We’re big fans of podcasts about electronics and embedded systems like The Amp Hour, embedded.fm and The Spark Gap podcast. (Please let us know in the comments of other shows we should check out)

In the latest Spark Gap episode, Karl and Corey talk about their trip to Portland for the 2016 Open Hardware Summit:

The Spark Gap Podcast – Episode 49

Our favorite past episodes include the two-episode discussion of PCB design:

We also enjoyed when Karl and Corey were joined by James Lewis of Kemet Electronics to talk about capacitors.

The Spark Gap Podcast – Episode 25

Optical Convert Channels

October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 fustinibsides, joe grand, optical, pdx, securityLeave a comment

One of our favorite hardware hackers, Joe Grand, has shared slides and hardware designs from his recent B-Sides PDX talk:

Optical Covert Channels

Data exfiltration from a device is usually achieved over the network, via hardware implant, or by manipulating the characteristics of an internal electronic component. Optical covert channels transmit data using visible light in a method undetectable to the human eye.

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Joe demonstrates using an optical receiver to capture data transmitted through a LED:

joegrand has shared the receiver boards on OSH Park:

OpticSpy Digital (Rev. A)

digital version using Everlight PLR135/T9 Fiber Optic Receiver

OpticSpy Analog (Rev. A)

analog version based on Maxim Integrated’s AN1117 application note:

Open Hardware Summit 2016: afternoon sessions

October 14, 2016October 14, 2016 fustiniOHSummit, ohsummit16, oshw, oshwa, pdx, portland3 Comments

[see previous blog post for morning sessions]

Video recordings of Session 3 and Session 4 of Open Hardware Summit 2016 in Portland:

OSHWA certification

Alicia Gibb and Michael Weinberg

[Session 3: seek to 0 hr 16 min]

Note – the recording is missing these talks:

Steve Hodges: micro:bit Open Source Physical Computing Platform for CS Education
Dan Seal: Rise of Open Hardware in Education
Sakshi Srivastava

Creating an open factory among factories

Eric Pan

[Session 4: starts at the beginning]

Space the Final Frontier of Open Hardware

Aaron Baker and Andrew Greenberg

[Session 4: seek to 0 hr 19 min]

Beyond microchips: infrastructure, norms and feedback for open classical instruments

David Perry

[Session 4: seek to 0 hr 35 min]

Open Source Hardware in our National Parks

Rianne Trujillo

[Session 4: seek to 0 hr 51 min]

Open and Good Enough Manufacturing Solutions

Luka Mustafa

[Session 4: seek to 1 hr 5 min]

Gallery of slides from the above talks:

Related post:

Open Hardware Summit 2016: morning sessions

The People, Talks, and Swag of Open Hardware Summit

October 11, 2016 fustinihackaday, ohsummit16, openhardware, oshwa, pdx, portlandLeave a comment

Friday was the 2016 Open Hardware Summit, a yearly gathering of people who believe in the power of open design. The use of the term “summit” rather than “conference” is telling. This gathering brings together a critical mass of people running hardware companies that adhere to the ideal of “open”, but this isn’t at the exclusion…

via The People, Talks, and Swag of Open Hardware Summit — Hackaday

Portland Science Hack Day begins tonight

October 7, 2016October 7, 2016 fustinihackday, openhardware, oshw, pdx, portland, scienceLeave a comment

Portland Science Hack Day at XOXO Outpost kicks off tonight after the Open Hardware Summit! Opening Lightning Talks start at 7:15 pm:

Here are my slides on Open Source Hardware and Science [PDF]:

Slides are also shared on SlideShare

Hackaday in Portland this Week for Open Hardware Summit

October 5, 2016 fustiniOHS, ohs2016, OHSummit, oshw, pdx, portlandLeave a comment

We’ve been trying fit in a tour of the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years now. This week is a perfect excuse. Hackaday is proud to sponsor the Open Hardware Summit which will be held in Portland this Friday! Hackaday believes in the free and open sharing of information and ideas. Open Hardware has…

via Hackaday in Portland this Week for Open Hardware Summit — Hackaday

Portland Mini Maker Faire recap

September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 fustiniMake, Maker Faire, OMSI, pdx, pdxmakerweek, portlandLeave a comment

Portland Mini Maker Faire made for a fantastic weekend at OMSI earlier this month. We’ve shared our favorite photos of the fun.

https://goo.gl/photos/yBeuCLiAxBynL3sj6

Thanks to everyone that visited our booth. It’s wonderful to meet our customers in person and hear about their projects!

https://goo.gl/photos/yBeuCLiAxBynL3sj6

Sergey Kiselev and his son stopped by our booth to show us projects they’ve created including this Intel Quark environmental sensors board.

https://goo.gl/photos/yBeuCLiAxBynL3sj6

People enjoyed seeing our full PCB panels in person and learning more about the manufacturing process. We’ll also have them on display at our open house on Open Hardware Summit eve next week.

https://goo.gl/photos/yBeuCLiAxBynL3sj6

Low Voltage Labs had a bunch of fun easy-to-solder kits:

Mark Keppinger created this blinky board kit for people to learn to solder at the faire:

https://goo.gl/photos/yBeuCLiAxBynL3sj6

Visit our photo album for more!

Portland Mini Maker Faire 2016

September 6, 2016September 6, 2016 fustiniMaker Faire, OMSI, pdx, portlandLeave a comment

We look forward to meeting everyone this weekend at:

September 10 (Saturday) and September 11 (Sunday)

Open 10 AM – 5 PM

Portland Mini Maker Faire will run the gamut from demonstrations of 3D printing and robot welding, to knife forging, bee keeping, recycled skateboard jewelry, and much more.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214

Portland Mini Maker Faire at OMSI showcases the amazing works of all kinds and ages of makers—anyone who is embracing the do-it-yourself (or do-it-together) spirit and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.