All posts by gms

FCW, hamradio, Workshops/classes

Ham Radio License Class / Exams

FD-2012-croppedFoothills 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

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:

  • the basics of how networks operate
  • identification and purpose of network equipment
  • wireless setup
  • utilities useful in troubleshooting the network
  • connecting a device to the network.

This class is free and open to the public.

Events, FCW, hamradio

Ham Radio Field Day 2015

FD-2012-croppedOnce again, FCW via Amateur Radio station K4FCW will participate in Field Day from Saturday,  June 27 at 2 PM thru Sunday, June 28 at 2 PM.  Field Day was created by the ARRL and encourages Hams in North America to:

  • Set up under emergency conditions
  • Test equipment
  • Promote Amateur Radio
  • Socialize
  • Practice contest techniques

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.

Events

FCW sponsors Google Event

Foothills Community Workshop sponsoring a Google I/O extended event at Howard Brewery, in Lenoir, on May 28th. Google I/O, it’s Google’s annual software development conference held in Mountain View, CA, and live streamed across the globe. Google will be streaming the event in Lenoir  for those who are interested in watching and participating. The event is free and open to the public.

When: May 28, 2015

Where:  Upstairs at Howard Brewery, Downtown Lenoir

Sponsors:

Google, CCC&TI, ASU, Lenoir-Rhyne,  Foothills Community Workshop


What is Google I/O?

Google I/O is for developers—the creative coders who are building what’s next. Together we’ll explore the latest in tech, mobile & beyond. https://events.google.com/io2015/

I/O is two days of hands-on interaction with the latest technologies, inspirational talks and a few surprises in between.


What is Google I/O Extended?

I/O Extended events may include live streamed sessions, local developer demos, hackathons and more. https://events.google.com/io2015/offsite

Events, FCW

FCW Open House – May 22, 23

 

2011-12-17-12.09.401-1024x764

FCW will have an Open House on Friday, May 22, 5-9PM and Saturday, May 23, 10AM-6PM.

Even though visitors are welcome any time, at the Open Houses, every effort is made to ensure that all the interest areas are active and can be demonstrated.  Featured at this Open House are:

  • Food
  • The railroad will be operational
  • The Ham station will be operating with digital modes
  • Demos of the CNC routers, 3d printer and laser cutter
  • The Model-2 robot, designed and built for education
  • Games and activities
  • Special offers on membership

Also being shown are the start of our two latest areas: The Science Lab, and the Prop/Costume shop.

This event is free and open to the public.  Check the website for directions or call 828-351-HACK.

FCW, Uncategorized

Industrial Sewing Machine Donated

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GE DIGITAL CAMERAFCW is pleased to announce the acquisition of an industrial quality sewing machine.  Donated by Bassett Furniture, the Brother LS-2B891 Stitcher is capable of sewing leather, canvas, upholstery and other heavy materials.  Along with a latex curing oven currently being built, the sewing machine will be a valuable addition to the Prop/Costume shop being set up in a portion of the latest space expansion.

FCW has a history with theater, having previously built a full size Cinderella carriage for the play at SCHS, a boat for Willy Wonka and Cart of the Dead for Spamalot for a community theater.  Prop-master Ross also makes masks and costumes.

The area is currently being wired and hopefully be active within a few weeks.GE DIGITAL CAMERA

FCW, Projects, Workshops/classes

Robot Build Sessions

With the Model-2 robot trainer ready, it was time to work with the public schools.  On two Fridays, February 6 and 13, students from Mr. Seldomridge’s class at Granite Falls Middle School came to FCW for a robot build session.

With assistance from Rich, Michelle, Bruce, and Gene, each student assembled a Model-2 robot, which they could then keep.  There were a total of 24 students in the two classes  of two hours, and all were successful builds.  Starting with the “fun” of snapping the servos into the side panels, the students added the tail skid and internal braces, then bolted the chassis together.  They then added the circuit board and assembled the wheel “sandwiches”.  With the addition of the battery pack, they were ready to go.  Many of the students took the robots to the common area for them to roam.  It looked like giant roaches running around as up to ten robots roamed around the room, avoiding obstacles and dancing in sync.  With terms like “awesome” students had a great time with the hands-on experience and left with smiles on their faces.

On Thurdsay, February 12, twelve students from Mr. Bingham’s class at South Caldwell High School also had a robot build session.   The older students needed less assistance, but still had a great time   Mr. Bingham joined his students in building a robot and obtained  additional units for use in class.  These students were given the assignment to develop additional programs for the robot during the remainder of the school session.

FCW is pleased to be able to help the schools with STEM projects and plans additional sessions and projects for the future.  Similar sessions are available to homeschool groups, scout troops, etc. as well.  If you have a group that would be interested in the robots or STEM in general, contact FCW for details.

Uncategorized

Ham Radio Class/Exams

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FD-2012-croppedFCW will offer a preparation class for the Technician (entry) level Amateur (Ham) Radio license.  The class will cover FCC rules, station setup and operation, best practices, basic electronics, antennas, and radio theory as required for the Tech exam.  The class will be three consecutive Sunday afternoons, March 1, 8, and 15 from 2-4PM.  The class is free and open to the public.

VE exams for Ham Radio licenses will be held at FCW on Saturday, March 21 at noon.  The class does NOT have to be taken in order to take the exams.  All levels will be tested.  The exams are open to the public and the processing fee is $10.

FCW, Projects

Robot trainer availble

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FCW is pleased to announce the availability of an affordable robot trainer kit.  The Model-2 was designed and fabricated at FCW with the idea of creating an affordable platform for a simple robot and embedded processors.

Features include:

  • Arduino nano processor
  • Laser cut chassis
  • Ultrasonic “sonar” distance sensor
  • Servo driven wheels
  • Piezo-buzzer
  • Radio for coordinated activites
  • Includes manual and programming cable
  • Pre-programmed with example programs

The Model-2 was created with education in mind and the first run of 50 is being used by Granite Falls Middle School and South Caldwell High School for technical oriented classes.

It includes an example set of programs that allow testing of the platform, a “roaming” function that avoids obstacles, and a sample “dance” to demonstrate swam action using the radio.  It may be programmed using the Arduino tool http://arduino.cc/en/main/software with Windows, Linux, or Mac.

The retail price to the public is $39.95 with substantial discounts available for education.  The project is open hardware and open software.  Full plans will be available on the FCW website soon. Contact FCW for more details.