5pm. Some TOG members have previously helped out with the Repair Cafe.
The Twitter Knitter has been shown at Dublin Mini Maker Faire 2013 and at HACK/CHANGE (photos).