What I've done this year
Time to review the year…
Got stabbed in the face
In January I decided to get lowbret piercings. I don't really know why but I quite like them. I'll grow up when I'm ready 😎. When these were getting done, he didn't like the placement of the one on the right, so we redid it, which means I actually got stabbed three times.
This was a fun project which took quite a bit of reverse engineering. The train departure board shows messages live from Discord (via MQTT), but also reverts to a departure board every 5 minutes or so. People seem to quite like seeing the departure board when they come on tours. I'm currently working on a version 2 of the control board which includes its own R7FA MPU, WizNet and buffers so that both sides of the board can be driven.
The pager transmitter running at the hackspace is still running and still transmitting. For some reason the one at home crashes after a few days and requires a power cycle, so it mostly isn't on. It was fun to learn about the POCSAG protocol though
Three more LED display (and learnt about SMD reflow soldering)
After the train departure board, I wanted more displays to work on. Fortunately there were quite a few lying around in the space, and three of them used the space (or at least, similar) protocols. We now have the laser display working again, as well as the display above the big H painting in the Studio (which was on the wall but never put to use), and a new display in the electronics area.
There are a couple of easter eggs on these longer Jasmin displays which people might only know if they read this post. On the right of the display there are three lamps, the first two are supposed to show if the train toilets are occupied and the third lights up when you press the service button. The first WC light now turns red when the laser cutter is in use, the second turns red when the table saw is in use, and the service lamp turns red when a trustee enters the hackspace (which is quite funny).
This was also my first time doing reflow soldering. Laser cutting solder stencils to apply paste is probably how I will do most of my boards in future.
It was an amazing trip, I can't wait for 2026.
We needed a wall in the hackspace's new metalworking area so that sockets could start to be installed etc. This will also be where the disabled toilets are in future. I've never built a wall, and I probably still can't claim that I have… but I did learn a lot by helping, and maybe I could figure it out myself next time (probably not).
It's surprising how many people in the hackspace suddenly became interested in radio because of Meshtastic. That was fun, and we did silly things like floating a node into the air with 60 balloons.
Satellite stuff and building a dish rotator
I'd like to do more of this, it's fun, but it's also cold at the moment so I started it at the wrong time really. In the future I'm planning a custom control board with ethernet (or WiFi) so I can leave it up all the time and connect to the SDR remotely.
I absolutely love visiting Jodrell Bank, it just makes me happy to see the enormous radio telescope so close. I also ended up reading The Story of Jodrell Bank, which really details the insane amount of weight Lovell had on his shoulders for so many years during its construction.
Replaced the switch on my PDP-11
Things get old and they stop working as intended. This meant my PDP-11 would randomly turn off if I bumped the table. I was glad I managed to find a switch which fit perfectly (although it's actually a thermal breaker, safety first!)
Upgraded my screwdrivers
My old screwdriver set broke - which sounds weird but the handle basically broke into two parts. I really dislike buying things twice, so I asked for recommendations and bought a Wiha VDE set. It's nice to have a little extra protection if working on mains powered stuff. They feel great, and I've added a few extra "slimBits", which required me to get out a sewing needle to modify the tool roll slightly.
This probably shouldn't be a "big thing" but they are really nice screwdrivers and I hope they last me a very long time.
Tried sublimation printing
I'll hopefully do more, but we bought a new printer for sublimation printing at the hackspace. Betty showed me how to do a mug, which I am currently drinking a cup of tea from.
This really is built on a tonne of infrastructure which already exists in the hackspace and has been built by a number of members over the years. The idea is that we can pay for our own heating by tapping our snackspace card on the card reader. On one hand, it's a bit sad to have to get people to pay for something so simple, but our electricity is expensive and we can't afford to run heaters randomly. There's also a few safety aspects which makes this approach sensible.
Nottinghack AGM
It was fun to give a wrapup again this year at the hackspace AGM. There was much more of a focus on giving thanks and celebrating what has happened over the past year, and I enjoyed that. I also put forward a constitutional change, adding a process to remove trustees if they do something silly. It was accepted, so it's nice to have contributed to the constitution in some way.
Random things I've enjoyed this year
Meeting up with hackspacers for breakfast at the Avenues. Usually organised the night before, but I love getting breakfast at the Avenues. It's well priced and quite delicious with great vegan options. It's also nice to socialise with people from the space, outside of the space. The breakfasts have usually ended up with us hanging out on the space working on random projects.
The film nights at the hackspace have been a great way to relax during some of the most stressful points this year. We also watched Contact (which I think I may have forced upon everyone). I also bought a Laserdisc copy of Contact, but I do not have a laserdisc player.
Learning about 3D Printing and CAD. I bought a Bambu A1 Mini (since they're so cheap) and it's been a huge pleasure to use. My previous experience with printing was on an SLA printer, and I hated it. This is much more fun.
What I want to do next year
I feel like I learnt a lot of skills this year (please read that in a Napoleon Dynamite voice). I want to learn even more, next year. I want to get better at mechanical stuff. I feel like my lack of knowledge about applying things like motors and gears is stopping me from doing some cool stuff.
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Comments and feedback are welcome by email (aaron@nospam-aaronsplace.co.uk).