We used the giant CNC table at the shop to cut out my idea for a way to stop my dog from digging out her tie out stake. It’s a 12 inch diameter circle cut out of 1/8″ thick polycarbonate. It has a 3/4″ diameter hole in the middle to put the corkscrew-like stake through. No more digging! I call it the DigStop Disk!
Brimstone and I(strages), have been working on an 802.11 (wifi) mesh at Makers Local since 2011. It’s been a long learning experience as both of us started with zero knowledge of how to build a wifi mesh. Brimstone has since moved to Atlanta but continued to work with me remotely. He’s been doing all the work on custom openwrt firmware images for the project and a fair amount of independent testing. I’ve been doing a lot of the research and how to physically put together a self-powered unit for use in disaster areas to bring up a communication infrastructure. I’m proud to announce that with the help of Crashcart we have our first self-powered mesh node prototype! I’ll be conducting tests in the next few weeks to ensure there’s enough solar to keep the node charged indefinitely. We’re finally on our way back to focusing on the Emergent Network Field Day event that started this whole journey.
auto discovery of other nodes
separate AP network to allow non-mesh devices (including smartphones!) to join the network
captive portal to inform users about the network and links to resources on the network
internal wiki accessible from the mesh
full DHCP and DNS services
Full Spectrum, the manufacturer of the laser cutter at Makers Local 256, held a competition for cool things made with with a laser cutter. Phil Showers submitted Scott’s robotic arm design, and won the compeition for August 2012!
Thanks to this submission, the laser cutter at the make shop will be receiving a replacement bulb, which will allow our laser cutter to cut things faster, having to make less passes with the beam.
Good job guys!
Saturday I decided to laser etch some of my electronics. I etched the word “GEEK” into my laptop and hard drive. Thanks to MOG for inspiring me to etch the electronics and for helping me with GIMP. I love the way they turned out! Here of some pics:
By cutting a special pattern into wood you can bend it into curves without any significant stress. This is called kerfing. There are lots of examples on the internet on doing this with saws. We are Makers Local 256. We do things with lasers. Here’s our first attempt at kerfing wood with the laser cutter. Pay no attention to the charred part. That’s just where we didn’t pay it enough attention. RESPECT THE LASER, CHILDREN!
