Category Archives: FCW

Spring Open House – June 3-4

May 16, 2016 gms

FCW will be having an OPEN HOUSE on Friday, June 3 from 5PM – 9PM and Saturday, June 4 from 10AM – 6PM.

Though visitors are welcome at FCW any time someone is there, at the open houses, extra effort is expended to promote the facilities, expertise and equipment available and the benefits of joining FCW. At the open house there will be:

Demos of multiple machines, the laser cutter, 3d printer, CNC router, robots.
Tours of the facility.
Displays in the science and electronics areas.
Demos of the Ham Radio station.
Persons operating the railroad.
Food and activities for all.
Special deals for membership.

Featured at this open house are the Science and Stagecraft areas being completed and the re-structured woodshop.

Invite your friends, associates, co-workers, family, anyone who may be interested in Science, Engineering, Technology or Arts. The open house is free and open to the public.

Here is a poster for the open house. It should be printed then cut in half to form two posters. Open-house-half-poster-1-201606-small

FCW

FCW Library Gets New Look

February 1, 2016 gms

Since the inception of FCW, we have had a small technical library. It has been in contained in some old shelves in the common area. During December, Kay constructed new shelving specifically for the library in the classroom — a more appropriate location. The new shelves also have considerably more room. Dan, Rich, Michelle, and Derek, among others, have contributed several books to the library, with more to come.

Topics include:

General Science (Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology), Math, Machining, Metallurgy, Ham Radio, Construction, Masonry, Wood Working, Cabinet Making, Wood Turning, Electronics (Fundamentals, Analog, Digital), Microprocessors, Operating Systems, Web Design, Networks, Computers, Security, Programming Languages, Computer Applications, Spoken Languages, Geek Fiction/Non-Fiction, Technical History, several periodicals and other topics of interest to the members.

We are working on organizing the library and developing guidelines for use.

Events, FCW

Open House, Dec 11 and 12

December 4, 2015 gms

FCW will have an Open House on Friday, December 11, from 5-9PM and Saturday, December 12, from 10AM to 6PM. Even though visitors are welcome at any time, at the open house FCW will have food and special demonstrations, including:

The Railroad will be operating
The Amateur Radio station will be operating
There will be demos of the laser cutter, 3D printer, robots and CNC routers.

There will be food, tours of the space, demos, activities, and special offers. New areas open include the science lab, the stagecraft shop, and a kid’s area. The open house is free and open to the public. Check the website or call 828-351-4225 for directions.

FCW, Workshops/classes

Arduino Class

November 27, 2015 gms

FCW held an “Arduino for Beginners” class on Saturday, November 14 to a packed classroom. Sixteen participants used the new computers and Arduino trainer boards to become familiar with the popular embedded processor platform. Rich was the instructor and guided them through the basics of the Auduino, use of the IDE and an introduction to the C language variant used. The participants were able to see how to use LED’s, an RC servo, an audible buzzer, and an ultrasonic distance sensor in “hands-on” experiments.

There were additional people on a waiting list for this class so a repeat of this class has been scheduled for December 19, from 11AM-3PM.

Construction, FCW, Projects

Recent Woodshop Updates

November 12, 2015 gms

A lot has been happening with the FCW woodshop lately, primarily in the manual equipment area. In late Summer, a Slide Miter Saw was donated. A short time later, several members donated money to purchase a wood lathe. This lathe, along with lathes loaned by Rick, Dave, and Colin, will be used for woodturning classes, and, of course, it will be available for general use by members and guests. Then, in late September, the opportunity arose to purchase an industrial 20″ bandsaw. Again, the members came through with funds and, after much grunting and wheezing, the bandsaw arrived. It needs cleaning, painting and wiring but was tested before purchase and works well.

Finally, in October, a Woodmaster 18″ planer/molder and 18″ drum sander were donated and picked up. Like the bandsaw, they need wiring. The woodshop crew: Rick, Ross, Kay, Dave, and Gary will be laying out the shop over the next few weeks so that wiring should begin around Christmas. Many thanks to all those who donated time, money, equipment and muscle to obtain and move these machines. They should greatly enhance the capabilities of the woodshop.

FCW, hamradio

Visitors from Abroad

November 12, 2015 gms

Meet Chris and Angel. They currently live in China but were visiting Chris’ relatives in Lenoir recently and stopped by FCW for a visit. Their work takes them all over the world and they try to visit hackerspaces and makerspaces wherever they go. Having visited numerous spaces so far, they spent some time relating to us what other hackerspace and makerspaces were doing. They were impressed with FCW, both with the size, expertise, and variety of the shops that we have. Chris commented that thus far, FCW is the only space that they have visited that had both a model railroad and an Amateur Radio station. We wish them safe journeys.

FCW

Happy Birthday FCW

August 26, 2015 gms

The 23rd of August marked the 4th anniversary of the formation of FCW. Starting with four members and a sad looking area in an old cotton mill without power or lights due to vandals, FCW has grown to 26 members, 5000+ square feet and numerous areas, including:

An electronics shop
A ham radio station (K4FCW)
A machine shop with a large mill (converted to CNC) and large lathe.
A woodworking shop with traditional machines and CNC routers
A mini-kitchen
An HO scale model railroad
A classroom capable of 16 students
A fabrication lab with laser cutter, 3d printer and welder
A science lab
A stagecraft shop complete with industrial sewing machine
A vintage computer museum

FCW has conducted workshops in electronics, 3d graphics, programming, robotics, machining, soldering and ham radio; has designed and built three large props for local plays; assisted CCC&TI with a science olympiad; conducted workshops for the public schools and CCC&TI; designed and built two robot/CNC projects; attended several makerfaires and conferences; and hosted two haunted house events and eight open house events.

For a detailed history check out FCW History

FCW

FCW gets Grant for Classroom

August 26, 2015 gms

FCW is pleased to be one of the recipients of a grant from the Google Data Centers Grants Fund of Tides Foundation. This grant will be used to enhance our classroom with more modern computers. These will be able to run Windows and Linux and set up to allow FCW to more efficiently conduct workshops and training in programming languages, operating systems, computer applications, CAD, engineering software, networking, robotics, and embedded controllers.

FCW is working with the local pubic schools, CCC&TI, the Catawba Valley Science center and other organizations to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) to residents of Caldwell, Catawba, Burke, and Alexander counties. We hope this will be only the first of several grants to aid this mission.

FCW, hamradio, Workshops/classes

Ham Radio License Class / Exams

July 11, 2015 gms

Foothills Community Workshop will be offering an Amateur Radio Technician level license class consisting of three sessions on consecutive Saturdays, August 8, 15, and 22 from noon until 2pm. With some additional on-line exercises, this class is intended to help prepare for the entry level Technician Amateur Radio Exam. Topics include:

Rules and regulations
Station setup and operation
Operating procedures
Basic electronic terms, components and calculations
Electromagnetic waves, bands, and modes
Propagation and antennas
Safety

This class is free and open to the public.

FCW will also be hosting exams for all levels of Amateur radio licenses. The testing will tentatively be on Saturday, August 29 at noon and is available to anyone wishing to obtain or upgrade an Amateur Radio license. The testing fee is $10.

FCW, Workshops/classes

Intro to Home Computer Networking – July 11

July 1, 2015 gms

FCW will be offering an Introduction to Home Computer Networks class on Saturday, July 11 from 12noon until 3PM. The class is intended for home computer users who wish to understand enough to setup and do basic troubleshooting on their network. Derek N. will be instructing the class and topics include: