Makers Meetup Tonight in Burlington, NC

The Burlington Makers Meetup Group (Burlington, NC) - Meetup is tonight at 7:30PM at the Burlington Mall Starbucks.

This is a group for makers, artists, programmers, tinkerers, boffins, crafters, educators, and anyone who likes the kinds of projects and articles in "Make Magazine." It is a group for people who think “How can I make that?” instead of “where can I buy that.” Its a group for those who want to share their talents, knowledge, skills, and ideas with each other and with the world.

My name is Ben Harris and I'm a maker. I own my own small business (cottage industry) here in Burlington NC making science kits. I've recently become involved with Maker Faire (both in CA and here in NC!). I also own a CNC router, many bench power tools, a ton of hand tools, and lots of electronics equipment. I'm interested in exploring the idea of opening a “maker space” somewhere in Alamance county and would like to find out if there are other like minded people who might want to join such a space OR who might want to help out with creating such a space for others.

If you like to make things with your own two hands (either technical OR artistic or both!), and you like to share that with the world, and you are somewhere in/near Burlington-Graham/Alamance County then please join my new group.

Win an Arduino and More from Hackingspot.com!

Our friends at hackingspot.com have created a contest where you can win one of two Arduino prize packs:

When:

April 16 through May 16, 2011 at 23:59:59 EDT

How it works:

Your name will be entered into the drawing one time when you "Like" our Facebook page.  You will also get two additional tickets for purchasing an item from our store and sending us your name and order number at contact@hackingspot.com.

We will hold a drawing on May 17th, 2011 and will announce the winners on our site and Facebook

What you'll win:

One of two prize packs, including an Arduino Uno and a "Getting Started with Arduino" book.

It's as easy as that!

Welcome HackingSpot.com

I'm pleased to welcome our newest sponsor for Maker Faire: North Carolina, HackingSpot.com.

HackingSpot.com is your online source for electronic components for hackers and professionals alike. Same-day shipping for most orders and no minimum order is required.  Get your hack on!

I have often pined for a local source to get electronic components and this place has it all.  Resistors, TRIACs, Arduino, prototyping supplies, LEDs... the list goes on.  Thank you, HackingSpot.com, for supporting Maker Faire: North Carolina 2011.

What's Slightly More Nerdy Than Numismatics?

I love this.  Organize your electronics for easy reference.  Much better to have a taxonomy than "that big flat black thing."  Thanks to the MAKE Blog!

...after you are done breaking things apart and guiding the students through the component "jungles" inside modern day electronics, you realize that they would still need a ready reckoner which they can refer to regularly till they have built up enough confidence to identify components in various packages and so here's what we came up with...

Do you know how to solder?

A few people have expressed interest in learning how to solder at the Maker Faire:NC.  If you or a club you're in know(s) how and you have a few soldering irons I'd love it if you'd submit a Maker application.  It would be great if you could teach anyone who visits your table a quick Intro to Soldering course or schedule a few demonstrations or hands-on activities throughout the day.  Let me know what you have in mind!