SpeedMake: Kick Off

At the March 2nd Tuesday night meeting, a few brave volunteers participated in the very first SpeedMake event. SpeedMake is a contest of skill and science in which teams race against each other to be the first to complete an electronics project.

For this event, competitors worked to build Larson Scanners (see the picture below), a device which lights LEDs in sequence to create a scanning effect. People reverse engineered circuit boards, puzzled through IC spec sheets, breadboarded their projects, and totally ignored the optional crypto breaking aspect of the event (more’s the pity). We even got some Madden NFL-style commentary going. SpeedMake may not be the most gripping, thrilling sporting experience since the invention of the monster truck rally, but it looked like people were having fun.

If you find SpeedMake intriguing and you wish to subscribe to our newsletter, there’s more information at the Crash Space wiki, here. There will also be some announcements about the next upcoming SpeedMake event at this Tuesday’s Public Night meeting.