We have moved

 

The members of the Blackpool Linux User Group have formed a Makerspace.

Most of 2015 was taken up with building work preparing the new space which is now ready.

The LUG continues to exist and is incorporated with the Makerspace, but no new posts will appear here. Everything is combined on the new sites which is :-

https://blackpoolmakerspace.wordpress.com/

Both Makerspace posts and LUG posts will appear on the new site.

All the posts from the original LUG site have been moved over to the new site.

 

Linux Presentation Day at Blackpool LUG – April 2016

Nine people attended during the course of the day, and  Linux was discussed in detail.

Multiple Linux distributions were on display: Slackware, Debian, Suse, Fedora, Ubuntu, Lubuntu and one of the highlights, Linux Mint running on a quad core Raspberry Pi.

We had four computers with Linux Mint installed and available free of charge, but there were no takers. We will have to try harder at the next LPD in October.

 

Pizza fueled Linux presentation day.

Biscuits and project boxes

Apple pie cookies and boxes of Raspberry Pi

 

Linux Presentation Day – 30/04/2016

Blackpool Linux User Group will be participating in the International Linux Presentation day event on Saturday 30th April 2016.

Interested in Linux? Would you like to know more?

Blackpool LUG members will be on hand all day to answer questions, AND, we will be giving away free computers with Linux installed.

More information about the international event:-

http://linux-presentation-day.org.uk/

http://www.linux-presentation-day.org/

http://lpd2.madbob.org/

“For the national expansion of the LPD after the next event we are looking for
people who can support us with contacting possible hosting organizations
(especially by phone).”

ESP8266 WIFI Serial Dev Kit Development Board

These development boards sidestep some of the problems encountered when using a bare esp8266.

Battery powered with an onboard voltage regulator, just put batteries in the holder and you are ready to start programming it.

Add the esp8266 development board to the Arduino IDE using the board manager, and you can then use an Arduino to program the blink sketch into the esp8266 board.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/201345364308?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&rlsatarget=&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

If you hit this problem with the firmware updating software

• The firmware updating software only works on COM ports 1-6. If your USB<->Serial device enumerates to a higher port number than that, you will have to change it via Device Manager in Windows.
• You can download all the required files in this ZIP file esp_flasher.zip

Guide with firmware bundle, flasher didn’t work for me as I was on com 8

https://developer.mbed.org/users/sschocke/code/WiFiLamp/wiki/Updating-ESP8266-Firmware

download and used this Flash tool instead

https://doc-04-9c-docs.googleusercontent.com/docs/securesc/ha0ro937gcuc7l7deffksulhg5h7mbp1/p0bov6v5540q62fat0t1hrvh0vvtjl6g/1434276000000/02473272297100407926/*/0B_ctPy0pJuW6V2ViNDR0NGdnYTQ?e=download

adding esp8266 board to arduino

http://www.electrodragon.com/w/ESP8266_Arduino

Get it here

https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino

using the Arduino to blink esp8266 LED

looks familiar,

void setup() {   // initialization
  pinMode(16, OUTPUT);  // set the io pin 16 to output
}
void loop() {   // loop
  digitalWrite(16, HIGH);  // GPIO16 high TTL, LED on
  delay(1000);           // delay 1s
  digitalWrite(16, LOW);  // GPIO16 low TTL, LED off
  delay(1000);           // delay 1s
}

A temperature monitoring project with the esp8266:-

http://electronut.in/an-iot-project-with-esp8266/

Hackaday how to program the esp8266:-

http://hackaday.com/2015/03/18/how-to-directly-program-an-inexpensive-esp8266-wifi-module/

Getting started with the esp8266

http://telecnatron.com/articles/Getting-Started-With-The-ESP8266-WIFI-Microcontroller/index.html

ESP 8266 links

Links are From this post:-

http://www.rudiswiki.de/wiki9/WiFi2AT-ESP8266

Links

1. ESP8266 Community Forum and wiki
2. ESP8266 WiFi Module Library
3. 2. Get ESP8266 source code
4. ESP8266 Documents, Firmware
5. Forum of company espressif for ESP8266
6. ESP8266 WiFi Module Quick Start Guide
7. electrodragon, ESP8266 wiki, ESP8266 IC pinout
8. ESP8266 flashing LUA firmware
9. LUA nodemcu ESP8266 firmware
10. Wlan2Serial Modul für 5 euro (German Forum
11. ESP-8266 transparent bridge software
12. Forum thread: ESP8266 UART to TCP socket absolutely transparent bridge
13. ESP8266, transparent bridge, AT command from local uart
14. Github: esptool.py for programming ESP8266
15. pyserial software on sourceforge
16. ESP8266-transparent-bridge, fork with GPIO2 control
17. MultiWii (Cleanflight) WiFi to EZ-GUI “HOW-TO” – ESP8266

List of pages in this category:

1. AVRArduinoProMini
2. AVRLipoBlitzer1
3. AVRTinyISP
4. ArduinoLCD
5. ArduinoLabPSU2
6. LedDimmer
7. WiFi2AT-ESP8266

 

Make-Shift-Do Day 2 – 24/10/2015

Pictures from Day 2 of the Make Shift Do event at Blackpool Makerspace

About the National event :- http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/makeshiftdo/

reuse or recycle

Dave building a microprocessor controlled cube of Light emitting diodes

Almost finished. The cube was finished, tested and working before we closed.

Josh and Les designing things for the Ultimaker 3D printer to make

Blackpool tower about to come out of the Ultimaker 3D printer

A selection of items printed with the Ultimaker 3D printer, including a small plaque with the tower and two spanners which is to become the Blackpool Makerspace logo

David demonstrating some of his robots

A 3D printed coin to release supermarket shopping trolley

David looking over more of his robot creations

Arthur checking out the robot collection

Everyone crowded around the Laser cutter at the far end of the room, for a demonstration.

The first run produced a clock face etched on plywood – the space hasn’t got a clock yet.

Robot collection in the foreground.

Thank you to everyone who helped us get this far.

Blackpool Makerspace is OPEN

It has been a long haul, as can be seen by the restoration pictures on here stretching back over the months. More building work than ‘Making’, but we finally opened our doors to the public at 6pm on Friday 23rd October 2015. There is still much to do, but we are now semi operational.

The Friday evening event and all day Saturday event is our participation in Make-Shift-Do a Nation wide event organised by the craft council.  https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk

More information about make-shift-do can be found here: www.make-shift-do.org.uk

Pictures from the Friday evening event:

The laser cutter/engraver unboxed and waiting to be set up

Beginning to build another 3D printer

Various views of a working 3D printer on loan from Ultimaker

Thank you ultimaker

Now how does it work?

View down the length of the new space

A selection of home made wooden models

The wet area being used as storage, signs that we still have work to do

No gambling allowed here

Setting up the Ultimaker

The way in!

A robot being 3D printed, he is headless at this point

The robot standing on his Maker

Another 3D printer

Unpacking more stuff

Guiding a robot

More projects get unpacked

Arthur demonstrates one of his projects

Ricky using a current limiting PSU to power a project and inspect the output waveform on a ‘scope

The Ultimaker prints a car with wheels that turn.

Meeting 12th September 2015

Attending: Mike Hull, Mike Hewitt, Ricky and Arthur.

Basement update.

With the deadline for opening in October getting ever closer, we started work at 10 today and finished at 6.

Washing machine and kitchen sink taken out of the area which will become the private entrance

Floor insulation carried in from storage, ready for going down on the floor 

Insulation down and floor boarding going down on top.

Insulation going down in the private entrance.

One piece of floor boarding left to do.

And the floor boarding is finished!

And it is still a nice sunny day in Blackpool as I head home at 6pm.

Meeting Saturday 5th September 2015

Attending: Mike Hull, Ricky, Geoff and Ted.

Basement update

More of the floor is down.

In the background, the opening in the wall will become a separate/private entrance for members to  get in to the basement space.

Meeting 29th August 2015

Attending: Mike Hull, Mike Hewitt, Ricky, Tony, Ted and Ollie.

Our application to the Crafts Council to participate in make-shift-do has been accepted and we are hoping to have our basement space ready for the event in October.

Basement space update

Ted putting plasterboard on over the wall insulation.

Ollie starts ‘tanking’  the walls at the other end of the basement.

When Ted  and Tony finished putting the  plasterboard on the wall, all the furniture was moved up to the end of the room where they had been working.

 With more floor space clear and ready for ‘tanking’ to be applied, we finished for the day.

Update 2

Mike and Ricky spent Bank Holiday Monday finishing off the ‘tanking’ on the walls and floor. 

Next weekend the floor insulation can be started.