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JustJimAZ

Makers, Hackers, and Haunters

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JustJimAZ
, 05-28-2011 at 03:02 PM (395 Views)
I have always loved Halloween. I have always loved making things. Granted, my desire to make usually outstripped my ability, which is why I don't have a cool robot. Still, I like making stuff. I realize that most Haunters are makers with a theme. Why else do we dabble in electronics, papier mache, carpentry, clay, sculpting, carving, sewing, mold making, makeup, and on and on? Halloween is our chance, I think, to make something. We may be sick, so we like to make corpses rather than fluffy bunnies, but at bottom we make stuff. For me, it is a bonus that when something utterly fails, it's almost always still useful. Just throw that nasty skull in the graveyard. Who will know what it was supposed to look like?

Some time back, there were a few guys in AZ interested in experimenting with all variety of concepts. They were makers - hackers. The kind of guys who would tear apart a shiatsu massager and rebuild it into something else. Guys who would build their own 3-d printer or electron microscope out of discarded equipment.

Each of them did their own thing, scrimping to buy the tools required to do the job right. One day, they noticed that they were all buying basically the same stuff. They all had heat guns and soldering irons and various tools. It occurred to them that they could pool their resources, buy the best stuff, and just share. HeatSync Labs was born.

http://www.heatsynclabs.org/events/
http://groups.google.com/group/heatsynclabs?lnk=srg
https://www.facebook.com/HeatSyncLabs?ref=ts


Now HeatSync is a place where People in the Phoenix area can drop in, find tools, materials, and collaborators for whatever project. They have regular 3D printing nights, where you might fabricate a model skeletal hand in plastic. Afterwards, use the vacuforming machine to make a mold of it! They have Arduino night, where people meet to play with Arduinos and share ideas. Want to find a computer nerd to help with code? Need a laser cutter? Whatever night it is, anyone is welcome to come by and play.

Seems like just the kind of place haunters would feel at home in - and maybe pick up some tips too! HeatSync labs is not the only hackerspace in the valley, and certainly not the only one in America. Nearly every large city has at least one such group - just like they almost all have Haunter groups. Is that a match made in heaven or what?

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Comments

  1. Franki Stein's Avatar
    Sounds like a cool place! Sadly, my town doesn't have a HeatSync-type group, and no haunter's group either.. but hey, we have Pizza Church, does that count? Lol! Great post!
  2. JustJimAZ's Avatar
    Pizza CHurch? Possibly that's a place to find some high school and college nerds to start your own group, so maybe it does!
  3. Franki Stein's Avatar
    Ah, if only.. In reality it's more likely a place to find ex-cons and people just there for the free food.
  4. JustJimAZ's Avatar
    I see. In Portage?
    Having a haunt group and / or hackerspace is a huge benefit to the members. I bet there are people who would also be interested.
  5. Franki Stein's Avatar
    So I say ex-cons and you automatically think Portage. Are you sure you're not from here?? lol
  6. JustJimAZ's Avatar
    Google searches is where I started. "Hackerspace" and "Maker group" are useful terms. For example, "Hackerspace Wisconsin" gave me:
    http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Wisconsin

    While looking for one near me, I actually ended up pursuing a lot of dead ends, but found some names on defunct sites that I could reach out to, and eventually one of them led to me discovering HeatSync Labs in my area. It is actually INSIDE a second hackerspace called Gangplank.

    Also, there are Maker Faires around the country. The people vending at and sponsoring these faires know of many of the groups.

    There is also this:

    http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces

    I don't know how accurate it is, but it's a place to start!
  7. randomr8's Avatar
    I gave a talk at DEFCON in August about Haunters as makers. DEFCON is one of the preeminent Hacker Cons. It was very well received. Set up props in the Hardware Hacking Village and made some new friends. I knew I was in the right place when one guy that runs it was giving an opening speech and referenced bluckys.
  8. JustJimAZ's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by randomr8
    I gave a talk at DEFCON in August about Haunters as makers. DEFCON is one of the preeminent Hacker Cons. It was very well received. Set up props in the Hardware Hacking Village and made some new friends. I knew I was in the right place when one guy that runs it was giving an opening speech and referenced bluckys.
    Sounds great! There are so many more "cons" than I was aware of. In phoenix just last weekend there was one I would have loved to participate in, but I only heard about it late Saturday evening. I am thrilled the makers were receptive to your haunter talk.