Hack.rva

Moving Time!!!

Babs — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:45:57 +0000

The last weekend of the month of February we will be moving from our old location to our new one! The days are the 25th and 26th. If you have a truck feel free to bring it along.

Starting Time: TBD

CNC Class – MEMBERS ONLY

Babs — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:02:35 +0000

We will be offering a members-only CNC class taught by Shannon Haworth. This class will teach basic operations, terminology, maintenance, safety, applications, and programming. You need to take this class if you want to use the CNC mill.

This class will be March 17th 1:30pm to 3:30pm.
Cost for members is $10

Recap – Intro to Soldering Class on 2/4/12

Babs — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:29:50 +0000

The Introduction to Soldering Class was a success! There were a lot of new faces in hack.rva for the class and we had a total of 20 participants. Everyone got to take home their soldering iron and their finished project, which was a flashing siren. Thank you to Luke for teaching the class and thank you to everyone who signed up.

Introduction to E-Textiles

Babs — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:33:32 +0000

We will be holding an Introduction to E-Textiles class taught by Erica Absetz. The class will cover different types of e-textiles and a beginner level project. Participants will receive an Aniomagic Sparkle Kit, which will be used to learn how to sew circuits into fabric.

Sparkle is an avant-garde way to make interactive textiles, paper, ceramics, and environments. Change the way it works directly from a web browser by holding it in front of a computer screen or smartphone. Participants will need no programming experience to program the sparkle board. We strongly recommend bringing your own Mac/Linux/Windows laptop will allow you more time to change the programming. Scraps of fabric will be available to use during the class; however, it is recommended that participants bring an item that they would like to use for their project (ex. shirt, hat, bag).

Here is a link to some examples if you need inspiration:
http://www.aniomagic.com/gallery/?hl=en
Here is a video of a Sparkle Kit project:

The class will be March 24th from 1:30pm to 4:30pm.
Cost for non-members is $40
Cost for members is $35

Ticket Sales end March 19th at noon.

Announcement

Babs — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:56:29 +0000

Hey everyone!

We’re making big waves at hack.rva lately. I want to share with you the changes you can expect to see in the future.

1) New space! We’re moving (again) to a much larger industrial space in Scott’s Addition, about ½ mile from the current space. It’s much more suited to the type of work that we actually do, and it’s about 2.5x as large. We’ll be in touch with more details, but here are some teaser pictures of the new space.

2) We’re moving to auto-billing. We know that it is hard to remember to log on and manually pay your dues each month, and we haven’t been the best about keeping you in the know about how much you owe. Auto-billing will solve those issues, and allow us to keep our cash flow more consistent to make sure that we can provide you with the amenities you need to make the space work best for you.

3) More classes! We’ve heard it for a long time, and now we’re finally making it happen. We’re revamping our system for teaching classes. We’re always going to keep classes in the queue. As usual, members get discounted rates for the classes we teach. In addition, we want YOU to teach classes on the things you’re passionate about. In exchange for your time and hard work, we are going to apply a portion of the revenue from any class you teach directly to your membership dues. If you’re a prolific teacher, you may never have to pay dues again. E-mail your ideas for classes you want to teach to Erica Absetz at absetzel@gmail.com.

We’re committed to learning and growing with you as a continued supporter. Looking forward to a growth filled future. Hope you’re ready for it!

-Luke Libraro and Skylar Roebuck

Introduction to A.I. with Genetic Algorithms Class

Babs — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:56:31 +0000

An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence class will be offered at hack.rva by Erica Absetz. This class will be the first in a series of A.I. Algorithms. We will use Genetic Algorithms as a starting point because the concepts are easy for beginners to understand. Concepts covered will include Initialization, Selection, Reproduction (which includes crossovers and mutation), Termination and the uses of Genetic Algorithms. Participants with programming skills can stay after the class for a lab session; during which the instructor will assist in programming a basic Genetic Algorithm.

The class will be on March 10, 2012 from 1:30 – 3:30pm.
The cost for non-members will be $20 and for members $15.

Basic C Programming Class

Babs — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:32:12 +0000

Basic C Programming will be taught by Brian Wagner at hack.rva during the month of February. This class will consist of three separate sections each running three hours in length, it is important to attend all sections to obtain a basic understanding of the C Programming Language. This will be taught in emacs & using gcc compiler. By the end of the class you should be able to write C programs that read & write to files, accept command line input & make efficient use of pointers.

It is recommended that participants use the following textbook: The C Programming Language by Kernighan & Ritchie.
It is also suggested that all participants bring the following materials: PC with text editor & C compiler (Linux,Emacs,GCC highly recommended).The class will be held on the following Saturdays: February 11th, 18th, and 25th from 1:30pm to 4:30pm.
This class will cost $50 for nonmembers and $40 for members (this cost includes all three sections).

Introduction to Soldering Class

Babs — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:58:28 +0000

An Introduction to Soldering class will be offered on Saturday February 4, 2012 from 1:30 – 3:30. The class will be taught by Luke Libraro and held at Hack.rva. Soldering kits will be supplied and participants will be able to take the kit home with them after the class. After practicing your soldering techniques on the special area of the board, which is included in the kit, you’ll be ready to assemble a European style siren with flashing LED’s. Each kit will also include wire cutters, solder, and a soldering iron. The class will cost $20 for non-members and $15 for members.

Noise Night Meets Tomorrow Night (11/16)

wjodon — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:27:34 +0000

The rebooted HackRVA Noise Night will have its second meeting tomorrow night at the HackRVA space at 7:30. Bring your noise hardware and software projects both complete and in-progress for sharing, conversation, and loud action.

Drawdio at Sabot

natureunderfire — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:12:29 +0000

Several month’s ago,

hack.rva held a weekly, month long, class on the drawdio. This class was taught to three middle school students at Sabot School in Stony Point. During the class, basics of soldering and electrical circuits were taught while also slowly assembling the drawdio circuit. At the end of the class, the students made a movie teaching what they learned and showing off a little bit. These wonderful kids are proof that nobody should be scared of electronics–a healthy dose of science is good for ya!