Raspberry Jam!

MESH will be holding a Raspberry Jam @THINQTANQ on Saturday the 13th of June. This will be our first event and we have a number of projects for you to get involved in from very easy, to a bit more difficult.
By the end of the day you should be able to use your Raspberry Pi for something useful and should have learned new skills which will help you carry on building and learning!

Our second Jam, later in the year will build on these skills and we may even end up building a robot arm... Who knows?!

You can find other near by Raspberry Jams by looking here http://www.raspberrypi.org/jam/ but we would love to see you at ours!

What is a Raspberry Jam?
Raspberry Jams are events organised by the community to share knowledge, learn new things, and meet other Pi enthusiasts. They’re a great way to find our more about the Raspberry Pi and what you can do with it, and to find like-minded people.

What will we be doing at the Raspberry Jam?
We have 3 projects we will be working on:

• A media server – Easy
Very useful if you have any films on your computer you want to watch at home and we will also cover how to turn the Pi into a home computer!

• A motion triggered camera – Medium
Find out what is going on in your back garden, capture intruders or just generally learn the principles involved. A small variation in parts can make a very different project that you can customise to your exact needs!

• Game emulator - Easy
Ever wanted to build a retro game emulator? This could be your chance! The Pi is fantastically versatile and this is an excellent chance to build your own retro games behemoth!

We will be publishing parts lists closer to the time (once we have had a chance to build them ourselves or of course, if you have another idea you would like to build you are more than welcome just bring the bits you need!

We will also be running a second Jam later in the year (October 17th) where we would like to work on the following ideas, of course, if you have other suggestions, we would love to hear them!

• Weather Station – Medium
A simple weather station so you can keep on top of what is going on outside your window but powerful enough to be expanded perhaps as part of a home automation system!

• Home Automation System – Hard
The foundation of a hardware agnostic home automation system, a Raspberry Pi running OpenHab is a little tricky to setup, but a great start to automating many of those tedious chores!

• Robot Arm – Medium/Hard
Doesn't need a lot of explanation. Hopefully we will build a good robot arm and not one destined for evil!

What do I need to bring or buy to take part?
Ideally you should bring a Raspberry Pi. We have some spare ones but not enough to go round so if you can, bring yours. You should also bring anything you need for your chosen project. We will be issuing parts lists for each of the projects before the event so you will have plenty of time to get the bits you need and even experiment a little too!

When is your Raspberry Jam?
Our event will be held on Saturday the 13th of June between 10am and 4pm. We will also be holding one on October the 17th so pop it in your diary now!

What does it cost?
The event itself costs £5 per person with under 18's (accompanied by an adult), OAP's and students going free. This covers the cost of the tea's and coffee's and some snacks through the day. You may need some hardware as we only have a limited number of spare Pi's and what you need depends on which project you would like to work on.

Who is organising the event?
The event is being organised by Andy Mantell on behalf of MESH. He will be assisted by Rob Wick and Garry Hunt. You can contact any of them if you have a question about the event.

I am interested in sponsoring the event and promoting tech learning within Plymouth, who should I contact?
Please contact garry@exploremesh.co.uk if you would like to become a sponsor for the event or for MESH in general. Sponsors can provide financial input, hardware, expertise, advertising and exposure or refreshments and help on the day.