NYC Resistor

We’ve had an uptick in the number of folks intereseted in laser cutting something on our lovely laser cutter here at NYCR. In an effort to keep our collective sanity, lasering is now by appointment. This way no one makes a trip out to our space only to find someone else is on the laser, or no one ’s around.

To make it easier, we’ve set up a page explaining how to set up laser time with us, how you can learn to use the laser, and how much it’ll cost you. You can send any additional questions to laser@nycresistor.com.

Just a few of us last night. Aren’t we charming!

I like laser etching bizarre materials and the latest is compressed cellulose sponge, which can be found at most craft supply stores.

Emulating a fantastic lawyer from a classically elegant television show, The Simpsons, I made sponge business cards.

Compressed sponges expand when you put them in water, its awesome! They were cut on a 35 watt laser at 100% speed, 100% power, and a frequency of 1000.

You can pick up some of your own on Etsy. They’re super fun to play with. Oh, I guess you could use them for cleaning too. I did a whole bunch of tests with sponges, with full details at kellbot.com.

Two fun things are happening this Sunday: A cheap and cheerful blinky workshop for Arduino users and a fun and crafty class in making glowing LED jewelery. Come on by!

One cold day in november members of NYC Resistor received a nondescript box… There were no markings on the box that could identify any specific member at NYC Resistor to which it had been sent. They opened it to find what appeared to be 4 hand gr3nades.
Read more

While visiting Detroit back in December, I ran into my friend Mike Bizon at the opening of the Yes Farm.  We hadn’t see each other ages, so it was a pleasant surprise that our shared love of music and art had also extended into electronics.  Here’s one of his projects, and a description…

This is an analog midi controller I made to control software built in MAX/MSP.

It uses a MidiTron, a MIDI analog/digital I/O Interface connected to a computer with an M-audio Uno, a USB MIDI interface. This translates the analog messages to MIDI, readable by MAX/MSP.

This can be used to control any sort of MIDI device/program/message. I use it most to control a 8 step drum machine (see attached photo). It is set up as a glitch patch, the messages often getting crossed and the resulting audio having digital feedback and general unreliable glitchiness to it.

The controls on the instrument include 20 assignable potentiometers (knobs), 5 assignable photocells (at varying resistance), and a patch-bay allowing the user to decide which knobs or photocells are linked to which pin outs on the MidiTron (you can basically choose which knob (or light sensor) controls what function in your software, allowing you to change control over software parameters physically, without going into code.

Computers and programing can get a brother down, this is a physical answer to my digital pain.

When I was a teenager I wanted a “real camera” so so much — I built a pinhole camera from the instructions in a 4-H booklet, and I shot rolls of 110 with it and also a crappy little camera I bought at a department store with money from my library job. What I really wanted was a 35mm camera, though — a Real Camera. 

I never got that real camera, although over the years I shot plenty of rolls of 35mm film in various random point-and-shoots. I always found it kind of dissatisfying, though. But five or six years ago I got a digital point-and-shoot and it was wonderful! I took so many pictures, and learned so much, and last year I jumped in with both feet and bought a Nikon D70 and a couple of lenses — in my heart, this was my first Real Camera. 

Tenzing! cc-licensed by yarnivore

This month, though, I’ve made a 180-degree turn. Instead of pursuing fancier and more expensive digital technology, I’m exploring 35mm film rangefinder photography. In 2009!

Yashica Electro 35 G - photo by Suviko - cc-licensed

I’ve been thrilled to discover that there are so many wonderful people, all over the web, still using these cameras. Better yet, they not only post their photos, but belong to super-active communities where they discuss the gory technical details. The didactic generosity I’ve seen already is wonderful — people really take the time to share their knowledge.

Electro 35 test shot - cc-licensed by Geopelia

I’ve cleaned up my new/old Electro 35 G (it’s got a 45mm f/1.7 Yashinon lens) as well as an Agfa Silette (Apotar 45mm f/3.5 in a Prontor-S shutter). I’m in the middle of shooting my test rolls, and I can’t wait to see the shots! 

Turns out I’m not the only person at the Resistor who likes cameras and film — so we’re going to be playing with developing here. Of course, there are groups on Flickr for that, too.

It’s taken over 20 years for me to get back to the idea of shooting 35mm (and soon, 120) film. I’m perfectly happy with how this has turned out, though. If Malcom Gladwell is right, and you really do need 10,000 hours of practice to succeed, then I’ve just been putting in my time, shooting lots of frames and getting more comfortable with my tools.

CCC Kansas City needs help paying rent so there holding a raffle and giving away a fancy new Macbook

Ok, so you probably heard that we are moving into the cave — as it turns out our landlord wants some money for this privilege. We are REALLY close to having the capital we need to be a thriving hackerspace, but we still need build-out materials, tools, and some basic infrastructure. CCCKC is now offering the Hackerspace community a raffle to help raise some funds to make this possible. By helping us start up, you could win a Macbook for CHEAP!

So, click here to win yourself a new MacBook…

I had a great idea for a new, drastically simplified extruder design for RepRap. I decided to spend a day on it, and if it proved fruitful, then I’d pursue it more. Thank god for the laser cutter at NYCR, because I had a working prototype made up in an hour. After that, it was fairly simple to design a nice layered housing for it and make it into a reliable little beast.

There is a much more detailed post on the RepRap blog, you can look at my flickr set, or check out the design on Thingiverse.

The road to ham radio is paved with free stuff...

Four of the Resistors made it out to the Ham Radio University 2009 in Bethpage, NY last Sunday.

HRU is a day long convention of amateur radio operators holding forums on various topics of interest to radio operators, including digital modes, best practices, long distance (DX) communications strategies, emergency services developments, and ham radio license exams.

Diana and Bill successfully passed the General Class license upgrade, giving them access to frequencies below 30 MHz on the amateur bands.  30MHz represents the common denominator between the shorter range bands open to the basic class amateur, and the lower frequency bands that typically traverse continents and oceans.

We came away with an appreciation for tiny world-capable antennas, new digital voice gear from Icom, and piqued interest in DX contesting - the art of individuals to wrangle radio waves to reach out to specific parts of the world and communicate with others without relying on anything more than the ether to carry their signal.

… oh, and free hats.