Agenda

  1. Update on Space access
  2. New space discussion
  3. Maker Faire preparation
    1. What are we showing
    2. List of evening activities for following weeks
    3. PR Material
  4. Moving the laser to G10
  5. Anything else

Attendees

Alex Angell, Sam Willcocks, David Henshall, Tarim, Katie Dumont, Nathan Dumont, Barney Livingston, Patrick Neave, Tim Winship, David Wyatt (note-taker)

Notes

  • Hackspace access:
    • Tarim has ordered 4 more conventional keys - needs payment for £120 to building management in due course
    • Leave one key at Bristol Wireless? - leave a list of people who can get them too!
    • Tarim has spoken to BV's approved locksmith (Simon) to get quote for changing the lock on the outside door to a Yale-type lock (but with more complicated/expensive keys) that locks automatically when the door shuts, to stop the door being left open - unofficially this would be “less than £350” - and we could then potentially get sets of keys to that door (cut ourselves) rather than BV. We could then leave an RFID keyfob in the space to open other doors in BV.
    • DH: Put a key in a locked cashbox? & get keys cut to that?
    • We'd still want to charge a deposit, probably, to stop people losing the keys
    • Particularly an issue because of the number of new people last week!
  • New Hackspace space: Poppy is probably moving to Phase 2 so we could have first refusal on her space (the one at the back on the right, with the sink) - and Jenny might be moving too (one of the tenants of the walled-off space) - Gareth is the person who rents the sculpture area
  • Moving the lasercutter to G10:
    • Matt says: this'd require mingling the Hackspace space (sublet from another Matt) with their space; also need everyone else in G10 to sign a document, and a better extractor fan
    • Mingling spaces: yes, we're happy with this - PN will email Matt
    • Issue of what tools we've got in there… Some publicity needed - take some pictures & put them up in the space/on the website?
    • Need signage to indicate what's Hackspace property and what isn't to be touched
    • Form: probably will be sorted in due course
    • Extraction: what do we need? Bathroom extractor fan e.g. http://www.screwfix.com/p/manrose-chrome-white-25w-in-line-centrifugal-shower-fan-kit/41379 ? Plus some kind of vent arrangement
    • Lock the lasercutter when not used? Keyswitch on top of the lasercutter to allow it to be locked. Leave key in G11.
    • KD: lock the keys to G10/lasercutter down to something in G11 with a combination lock to which Hackspace members know code, to prevent misuse. Tarim thinks this is unlikely to be a problem. Ask Dominic? PN will. ND: Also promotes hackspace membership - diversity + money
  • New space: (crowdfunding)
    • DH: set up a “donation” scheme where people can pay for ~6 months membership upfront to give us the funds to expand - then doesn't give us a guaranteed income past 6 months but we have time to build up the monthly subscriptions
    • PN: we're stuck in the catch-22 of needing more members to get more money to get a bigger space to get more members - so a kickstarter-thing would help us to do that
    • Recruiting people at the maker faire: collect emails for a newsletter in the first instance with a clipboard, then send a kickstarter out to them - BL: or type it into an old computer, and print out on the till-roll printer!
    • DH: we do have to watch out for over-promising… KD: even last week there were too many people (28)
    • PN: next steps: gather email addresses, keep looking for spaces… Discussion of spaces e.g. the Oldmarket space: currently cheap but prices are planned to go up £3k/yr - owner seemed reasonable - issue of changing use?
    • ND: need specific targets in order to galvanise activity - PN: but in the timescale when we could move, any specific building will be gone
    • DH: place in Redfield might be worth a look, if it was 6months free & 12months half rent
    • PN: better to plot out our ideal space, lay out how we'd use the space (poss based on an existing space)
    • DH: G11/BV will be cheap for a small amount of space, but more expensive for more space - but it would be zero risk if we expand within BV, then shift to a new space once we're paying as much as we would be paying for an industrial unit
    • PN: but we're losing people when they see it's too crowded - SW: do we know whether is this actually the case? DW: at least one person responded to a survey to say so
    • Tarim: start another social night? - KD: but people come along for the social aspect - Tuesday is picking up - i.e. it's working but slowly - DH: will work better once there are more people coming on different nights
    • Tarim: worth doing publicity - Dave Stewart was doing a good job last Thursday of showing new people around - need to emphasise to new people that it's not crowded at other times!
  • Maker Faire:
    • What are we showing:
      • Touch table: just use it as a screen? slideshow of the hackspace - can detect pokes, but not where they are…
      • Old computers: John H can lend some of his old computers, as long as they can be transported & watched over by other people
      • Plotters: John H will be running them
      • T-shirts: heat press not ordered yet - KD to forward email to DW & he'll order one, as long as Matt hasn't
      • Transport: (for touch table & John's computers) - put a call out on the list?
    • Activities after Maker Faire:
      • PN: just a list of workshop topics for people to sign up against - needs someone committed to running a workshop for a topic, & if enough people sign up they will be run
      • Could be just a Tuesday night, not a whole weekend! - evening workshops are easier to organise/run
      • Topics:
        • Arduinos!
        • OpenSCAD
        • Raspberry Pi
        • SMT soldering
        • 3D printing
        • Laser cutting
        • PCB layout (/PCB milling)
        • Through-hole soldering
        • Transistor circuits
        • 555 circuits
      • PR material:
        • Quickly!
        • BL: Need info to put on them
        • PN: Need pictures of our equipment - we have plenty of pictures of lathe
        • KD: make up business cards to advertise events - £2.99 for 100 from Staples or something - BL: for Brighton they had some useful things on the back e.g. resistor colour code - ND: he gave out 60 cards at Brighton ⇒ we need plenty, like 200-odd
        • BL: poster-sized map of UK with all hackspaces, not just Bristol
        • DH: a few posters could be printed at UWE under the radar, more than that would be difficult
        • DH: Postcard with QR code for website
        • Stand-up poster thing: SW has one, but the printing is probably the expensive bit
        • Budget to spend on it?
        • Who to make the artwork?
  • AOB:
    • Contact form: where should it go? a submitter should be possible to choose whether it goes to whole mailing list (for announcements of events of interest - needs approval to combat spam?) or specifically about joining etc. - just a radio button on the form
    • Newsletter: SW: Mailchimp do a free mailing list if you have <2000 subscribers
    • BOTLab AGM: after Maker Faire, after Mike has compiled final accounts for BOTLab - has to be <14months from 16 Feb 2012 - say Tues 16 April?
    • Payment mechanism: PayPal vs standing orders? PayPal is easier to set up c.f. bank (?), others ideologically object to PayPal, there are some advantages to PayPal re. monitoring subscriber lists but also some issues with having to “deliver products” before receiving money
    • These meetings: PN: worth continuing, perhaps every 2 months - DW: seem a better way to conduct business than BOTLab committee meetings?
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