FIRST TUESDAY SOCIAL – MARCH
(featured image: Gary working on a COB light)
11 people attended (including a first time visitor)
We talked about the large collection of electronic parts that Microportal has been sharing at their meetings (aka, ‘The Dragon Hoard’), and talked about how to use pulse-width modulation to dim some of the COB (Chip-On-Board) lights from the hoard.
One person showed off his Pico Pi, $4 for 132Mhz board with 8 IO pins.
Another person shared his progess on doing a custom battery ‘torque/endurance’ upgrade for a mobility scooter.
It was mentioned that EDX.org currently has a free course on ROS (Robotics Operating System).
Discussed details / costs to turn our mill into CNC when we’re ready, could have a nice implementation for around $700.
It was noted that Microportal Electronics Club is having their 10th anniversary open house meeting at Chemeketa Community College on March 22. Contact ormicroportal.club@gmail.com for details.
MARCH BOARD MEETING SUMMARY
Discussed meeting in-person for next First Tuesday Spark Social (7pm April 5th). Collaborated / created a google survey for potential locations and general comfort level with virtual vs in-person, indoor vs outdoor. Board will have short virtual meet on 3/31 to review survey and finalize Social Meet location / details. Posted survey link in meetup.com event and in #watercooler channel of our slack.
Approved purchase of dedicated wifi hotspot for solar trailer (techsoup discounted service).
Discussed remaining computer inventory (2 for Redwood Crossing Lab, 2 reserved for Spark future use, 3 ready to sell, 2 parts machines w/o power supplies or RAM). Discussed next steps for deploying Redwood Crossing computers, and ways to sell or recycle our excess gear donations!
Spark Studio Salem 