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Build Your Own Air Quality Sensor – Science Week Workshop

Friday, November 14th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Tog Hackerspace, Dublin 8
No experience needed — Ages 18+

Air pollution affects many people’s daily lives, not just those living near industrial centres. In Ireland, most official air quality monitoring is carried out using a limited number of government sensors spread across the country. As a result, we often rely on modelling to estimate current pollution levels. This can miss out on local or seasonal sources such as coal fires during winter or short-term event-based pollution.

In this hands-on Science Week workshop, we’ll explore how to measure local air pollution and take part in a global citizen science movement. You’ll build your own particulate matter (PM2.5) sensor system using a simple kit of off-the-shelf components. The device uses consumer-grade hardware to give a reasonable indication of local air quality — not as precise as professional lab equipment, but accurate enough to spot trends and patterns in your community.

The workshop introduces participants to IoT (Internet of Things) devices, data collection, and environmental monitoring. You’ll learn how to assemble the hardware, connect it to the network, and share your data online through the Sensor.Community platform — an open global network of more than 13,000 citizen-built sensors contributing over 10 million data entries worldwide.

By the end of the evening, you’ll have built your own working air quality sensor and joined a growing international community helping to better understand our environment through open data.

Come along, learn something new, and make a real contribution to citizen science this Science Week!

🎟 Tickets available via Eventbrite – €70 per person
This covers the cost of materials and includes a donation to Tog Hackerspace.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/build-your-own-air-quality-sensor-science-week-workshop-tickets-1811695402719?aff=oddtdtcreator

This is one of many events happening during Science Week.

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8mm Cine Camera and Projector

Tog recently received a very kind donation of an 8mm movie Ciné camera, projector and other items. We still have all of our dark room equipment in the space, and several TOG members are still keen on film photography.

In the past, we have ran film photography workshops and processed film in the space. These formats are not dead. They still have a small but dedicated following. If film photography including Ciné and instant photography is something that interests you, why not drop in, see what we have, and have a chat with us. 

When we moved into our current space here in Bluebell, one of the very first pictures that we took on the day was an instant photo on an original 1970s vintage Polaroid SX70 camera that’s still working like new!

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New TouchDesigner Dublin MeetUp starting on Wednesday October 22nd

We are delighted to be hosting TouchDesigner MeetUp Dublin in our space. It’s new monthly meetup for anyone curious about TouchDesigner software, from complete beginners to experienced creators. Whether you want to learn the basics to build interactive 3D and 2D audio-visual applications, share your projects, or connect with others using the software, the meetup provides a welcoming space to do so. The event is free to attend and you can indicate your interest in joining the session here on meetup.com

Each session will run for about two hours in a relaxed, hands-on setting. With multiple rooms available in the space we can run beginner and advanced activities side by side if needed, so everyone gets the most from the evening.

Expect an informal, community-driven environment where the format adapts to participants. You can bring a laptop to follow along, show your work, or simply join the conversation. The event is an opportunity to meet other creative technologists and artists, and to further develop the growing TouchDesigner community in Ireland.

Meet the TouchDesigner Dublin team :-

Ciaran Eaton

Ciaran Eaton is a Creative Technologist and Educator based in Dublin. With a background in audio and visual arts production, Ciaran integrates visual programming environments such as TouchDesigner with open-source software and aims to foster an active community around creative workflows.

Website

Serdar Buhan

Serdar is a software engineer based in Dublin with a curiosity for creative technology and building interactive experiences. In his spare time, he explores tools such as TouchDesigner, Processing, Blender, AR, photogrammetry, pen plotters, and generative AI.

Instagram

Cailean Finn

Cailean Finn is an Irish media artist, researcher, and creative technologist from Waterford, Ireland. His practice investigates the idiosyncratic nature of human–machine relationships, drawing from computational histories and engaging with technologies and practices such as creative coding, artificial intelligence/life, game development, and physical computing.

Website

Pauric Freeman

Pauric Freeman is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dublin, working across audiovisual performance, sound, and installation. His practice explores translation, using data collected from live instruments as the basis for real-time audiovisual compositions.

Website

Instagram

Louise Nolan

Louise Nolan is a multidisciplinary artist and designer working in glass, print and digital media. Her work is transmedia integrating digital techniques with physical installations to create an interactive multi-sensory experience for the viewer. She is a visiting lecturer at NCAD and TU Dublin in physical computing, creative coding and emerging media practice. Louise is also a host for Maker night at TOG.

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Instagram

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October Repair Cafe

Bring your broken tech and trinkets to get them fixed by the skilled volunteers at Tog Hackerspace!

On October 18, 2025 (International Day of Repair), between 2 and 6 pm, TOG Hackerspace will host a repair cafe!

At this event, the skilled volunteers at TOG will share their expertise and passion for repair, helping you fix your broken items and breathe new life into them. Whether it’s a malfunctioning gadget, a piece of clothing in need of mending, or a household item that’s seen better days, bring it along and let the TOG team work their magic.

What can you bring in?

  • Clothes and accessories
  • Toys
  • Small electrical appliances and electronics
  • Small furniture

…. And many other things!

Safety testing (PAT) for electrical devices will be available.

Continue reading “October Repair Cafe”
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Jeffrey Roe Named Reuse & Repair Champion at the Full Circle Awards 2025

We’re thrilled to share some amazing news from the repair community: our very own Jeffrey Roe has been awarded the title of Reuse & Repair Champion at the Full Circle Awards 2025 by Circular.ie.

The awards ceremony took place at the launch of Circular.ie in Lansdowne Road, and the judges had high praise for Jeffrey:

“Jeffrey has been the driving force behind Repair Cafés in Ireland and is a well-recognised champion and leader in the field. His community-driven, hands-on approach empowers people with valuable repair skills and fosters collaborative, social spaces for learning. Jeffrey stands out for his technical innovation and leadership in embedding repair culture within communities.”

This recognition highlights not just Jeffrey’s personal commitment, but also the incredible collective effort of everyone involved in running Repair Cafés at Tog Hackerspace and across Ireland. Every event is powered by volunteer fixers who bring their skills, patience, and community spirit to the table.

Over the years, Jeffrey has helped build and lead the Repair Café movement here at home while also sharing and exchanging knowledge abroad with Buinho in Portugal and FabLab Cuenca in Spain, among others. These international trips show that repair is always a two-way exchange: while Jeffrey brings experience and tools, he also returns with new ideas and approaches to share locally.

And the repair journey doesn’t stop here! Upcoming Repair Cafés:

  • 🔧 Tullamore – 11 October 2025
  • 🔧 Tog Hackerspace (Dublin) – 17 October 2025

Read more about Jeffrey’s award on the Circular.ie site:
👉 Reuse & Repair Champion – Jeffrey Roe

Congratulations Jeffrey, and a massive thank you to all our fixers and visitors who make Repair Cafés possible. Here’s to keeping repair culture growing!

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Radio Experiment Day at Tog Hackerspace – Tuning In to the ISS

As part of National Space Week, Tog Hackerspace in Dublin will be hosting a Radio Experiment Day on Sunday, October 5th, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

This isn’t a class or formal demonstration — it’s a hands-on day of experimenting, tinkering, and learning together. The focus will be on trying out different ways to receive signals from the ARISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event taking place that weekend.

The Space Week SSTV Event, Series 29, will feature six images transmitted from the International Space Station (ISS) on 145.800 MHz (PD120 encoding). Two transmission windows are scheduled:

  • First Window: Oct 3–4, Start Fri 14:00 UTC, End Sat 10:00 UTC
  • Second Window: Oct 4–6, Start Sat 11:00 UTC, End Mon (time TBD)

The same set of images will be sent in both windows, so there will be plenty of opportunities to catch them. On the day, we’ll also be calling in to the Dublin-area IRTS news broadcast on 2M, with two especially good ISS passes around 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Everyone is encouraged to bring along their own radios, antennas, and setups — the more variety, the better! Feel free to just drop in, have a chat, and join the fun.

📍 Location: Tog Hackerspace, Unit 1B, Motorcity, Kylemore Rd, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V
🅿️ Lots of free parking available
🔗 More info: https://www.tog.ie

Come join us, meet fellow amateurs, and help us see just how many ISS images we can pull down from space!