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OSHUG #49 — Open Source Chips Pt. 3 (AAP, FOSSi Foundation, Getting into FPGAs), Thursday 19th May.
by Andrew Back 20 May '16

20 May '16

Hello, Registration is now open for the May meeting, details of which can be found below. A reminder also that in addition to the monthly meeting, we're hosting a one day conference in partnership with NMI and BCS in just over one week, on 10th May: http://oshug.org/event/nmiopen Cheers, Andrew // Event #49 — Open Source Chips Pt. 3 On the 19 May 2016, 18:00 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/49 At the forty-ninth meeting we will return to the topic of open source chip design, with talks on AAP — an open hardware processor architecture — and its simulation, the Free and Open Source Silicon Foundation (FOSSi), and getting into FPGAs. — AAP: An Altruistic Processor An Altruistic Processor (AAP) is an open hardware 16-bit architecture for deeply embedded applications running on small FPGA devices. It is somewhat configurable, with a minimum of 4 16-bit general registers, at least one word-addressed code space of up to 16Mword and at least one byte addressed data space of up to 64kbyte. The primary role of AAP is as a test bench for compiler backends. It encapsulates features found in a wide range of popular embedded processors which traditionally cause difficulties for compiler writers. In this talk we will discuss the motivation behind this project, our experience implementing and testing LLVM for this architecture, the architectural features unique to our processor and how these interact with LLVM. In AAP integers are less than 32-bits, pointers may be word addressed, and too large to fit in a registers (of which there may be very few), and have multiple function and code spaces that may be switched between at run time, each with their own addressing requirements. Edward Jones Edward Jones supports Embecosm's work on runtime libraries, LLVM toolchains and testing. Currently his work involves developing LLVM compiler support for embedded systems, as well as work on the TSERO project to develop tools which intelligently optimise compiled code. Other research topics include superoptimization, the art of finding the provably optimal instruction sequence for a given task. — AAPSim: Simulating Hardware in LLVM An Altruistic Processor (AAP) is an open hardware 16-bit architecture for deeply embedded applications running on small FPGA devices. It is somewhat configurable, with a minimum of 4 16-bit general registers, at least one word-addressed code space of up to 16Mword and at least one byte addressed data space of up to 64kbyte. A key part of any implementation of an embedded toolchain is a simulator of the architecture, both such that user written code can be run and so the compiler's implementation itself can be verified. As part of AAP, we have implemented a simulator based on LLVM MC that both runs standalone and as part of a gdb/lldbserver. This talk explores the design and experiences of using LLVM as the host for a simulator. Simon Cook has a background in low-power processors, with a particular focus on the energy constraints of code running in embedded environments. Since 2012, he has been working on LLVM for deeply embedded architectures, primarily focusing on optimization, but also on providing compiler support for unique hardware features. Most recently, he has been working on LLVM for AAP, a reference Harvard architecture with the aim of improving upstream support for more eccentric architectural features. — Open Source Silicon Design Ecosystem The talk will begin by surveying the current state of the open source chip design space and present some of the most exciting and interesting projects and communities which are contributing to the field. Next, the Free and Open Source Silicon Foundation (FOSSi) will be introduced as a group to help further the cause through LibreCores, amongst other initiatives. Julius Baxter has been involved in the OpenRISC project since 2008. Now working as a digital design engineer in Cambridge, he helps run the annual OpenRISC conference, ORCONF, which has since become a general open source digital design conference, and is one of the founders of FOSSi. — Getting into FPGAs; Why, what, how & where might this lead Why? Probably the biggest question I get with programmable logic and gate arrays is: why would I need to use an FPGA, when I can do so much with commonly available micro-controllers? In other words when doesn't a low cost Von Neumann chip do the job efficiently. What? A lightning tour of low cost FPGAs and their capabilities, classic applications and use cases that don't involve spending $millions on fabricating silicon chips. How? The field of FPGAs and chip design can appear big and scary at first. It can present a challenging environment to any newcomer and requires acquisition of multiple new disciplines and commercial tools. As a result many are put of by the steep learning curve and investment of proprietary tools and hardware. Icestorm is Clifford Wolf's an opensource project which combines tools like Yosys to provide a simple and open tool set supporting multiple vendors of FPGAs. Although it is at an early stage and only a small range of products are supported its a great tool to get started with on small projects and enables you to get close to the mechanicals. In addition to it's Verilog support, it also exposes some nice low level features that will result in more innovative and diverse open tools flourishing around it further down the road. Where? A glimpse at the part FPGAs might play in the emerging embedded intelligence market: Matrixed Open Turing Engines (Motes) enabling low powered smart controllers for robotics, devices and IoT. This illustrates at least one fascinating trajectory for FPGAS & ASICs in the opensource hardware community. Alan Wood has been working with parallel distributed programming for several decades. His recent work includes smart grids, 3D printers, robotics, automation and biotec diagnostics. His current research is focused on machine learning for embedded applications using Motes on FPGA and emerging Asics. He is a long term advocate and moderator (aka Folknology) for xCORE and other opensource communities, as well as a founder of Surrey and Hampshire Makerspace. Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

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Open Source Hardware Camp (3rd & 4th Sep) call for participation.
by Andrew Back 12 May '16

12 May '16

Hello, This year Open Source Hardware Camp will take place over the weekend of 3rd & 4th September, once again being hosted as part of the Wuthering Bytes festival in Hebden Bridge, which in 2016 will take place over the course of 10 days. This time round we are returning to the venue where we hosted the first ever OSHCamp held in Hebden Bridge — back in 2012 — The Birchcliffe Centre. Which since then has been refurbished and benefits from much improved facilities, while also retaining its charm and the convenience of adjoining accommodation. Proposals for talks and workshops for OSHCamp 2016 are invited! There is no theme and topics may include, for example: * Open source hardware projects * Open development practices and principles * Novel/interesting/fun projects built using open source hardware * Tools (hardware and software) * Skills and techniques, e.g. PCB fab, DIY SMT assembly * Relevant technologies, e.g. SPI/I2C bus programming * ...something else relevant to the community! If you would like to give a talk on the Saturday and/or run a workshop on the Sunday please contact me off-list. **** Note that the deadline for submitting titles and abstracts is Monday 23rd May. If you would like to discuss ideas etc. please get in touch sooner, rather than later. **** Other events running as part of Wuthering Bytes and which may be of interest: * Friday 2nd Sept: Wuthering Bytes Festival Day * Monday 5th Sept: Open for Business * Thursday 8th Sept: LLVM Cauldron * Friday 9th - Sunday 11th Sept: GNU Tools Cauldron Cheers, Andrew PS. As mentioned previously, if you are planning on coming along and thinking of staying at the adjoining hosted, it is worth noting that this can book up quickly. http://www.hebdenbridgehostel.co.uk/

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NMI Open Source Conference, Tuesday 10th May.
by Andrew Back 05 May '16

05 May '16

Hello, Details below of a one day conference that the NMI (http://nmi.org.uk/) are hosting in partnership with OSHUG and the BCS, on Tuesday 10th May. Note that there are also opportunities for providers of open source solutions and services to give a 2 minute pitch during in the morning! Cheers, Andrew ** // NMI Open Source Conference // 10 May 2016, 09:30 - 17:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/nmiopen In partnership with the NMI and BCS, this conference explores the increasingly vital role of open source as an enabler in the world of electronic systems. It will provide attendees with an informative view of: * The benefits and challenges of using open source * Leading electronic systems organisation using open source today sharing their experience * The breadth of opportunities presented by open source, from application software down to silicon IP * Open source capabilities from a range of leading suppliers — Meet the Supplier Pitches Provider of open source solutions or services? Give a 2 minute pitch! — Session 1: Challenges & Opportunities - Open Source: The Enabler for IoT Greatness (and Mediocrity) Strip the layers of marketing fluff on the shiny new Internet of Things devices and you will find, in almost all cases, a slew of great Open Source projects powering these little gadgets, to perform their intended duties. Go up a layer and guess what — the cloud is full of Open Source too! This talks uses IoT as a case study in explaining how Open-Source makes rapid iterations and complex interconnected things happen very quickly. While this all sounds great, we will also look at how certain approaches in "openness" actually cause more problems than they solve especially when it comes to interoperability between ecosystems. Omer Kilic is an Embedded Systems Engineer who enjoys working with small computers of all shapes and sizes. He works at the various intersections of hardware and software engineering practices, product development and manufacturing. He is the Chief Hacker at Den Automation, an Internet of Things hardware startup in London. - Sailing the open seas Deciding to operate a business with an 'open source' mindset, and looking beyond "why would you give everything away for free?", there are interesting business models to be had. Those invariably come with challenges, but also have the benefits that are derived from maintaining a culture of openness. Boldport is a small business that open sourced their primary internal software tool, PCBmodE, and who releases all their hardware designs as 'open source hardware'. We'll discuss where 'openness' is challenging and where it has created opportunities, all with a hardware perspective. Saar Drimer combines his obsessive doodling, love for circuit design, programming, and problem solving into Boldport’s products and services. As an engineer he’s learned to appreciate the value of adopting industrial design thinking and making it an integral part of his design process. He studied electrical engineering at UC Santa Cruz, and researched the topic of hardware security for his PhD at the Computer Lab, University of Cambridge. — Session 2: Practical Solutions - Red, Amber, Green: Free and Open-Source Software in the Supply Chain – When to Avoid, Tread Carefully and Embrace Almost all software projects have an aspect of open source: and for very good reason. With reference to client case studies, Andrew considers how to maximise the utility of open source code, both in terms of the code itself, and engaging with the communities around it, and mitigating risk throughout the supply chain. Andrew Katz is a UK-based lawyer specialising in FOSS and open content. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Andrew Katz was a developer and has released software under the GPL. He advises individuals, corporations, foundations and public sector organisations on FOSS law issues, and is a visiting researcher at the University of Skövde, Sweden, and visiting lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London. He is a founder editor of the Free and Open Source Software Law Review. - Open Source Tools for the Electronics Systems Industry This talk will explore the huge range of open source tools that are available to electronics systems engineers; EDA tools such such as Icarus Verilog, GHDL, Verilator and SystemC, along with embedded software development tools such as GCC, LLVM, SDCC and Eclipse. We will consider their status, robustness as products and how to ensure they are supported for business critical use. We'll also look at the some of the important legal implications of adopting open source tools in your work flow, particularly when such tools are also supplied to customers. For example, does the source code of an open source compiler expose important information about your processor architecture that you would rather keep secret. The talk will conclude by looking at some of the open source tools projects under development, which while not ready for production use today, may bring about radical changes in the future. Dr Jeremy Bennett is founder and Chief Executive of Embecosm, which develops free and open source compilers and silicon chip models for companies around the world. Contact him at jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com. - Details of third talk in this session TBC — Session 3: First Hand Experiences and the Future - Establishing a Corporate Open Source Group: Journey and Lessons Learned Creating a dedicated Open Source Group within a large consumer focused company such as Samsung is both challenging and rewarding. This talk recaps a 3-years journey, lessons learned and highlights some of the significant challenges still remaining. The talk is particularly relevant to any organization that is relatively new to Open Source and uncertain about the practicalities of engaging in it. During this talk Gurj Bahia will cover various topics from process changes for open source contributions, legal aspects such as licenses and IP, cultural changes to learn why and how to deal with the open source community to technical changes to allow a smooth way of communicating and collaborating between your internal team and the external community. Gurj Bahia leads the European office of Samsung’s Open Source Group. He is helping to accelerate the use of and collaboration with open source software. With more the 20 years industry experience helping a number of companies to deliver mobile technology to market and working as a hands-on software architect and technical manager, Gurj is able to bridge the gap between traditionally closed downstream ways of working (most of his career) and the more modern open, collaborative methods (recent experiences). - Open Source Field Programmable RF Technology Driving Innovation in Wireless Networks The widespread use of programmable digital technology has enabled a vast array of new wireless applications to be created. In fact, much of the innovation in wireless networks that has supported such a growth in recent years could be attributed to ever increasing levels of functionality within the digital chipsets. On the other hand, RF technology has been providing fixed function for a given design with very little in the way of programmability and flexibility. As we move from one generation of wireless technology to another, this issue has become more prevalent to the extent that today’s RF technology has become a bottleneck, hampering innovation in the design and implementation of future networks.This talk presents the concept of Field programmable RF technology where flexibility is extended from digital to RF domain. Use cases and application areas where such technology is making a significant impact is also presented where the Open Source community are getting behind the technology and driving a Significant level of innovation in the field. Dr Ebrahim Bushehri is the founder and CEO of the field-programmable RF chip company Lime Micro. He is also the founder of the non-profit initiative MyriadRF which seeks to bring open source RF hardware to a wider audience through the development of low-cost, professional-grade hardware. Ebrahim’s experience spans over 25 years in directing and managing of design teams for the implementation of high performance ICs within the wireless communication market. He has worked with organizations such as Nokia, Qinetiq (formerly Defence Evaluation Research Agency) and Fraunhofer IAF. Ebrahim is a member of Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE). - lowRISC – an Open-Source System-on-Chip Design lowRISC is a not-for-profit project aiming to produce the 'Linux of the hardware world', providing an open-source System-on-Chip design for industry, academia, and the wider open source community to build upon. This talk will update on lowRISC's current status and explore the challenges facing open source hardware projects along with the potential benefits of a more open hardware ecosystem. It will also briefly cover tagged memory and minion cores, both novel features which demonstrate the lowRISC approach to creating a secure, flexible, and extensible SoC architecture. Alex Bradbury is a researcher at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory where he co-founded the not-for-profit lowRISC project to produce a fully open-sourced, Linux-capable, RISC-V based SoC design. He has a particular interest in compilers, doing substantial work with LLVM over the past 5 years as part of his research in to novel many-core architectures and also authors the popular LLVM Weekly newsletter. Alex was one of the key volunteers for the Raspberry Pi project, where he previously had the role of Lead Linux Developer, as well as co-authoring the book Learning Python with Raspberry Pi. — Panel Discussion Whilst this event provides a focal-point, the real opportunity lies in identifying actions that advance the capabilities of the electronic systems community in utilising the opportunities provided by open source software. The panel discussion will focus on the identification of some areas for further work. Note: Please aim to arrive by 09:15 as the event will start at 09:30 prompt.

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100kHz-3.8GHz 2x2 MIMO USB 3.0 SDR board for $199.
by Andrew Back 01 May '16

01 May '16

500 available at that price and going fast it seems: https://www.crowdsupply.com/lime-micro/limesdr ** DISCLOSURE: I'm involved with this project! ** Cheers, Andrew

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OSHCamp and Wuthering Bytes 2016.
by Andrew Back 14 Apr '16

14 Apr '16

Hi All, I think I previously mentioned that Open Source Hardware Camp will this year take place over the weekend of 3rd and 5th September. Preceded on the Friday by Wuthering Bytes "Festival Day" and followed by the BCS Open Source Specialist Group event, Open for Business. More info at: http://wutheringbytes.com/news/2016/2016-programme-and-cfp Just a heads-up that, if you're thinking of heading along and would like to stay at the hostel — which is adjoined to this year's venue — it's worth booking sooner rather than later. OSHCamp CFP to follow soon. Cheers, Andrew

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Talk for "chip design" themed meeting, Thurs 19th May.
by Andrew Back 30 Mar '16

30 Mar '16

Hi All, The theme for the meeting on the evening of Thursday 19th May will be chip/digital design/FPGA. We already have two talks confirmed and are looking for a third. Perhaps someone: * could give a talk on MyHDL or one of the other gentler on-ramps? * has some experiences to share with respect to learning a HDL and/or using a FPGAs in projects? * has designed their own CPU from scratch, implemented in FPGA or discrete logic? * wrote a simulator for a classic CPU architecture? Talk proposals and suggestions for speakers would be most helpful! Cheers, Andrew

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Genuino/Arduino Day at South London Makerspace 2nd April - call for participants
by Dermot Jones 27 Mar '16

27 Mar '16

Hi All, We're opening our doors for World Genuino Day on Saturday, we'll be doing a few 'Arduino for Beginners' workshops, and a range of members projects on display, but are looking to spice it up with more 'show & tell' projects, and potentially a talk or two. https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/t/genuino-day-arduino-day-2nd-a… It's pretty informal: everyone is welcome to just turn up and get stuck in, but if you'd like some table space pre-booked to demo a great project or want to give a talk or present a workshop then get in contact. Best, Dermot

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OSHUG #47 — Open Source Where You Least Expect It, Thursday 21st April.
by Andrew Back 22 Mar '16

22 Mar '16

Hello, Registration is now open for the April meeting, details of which can be found below. Cheers, Andrew // Event #47 — Open Source Where You Least Expect It On the 21 April 2016, 18:00 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/47 At the forty-seventh meeting we will take a look at the use of open source hardware and software in less obvious places. — Ownership and Gift; Open Source and God; How a Vicar values Open Source Do we really own anything, or is it a gift? When we try to claim ownership how does that affect our attitude and our freedom? Does my choice of software really have a spiritual dimension? How can I give something back? These are all questions which arise for an ex-compiler-writing Vicar who wants software which does the job at hand but also wants to live with integrity and Christian values. In his talk Rev Peter Salisbury explores these questions through examples of the way his church uses Open Source software and hardware. Peter Salisbury was an electronics geek in his teens just as logic chips first hit the Maplin catalogue. From building computers in a cupboard he went to study Computation at UMIST, graduating in 1980. He worked in system tools with Burroughs Machines, then moved to language design and compiler writing for a Project Management company. In 1989 he moved to Salisbury to study theology in preparation for becoming a vicar. He was ordained in 1992 and is currently Vicar of Lymington on the south coast near Southampton. He has never really forgotten he's a geek. — Open hardware for open science Is science open source and should it be? This talk will look at the current state of open software and hardware in scientific practice. Example open hardware projects from the worlds of biology, astronomy and computer science will be presented. Sarah Mount is a Research Associate on the Efficient Editing of Homogeneous Programs (Editors4) project. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, and before that she held a number of positions at Coventry University. — Hacking the atmosphere The AirPi is an open source board he designed for measuring and recording air pollution and weather information. Despite its innocuous goal, that board has ended up in some fairly weird situations — come along to find out where! Tom Hartley is a student at Imperial College, currently sitting on the fence between software and hardware. Prompted by a mysterious fascination with the Raspberry Pi that lives on to this day, he developed the AirPi 2 years ago as part of a competition and went on to sell over 1,000 kits to people who care about the air they breathe. A devotee of open source, the code he writes and the boards he designs are all available freely online. Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt. //

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OSHWA certification mark: call for ideas
by Graham Whaley 20 Mar '16

20 Mar '16

I'm guessing many of you on this list have already seen this, but just in case you've not I thought it might be of interest: http://www.oshwa.org/2016/03/17/open-hardware-certification-mark-call-for-i… Graham

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Boldport Club, PCBmodE, and OSHW
by Saar Drimer 24 Feb '16

24 Feb '16

Hello OSHUG friends, Recently I've launched a new service that I'm really excited about. It's called the Boldport Club. When you become a member you get a monthly delivery of 'electronics goodness' projects that we designed https://boldport.cratejoy.com Most of you know that I specialise in circuits that emphasize usability and that have unique visuals. I do this with PCBmodE, an open source software that I've written specifically for this purpose http://pcbmode.com Unless a client is unwilling, all of the boards that I design are also open source. This means that by signing up to the Boldport Club, you're not only getting unique items, you are also supporting the further development of PCBmodE. If Jeremy hasn't already shown it to you (HA!), this is a board that he commissioned from Boldport last year through Embecosm http://boldport.com/seahorse Another project I'm quite proud of is Haute Circuits, which appeared in the December issue of Marie Claire magazine US http://boldport.com/hautecircuits If you sign up to the Boldport Club or don't, please provide me with feedback so that I can learn how to go about it better. Many thanks and have a great week ahead, Saar. Dr Saar Drimer Electronics craftsman and founder at Boldport +44(0)7779606045 http://bolsport.com

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OSHUG #46 — Embedded Platforms, Thursday 17th March.
by Andrew Back 19 Feb '16

19 Feb '16

Hello, Registration is now open for the March meeting, details of which can be found below. Cheers, Andrew // Event #46 — Embedded Platforms (BSD, OpenWRT, Plan 9 & Inferno) On the 17 March 2016, 18:00 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/46 The forty-sixth OSHUG meeting will take a look at embedded platforms, with talks on the BSD family of operating systems, Linux and OpenWRT, and Plan 9 and Inferno in distributed systems. — The BSD Family of Operating Systems A familiar environment for your VAX, PIC32 or RISC-V ISA and many other platforms. The Berkeley Software Distribution started out as a patch set to AT&T UNIX in the 70's and grew to a complete Operating Systems. Today several projects continue to develop variant operating systems based on the work originally started by the Computer Science Research Group, each with a different area of focus. This presentation will cover some of the benefits these operating systems can offer to aid the workflow of a hardware project. Sevan Janiyan is founder of Venture 37, which provides system administration & consultancy services. As a fan of operating systems and computers with different CPU architectures, in his spare time he maintains builds of open source software on a variety of systems featuring PowerPC, SPARC and armv7l CPUs. He hopes to own a NeXTcube & OMRON LUNA-88K2 one day. — Developing Linux based products in the connected devices ecosystem -- The OpenWRT Approach Linux is accepted as a standard component of the Internet of Things domain. With the abundance of development platforms and the abhorrent state of vendor provided SDKs, getting started with and more importantly the maintenance of Linux powered devices is pretty much a dark art these days. This talk focuses on the mass market hardware platforms of interest to folks building the Next Great IoT ProductTM and how the development could be sped up with OpenWRT. To supplement the topic of product development, a couple of noteworthy System-on-Chip devices and how they could be adopted will also be discussed. Ivan Iacono is an Embedded Systems Engineer interested in the development of Linux based products and the surrounding periphery of embedded devices, cloud and the overall architecture of connected systems. He is the Firmware Wrangler at Den Automation. Omer Kilic is an Embedded Systems Engineer who likes tinkering with small computers of all shapes and sizes. He works at the various intersections of hardware and software engineering practices, product development and manufacturing. He is the Chief Hacker at Den Automation. — Embedded devices are often now part of a distributed system: my Pebble watch is linked to my Nexus phone, which is coupled to Google. Plan 9 and Inferno are two distributed systems originally developed by the Bell Labs research centre that produced Unix. They allow a single large system to be composed from smaller cooperating systems performing specific tasks. (In other areas they illustrate an alternative time line that diverged from strict adherence to Unix's details of the 1970's.) Distributed systems infrastructure often focuses on algorithmic aspects, such as Paxos, and the operating system is largely irrelevant when it is not merely obstructive. Plan 9 and Inferno provide structural support for distribution, at the operating system level. Their defining novelty is the representation of all distributable resources as hierarchical name spaces, which can be composed in useful ways, and simplify design, development, testing and integration. This talk will give a brief summary of both systems, then begin to name names, including their use in embedded appliances in distributed systems. Dr Charles Forsyth is a founder and Technical Director of Vita Nuova, which specialises in systems software and distributed systems. He is interested in compilers, operating systems, networking (protocols and services), security, and distributed systems and algorithms. He specialises in the design and implementation of systems software, from low-level drivers through compilers to whole operating systems. He has published papers on operating systems, Ada compilation, worst-case execution analysers for safety-critical applications, “resources as files”, and the development of computational grids. Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

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Open Energy Tools & Interoperability : Kite Airborne Wind Energy Results
by Rod Read 31 Jan '16

31 Jan '16

Hi oshug, Here are some links to my open hardware Airborne Wind Energy project results. My report on Kite Networks for Harvesting Wind Energy <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0qQxFlXu7t-RGpqRk1ZYXNISkU> Files for making a ring kite turbine <https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0qQxFlXu7t-SHBvNUdQQVBRN00> part 1 more on instructables, wevolver, hackaday and youtube. All interaction and welcome on this project. Gutted I likely can't attend the London BCS event on Open Energy Tools & Interoperability this Feb. Rod Read Windswept and Interesting Limited 15a Aiginis Isle of Lewis UK HS2 0PB 07899057227 01851 870878 https://twitter.com/rodread http://www.youtube.com/c/RodRead http://windswept-and-interesting.co.uk

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Re: [oshug] OSHUG #45 — Open Energy Tools & Interoperability.
by Andrew Back 30 Jan '16

30 Jan '16

As has been pointed out, the title should have been OSHUG #45 :o) Also, we will have a fourth talk: — OpenEnergyMonitor 5 years on OpenEnergyMonitor is a project to develop open-source tools to help us relate to our use of energy, our energy systems and the challenge of sustainable energy. This short talk will provide an overview of what has been achieved so far, what has been learnt and outline the project roadmap for the future. Topics will include: running an open-hardware business, local manufacture and electronic carbon footprinting and sustainability. Glyn Hudson is co-founder and full-time developer of the OpenEnergyMonitor project. // Cheers, Andrew On 29 January 2016 at 11:43, Andrew Back <arback(a)computer.org> wrote: > Hello, > > Registration is now open for the February meeting — and preceding hack > day! — details of which can be found below. > > Cheers, > > Andrew > > // > > Event #45 — Open Energy Tools & Interoperability (Open Inverter, > OpenTRV, Heat Pump Monitoring) > > On the 18 February 2016, 18:00 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The > Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. > > Registration: http://oshug.org/event/45 > > For the forty-fifth meeting we will return to a topic which has been a > recurring theme and of much interest at previous meetings, open energy > platforms. There will be talks on Open Inverter, OpenTRV and heat pump > monitoring, with a focus also on interoperability. The evening meeting > will also be preceded by an interoperability hack day for project > contributors. > > — Low power DC conversion using open source hardware > > The Open Inverter is a micro inverter designed to produce an AC power > output of up to 250 VA. It uses modular, open source PCB designs for > both it's controller and power boards — and is extendible to larger > power outputs or for other power electronics projects, such as battery > charging, DC ring mains and DC power transformation using buck-boost > DC/DC converters. > > Open Inverter will provide an AC output from a single 250W > photovoltaic panel, micro-hydro turbine. It also has applications in > electric bike charging and DC power storage. The key PCBs are > currently at either the layout or manufacture stage. The > microcontroller board features an RFM69 low power wireless, making it > compatible with the Open Energy Monitor ecosystem. > > Ken Boak started his professional career at BBC Research Department in > 1986 working on digital signal processing systems for HDTV and > subsequently over 30 years, a mix of 10 other technology companies, > both UK and US based, in the fields of instrumentation, automation, > telemetry telecomms. > > Ken has been interested in energy monitoring since the early 1990s, > when he constructed a 4 seater electric car, and provided rudimentary > energy analysis of the battery charge and discharge cycles. In 1998 he > joined a South London company and designed a low power wireless, > monitor device for automatic, remote gas and electricity meter > reading. > > In 2009 Ken worked on the Onzo Energy Monitoring Kit, a commercial > device that was ultimately distributed to Southern Electric customers. > Then in 2010 he produced a series of educational devices to teach > engineering undergraduates the principles of photovoltaic energy > systems. > > Ken has continued his interests in energy monitoring, working > collaboratively with Megni on the OpenEnergyMonitor project, the open > Inverter Project and also for All Power Labs in Berkeley, California, > where he was involved in power monitoring of wood gasifier generator > sets. He tries to live a low impact lifestyle in a modest Edwardian > house in Surrey, with a little help from modern electronics. > > — OpenTRV > > OpenTRV have a vision to make carbon cutting and energy saving easy > and cheap for everyone, with a mission to take 8% out of the EU’s > carbon emissions and in the order of £300 out of a typical UK home’s > heating bill every year. Achieving this using a device that doesn’t > need an instruction manual or a smartphone to operate. > > OpenTRV aim to eventually be managing 400 million home radiators > across Europe. Their journey so far has taken them from “scratching an > itch” with open source, to injection moulded plastics being made in > Shenzhen, and attempting to build a growth business around their > ideas, that could really make a difference to carbon and climate, > while improving householder comfort and health. > > As part of their aim to make the world a better place, OpenTRV will > keep as much as possible of their work in the public eye and liberally > licensed, while interoperating with existing equipment and protocols > so that there is no need to reinvent the wheel and the end user > doesn’t get “locked in”. To that end, interoperability with > OpenergyMonitor and OpenHAB are high on their wish list! > > Damon Hart-Davis is lead on the OpenTRV open source project created > following his 2012 presentation to DECC's smart heating workshop. He > has freelanced in technology for over 30 years, delivering > mission-critical products from design to BAU in the City for more than > 20 of those, and has founded and been involved in several start-ups > over that time with his creations seen on TV, the Web, and his > pioneering Internet Service Provider helping crack open that market > more than 20 years ago. A previous virtual/on-line credit-card company > start-up that he co-founded as CTO, Ixaris, turns over ~£10m. > > Mark Hill spent 15 years in the City after a solid grounding in IT at > the chip level at the microprocessor manufacturer Inmos, designing and > delivering highly complex systems. Project management, direction and > governance are all part of his toolkit. He now speaks regularly about > innovation, collaboration and IoT. Recently he founded a mobile phone > software start-up and is now OpenTRV Ltd's co-founder. > > — Heat pumps and heat pump monitoring > > Heat pumps are a key part of zero carbon energy plans, making it > possible to provide heating from renewable energy in an efficient way. > Heat pumps have a rocky track record in the UK and there are numerous > stories of poorly performing systems, giving householders unexpectedly > high electricity bills. However, there are also many systems that have > been designed and installed well that do work effectively. > > This talk will give an example of using open source hardware and > software tools to monitor and evaluate the performance of heat pumps, > using the speaker's own air source heat pump system at home as a case > study. > > Trystan Lea is co-founder and core developer on the OpenEnergyMonitor > project. He is also testing out through his own life how it is > possible to provide for our energy needs from sustainable sources, > while using and developing open source energy modelling and monitoring > tools, to understand and evaluate what is possible and how we might > better design zero carbon energy systems. Trystan is currently testing > heat pump heating, along with electric vehicle and solar photovoltaic > at home. > > — Interoperability Hack Day > > The 18th February meeting will be preceded by a hack day, running from > 09:00-17:00 and also hosted at the BCS offices in Covent Garden. This > will aim to to foster collaboration between open energy platform > projects, in support of a greater interoperability. > > There is a separate registration page for this part of the day, but > please note that participants are expected to have experience of > developing for a relevant platform, such as OpenEnergyMonitor, > OpenHAB, OpenTRV, or some other open source energy or home automation > etc. system. As such hose without suitable experience would not > benefit from attending. > > https://events.bcs.org/book/1886/ > > Please note that the link at the top of the page should be used for > registering for the evening talks. > > Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

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OSHUG #44 — Open Energy Tools & Interoperability.
by Andrew Back 29 Jan '16

29 Jan '16

Hello, Registration is now open for the February meeting — and preceding hack day! — details of which can be found below. Cheers, Andrew // Event #45 — Open Energy Tools & Interoperability (Open Inverter, OpenTRV, Heat Pump Monitoring) On the 18 February 2016, 18:00 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/45 For the forty-fifth meeting we will return to a topic which has been a recurring theme and of much interest at previous meetings, open energy platforms. There will be talks on Open Inverter, OpenTRV and heat pump monitoring, with a focus also on interoperability. The evening meeting will also be preceded by an interoperability hack day for project contributors. — Low power DC conversion using open source hardware The Open Inverter is a micro inverter designed to produce an AC power output of up to 250 VA. It uses modular, open source PCB designs for both it's controller and power boards — and is extendible to larger power outputs or for other power electronics projects, such as battery charging, DC ring mains and DC power transformation using buck-boost DC/DC converters. Open Inverter will provide an AC output from a single 250W photovoltaic panel, micro-hydro turbine. It also has applications in electric bike charging and DC power storage. The key PCBs are currently at either the layout or manufacture stage. The microcontroller board features an RFM69 low power wireless, making it compatible with the Open Energy Monitor ecosystem. Ken Boak started his professional career at BBC Research Department in 1986 working on digital signal processing systems for HDTV and subsequently over 30 years, a mix of 10 other technology companies, both UK and US based, in the fields of instrumentation, automation, telemetry telecomms. Ken has been interested in energy monitoring since the early 1990s, when he constructed a 4 seater electric car, and provided rudimentary energy analysis of the battery charge and discharge cycles. In 1998 he joined a South London company and designed a low power wireless, monitor device for automatic, remote gas and electricity meter reading. In 2009 Ken worked on the Onzo Energy Monitoring Kit, a commercial device that was ultimately distributed to Southern Electric customers. Then in 2010 he produced a series of educational devices to teach engineering undergraduates the principles of photovoltaic energy systems. Ken has continued his interests in energy monitoring, working collaboratively with Megni on the OpenEnergyMonitor project, the open Inverter Project and also for All Power Labs in Berkeley, California, where he was involved in power monitoring of wood gasifier generator sets. He tries to live a low impact lifestyle in a modest Edwardian house in Surrey, with a little help from modern electronics. — OpenTRV OpenTRV have a vision to make carbon cutting and energy saving easy and cheap for everyone, with a mission to take 8% out of the EU’s carbon emissions and in the order of £300 out of a typical UK home’s heating bill every year. Achieving this using a device that doesn’t need an instruction manual or a smartphone to operate. OpenTRV aim to eventually be managing 400 million home radiators across Europe. Their journey so far has taken them from “scratching an itch” with open source, to injection moulded plastics being made in Shenzhen, and attempting to build a growth business around their ideas, that could really make a difference to carbon and climate, while improving householder comfort and health. As part of their aim to make the world a better place, OpenTRV will keep as much as possible of their work in the public eye and liberally licensed, while interoperating with existing equipment and protocols so that there is no need to reinvent the wheel and the end user doesn’t get “locked in”. To that end, interoperability with OpenergyMonitor and OpenHAB are high on their wish list! Damon Hart-Davis is lead on the OpenTRV open source project created following his 2012 presentation to DECC's smart heating workshop. He has freelanced in technology for over 30 years, delivering mission-critical products from design to BAU in the City for more than 20 of those, and has founded and been involved in several start-ups over that time with his creations seen on TV, the Web, and his pioneering Internet Service Provider helping crack open that market more than 20 years ago. A previous virtual/on-line credit-card company start-up that he co-founded as CTO, Ixaris, turns over ~£10m. Mark Hill spent 15 years in the City after a solid grounding in IT at the chip level at the microprocessor manufacturer Inmos, designing and delivering highly complex systems. Project management, direction and governance are all part of his toolkit. He now speaks regularly about innovation, collaboration and IoT. Recently he founded a mobile phone software start-up and is now OpenTRV Ltd's co-founder. — Heat pumps and heat pump monitoring Heat pumps are a key part of zero carbon energy plans, making it possible to provide heating from renewable energy in an efficient way. Heat pumps have a rocky track record in the UK and there are numerous stories of poorly performing systems, giving householders unexpectedly high electricity bills. However, there are also many systems that have been designed and installed well that do work effectively. This talk will give an example of using open source hardware and software tools to monitor and evaluate the performance of heat pumps, using the speaker's own air source heat pump system at home as a case study. Trystan Lea is co-founder and core developer on the OpenEnergyMonitor project. He is also testing out through his own life how it is possible to provide for our energy needs from sustainable sources, while using and developing open source energy modelling and monitoring tools, to understand and evaluate what is possible and how we might better design zero carbon energy systems. Trystan is currently testing heat pump heating, along with electric vehicle and solar photovoltaic at home. — Interoperability Hack Day The 18th February meeting will be preceded by a hack day, running from 09:00-17:00 and also hosted at the BCS offices in Covent Garden. This will aim to to foster collaboration between open energy platform projects, in support of a greater interoperability. There is a separate registration page for this part of the day, but please note that participants are expected to have experience of developing for a relevant platform, such as OpenEnergyMonitor, OpenHAB, OpenTRV, or some other open source energy or home automation etc. system. As such hose without suitable experience would not benefit from attending. https://events.bcs.org/book/1886/ Please note that the link at the top of the page should be used for registering for the evening talks. Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

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OSHCamp 2016, 3rd & 4th September.
by Andrew Back 25 Jan '16

25 Jan '16

Hi All, Just a heads up that this year Open Source Hardware Camp will be taking place over the weekend of Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September, returning to the Birchliffe Centre where we hosted OSHCamp back in 2012. Since we were last there the Birchcliffe has been subject to extensive renovation, but still retains most of the pretty cool features of an old Methodist Chapel. The main differences being that it's been smartened up somewhat, is in a much better state of repair and has more effective heating etc. Those who came along in 2012 may recall that there is a hostel adjoined to the Birchcliffe, with both shared dorms and private rooms. If you're thinking of coming along this year and would like to stay there, it's advisable to book early as rooms tend to go fast. http://www.hebdenbridgehostel.co.uk/ The plan is once again to have up to 12-13 talks on the Saturday and 6-8 workshops on the Sunday. A call for participation will go out in Feb or early March, but suggestions and offers for talks and workshops are very much welcome before then! Other events running as part of Wuthering Bytes which may be of interest: - Wuthering Bytes Festival Day, Fri 2nd Sept at the Town Hall As with previous years, talks on a diverse selection of technical topics, looking to the past and the future, with unique insights and personal journeys etc. - Open for Business, Mon 5th Sept at the Town Hall This event organised by the BCS OSSG and Open Source Consortium ran for the first time in 2015. For details see: http://wutheringbytes.com/days/openforbusiness/schedule.html https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOGTP9W1DX5U9za_jJzqpipcX02-K7jp1 - GNU Tools Cauldron, Fri 9th - Sun 11th Sept at the Town Hall One really for GCC and GDB etc. hackers (and certainly not the faint hearted!) For details see: https://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/cauldron2016 Cheers, Andrew

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Re: [oshug] "The audio genius who vanished"
by Jason Flynn G7OCD 17 Jan '16

17 Jan '16

I'm going to stick my neck out here as someone who regularly makes NC and ND contribution to the community. It's unhelpful and unpleasant having people class your work as second class because of some other peoples' arbitrary redefinition of the word open. There are a lot of greedy and selfish people out there and my efforts to put my works in the public domain are for then general good and not to fuel such people who offer nothing to society in return. It doesn't mean that my efforts can never be moved forward or turned to profit but it does allow me to vet the intentions of those that I let do so.

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"The audio genius who vanished"
by Andy Bennett 15 Jan '16

15 Jan '16

A bit tabloid but an interesting article about open hardware licensing issues none-the-less: http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/profiles/nwavguy-the-audio-genius-who-va… Regards, @ndy -- andyjpb(a)ashurst.eu.org http://www.ashurst.eu.org/ 0290 DA75 E982 7D99 A51F E46A 387A 7695 7EBA 75FF

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OSHUG #44 — Security, Thursday 21st January.
by Andrew Back 12 Jan '16

12 Jan '16

Hello, Registration is now open for the January meeting, details of which can be found below. Cheers, Andrew // Event #44 — Security (Hardware RNG, PGP key signing party) On the 21 January 2016, 17:30 - 20:00 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/44 The theme for the forty-fourth OSHUG meeting is security and it will feature a talk on hardware random number generation, plus a PGP key signing party. — Hardware random number generation In this talk we will take a look at what makes a good random number, why you might want a reliable source of them and some methods of generating random numbers in hardware. Mark Longstaff-Tyrell has a degree in Electronic Engineering and a masters in Intelligent Systems from UCL. He has extensive experience in app development and as well as working at several blue chip companies was part of the team that launched the BBC's flagship iPlayer app for Android in addition to leading the teams that delivered the mobile apps for BBC News. He has designed electronics kits under the Denkimono label, and has recently co-founded and launched a tech-fashion brand in the UK. Mark is also a consultant for small businesses and start-ups on apps, mobile and hardware development. — PGP key signing party There will be a quick introduction to PGP, The Web of Trust, public/private key cryptography and key signing. Following this there will be a key signing party and everyone is invited to participate! The idea of a key signing party is to help build and strengthen the "Web of Trust". The PGP Web of Trust is used extensively in Free and Open Source communities in order to verify the authenticity of software distributions and e-mail. Participating in the Web of Trust by having your key signed and by signing other keys, establishes your identity as a member of the community and increases the likelihood that you will be able to verify the signatures that are often included on messages sent to mailing lists. In order to take part in the key signing party you need to: 1. Have a PGP key. If you do not have one already and need assistance, please e-mail Andy Bennett (a(a)jpb.li) and he will help you get started. 2. Submit your key to Andy Bennett (a(a)jpb.li) before Friday 15th January 2016, so that he can compile the key list. 3. Be physically present at this meeting! 4. For keys containing your real name, bring government issued photo ID. For pseudonymous keys please bring appropriate evidence that you are allowed to use that name and assert that identity. 5. Have details of the key you submitted: key ID, key type, key fingerprint and key size. You can get this information from GPG by using the following command: gpg your.email(a)address.dom. 6. Bring a printed copy of the key list that will be circulated between 16th and 20th January. Note: Please aim to arrive by 18:15 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt.

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Volunteer opportunity
by girish m 10 Jan '16

10 Jan '16

Please check this out! Volunteers required for open source hardware prototype ... | | | | | | | | | | | Volunteers required for open source hardware prototype ....I am currently working on a prototype based on open source hardware. This is based on my idea for a new startup company. Since I am from non-technical background I... | | | | View on www.linkedin.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |

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Open Hardware at FOSDEM
by Jeremy Bennett 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi all, FOSDEM has had a number of hardware oriented tracks in recent years. This year Javier Serrano from CERN is organizing another EDA devroom in FOSDEM this year: http://www.ohwr.org/projects/ohr-meta/wiki/FOSDEM2016 OSHUG members might like to - - Considering submitting a request for a talk. - - Considering coming and joining in the fun in Brussels. - - Passing this to other people you think could be interested. If/when I hear of other open hardware related devrooms I'll post details here. Best wishes, Jeremy - -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Twitter: @jeremypbennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com PGP key: 1024D/BEF58172FB4754E1 2009-03-20 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iEYEARECAAYFAlYzwPcACgkQvvWBcvtHVOE4LwCeNKURileLXAk36B/rVPCUXrxE VtQAn17Ic2m5jA9k7Z2MQWJqRTkeZX5e =6nuz -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Fwd: Fwd: H2020 funding for maker spacers - photonics equipment maybe
by Jeremy Bennett 21 Oct '15

21 Oct '15

Hi all, This may be of interest to any OSHUG member involved with photonics. Best wishes, Jeremy -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Fwd: H2020 funding for maker spacers - photonics equipment maybe Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2015 07:50:20 +0200 From: Nigel Rix <nigel.rix(a)ktn-uk.org> To: Jeremy Bennett <jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com>, Andrew Back <andrew(a)abopen.com> CC: Anke Lohmann <anke.lohmann(a)ktn-uk.org> Hi Perhaps you could spread the word round the maker community. Nigel (sent from iphone) Nigel Rix Head of Electronic Systems The Knowledge Transfer Network 079 123 70752 Begin forwarded message: > *From:* Anke Lohmann <anke.lohmann(a)ktn-uk.org > <mailto:anke.lohmann@ktn-uk.org>> > *Date:* 21 October 2015 at 07:47:28 CEST > *To:* Liz Corbin <elizabethdcorbin(a)gmail.com > <mailto:elizabethdcorbin@gmail.com>> > *Cc:* Nigel Rix <nigel.rix(a)ktn-uk.org <mailto:nigel.rix@ktn-uk.org>> > *Subject:* *H2020 funding for maker spacers - photonics equipment maybe* > > Hi Liz, > > I just want to let you know that there is a CSA call in the > ICT-29-2016 call that is directly related to maker spaces: > > *Photonics enhanced MakerLabs* : The objective is to raise awareness, > support hands- on learning and enhance skills of students, technicians > and young professionals interested in photonics by extending existing > facilities in order to provide access to photonic components, > photonics-based equipment and related support services. > > This sounds like that it would be quite relevant for you. I would be > interested in helping with that (but more from a personal interested > than a official KTN interest) We have an event next week on the 27 > October in London, not very far from you which would include this > call. We managed to get someone from Brussels to attend and explain > the content of the call. Would you or someone from your team be > interested in attending? > > The link to the event > is: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/h2020-funding-briefing-event-photonics-related-… > > Let me know if you would like to come. > > All the best > > Anke > > *Anke Lohmann * > Head of Photonics and Quantum Technologies > @AnkeLohmann • M: 0 <tel:078901231234>755 744 6362 • > > > > @KTNUK • T:01403 251354 • ktn-uk.org <http://ktn-uk.org/> > Bailey House, 4-10 Barttelot Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1DQ > > > This email is confidential and may be privileged and is intended only for the addressee: if you have received it in error please notify the sender and delete it. We strive to make our systems secure but cannot accept any liability for viruses or any other security issue. The Knowledge Transfer Network. Registered in England and Wales with Company Registration Number 8705643. Registered office: Bailey House, 4-10 Barttelot Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1DQ, United Kingdom, Tel +44 (0)1403 251 354 Please consider the environment before printing this email. -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Twitter: @jeremypbennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com PGP key: 1024D/BEF58172FB4754E1 2009-03-20

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BCS OSSG Meeting: 6:30pm, 22 October 2015
by Jeremy Bennett 20 Oct '15

20 Oct '15

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi all, There is no OSHUG meeting this month, as is traditional following OSHCamp (gives us time to recover). However all OSHUG members are very welcome at the regular BCS OSSG meeting, which focuses on widening participation in open source communities. More details and registration here: http://ossg.bcs.org/2015/10/13/widening-participation-in-open-source-commun… Best wishes, Jeremy - -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Twitter: @jeremypbennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com PGP key: 1024D/BEF58172FB4754E1 2009-03-20 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iEYEARECAAYFAlYmW+cACgkQvvWBcvtHVOFPzACfc0ihgFWzpEfwNn+rOQOHTkVD V2sAn2kWz6zf7rj4be+fZmfdHUkuj/3p =UbkS -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Experience of PIC or FPGA programming?
by Michael Dorrington 20 Oct '15

20 Oct '15

If you have experience of Free Software workflow on PIC microcontrollers (particularly assembler and upload) or FPGA (particularly place-and-route) then please could you let me know on or off list. Thanks, Mike. -- FSF member #9429 http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=9429 http://www.fsf.org/about "The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users."

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MFS Meeting. Tue, 20 Oct. Talk: "PIC, Arduino/AVR and FPGA with Free Software"
by Michael Dorrington 15 Oct '15

15 Oct '15

Please feel free to forward this to those that would welcome it. * Event: Manchester Free Software's October Meeting * Talk: PIC, Arduino and FPGA with Free Software * Speaker: Michael Dorrington * Date: Tuesday, 20th October 2015 (3rd Tuesday of the month) * Start time: 19:00 * Finish time: 20:30 (and then on for drinks) * Location: Madlab. (Manchester Digital Laboratory). - http://madlab.org.uk/ * Address: 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester. M4 1HN. - Opposite "Common" on Edge Street, Northern Quarter. - http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/53.48413/-2.23639 == Details == The purpose of Manchester Free Software is to promote the Free Software philosophy. Every meeting we start with an opportunity for informal key signing. For an explanation of what this is about see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signing_party The main part of the meeting will be a talk. The talk will be on the PIC, Arduino, AVR and FPGA. These are electronic devices that are often programmed to do a specific task. The workflow is a program is written to do the task in a language/form that then needs to be converted to the binary form that the device accepts (even assembler is assembled into machine code). After this binary has been produced it then needs to uploaded to the device. Additionally, the device itself might require an alterable software bootloader to be installed on it so that it then accept programs. The talk will investigate each device type as to whether it has the required Free Software tools. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIC_microcontroller * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmel_AVR * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array If you have experience of programming PICs, Arduinos, AVRs or FPGAs with Free Software then please consider giving a lightning talk at the meeting. == After-meeting == The meeting will be followed by informal discussion and socialising in the Terrace (which is next door to Madlab). There are soft drinks available and there is no pressure to consume alcohol. == Location == The meeting will take place at the usual venue of Madlab, details above. == Transport == === Parking === Around the venue there are parking meter bays that become zero cost after 8pm on Tuesday so you will have to pay up until then and the maximum stay is 2 hours BUT MAKE SURE YOU VERIFY ALL THIS on parking. There are paid parking lots around the venue, they are marked by a blue P in this OpenStreetMap centred on Madlab <http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/53.4843/-2.2365>. Most of those parking lots are owned by NCP <http://www.ncp.co.uk/>. If you can’t decide otherwise then park in Manchester Arndale <http://www.manchesterarndale.com/directions.aspx>. === Public Transport === Manchester Victoria (MCV) train station, Shudehill tram and bus station, and Manchester Piccadilly bus station are all fairly close to Madlab, see OpenStreetMap centred on Madlab <http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/53.4843/-2.2365>. Manchester Piccadilly (MAN) train station and Manchester Central Coach Station are not too far away either. == More Information == Information about Manchester Free Software can be found on the Manchester Free Software pages on LibrePlanet <https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Manchester>. Regards, Mike. MFS Chair. -- FSF member #9429 http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=9429 http://www.fsf.org/about "The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users."

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BCS Open Source Specialist Group Committee - help needed
by Jeremy Bennett 25 Sep '15

25 Sep '15

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi all, As you know we have been largely co-hosting OSHUG events with the BCS Open Source Specialist Group (OSSG). The OSSG has a small steering committee, of which Andrew Back and I are members, responsible for organizing meetings. You don't have to be a member of the BCS to be on the committee (Andrew is not). We'd be very interested in hearing from any OSHUG member who might like to join the committee. The AGM when we elect a new committee is on 20 October (it will be combined with an OSHUG meeting again, to be announced shortly). If this is something you'd be interested in, or you have questions, please drop me an email. Best wishes, Jeremy - -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Twitter: @jeremypbennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com PGP key: 1024D/BEF58172FB4754E1 2009-03-20 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iEYEARECAAYFAlYFNo4ACgkQvvWBcvtHVOG3VwCgjbnqkdk0EwBp4ioevRdH/+Q3 XZcAn26PWhNNptIHeEXOg44luaSY0X7g =+lBt -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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