Archive for the ‘San Mateo Event Center’ Tag

Maker Faire 2015 Recap – Part 2   Leave a comment

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here is a 2015 Bay Area Maker Faire recap in images from and around our Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio theme booth.

Click here to see the official Bay Area Maker Faire video from 2015

The Bay Area Maker Faire 2015 team: Team Leader Brian Yee W6BY and his wife Pat and daughter Stephanie, Dennis Kidder W6DQ, Lisa Gibbons KF6QNG and Paul Zander AA6PZ

We had working, hands-on ham radio projects including Brian’s (W6BY) 10 GHz ham radio transverter system, a radio-controlled tractor/forklift (ZigBee controller) and the big screen used as an electronic sign.

Dennis W6DQ brought several brand new projects this year, including a working Amateur Radio broadband (WiFi) network with seven nodes, a software-defined radio (SDR) system.

I brought a demonstration comparing old and new technology in antenna tuners. It uses light bulbs for a substitute (“dummy”) antenna.

 

 

There’s so much to see and do. Here are some pictures of what I get a chance to see.

 

Always great to see Tenaya promoting Arduino and Arduino related projects and products!

IMG_1633 wayne yoshida - TENAYA HURST

 

Great shirts and signage – Only at the Maker Faire!

 

Here are the posters we used to describe our projects on display this year.

Slide1 software defined radio

Slide2 software defined radio

Slide3 software defined radio

Slide4 software defined radio

Slide1 Broadband Hamnet

Slide2 Broadband Hamnet

Slide3 Broadband Hamnet

Slide4 Broadband Hamnet

Slide1 Old vs New Antenna Tuners kh6wz

Slide2 Ols vs New antenna tuners kh6wz

KH6WZ - W6DQ APRS poster

KH6WZ - W6DQ APRS poster 2

Directional coupler - SWR meter 1

Directional coupler - SWR meter 2

 

 

Call for 2015 Bay Area Makers is Now Open!   Leave a comment

IMG_0183 wayne yoshida tech writer dragon-head fire

The call for Bay Area Makers is open now. The deadline is Sunday Feb 15.

What’s a Maker? Take a look at what a lot of us are doing in The Maker Movement.

But if you think this idea is new, read this post about re-inventing the wheel. In this case, the wheel is the definition of “Maker.”

More info on the 2015 Bay Area Maker Faire. . .

Just to whet your appetite about the upcoming Maker Faire – take a look at a Drone’s Eye View of Maker Faire 2014!

Search for “Makers” and “Maker Faire” on this site to see some of my previous projects and participation at Maker Faire.

A Musical Sculpture at Maker Faire Bay Area 2014   Leave a comment

Here is a wonderful musical sculpture crafted by Christopher T. Palmer on display at the Maker Faire. The piece is called “Nicht mit dem Titel, ein” Google translate says this means “Not with the title, a” or something like that.

It uses restored cuckoo clock whistles, a microcontroller, some model servos. It plays every 15 minutes.

IMG_0146 KH6WZ - cuckoo whistles

 

IMG_0147 kh6wz close up cuckoo whistle and bellows

 

More information on Chris and his  studio can be found here.

Watch the video on YouTube Channel KH6WZ!

More Maker Faire pictures and stories to come! Stay tuned!

Intelligent Infrared Sensors at Bay Area Maker Faire 2014   Leave a comment

 

University of California, Davis engineering students  Sam Dawson (left) and Andrew Chung (right) demonstrate their engineering project at the Bay Area Maker Faire. The microprocessors in each box are equipped with infrared sensors and emitters that “talk” to each other and glow different colors to indicate their relationships to another box.

The project provided hands-on experience in both hardware and software to supplement lectures and textbook learning.

Watch the video on YouTube Channel KH6WZ.

For more information on the UC Davis Engineering programs, visit

The Davis Adaptive RF Technology (DART) Lab

UC Davis College of Engineering – Electrical and Computer Engineering

2014 UC Davis Picnic Day

 

Not Your Grandpa’s Ham Radio

Maker Faire Bay Area 2014

Maker Faire Bay Area 2014 – Laser Harp Demo   Leave a comment

IMG_0104 kh6wz laser harp by UCDavis

The laser harp drew a lot of attention from little kids. The string less musical instrument features laser beams, laser sensors and an electronic harp that can actually teach how to play a tune.

Click here for more information on the UC Davis Laser Harp Project.

Watch the video on KH6WZ.

More Bay Area Maker Faire pictures and stories coming soon!

The Paella Feast at Maker Faire Bay Area 2014!   Leave a comment

Every year, the Maker Faire hosts a paella dinner for the Makers. This year, the event was sponsored by Liquid Wrench. Here are some images, and you can watch the Paella video on channel KH6WZ. . . 

Gerard’s Paella feeds 2,500 people very quickly!

IMG_0038 kh6wz Maker Faire 2014 - Paella just starting to cook

 

 

IMG_0041 - kh6wz Paella simmering Maker Faire 2014

 

 

IMG_0043 kh6wz - paella MF 2014

 

 

IMG_0069 kh6wz paella ready to serve