Category: Workshops/Events

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CoderForge @ Tog – Updated

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NOTE: This has moved to every second Monday night to coincide with Coder Group Night. The first night will be on June 27th 2016.

 

Starting May 11th, until further notice, Tog will be hosting CoderForge nights every Wednesday from 7-9:30 pm.

CoderForge hopes to provide a weekly space for people interested in learning to code. With the current technology available to us it is perfectly feasible to trade as a coder whilst you learn your full skill set. No different to any other apprenticeship. Also using this method gives you the chance to see if coding or software development is something your interested in, it gives you a chance to test the market.

These `forges` also hope to balance some of the shortfalls to the method of training used within some of our educational institutions today, which always appear to be behind the technology that is required by current market forces. At a coder forge the format is flexible enough to change from `nodejs` to `php` or from `python` to whatever the next new big thing is. It is entirely up to those that are present. The coder forges are modeled on the popular `coder-dojo` but with a focus on adults rather than kids, and thus an ability to learn where to find work online and in the locality can also be introduced.

Coder Forge Meetup page.

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Electronic “Build-It” Workshop

line follower*** STOP PRESS …. Our workshop is full for this Saturday. We may run another soon. Get in touch with us on the “contact” link above if you are interested in taking part in our next one ***

We’re holding an electronic “Build-It” workshop in TOG on Saturday 14th May at 14:00. Many visitors to TOG tell us that they would like to get started with electronics, soldering or assembly, but they are unsure how to do so. This workshop will help. The workshop will run for approximately 3 hours. You will get to build (and keep) an electronic kit. The kit that we have chosen is a line-follower robot car. It will follow a black line or any line where there is reasonable contrast. You can see a video of the kit in action here.

The kit comes as a complete set of mechanical and electronic parts including a bare circuit board. You get to do all the electronic assembly and soldering as well as the mechanical assembly. If you’ve never built an electronics kit or soldered before, then this workshop is ideal for you. We’ll show you everything that you need to know. No previous experience at electronics, soldering or kit assembly is needed. We’ll explain the circuit and how it works too. All tools and equipment are provided. The workshop will take about 3 hours from 14:00 – 17:00.

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E-Bike Battery Surgery

battery deadOne of our long term visitors is an e-biker. One of his batteries was on the blink. There was no output on the normal output connectors, but there appeared to be an output via the charge port. We suspected that the balance circuit was shot, but when we opened the battery case, it looked like one of the cells was physically damaged. Lots of pics here.

We ordered a replacement cell. When we removed the bad cell, we noticed some others damaged. It looks like we need 4 replacement cells in all. We plan to cannibalise these from an old spare battery. We tested the remaining cells and they seem able to take a charge and deliver reasonable current. A 2 Ohm power resistor came in handy. Check back with us to see how the rest of the repair went.

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OSM MapJam Saturday 23rd of April

OpenStreetMap (OSM) Ireland members will meet Saturday 23rd of April in Dublin and do OSM mappy stuff on laptops in TOG. Like an indoor mapping party / hack day / social meet up / barcamp.

What is OpenStreetMap?
OpenStreetMap is a world wide, open content map. It’s often referred to as the Wikipedia of maps in reference to the fact that it is open to be edited by anyone.

If you’d like to learn more about OpenStreetMap, come along! Want to start mapping your local area, and want help? Come along! Want to find out how to use the low level OpenStreetMap data? Come along! This event is open to all.
If you’re already an OSM mapper and would like come, but not sure what to do, don’t worry we have loads of townlands to map and plenty of people who will give you a hand learning the details.

In addition there will also be a meeting of the Irish Open Source Geospatial Foundation, their first in person meeting. OSGeo was created to support the collaborative development of open source geospatial software, and promote its widespread use.
Where and When?
Tog Dublin Hackerspace
Saturday 23rd of April 2-5pm
Open Street Map Ireland Website

Worldwide editable map

OSM Ireland email list

Open Source Geospatial Foundation

OS Geo Ireland email list