Unobtanium: Obtained!

Despite our DIY ethos, there are many things we just can’t build ourselves. Subtract one from that list, because a formerly-unavailable component is now available in the US.

Pictured at left are the ubiquitous female jumper wires, used by experimenters everywhere. They come from China, via a number of suppliers. But if you want a different length or just to DIY for the principle of it, you’re out of luck. You could buy the pins and salvage the housings from PC case wiring, but that’s hardly a reliable source, especially for the useful single-pin housings.

The housings are available from all the usual suspects, except the single-pin version, which wasn’t available anywhere. Until now, that is! The story of how that happened is a bit more straightforward than you may think, and the details are after the jump. Continue reading »

Recently at i3detroit…

Wondering what we’ve been working on lately? Here is a tasty sample. Sorry for the awkward formatting. Probably a gallery layout would have worked better, but hey. You get what you pay for, and I pay what I get for, if you know what I mean!

Want to see more? Stop by during our next open shop friday!

Keenan is hacking a one of the three Roombas he got on Craigslist for $60. He'll be adding his own custom controller board. Here he shows of the mounting bracket that was printed with our Makerbot.

Guest Eric came in to fix his cracked aluminum bike frame.

Steve is making some slick coolant pumps for the machine tools.

Dustin, Roger and Matt (our new president) are showing off some acrylic parts, hot off the laser cutter. They'll be assembling a spindle to hold material for the makerbot.

Open Shop Friday: 6:30ish

Following the Twitterbot not your style? Been looking for a good time to stop in and check out the space? Open Shop Friday is that time!

On Friday evenings we [try to] throw open the doors and welcome visitors to check the place out. Bring a project to work on, or just hang out! Bring a friend who’s never heard of hackerspaces…

When: Tonight, 6:30pm until midnight or later…

Where: 1481 Wordsworth, Ferndale, MI. Park in front of the building or farther down Wordsworth.

Who: You and your carpoolers.

What: Hack stuff, make stuff, take stuff apart. Hang out, teach, learn, and doodle on whiteboards everywhere.

Smokin’ Pop Skyway (Open Shop Friday)

Guess what it’s time for!

It’s time for a gibberish question?

No, wait, wrong game. We’re playing You Don’t Know Hack, and that means it’s time for another Open Shop Friday!

If you’ve been waiting for a good time to check out i3 and following @i3detroit isn’t convenient, Open Shop Friday is for you. If you have a project you’ve been meaning to work on, bring it along! If you have a friend who’s into DIY stuff, drag ‘em in. From sewing to welding, you can do it here.

Exposure warning: Bad jokes and 90s video game references are occasionally found in near-lethal quantities, visitors are advised to take whatever measures they feel necessary.

Fourth Tuesday, time for Android meetup!

Do you pipe up with advice whenever a friend has a phone question? Or are you the one doing the asking? Do terms like Nandroid and CWM roll off your tongue, or have you not rooted your phone yet? Do you live for QR codes? (Have you scanned the one on our front door?)

Regardless of experience level, you’re welcome at our regular Android meetups! Learn about your phone (or tablet), share what you know, break something, fix something, and most importantly, meet other enthusiasts!

I promise to have the doors open by 7pm, but earlier is probably fine if you’re in the area.