[Vanhackspace] Tonight's Agenda - Multitouch

[dan anderson]

People have mentioned building kits to help fund VHS. Some quick
prices for what could constitute a FTIR kit:

Acrylic	$2	someone yesterday said they knew a source for $2 sheets.
Plus time to polish.
Camera	$6	http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13
Mirror	$2	http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442460359
Wood	$5	plus time to work it (automatable?), not stained or painted.
LEDs	$10	http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=LNA2802L-ND
(reasonably bright, reasonably wide angle, guessing at 10 to a side)
Paper	$2	think Joe said it was $2?
Gel(?)	?	unsure as to volume used, etc.
Solder, wires, electricity, rent, old floppies to cut up, projector,
beer - not included above.

So we could (in theory) throw kits together for about $30 cost-to-us.
There'd be some labour, obviously.

Something else I was looking at (perhaps it was this list that
mentioned it?) was laser tables, eg:
http://arbi.trario.us/2008/11/02/diy-laser-multi-touch-table/ - at $40
for optics alone it's pricier, but hey, laser table. ;-)

-D


2009/4/15 Joe Bowser <bowserj at gmail.com>:
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 2:08 AM, dan anderson <dan.j.anderson at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hey Joe,
>>
>> Thanks for being the parts guy today. I hope it wasn't too awkward
>> when I asked you about the sticker; I've just been reading about
>> related stuff recently and I hadn't seen anyone bearing one in person
>> yet, and I was curious.
>
> No problem.  I just was caught off guard a bit.  The sticker itself is from
> the Olympic Resistance Network, and
> it's their basis of unity.  The issue at hand is not whether the land was
> stolen, but whether VANOC has the support
> of the native peoples of the area or not, but that goes into some really
> complex First Nations politics which is far too heavy when one
> is trying to remember things like "What did I do the last time I tried to
> build this thing?"
>
>>
>> I was serious about selling tables as a fundraiser, by the way. We
>> could slap together kits for very little for materials, minus the
>> projector but including the sheet and webcam. Buyers would be getting
>> it cheaper than if they bought parts individually, so everyone wins.
>> Super cheap webcams (they can be had for $6) would suffice - colour
>> balance and a crappy lens and the like don't matter, after all - and
>> someone mentioned the name of a place that has acrylic sheets for $2
>> each. Mirrors are $2 each. For power, we could have the design have
>> 12V sets in parallel, and send an inexpensive wall wart. The paper
>> isn't much time if done in large batches, and the smell can be
>> contained to the rare occasion. For the labour of counting LEDs and
>> resistors, cutting and cleaning some edges, and packing things into a
>> container, people wanting to build one can get the components they
>> need at a comperable cost to what it would be if they bought things
>> seperately, and VHS would make something towards the new space. Heck,
>> we could buy some of those $3 soldering irons and include those with
>> solder and wires, for a couple extra bucks, for anyone for whom it's
>> their first build. If the prototype Mk. II goes well, a significantly
>> larger sum could be charged for a completed box, minus projector, with
>> (hopefully machine-made) edges with well-seated LEDs and a reasonably
>> quickly table-sawed box.
>>
>> I don't know the VHS people well; do you think this is worth
>> suggesting to the group? If we took 10 (kit) preorders, it would give
>> a nice guarantee of income, and would give us time to nail down the
>> right sources for each of the components, making it pretty low-risk.
>> If on the order page we specified that if the 10 weren't filled by a
>> certain date, that refunds will be issued, that'd stop it from
>> becoming a liability.
>
> It's worth bringing to the group.  I know that VHS is looking to get into
> the Hardware Kit business.  David Carne (the guy who did most of the wiring)
> is the main person coordinating the kits at the moment, so I would talk to
> him.
>
>>
>> Lastly, I wonder if offering a quick at-cost supported DIY session
>> might entice toorcamp to offer comped passes to the group; kind of
>> like an our community bikes/bike kitchen/etc for hackers. People could
>> grab the stuff and the tools and go at it if they want, or get help if
>> they need it, all parts provided.
>
>  Unfortunately (or fortunately), the whole Con is a DIY session, with each
> camp doing something different.  Toorcamp IS offering a 10% discount to
> those who are running a camp, and we may be selling stuff out of a store, or
> working with the Noisebridge store.  However, it's too early to tell exactly
> what's going on with that.  There's apparently someone from NoiseBridge
> promoting it today.
>
> Thanks for the e-mail.  Feel free to bring stuff like this to the list.
>
> Joe
>
>