Alex is meeting with the Catawba Valley Robotics Club at FCW on Wednesday evenings from 5PM until around 8PM. This group is composed of children of Elementary and Middle School age and uses the Lego robotics components. The group competes in contests involving tasks for autonomous (self controlled) robots.
Any kids in the age range, and their parents are welcome to attend.
The Open House on December 15, 2017 was preceded by a Ribbon Cutting from the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce. Several from the Chamber as well as the Mayor of Granite Falls, a City Councilwoman, a representative from the County Commissioners, a representative from the N
ation of Makers,
and other local VIPs.
The Ribbon Cutting was to celebrate the acquisition of the new building. Even though construction was still in progress, there was many congratulations and fellowship.
In the picture behind the poster are FCW members, from left to right, Mitch (holding the ribbon), Michelle, Bruce, Colin, Brandon, Rich, Derek, and Kay.
The remainder of the Open House on the 15th and 16th saw a steady flow of visitors and friends checking out the new facility. The rebuild continues.
FCW will be having an Open House at the new facility on Friday, December 15 from 5-9PM and Saturday, December 16 from 10AM-6PM. Even though visitors are welcome anytime someone is at FCW, at the Open Houses, we make a special effort to show of the advantages of FCW, This Open House is special in that is the first one since the fire destroyed nearly everything at the Shuford facility.
At the open house, we will have:
The Open House is at the new facility at 141 N. Main St., Granite Falls, NC 28630 (directly on 321-A). Note that parking is at the rear of the building. This activity is free and open to the public.
As of Monday, October 31, 2017. FCW has a new location. Since the fire on July 21, we have been obtaining equipment and looking for a new home. Many of our members spent extra time, money and effort to help FCW get started again.
The new location is at 141 N. Main St. Granite Falls, NC. We have to do some work but can start up several operations soon. This location is 11000 sq. ft which is slightly over twice the previous space. Due to scrounging and donations, we have roughly 60% of our equipment back and plan to start up the areas as soon as possible. This is a two story building and has large external doors accessing both floors. This building is air-conditioned and has 5 restrooms.
There is a lot of internal construction and wiring to be done for full operation. The current plan is as follows:
Top Floor:
The Science Center and Railroad will take additional time before they can be used.
The lower floor contains:
The metal shop will take some time to build. The wood shop is missing a few items which should be replaced soon.
The crew is working to make the space usable as soon as possible. Spread the word — FCW is back!!
FCW will conduct a condensed Ham Radio Technician License class on Saturday, September 9, from 9AM to 3PM at the Caldwell County Public Library, Room 5 in Lenoir. This class will cover the more difficult aspects of the entry level Technician exam. Topics covered will include:
Since this is a condensed class, participants will be expected to view some videos and do practice exams on-line. A schedule for the test will be determined at the class.
This class is free and open to the public. Contact Michelle, (michelle@foothillscommunityworkshop.org) or 828-754-5002 for more information.
On July 21 at around 7PM, the building containing FCW was totally destroyed by fire. Apparently it started in a rear corner, then spread up the back side before spreading forward and destroying FCW. In addition to us, there were several businesses, a couple of warehouses, a few residential apartments, and over two hundred storage units in the building. Fortunately, at this time, it appears that nobody was injured.
However, FCW is down for a while. The early consensus of the board is that we will rebuild and like the Phoenix “rise from the ashes”. Exact details will be worked out over the next few weeks. In the meantime, donations of money and equipment will be accepted (Remember that FCW is a 501(c)( 3) non-profit organization.
All classes and workshops are canceled for the near future as we clean up, salvage anything possible and look for a new home.
UPDATE: It appears that at least one piece of equipment survived. Our R5 Ham Radio Antenna remains proudly perched on its beam. Now if we only still had a radio….
The current estimate is that we will be able to survey the damage on Tuesday.
UPDATE 2017-07-23
A Members Meeting discussed the rebuilding of FCW today. Here are a few key points.
Here are some additional pictures
https://www.facebook.com/CaldwellJournal/posts/837110129789064
And a drone flyover.
Drone flyover aftermath https://youtu.be/cOyEDbRDpbE
More recent drone flyover: Zooming up, you can see both laser cutters, the shelving supports in the fab lab and StM (computer museum), the mill and lathe in the machine shop, part of the large bandsaw in the woodshop, both fume hoods, the large oven, the autoclave and a metal cart in the science lab, and a light in the stagecraft area. https://youtu.be/0aHt01O719k
Update 7/30/2017
Additional drone footage (I can’t post it yet) allowed us to id a cabinet, computer rack, and A/C compressor in the fab lab; the welder, 18″ planer, suction, and a tool box in the cave;, the transformer and instructors desk the classroom; and a power supply and the Pace rework station in the common area. Nothing can be salvaged.
Meetings have resumed on Saturdays and Wednesdays. We have a lead on a temporary space until we can find a building, and multiple leads on replacement equipment.
At the 2017 Field Day, a brief tour was done of FCW. This is the last known video before the fire. The mics being used failed during the interview portion so there is voice over description. This video was done by Gary Pearce of Ham Radio Now on Youtube. Do realize that we had be up over 24 hours for Field Day at the time.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4SNngKsB8f7MFluTVJBclRBcnc
Here is the current picture of the FCW entrance.
Once again, FCW via Amateur Radio station K4FCW will participate in Field Day from Saturday, June 24 at 2 PM thru Sunday, June 25 at 2 PM. Field Day was created by the ARRL and encourages Hams in North America to:
Even though FCW is not a “portable” setup, it is not a normal station location. For 24 hours, participants will be contacting hams across North America (and a few other countries) to accumulate points in the contest.
If you are a ham, interested in ham radio, or just curious, this is a good opportunity to get on the air and see why many people still enjoy ham radio as a hobby or a public service.
The event starts at 2PM on Saturday. Drop by for a while and check out the activity. This event is free and open to the public.
Rick will be conducting classes in Wood Turning on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10AM – 2PM. Beginners are welcome at any session. Besides the basics, each session will concentrate on methods to create specific items, such as bowls, plates, goblets, table legs, etc. Advanced topics will also be covered.
Space is limited. For more information or to reserve a slot, contact rick@foothillscommunityworkshop.org
This class is Free and Open to the Public.
FCW will have a Spring Open House on Friday, June 2, 5-9PM and Saturday, June 3, 10AM-6PM. Though visitors are welcome at any time, at the open houses an extra effort is made to present what FCW has to offer.
At the Open House:
Areas available for use at FCW include:
Things are always changing at FCW. The woodshop has been overhauled, the Science Lab and Stagecraft shops are close to starting up, new machines have been added to the computer museum, and the electronics area has expanded. There is also new equipment provided by grants and some exciting plans for the near future.
For more information contact info@foothillscommuntiyworkshop or call (828) 351-2551.
FCW is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Instructor: Gene Chase
Foothills Community Workshop, Granite Falls, NC
March 18, 2017, 1pm to 3pm in the classroom
Introduction to Microcontrollers
The Arduino Uno – Microcontroller Bread Board: An open–source platform used for building electronic projects of all kinds.
Programming the Arduino for Model Railroad Applications
1. At Grade Crossing Flashing Warning Lights, a simple Arduino Uno project for Model Railroaders.
2. At Grade Crossing Flashing Warning Lights, Safety Gates and Bell with approaching train detection.
Optional Program
There is a possibility that we could provide laptops and Arduino kits for each attendee so there could some hands-on programming for more of the class time. (Dependent on class size, maximum of 14-Attendees)