[chbot] CHCH Robotics Group, meeting notes 16 May 2016

[Mark Atherton]

Hello everyone,

Good turnout, with 22 members, $50.00 collected and transferred to BR05 
account, with balance in the donation box.

Total donations to BR05 from the Robotics Club is now $304.10, since 
Sept 2015.

Date    Collected    Attendees
16-May-16    $50.00    22
18-Apr-16    $35.00    20
21-Mar-16    $28.00    20
15-Feb-16    $72.00    24
18-Jan-16    $25.00    22
21-Dec-15    $26.10    17
16-Nov-15    $18.00    15
19-Oct-15    $20.00    20
21-Sep-15    $30.00    20
Total    $304.10

With thanks on behalf of the group,
Mark Atherton

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Rudy gave a summary of the talk “UC Connect: Curiosity on Mars - The 
Adventures of a Planetary Rover”. Lots learned from a geologist closely 
associated with the project.

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Mark A gave a summary of progress with the Ethernet Layer 2 Managed 
Switch project, including the Telnet and Web interfaces. All bare metal, 
no operating system.

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Richard J brought several items to discuss, including a radio 
transceiver, mobile phone and a dead multi-meter. Discussions included 
Chinese pricing strategies, and ‘just how many spare parts can you get 
for your smartphone when you buy a new one'. Also covered the economies 
of various purchase strategies associated with multi-meters, including 
safety, price, and performance.

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Charles F brought along some laser engraved ceramic tiles, with gold 
embossing. He also showed us his home-made glove-box.

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Last meeting Richard B turned up with a CNC mill he had been given, and 
was looking for drivers. This month he brought along a quite impressive 
array of machined wood (using this CNC mill), including a 400mm dia x 
30mm thick house number.

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Andrew brought along a home-made 64-byte core-store, with each bit being 
a hand threaded toroid. Unit works and is complete with X/Y excitation, 
sense wire and re-write electronics. This is quite exceptional.

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Synco has been playing with home-made VR, including a 3D panorama of his 
man-cave. He talked about Google cardboard/plastic.

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William demo’d his 96x96 LCD with Arduino clone. First exploration into 
Arduino-land from PIC-AXE.

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David B has been ‘chipped’, and talked about the experience.

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BR05 moggie came in to say hello, and spent most of the evening with us.