The video tour of Make Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania involves mostly a show-and-tell about the raw materials just waiting to find their way into members’ projects. The tour starts off outside the warehouse that house the hackerspace as well as an associated business incubator called Hive 4A. It then moves inside to give us a look at what they’ve got going on.
We love the space. There are really two kinds of buildings we see used in these tours. One type are commercial retail spaces, like HeatSync Labs or Workshop 88. They’re clean, well-lit, and in the public view. This is the other kind, behind closed doors and full or floor-space. The building features a really awesome wide-plank wooden floor. It plays host to a smattering of different equipment and a multitude of boxes, jars, troughs, and jugs full of all kinds of stuff. It looks like they’re beginning to get the parts organization under control. Old milk jugs serve as a first round of sorting. There’s also a nice little small parts rack built from plastic tea bottles and small cubby holes made of cardboard. See it all in the clip after the break.
THIS!! I want this as my shed to work on things. Actually… I just wish South Australia had a decent hackerspace. Last I heard, there is nothing here :(
Is the video wobble/distortion some youtube anti-shake filter? Gives me vertigo.
I couldn’t watch the entire thing, literally was making me feel motion sick.
You must have a huge monitor to get the Circlevision 360 effect off of it. Me, I was merely annoyed by the camera work. It crossed my mine that the person holding the camera thought gesturing while they were holding the camera was a good way to add emphasis.
Only half an hour from there. Shame I don’t have my car anymore, I’d love to have become a member..
I am about a half hour away also…..
What side of the mountain are you on?
It isn’t uncommon for a number of our members to hitch rides. I know we have bus service in the area with a stop about a mile away if need be.
I’m becoming a member immediately.
Freakin awsome!
Can’t watch full screen for too long though – makes me ill!
The guys there are really good guys! I’ve met them a few times. Sadly I’m over an hour away. :(
I think I’ve met you before, are you in our IRC channel?
they should buy the neighboring warehouse and use it for parts storage, with the amazon s3 server they could also run an electronics recycling and pick-n-pull service
I do the cut up gallon jug parts bin thing myself. Seeing that is what attracted me to this story. From what I could tell in the wildly panning video it looks like they have a fine space to work with.
I’m green with envy here. there are no hackerspaces in my province. non decent in my country at all afaik.
I’d try to start one, but i doubt there is much interest. (this city is all about art and theater)
my job and apartment is virtually hackerspaces, but for me alone.
i guess the bottom line is; i have decent opportunity to hack, what i want is a community to share ideas and work on big projects. learning best with others and so forth.
sorry about the whining.
I hear ya. There is nothing near me either. Sometimes it would be nice to enjoy a little camaraderie with like minded individuals. There is always the Internet …
If you guys want, feel free to email the space and ask how we got started. Our space is working with Allentown Economic Development Center that actually is helping to prop our space up. Right now one of the founders of this space is doing a small tour of talks nationally on how hacker spaces can stimulate economic development and how/why more EDC’s should sponsor spaces like ours. His presentation and notes can be made available if you email the space mailing list.