First night clean-up turns into archeological dig

Having a maker space in a historical building is so cool. After many months absence, our first night back at the DDO was dedicated to some clean-up. A new part of ylab is  the DDO’s basement workshop, so we decided to attack it first. Knows what these are, and can tell some parts are missing. Getting into some of the old tool cabinets...

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Ylab Update – Working on Summer Stuff

We have (hopefully temporarily) retrieved our laser cutter and some other gear from our lair at the DDO so we can use it over the summer. After we get re-calibrated and back in operation, we’ll be scheduling some get-togethers. It will take a couple of weeks as many of us are completing our own transitions – kids from school to camps,...

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Ylab Runs Amok at Richmond Green Library

Richmond Green Library held their maker event on Saturday afternoon, March 11, and might not have been prepared for the ylab mayhem. Other exhibitors might have been content with a display table. We kind of… expanded. Out of control. Hovercraft rides. They’re not just for kids. People coming in through the entrance rotunda for a quiet...

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The Great Canadian Alligator Clip

Where can we find an alligator clip to ground out a screwdriver? If you’re going to remove a fly-back transformer from an old TV, as shown here (we’re giving them credit because we took their picture), you first need to safely discharge what could be up to 30,000 volts in the tube. Hook up an alligator clip to the screwdriver, and...

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Sat March 11: Come see us at Richmond Green Library Maker Day

Richmond Hill Public Library’s Richmond Green branch near  Leslie and Elgin Mills. is hosting a Maker Event on Saturday, March 11 from noon until 5 PM, and Ylab will be there. It’s a family event – ages 6 and up, according to the RHPL event listing.  While you’re in the area, bring out your...

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Next step: bring Frankenstein back to life

Anyone who’s watched an old Frankenstein movie – or almost any old black-and-white sci-fi movie – knows you can’t have a decent science lab without a Jacob’s ladder and its noisy, sparky electric arcs crawling up between two wires. He would get a charge out of this. Since we call ourselves ylab, member Craig felt...

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Persistence brings shiny stick things to life

What-seems-like-an-eternity ago (it was the beginning of October), we kicked off a light sabre(1) big shiny stick thing making class, using a new circuit board design engineered by ylab member Richard. It’s designed to handle the latest 5V, 144  LED per meter, multi-color light strips for lowest power and maximum brightness....

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Arduino open house notes + hands-on class info

We had a great group show up for the Wed Oct 12 Arduino: What’s It All About? open house. Big thanks to members Jack, Richard, Pek, Ross and Paul for bringing in and sharing their creations, and as always, to Jay for loaning his light sabres. We’re caving to popular demand and finally scheduling an Arduino hands-on class....

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What’s this Arduino Stuff About? Wed Oct 12 7:30 PM @DDO

This Wednesday’s the first official, new-format Open House night. They’re now now every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, and feature a presentation – this week on Arduino! Arduino night. Big thanks to Chhing Chhan for the poster. We had a trial run of the new format by making the first night of our 8-week ham radio...

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Radio at Ylab: New tech, old school and quiet summer

Based on the lack of posts and updates, people say it’s been quiet the last couple of months. Over the spring and summer, we’ve received some interesting equipment donations, and they’ve been put to good use. This picture of ylab member Gilles at work in the space says it all. It’s been quiet. Sometimes, that’s a good...

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