foulab.org - Foulab News

TooolMtl October Meeting

einstein — Thu, 4 October 2012 18:53:16 -0400

Sunday, October 7 at 1pm is the monthly toool meeting! We will play with key impressioning, I expect it will be a lot of fun! We will provide one key blank per person for free and more will be available at cost.

Directions to foulab: http://foulab.org/en/wiki/Location_and_Directions

Tooolmtl September Meeting

einstein — Mon, 27 August 2012 16:44:25 -0400

The next meeting of tooolmtl will be on Sunday, September 9 @ 1pm, at Foulab. We will present an introduction to bypass tools, and we will have a friendly contest with a small prize from toool.us for the winner!

Prusa Mendel Build Party!

einstein — Sun, 12 August 2012 00:00:00 -0400

For almost a year now, we have had a 3D printer at Foulab. Only one at first, then many more popped out of the first one. Then friends and visitors immediately wanted to build their own. Today, Foulab and VoxelFactory are happy to announce that we will be holding a Build Party at Foulab on September 29th and 30th!

This will take the form of a two-day workshop where participants will build their own printers, then calibrate it and leave with a fully functional 3D printer and a working knowledge of how to build, modify and operate them. We have put together a kit just for the occasion with the best parts from all corners of the RepRap community. It's a Prusa Mendel Iteration 2, the best and possibly the most popular of all DIY 3D printers.

Check out the course planning: Overview of the two day class (en).pdf (also available in french: Survol du cours sur deux jours (fr).pdf)

If you are interested, the price is 999$ for the whole package: complete kit and the two-day class. RSVP to info@voxelfactory.com

And here's all the important details in one place:

Workshops postponed

fx — Sat, 28 April 2012 06:09:59 -0400

Please be advised that the workshops scheduled for today and tomorrow have been postponed until May 12th and 13th.

Third tooolmtl meeting

einstein — Sat, 31 March 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The 3rd meeting will be held on Sunday, April 8th @ 1pm at Foulab.

How to get there: http://foulab.org/en/wiki/Location_and_Directions

Learn to Solder!

fx — Thu, 29 March 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Want to get more involved in electronics? Learn a new skill? Build a neat kit? Come to the learn-to-solder workshop at Foulab and do all of the above!

Pick your kit from one of three kits to assemble: The Drawdio, which makes music from pencil drawings, the TV-B-Gone, which can turn off almost any TV, or the Solder:Time LED watch.

Pick your kit when you reserve your ticket on EventBrite. Pre-registration on EventBrite is mandatory. Tickets are $50-$60 depending on the kit.

This workshop will take place on Saturday, April 28, from 2PM to 6PM.

EL your Bike!

fx — Thu, 29 March 2012 00:00:00 -0400

EL your bike! Or anything else.

EL (electroluminescent) wire is a long, thin strip of plastic coated wire that lights up when you apply high-voltage, low-current AC power. It can be cut to any length and sewn onto clothing, attached to your bicycle, or just about anything else you can think of.

Included in this workshop is a kit of a power supply, 5m of EL wire, and the accessories needed to hook it together.

Choose your preferred colour when you reserve your ticket on EventBrite. Pre-registration on EventBrite is mandatory. Tickets are $60.

This workshop will take place on Sunday, April 29, 2012. It may be followed by a Spokes Folks ride.

Flashing Lights! Colors! (Pulse Width Modulation: A kit-building course)

legionlabs — Sat, 17 March 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is an efficient way to output analog(ish) voltages and currents using a digital source. A square wave of fixed frequency, but varying duty cycle (the "on" time) can produce a close approximation to an analog voltage/current, so long as this fixed frequency is high enough.

This technique is commonly used for controlling light emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs controlled in this manner can usually be dimmed to 256 different brightness levels. A 3-color (RGB) LED can produce 16 million unique colors this way!

In this course, we will build a 24-channel PWM controller suitable for constructing some fairly complex LED light displays. It will be controlled via serial port at 250 kBaud, so it can be easily be controlled via laptop (with usb-to-serial adapter) or microcontroller.

We will go over the firmware of the PWM controller (written in AVR assembly), although no previous knowledge of assembly is necessary. Code examples for lighting control will be provided in Python and AVR assembly, although the protocol is trivial to implement in your programming language of choice.

This course assumes you have basic ability with at least one programming language, and that you can solder a through-hole component without setting youself on fire (or can learn to do so in a few minutes).

Cost: 45$ (kit included)

Date: 2012-03-31 at 18:00-21:00

NASA hackathon

vladster — Fri, 16 March 2012 00:00:00 -0400

April 21 to April 22 Foulab will be hosting the International Space Apps Challenge hackathon. Work on space-related software, hardware and ideas at Foulab. Unleash your inner rocket scientist!
More info: http://spaceappschallenge.org/ and info@foulab.org
Event starts 11h00 April 21, ends 21h00 April 22

Second toool meeting! March 4th @ 1pm.

einstein — Wed, 29 February 2012 10:52:27 -0500

For those who have not heard yet, the second tooolmtl meeting will take place this weekend on March 4th, at 1pm at Foulab. We have received 20 set of Beginner' Blend Pick Kit from toool.us which we will sell for 25$ each.

Introduction to programming with the Arduino

fx — Tue, 14 February 2012 17:22:30 -0500

A two-day introductory workshop on basic programming principles and their use with the Arduino micro-controller. The Arduino is a small but powerful computing device that can be used to control lights, speakers, motors, sensors and other devices, and is commonly used in art installations and robotics. It is easy to program and requires no prior programming experience. If you are an artist, tinkerer or inventor who would like to learn how to use the Arduino in your own projects, this is the workshop for you.

The first day consists of an introduction to the basics of computer programming, for people who have no programming experience. Students will learn with hands-on examples on the Arduino.

The second day will delve into the specifics of the Arduino platform, and how to use its inputs and outputs to sense and control things in the real world.

If you already have an Arduino and some basic programming knowledge, but want to brush up on your Arduino skills, you can choose to attend only the second day.

Each day will be approximately four hours, from 1PM to 5PM.

Please bring a laptop if you have one.

Attendees must register at EventBrite.

GO! Going Open - Getting started with open source creativity tools.

maxster — Sun, 29 January 2012 17:42:50 -0500

Ever get tired of trying to pirate software? Ever wish you could search and install software in a breeze? By having access to hundreds of programs at your fingertips, going open source can remove many walls between you and your creativity.

This intensive workshop will cover:
-Installing Ubuntu Studio
-Getting familiar with the linux
-Quick introductions to : JACK, OSC, PureData, Ardour, Inkscape, Gimp and more!

****UPDATE**
-This workshop is aimed at creative people who use computers, beginners welcomed! In other terms, that I disagree with, this workshop is "for artists".
-The workshop will be followed by the finissage of the Fauxlab exposition.Cost : 0-10$ donations to Foulab.
Saturday February 4th, 1300h at foulab, the real one, NOT fauxlab at eastern Bloc. RSVP to info@foulab.org

This workshop is offered in connection to the fauxlab expo at the Eastern Bloc gallery.

First monthly meeting of Toool Montreal

einstein — Sat, 14 January 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The first meeting of the Montreal chapter of Toool(The Open Organisation Of Lockpickers) will be held at Foulab on January 29th at 13:00. This first informal meeting will be an occasion to meet everybody interested in lockpicking here in Montreal. During the meeting we will also discuss the future activities of the chapter, and plan the next meeting. Do you have an old lock missing its key? Bring it at the meeting!

What is Toool? The Open Organisation Of Lockpickers is a group of lockpicking enthusiasts. This chapter will offer a way for its members to practice their skills, and learn new ones. Prior knowledge is not required, only a bit of interest!

- tooolmtl

Op-Amps for Everybody!: a Kit-Building Workshop and Introduction to Surface-Mount Soldering

legionlabs — Mon, 19 December 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Op-amps (operational amplifiers) are a wonderful piece of analog technology. The design, conceived in the days of vacuum tubes, was so useful that the basic idea is still used today in most pieces of consumer electronics. You have used an op-amp already today, so why not learn a little more about them, maybe build a cool toy?

This workshop consists of two sections, theory and kit-building, which can be attended separately if desired. The theory section will go over the history of op-amps, some basic design rules, and demonstrate/discuss some simple opamp circuits. It will last about an hour.

In the kit-building section, we will build a guitar pickup/seismograph. It is a simple op-amp circuit using surface-mount components, on a custom circuit board. Out of the box, it makes an excellent low-noise preamplified pickup suitable for many musical instruments. With minor design changes (which I will be prepared to make on the spot), it will work as a footstep detector, seismograph, throat microphone, and several other things I have not thought of yet. Also, this will serve as an introduction to surface mount soldering, which is much easier and faster than through-hole soldering (once you get used to it).

Cost:

Theory: 10$, 1 hour (free for lab members)
Practice: 40$, 2 hours, kit included
Both: 45$
Date: 2011-Dec-30, 17:00-18:00 Theory, 18:00-20:00 Practice

RSVP appreciated (it helps me prepare) but not required.

Additional kits will be available at the end of the workshop and for a few weeks afterwards for people unable to attend.

PDMTL#45

maxster — Fri, 9 December 2011 00:00:00 -0500

.----------.| pdmtl#45 |`-=--------´

.-=-----------------------------------------------------------,| La quarante-cinquième rencontre du club d'utilisateurs de /| PureData de Montréal aura lieu le samedi 10 décembre 2011 (| de 13h00 à 17h00 au FouLab.`-=-----------------------------------------------------------`

.-=-----------------------------------------------------------,| Le FouLab est situé au local 33B du /| 999, rue du Collège, dans l'arrondissement Sud-Ouest, (| à 5 minutes du métro Place-Saint-Henri (ligne orange).`-=-----------------------------------------------------------`

.-=------------------,| Entrée gratuite ! (`-=------------------`

 |
 |

.-=-------------.| à l'horaire : |`-=-------------´

.-=---------------.| 1. Packet Party || par MaxD |`-=---------------´

/
Packet Party est une patch développée pour intervention publique. PacketParty sonifie le trafic de réseaux informatiques, pour sensibiliser lepublic à propos des réseaux qu'ils utilisent régulièrement.

.-=-------------------------=-.| 2. démos de patchs diverses || par Mathieu BOUCHARD |`-=------------=------------=-´

/                          `-------[#remap_image]

 a) polar.pd : pixélisation en coordonnées polaires

 b) zède1.pd : inversion complexe des coordonnées de l'image

 c) koch_polygon*.pd : construction récursive de polygones

 d) gl-poly-demo-with-blend.pd : troupeau de triangles

 e) joyeux_noël.pd : joyeux noël !

(il s'agit d'une patch des exemples de GridFlow, une patch variante d'unepatch d'aide, et trois patchs inédites)

.-=----------------------------------------------------.| 3. (?uvre sans titre) || par le collectif //termostat : || Stéphanie CASTONGUAY, Jenny ABOUAV, Romain BERGER |`-=----------------------------------------------------´

/
L'?uvre consiste à capter les ondes présentes dans un espace et de« matérialiser » sous la forme d'image en mouvement l'aspect invisible deces flux permanents qui transitent dans les espaces publics. À savoir,capter le chemin et l'action que les gens parcourent/actionnent surinternet à travers leurs téléphones portables, leurs ordinateurs et de lematérialiser dans l'espace où ces informations transitent, ne font quepasser. À travers ce projet, la question de la proximité entre l'espacepublic et l'espace privé est primordiale.

.-=-----------=------------=-----------=-.| 4. Cercle de patcheux et de patcheuses |`-=------------------------------------=-´

/                                      `--[s $0-allô]

/
Pour que tout le monde réponde aux questions de tout le monde, au sujet dutricotage de patchs, du gossage d'abstractions, du macramé de DSP, de labroderie linéaire récursive, et cætera et cætera...

PDMTL #44 @ Concordia EV6.809

maxster — Thu, 6 October 2011 13:04:31 -0400

NEW LOCATION****CONCORDIA EV6.809!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Montreal Pure Data user-group will be meeting at Concordia EV 6.809, Sunday the 16th of October at 13h. There will be a few presentations and disscussions. Details to come.

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER VISION WITH OPEN CV, SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

strawdog — Sat, 1 October 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Do you want to make your computer react to light, movement and gestures? Do you want to capture and process images and video as part of your project? Do you wonder: whats wrong with these lazy AI programmers, why cant my computer recognize me yet? Get answers to all these questions and more at the Foulab Workshop “Introduction to computer vision with OpenCV”!

The workshop is aimed at people with some programming knowledge, but not necessarily any computer vision knowledge. We will cover:

how to install and set up the Open Computer Vision toolkit,
an introduction to computer vision algorithms,
a couple interactive OpenCV demonstrations that you can use as a starting point for your own projects.

The primary programming language for the workshop will be Python. Some C++ will also be used.

This workshop has an important hands-on component - please bring a laptop and a webcam. When you preregister, you may want to let us know what type of computer and operating system you have.

The cost is 25$. The workshop is limited to 20 places - please preregister by sending an email to info@foulab.org. Please bring cash payment with you on the day of the workshop.

Cost: 25$
Time: Saturday, October 29, 1-5pm
Required materials: laptop, webcam

The workshop presentations will be in English, but we are more than happy to provide support and answer questions in French. While this workshop will be limited in scope to OpenCV itself, people are encouraged to stay after the workshop and discuss more advanced topics, such as the interfacing of openCV with other libraries and languages. If you have projects in mind or in progress, please do stick around and chat with us!

Op-Amps for Everybody!: A Kit-Building Workshop and Introduction to Surface Mount Soldering

legionlabs — Thu, 29 September 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Op-amps (operational amplifiers) are a wonderful piece of analog technology. The design, conceived in the days of vacuum tubes, was so useful that the basic idea is still used today in most pieces of consumer electronics. You have used an op-amp already today, so why not learn a little more about them, maybe build a cool toy?

This workshop consists of two sections, theory and kit-building, which can be attended separately if desired. The theory section will go over the history of op-amps, some basic design rules, and demonstrate/discuss some simple opamp circuits. It will last about an hour.

In the kit-building section, we will build a guitar pickup/seismograph. It is a simple op-amp circuit using surface-mount components, on a custom circuit board. Out of the box, it makes an excellent low-noise preamplified pickup suitable for many musical instruments. With minor design changes (which I will be prepared to make on the spot), it will work as a footstep detector, seismograph, throat microphone, and several other things I have not thought of yet. Also, this will serve as an introduction to surface mount soldering, which is much easier and faster than through-hole soldering (once you get used to it).

Cost:

Theory: 10$, 1 hour (free for lab members)
Kit-Building: 40$, 2 hours, kit included
Both: 45$

Date: 2011-Oct-08, 18:00-19:00 Theory, 19:00-21:00 Practice

Additional kits will be available at the end of the workshop and for a few weeks afterwards for people unable to attend.

Dwarf Fortress! Workshop

legionlabs — Tue, 27 September 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This workshop, to be held at Foulab, 999 Du College #33B on Sunday October 16th from 1-5pm is for people who have some basic, rudimentary experience with Dwarf Fortress.

None of us are experts and we're hoping that by bringing a bunch of people together, we can compare and contrast experiences and get better as a result.

Dwarf Fortress is a free and fun downloadable game which has been in constant evolution since 2002. It is a...n incredibly complex and immersive simulation in which you take a group of dwarves through the creation and evolution of an expansive fortress, replete with multiple subterenean levels, complex, interconnected industries, foreign powers you can trade with (and war against) and a myriad of complex machinery to keep a slew of mythical creatures at bay. Interestingly, all of this is conveyed via a strictly ASCII interface. We'll do this by looking at some online tutorials and then breaking up into small groups to discuss: 1. site selection, 2. embarkment, 3. rudimentary fortress creation and 4. things to bear in mind when expanding.

You should bring a laptop with the game installed.

This workshop is also connected to a class I'm doing in which I'm interested in looking at the extent to which Dwarf Fortress recreates the integrated complexity of what we can name as "the everyday". As such, for those interested in participating, we'll allocate some time at the end to have a brief discussion and fill out a small questionaire.

Participating in this will set you back a suggested $5-10 donation to go towards Foulab, montreal's hackerspace: www.foulab.org. Please RSVP at info@foulab.org

Presented by www.GeekMontreal.com

Basic Electronics, Again

legionlabs — Mon, 19 September 2011 01:11:10 -0400

Several people who missed the first course asked me if I could run it again. Why not?
Date: 1st of October, 2011 @ 18:00

Workshop: Basic Electronics

legionlabs — Wed, 24 August 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Are you looking for a good way to gain the basic knowledge necessary to build (and understand) simple electronic circuits? If so, this course is a nice place to start.

We will focus on practical knowledge including multimeter use, soldering, and reading circuit diagrams. The physical laws that govern electricity and passive electronic components will also be discussed. This is a hands-on course, so expect to get your hands dirty! This course will be in English, however questions in French are welcome.

Date: 2011-09-10 @ 18:00
Required materials: All materials will be provided
Required knowledge: Basic algebra
Cost: 25$ cash per person (10$ for lab members)
Duration: 3 hours. Discussion period of 1 additional hour.

RSVP if possible at info@foulab.org

Defending online privacy, anonymity, and freedom: a workshop with Jacob Appelbaum

einstein — Sun, 3 July 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Wednesday July 6, 2011, at 7:00pm
QPIRG-Concordia
1500 de Maisonneuve West, suite 204

This workshop will cover issues of internet monitoring, filtering, and censorship, as well as practical tools such as Tor, encrypted communications, and secure operating systems, which can be used to counter these threats to our privacy and security. This will be a hands on workshop, so bring a laptop or other device if you want.

Jacob Appelbaum, also known as ioerror, is a core member of the Tor project, creating free software and a global network for the protection of online anonymity. As an advocate for the project, he explains to people around the world the importance of online anonymity for defending our real life freedoms. He focuses on how Tor and other tools can help social justice activists who are targeted by state repression. After speaking for Wikileaks in 2010, he has himself become a frequent target of American law enforcement and border security agencies.

This event is organized by Anarchist Tech Support, a working group of QPIRG-Concordia.

Wearable Electronics Workshop

fx — Wed, 22 June 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Foulab is pleased to announce our next workshop, Wearable Electronics for beginners!

Come learn all about building your own wearable creations, using your own garments and ideas.

The workshop is divided into two parts, an Introduction to Sewing in the morning and an Introduction to Wearable Electronics in the afternoon.

During the sewing workshop, you will learn about: Your basic supplies - Needles, thread, pins, measuring tape, fabrics and sewing machines. Basic techniques: Threading needles, tying knots, common stitches, measurements, and how to put things together. Mundane stuff that will give you the basics to do many different projects!

If we have time we will also cover basic garment making and modding.

After lunch, you will learn to apply these techniques to electric circuits that can be sewn into clothing. Bring your own clothes and ideas for how to make them flash! We will connect a blinking circuit to LEDs that you can sew into your garment. You'll leave with a turn signal jacket, a blinkenhat, or a blinkensac, or anything else you like.

The workshop will take place Saturday, July 16, at 10:00 AM, at the Foulab location (999 Du College, Suite 33B). Bring a dish to share! We'll have a potluck (with collectively purchased beer!) between the two halves of the workshop.

Registration via Eventbrite is mandatory for this event. Please register here:http://foulabwearable.eventbrite.com/

Anarchist key signing party

fx — Tue, 7 June 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Anarchist key signing party:Bring your public key, and bring your friends!

Wednesday, June 15th at 7pmAt Foulab, 999 du Collège, Suite 33B

One of the main design principles underlying the PGP email encryption system was that it is built on decentralized networks of trust for identity verification rather than placing that trust in hierarchies or centres of power, such as governments and corporations. As anarchists, this makes a lot of sense to us! In practice, a good way of doing this is having a gathering where we can talk to each other face-to-face and share public keys: a key signing party.

As the Anarchist Tech Support collective (ATS), we're holding an anarchist key signing party, which means it is open to all hackers, radicals, geeks, anti-authoritarians, makers, breakers, tinkerers, free-thinkers, and all of our comrades, allies, and friends. In other words, open to anyone who wants to come.

In addition to verifying public keys, we also want this party to be a chance for us to have public conversations about related topics such as state repression and security culture; common ground between hackers and anarchists; or the power relations that are built into our technologies, and the technologies that are being used to overthrow ruling powers. Because trust is about a lot more than identity verification!

If you aren't set up yet to do PGP email encryption or aren't sure how it works, we strongly encourage you to come! We'll be explaining how it works, helping with installation if you have a laptop, and helping create keys. See you there!

Anarchist Tech Support

PDMTL#42

maxster — Wed, 4 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Join us for a couple of presentations!
Plus!