Author Archive
Welding Demonstration
by cpatton on Nov.30, 2011, under Events, Meetings, News, Presentations, Workshops
You asked for it, and we got it! One of most requested items in our events poll was welding, and our very own member Kit has graciously offered to demonstrate the basics this Saturday at noon at the Space. Please be aware that this is a hands-on demonstration only – it is not a replacement for any actual welding training, and can be very dangerous.
We will be covering the three types of arc welding as well as plasma cutting, starting with a safety lecture, a group how-to, then a short one-on-one section. After everyone has been shown the basics and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the concepts and inherent dangers, we will offer participants the chance to try it themselves. Make sure to get a good welding fume extractor to avoid any health risks and stay safe.
If you wish to participate, please sign up at http://www.midsouthmakers.org/events so that we can know how many people to expect.
Details
What: A demonstration of basic welding and techniques as well as important safety guidelines that you must follow, with a brief hands-on opportunity for those interested at the end.
When: This Saturday, December 3rd at Noon.
Where: The Space (2203 Freemont Rd., Memphis, TN 38114)
Cost: $10 (to cover the cost of the welding fuel and materials involved)
What to Bring: Make sure that you wear long-sleeves, and preferably nothing loose or flammable.
This Saturday: “The Light Amplification Tour” Featuring Stimulated Emission of Radiation
by cpatton on Nov.15, 2011, under Electronics, Events, Presentations, Projects, Uncategorized, Workshops
Hello to all you atoms out there!
Are you ready to get this laser going?!
You call that a response? It sounds like you’re in a ground state out there, and I’m going to need you at least two or three levels above that! That’s right, I’m going to need you to get excited tonight! Come, on let’s get this population inverted!
Hey, that’s better! It looks like some atoms in the back have a nice wavelength going – let’s all join in for a cascading effect!
If you’re digging this gain medium, let me see you get amplified!
Yeah, now you’re getting your photons in step!
Now, without further ado, please welcome to the stage, the reason you atoms are so excited to be here, the one, the only – Stimulated Emission!
Details
What: The Midsouth Makers are hosting a laser class and demonstration! The goal is to demystify lasers and how they operate. For the demonstration, we will be etching some aluminum business cards with your designs, which you will then be able to take home with you!
When: November 19th at Noon
Where: The Space
Cost: $10 for Midsouth Makers Members, $20 for Non-Members. (The price covers both the business cards and the cost to run the laser)
What to Bring: Please bring a laptop on which you can design your business card. The cards themselves are 3.5” by 2”, and we ask that you try to come with your design ready to go, but open to changes if necessary.
Please sign-up on our events page if you wish to participate: http://www.midsouthmakers.org/events/
Cookout & Game Night
by cpatton on Nov.11, 2011, under Events, Meetings
Y’know, back in my day, the only game we had was Stick Ball Beta Four. It was a hard game to play, especially considerin’ there was only one ball in the whole town, and you had to compile the entire game yourself! Oh sure, any Tom, Dick, or Haderach could find a stick, but a bunch of whippersnappers standing around with just sticks might as well have been Stick Ball Alpha! No siree, Stick Ball Beta Release #4 was the only respectable game in town, and if you didn’t play you might as well have not existed. Heck, we picked our mayor because of his tenacity on the augmented reality Stick Ball courts! And what have we got now, eh? Stick Ball Beta Five?! FIVE?!?! Bah! The gall of the Stick Ball developers! The sheer nerve of those rubes thinking they could improve upon a classic like ol’ SBb4! Before you know it, they’ll be asking us to wait until the game is actually finished before playing!
Details
What: The Midsouth Makers are hosting a Cookout & Game Night this Saturday evening! Pick your favorites games and bring them over. We’ll try and play everything, but preference is given to those who get there first and to people who are extremely persuasive about their game.
When/Where: This Saturday, November 12th – 6pm @ the space
Cost: Free! (Though donations for food are greatly appreciated!)
LAN WARS
by cpatton on Oct.06, 2011, under Events
LAN WARS from Midsouth Makers on Vimeo.
What: This will be Midsouth Makers 4th LAN party/fundraiser/cookout event! Pulled pork and fries will be served. Feel free to bring any games you’d like to play. There will also be a Minecraft tournament with special prizes!
When: October the 29th from 4:30pm until we get tired of seeing at you.
Where: Our space – 2203 Freemont Road, Memphis, TN 38114. We will be setting up the shop to hold as many contestants as possible.
Things to bring:
-A computer (PC or Mac, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Power cables, USB cables, etc.)
-Copies of the game(s) you wish to play.
-Drinks
-If you want to participate in the tournament or just play Minecraft for fun, you will need at least 1GB of free HD space. (We can provide copies of Minecraft to you.)
– Headphones
– Ethernet Cable
– Bring your own drinks, or bring cash to buy drinks from us
Cost: Free, but donations are highly encouraged because they help make events like this possible!
Sign-up on our events page: http://www.midsouthmakers.org/events/
We hope to see you there, and as always, may the force be with you!
Soldering Class Part II
by cpatton on Sep.24, 2011, under Arduino, Arduino Projects, Electronics, Events, Meetings, Presentations, Workshops
Great Scott! What’s the date? Oh thank goodness, we’ve still got time. Listen, I know this may sound “heavy” to you, but we’ve got to get you to the Midsouth Makers soldering class on October 8th at noon or the consequences could be dire! I can’t tell you why it’s important without creating a temporal paradox, but I can promise you that learning how to build a RBBB (“Really Bare Bones Board”) Clone will be pivotal in your future in some way. An RBBB is one of the smallest, most affordable arduino-compatible boards available right now. You don’t even need any plutonium to power this baby, just plug it straight into the breadboard that the Makers will be providing to all the class participants. How many gigawatts is it? Where we’re going, we don’t need gigawatts, just bring a soldering iron and the rest will be provided. Once you’ve completed this class, you’ll have you’re very own arduino compatible microcontroller, power cable, data cable, and breadboard to build it all on, the combination of which should help you save you from – oh no, I’ve already said too much! Hurry and sign-up on the events page at the following link: http://www.midsouthmakers.org/events/. Then you too can say, “I finally made something that works!”
Details
Class: Soldering Part II: RBBB Clone
Cost: $35
Date, Time, & Location: October 8th at the Space at Noon.
What to bring: Soldering Iron
What you get: An arduino compatible microcontroller, power cable, data cable, and a breadboard to build it on, plus a greater knowledge of soldering and circuitry.
You must sign-up before the day of the class so that we know how many parts to order!
You can do so at the following link: http://www.midsouthmakers.org/events/