The Premier Cincinnati Hackerspace

Are you in our area? Check out our ode to Death Grips with our all-levels Linux meetup on June 2nd 6pm to 7:30pm at Hive13. Newbies, superusers, and everyone in between welcome. Bring your questions and devices, catch the fever and learn some stuff as you break free from conventional operating systems.

Hamvention has come to pass once more and our members had a blast! For those not in the know, Hamvention is an annual convention in Dayton for amateur radio. This event is huge, drawing radio nerds from across the globe to convene at a 3 day event with talks, meetups, vendors, yard sale, and even testing for your own license. Here's some thoughts from our members' experiences this year.

brianxr:

Hamvention was a lot of fun this year. Weather was better than usual (not too hot, and rain was limited). I had been looking for a variac and scored one ($20) Friday morning (whether it works is TBD), with intent to use it one day in a restoration project for a pair of 65-year-old tube-type radios. With the same project in mind, I bought a book called "hollow state design" and spent a few minutes chatting with the author. Looking forward to learning more about vacuum tubes! Also, lots of random conversations with random people - it's a convention full of people willing to talk to perfect strangers for 10-20 minutes about whatever strikes their fancy, who knew? :)

Kostas:

After years of playful "bullying", I was finally able to catch Hamvention. I've been on the Meshtastic radio system for two years so seeing the custom Hamvention firmware in action was a lot of fun. As someone with no Ham license, I did feel out of my depth. There is not a lot of beginner information available at the event. I was very lucky for my very knowledgeable and patient friend taking me around and answering my and my friend's newbie questions. The ARRL App and paper maps were a godsend for hunting down booths of interest for me like amateur satellite and Meshtastic booths. I hope to have my license and call sign ready for next year!

How was your Hamvention? Did you take a license test? Did you snag your niche find at the yard sale? Will we see you next year?

Next Tuesday! Join us for a returning Tuesday Talk speaker Maker Fishmeal/Annye Driscoll for a talk on sewing with unconventional materials as part of their book tour for their latest release, Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics and Unconventional Materials.

Annye Driscoll, known on the internet as Maker Fishmeal, is a writer, teacher, and very slow crafter. They’re the author of The Ultimate Glue Guide, Finish Your Cosplay!, and Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fabrics and Unconventional Materials. They live in Ohio with their partner, kitties, pony, and school of fancy guppies.
You can find Annye on the internet as @makerfishmeal or at makerfishmeal.com.
Photo by Sydney Newland

Can you unlock it? 🔓 Cincy Locksport's next meetup is May 24th at Hive13 from 3pm to 5pm. Lockpicking is a fun, practical hobby for when you want a break from Wordl or a Rubix cube. All skill levels (even newbies) are welcome for tutorials and discussion. RSVP via the linked Cincy Locksport Meetup!

We're headed back to the Cincinnati Museum Center for their Earth Day celebration on April 25th! Catch our members from 1pm to 4pm in the STEM Lab teaching how to solder, sew, and spread some greenery with seed bombs. The most environmentally friendly option is repairing what you already have, come learn the skills to repair with us!