User:Dpoulson
Hi,
I'm a life long geek, having from an early age mastered the art of dismantling and de-soldering many a broken electronic toy (never actually managed to mend any tho'). I'm a Linux sysadmin by trade, and have spent the last 10-15 years deeply involved in computers as a hobby. In the last year or so I've been wanting to get back to my roots and do some electronics, so have spent some money and built up a nice workshop and stock of components.
This got me thinking about how some hobbies have quite an expensive outlay, and also at the same time noticed the rise of what are called Hacker Spaces, or Maker Spaces. These seemed a fantastic idea to not only share resources, but also share ideas and skills. To this end, I started this website to try and draw everyone who might be interested in this type of community in the local area to a focal point, with the long term goal of having a Maker Space started in Lancaster.
Interests (besides anything geeky)
- Quadcopters and anything RC controlled. Working on my first quadcopter, with the ultimate aim of doing FPV flying.
- 3d Printing. Currently building a Huxley 3d printer (waiting for replacement parts)
- Home Automation. Starting off with home monitoring (http://home.22balmoralroad.net/)
Most of these projects are documented on my blog, http://www.22balmoralroad.net/
Skills/Equipment
- 3d Printer - I've got one 3d printer working, and another better quality one in progress. I'll be happy to print things out if you supply the STL file and material
- Laser Engraver/Cutter - Just aquired a cheap laser engraver/cutter if anyone ones things doing. Will take up to about A4 size, and just about anything non-metallic up to about 3mm thick. (Engraving can do thicker)
- Linux/Computers - I've got many years experience in Linux, computers, and the internet. Need a cable or part urgently? Give me a shout, might have something knocking around
- Electronics - I've built up a nice little workshop for electronics. Not that good with the theory, but if you need another pair of eyes...
- RC - Just getting started in radio control.
- Arduino - Always dabbled with programming, learning arduino for now. Again, not that good yet, but another pair of eyes never hurt!
- Web Hosting - I do some web hosting on the side. I have a dedicated server in a decent datacenter that I use for projects, and have various websites hosted there. If you want a low bandwidth website, give me a shout.
Projects
- 3d Printer - Currently in the process of building a 3d Printer (Huxley) FAILED, stripped for bits!
- 3d Printer 2 - Better printer, based on a Prusa 2 and running Sanguinololu electronics
- 3d Printer 3 - Currently working on a higher quality Prusa 2 build, with some parts swapped out, and Gen 7 electronics.
- Quadcopter - Built (and crashed) my first one, now onto my second!
- Laser Cutter - Cheap ebay 40W laser cutter, with Open Source hardware controller (Laos)
- DIY Laser Cutter - After getting my eBay bought one working, I want to build my own larger area one
