Bus Update Feb 20

Good times on the 20th with the bus:

• confirmed master brake cylinder is good
• confirmed inside panels are rotted and need to be removed. Screws holding the panels are rusted and hard to remove. We soaked them with Pb blaster and will try again next week.
• removed more seats to get at inside panels
• painted battery wells with rust stopping primer-type spray paint.
• parts run:
  • primer paint
  • drop cloths
  • brake cleaner
  • waterless hand cleaner
  • Pb Blaster
• list of stuff to bring for next week:
  • screw extractor – John
  • brake hose
  • gloves – Barb
  • creeper – Barb
  • VOM – John
  • Sunny personality – Dom
• unresolved/to-do:
  • brake system can now be reassembled.
  • motor controller has 5 connections but we see only 4 wires
  • motor controller multi-pin plug has a wire that has ripped out of the plug. Where does it go?
  • motor controller has 4 pin jack. We don’t see a plug for it.

John will be out of town next Thursday so will leave his list of parts at MakeICT in Delano on Sat. Somebody (Dom?) will pick them up and bring them on Thursday.

The Bus, the Bus -2/14/14

The bus motor controller has arrived!!! Dom posted a picture last night on Facebook. Check it out. Oh, the brake cylinder came too.

Jeremiah, Dom and Barb went out last night to see it all and be amazed. We were beginning to think that the controller was a fictional creature. It was that hard to get.

We decided that we are not ready to install it so the evening was spent cleaning the battery boxes. Dom & Barbara wirebrushed their little hearts out. Jeremiah kept handing us lights and tools when he wasn’t cleaning the attachment bolts. He will try to get the boxes spray painted this weekend. Installing the batteries will be next.

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NOTE:
We are going to weekly Bus Thursdays starting February 20th.

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Our short term goal is to get the brakes working and then get the motor running.

If you are ready to do heavy lifting (batteries) or want to help Barb with interior removal, come next Thursday, 2-20-2014.

We are moving now!!!

Tonight: Open Hack Night!

Working on something cool? Want to see what others are working on? Just want to see our space? Come tonight 7pm for Open Hack Night!

On Open Hack Night we welcome everybody, members and non-members alike, to chat, build, see the space, and show off their wares.

Open Hack Night is every other Monday. If you don’t come tonight, you’ll have to wait two whole weeks to find out what’s in the works. Two weeks! Who can wait that long? By then, Dom might have blown up the organ!

See you tonight!

January Fireside Chat

What a year 2013 was, and 2014 is looking like it’s going to be even busier!

January has come to a close. We had an ABC’s of Electronics class that apparently left people wanting more; we won’t leave you hanging. A series of electronics classes are in the works. We began the process of providing 24 hour access to the space!

We’ve also been working with the Riverfest planning committee to provide some STEM-related activities, but there is one or two other perks as well. Be sure to look for the bus in the parade!

This month, John Harrison announced that he will be running a joint project with Maize schools, Chamber Music at the Barn, and his Service Learning course at Wichita State. The project, called MakeAXE, will teach Maize students to make their own electronic instruments using Pure Data, culminating in a Spring concert with their DIY instruments!

We wrapped up the month with the 2014 Kickoff Mixer. We teamed up with UpFront Wichita, Code & Coffee, and Startup Wichita to help bring makers and creatives in the Wichita area under one roof to celebrate the possibilities 2014 has.

Don’t think after January we are going to slow down. We have already had a Pure Data primer on February 1st. Coming up we have a toner transfer workshop on the 15th. We’ll also have a presence at the Society of Women Engineer’s Expo on the 22nd, and I am pretty sure there is a foam cutting workshop in there somewhere. Along with bus Thursdays, “Watt’s This?” Wednesdays, and our biweekly open hack nights, February is sure to be busy!