NC Maker Faire 2012: Other Projects

June 27, 2012 by Jeremy Cook 1 Comment

Although I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to at the Faire, there was a ton of stuff that was interesting enough for a mention. Many of these could probably merit their own separate article, and I didn’t get to talk about everything, so feel free to comment, or better yet write in to the tip line if you feel like you deserve more “air time.”

In the video after the break there’s everything from a [steampunk] display, to a model railroad club, and lots of projects in between. For a list of makers at this Faire, check out this page. Continue reading “NC Maker Faire 2012: Other Projects” →

Maker Faire NC 2012: Electrical Vehicles

June 26, 2012 by Jeremy Cook 7 Comments

Although I had no idea what to expect at the NC Maker Faire, I was pleasantly surprised to see several well made electrical vehicles. One of note was [Lab306]‘s Fox body electric Mustang. Although it would have been impressive by itself, it was made by a high school class and has been featured in several publications. Be sure to check out their excellent website, or the short video of it after the break! Don’t you wish you went to that high school?

Also of note were a few really cool cars seen after the break, including one built from a kit by [Green Cycle Design Group]. The other two were extremely small by traditional car standards and featured very unique designs. Continue reading “Maker Faire NC 2012: Electrical Vehicles” →

MakerFaire K.C. Kansas City Hackerspace Delivers

June 26, 2012 by Caleb Kraft 4 Comments

The Kansas City Hammerspace crowd really brought an amazing amount of stuff this year. Some stuff you’ve already seen, some stuff that is totally new. I’ll be sharing details on some of them individually as they really deserve the attention. Their booth, or booths were huge, taking up roughly 1/3 of the main hall. It was packed with a plethora of individual projects that really were all over the place. There were enthusiastic people at every turn happy to show off what they had built.Their presence really boosted the awesome level of the MakerFaire through the stratosphere.

Not only did they bring tons of awesome to the MakerFaire, they were gracious enough to invite people back to the hackerspace after the show for an after party. They stuffed food in my entire family and made us feel at home. It was really cool seeing everyone gathered discussing various projects. The ArcAttack crew was even troubleshooting a small tesla coil cit that wasn’t working right.

Watch the Hackerspace tour and check out some pictures after the break. Posts highlighting some of the individual projects will be coming soon.

Continue reading “MakerFaire K.C. Kansas City Hackerspace Delivers” →

MakerFaire K.C. Sneak Peak At ArcAttack’s New Toy

June 25, 2012 by Caleb Kraft 17 Comments

I’ve been seeing videos of ArcAttack all over the web for several years now and hoped one day I’d be able to cross paths with them. When I heard they were going to be at MakerFaire K. C., I was determined to grab them and ask a few questions. As it turns out, they’re fans of Hackaday and were happy to talk. Not only that, but when I was asking what fun things they were building, their eyes lit up. “You’re going to love this” one of them said as he ran off behind the stage. He returned with a device which was strapped to his body and spitting 5 foot long lightning bolts. He was right, I did love it! They demonstrated this proton pack looking portable tesla coil for a while, shocking each other and random bits of metal, all the wile grinning like the fools we all are.

I know we’ve covered a portable tesla coil or two before, but seeing this thing in person,heading right for you,strapped to someone who might actually even be able to run faster than you, is pretty cool.

There is video (sorry, shaky) and a ton of pictures after the break. Enjoy.

Continue reading “MakerFaire K.C. Sneak Peak At ArcAttack’s New Toy” →

MakerFaire K.C. First Impressions

June 25, 2012 by Caleb Kraft 19 Comments

I arrived at the Kansas City MakerFaire bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to meet up with like minded people and see awesome projects. I was not disappointed in that respect. The building itself is quite beautiful with giant main rooms and decorated 40 foot tall ceilings. If you haven’t ever seen the Union Station in Kansas City, I suggest you check it out. It is really quite fantastic on its own.

The event seemed rather well organized. There were talks on different subjects as well as clearly outlined areas for each event. The place was absolutely packed, but walking around still managed to be tolerable. Volunteers in bright red shirts were wandering around offering assistance to anyone looking lost or confused. I didn’t run into a single person complaining about the event. I’ve been to a ton of large events and there are usually a few people who were upset. I didn’t find any here.

The booths covered subjects from all over the place. There was knitting, model rocketry, robotics, lego construction, random hacks, cast making, and of course, 3d printing. I’ll be posting projects separately, as there were only a selected few that I think our readers would enjoy.

There were only 3 things I found frustrating.

1. Some of the coolest stuff I found, we have already covered.

2. I didn’t have time or ability to get as much detail on any one project as I would have liked. I’m used to seeing full write-ups with schematics and pictures. I only had a couple minutes with anyone. There were constant distractions as well as an amazing amount of noise (tesla coils especially!). I walked away felling almost like there was no point in doing interviews, but I guess this is how “on location” stuff works.

3. My footage is shaky. I apologize in advance. I didn’t end up bringing a rig with me to stabilize the camera and I spent the whole time wishing I had. I know how frustrating shaky footage is. I’m truly truly sorry. I will flog myself appropriately at my soonest opportunity.

after the break is a small gallery of random pics from the event with pretty much no accompanying info. Actual posts will be coming soon with details.

Continue reading “MakerFaire K.C. First Impressions” →

NC Maker Faire 2012: Machine Tools And 3D Printers

June 24, 2012 by Jeremy Cook 8 Comments

There were quite a few 3D printers at the NC Maker Faire this year (like the [Fablicator], several [RepRap]s, and [MakerBot]s) as well as a few subtractive machining devices including a wood lathe, a [ShopBot] display (one of the sponsors), and my little CNC router. There was even a little [Eggbot] on display, which combines several CNC concepts into a really unique device for printing a picture on an egg.

Check out the video below for lots of examples of what was at the Faire. There’s always room for one more 3D printing or CNC machining enthusiast, so hopefully it inspired some makers to expand their capabilities! Continue reading “NC Maker Faire 2012: Machine Tools And 3D Printers” →

DEFCON 20 Tamper Evident Contest Signup

June 23, 2012 by Mike Szczys 8 Comments

DEFCON 20 is on its way and if you want to put a team together to compete in the Tamper Evident competition now is the time! The idea of the contest is simple: your team needs to break into something without anyone every knowing. The payload is protected by the best of modern tamper evident techniques. One of the things we really like about the competition is that there are multiple levels so if it’s your first time you DO stand a chance. The number of teams accepted is limited, so don’t wait too long and miss your chance to register.

There’s a ton to be learned from the contest RULES. But perhaps a better primer is going to be [Datagram’s] fifty-two minute talk which we’ve embedded after the break. He was one of the winners of all four contest levels at DEFCON 19 last year.

Continue reading “DEFCON 20 Tamper Evident Contest Signup” →