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Open Fashion Show at Dublin Maker

A colourful graphic of people wearing various coats and bags, just standing around

At Dublin Maker our craft night regulars will be running an Open Fashion Show and we want YOU to take part! Whether you’ve crafted an elaborate outfit or made a cute patch on your jeans, anything at all, we want to see it!

Making, repairing and upcycling clothes and accessories is just so awesome, and people are always delighted when they found out (“you made that!?! cool!”), so let’s have a bunch of you together for that concentrated pride in our work! Expect to see everything from knitted shawls to elaborate fursuits, patched shirts and handsewn bucket hats.

On the day, we’ll ask you to fill out a card with some information about your make. Then we’ll give all the cards to our emcee and he’ll call you up, one by one, and you’ll do a little loop to show off your stuff and get a round of applause. Simple!

If you’re not ready to strut your stuff, come along anyway. Give a big clap to our makers and get inspired for next year!

There will be four slots, Saturday 12:45 and 14:45, and Sunday 11:15 and 14:30. You may sign up for whichever ones work best for you. If you’re entering the show, turn up a few minutes earlier to fill out your card.

If you’re almost but not quite ready with something to show off, drop by Craft Night on August 9th from 18:30-20:30 at Tog for some moral support (and advice if you need it).

In case you have any questions, feel free to email triona@tog.ie for more details.

The event will be accessible to people with limited mobility but if you have an extra questions, you can also check the Dublin Maker guide or reach out on their contact page.

We can’t wait to see you there!

For an easy link to share with friends visit tog.ie/fashion and you’ll find a post there if you want to print one.

You can sign up for a slot in advance with eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/open-fashion-show-dublin-maker-tickets-1996822790720

Don’t worry if you haven’t finalised your make, you can change your mind on the day and fill out a fresh card.

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TOG Hackerspace at Dublin Comic Con Summer 2026

TOG Hackerspace will be at Dublin Comic Con Summer 2026 this Saturday and Sunday, 8th and 9th August, at the Convention Centre Dublin.

You will find us on Level 2, where we will have a selection of projects made by TOG members. Drop by to see what we have been building, meet some of our members and learn more about the hackerspace.

Whether you are interested in electronics, fabrication, radio, coding, crafts or simply making things, come over and say hello. We are looking forward to another brilliant weekend surrounded by makers, cosplayers and sci-fi fans.

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More Test Equipment from Testwall

Back in 2024, we wrote about a generous donation from Testwall that supported our electronics lab, Repair Cafés and member projects. We are delighted to say they have supported TOG again, with another collection of professional test and measurement equipment.

This latest donation includes an Advantest R3754A network analyser, an HP 75000 Series B modular test system, an Anritsu data transmission analyser and other RF and communications test equipment.

The equipment has already made its way onto the benches. Members have been carefully checking each unit, powering it up and opening up some of the equipment for inspection where needed. The next job is to find out what can be brought back into regular use.

Older test equipment can still be extremely useful. It gives members hands-on access to specialist tools that would otherwise be difficult for a community workshop to purchase. It also creates plenty of opportunities to learn about fault-finding, repair and how professional test systems are put together.

Keeping useful equipment in service is also much better than seeing it become electronic waste.

A big thank you to everyone at Testwall for thinking of TOG again. Their continued support gives equipment a second life and gives our members new tools to learn, repair and build with. Testwall works across a broad range of RF, communications and electronic test equipment, making this a particularly fitting donation for the space.

Companies sometimes have equipment, tools, components or materials that are no longer needed but still have plenty of life left. If you think something could find a useful home in a community workshop, please get in touch with us.

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EI0MEOW: TOG’s Cats Take to the Air

TOG Hackerspace has registered the special event callsign EI0MEOW, and throughout August we will be getting on the radio in support of cats.

With around 100 members in the TOG community, it will probably come as no surprise that many of us are cat people. For the month of August, our radio operators will be taking part in two international amateur radio activities celebrating cats and raising awareness of animal welfare.

Cat Day on the Air

Cat Day on the Air runs from 1 to 31 August, with amateur radio stations around the world getting on the air to support cats and the organisations that care for abandoned, abused and homeless animals.

Listen out for EI0MEOW during the month and give us a call when you hear us.

Find out more on the Cat Day on the Air website.

Cat Pix on the Air

We are also taking part in Cat Pix on the Air, an SSTV activity taking place on International Cat Day, Saturday 8 August.

SSTV, or Slow-Scan Television, allows amateur radio operators to send pictures over the air. Instead of only exchanging callsigns and signal reports, operators will also be exchanging pictures of cats.

TOG members have contributed photographs of their own cats, and we have created a gallery of 14 special EI0MEOW SSTV images.

We are revealing the first one here: Swanson, Cat 01.

To see the other 13 cats, you will need to find EI0MEOW on the air and receive the images yourself.

More information about the activity is available from the Cat Pix on the Air website.

Find us at Hamfest

EI0MEOW will be operating from Hamfest in Mullingar on Saturday 8 August, where we will be transmitting images from the gallery throughout the day.

Come over and meet the TOG radio operators, see SSTV in action and find out how pictures can be transmitted using amateur radio.

Everyone else can listen for EI0MEOW on the bands throughout August. Have a QSO with us, exchange a signal report and see which of TOG’s cats arrives through the noise.

Can you collect all 14?

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PCB Design from Scratch: From Schematic to Finished Board

Have you ever built an electronics project on a breadboard and wondered how to turn it into a finished printed circuit board?

Join us at TOG Hackerspace for PCB Design from Scratch, a live demonstration of the complete PCB design process using KiCad, a free and open-source electronics design application.

Starting with a blank project, Roman will demonstrate how a circuit develops from its first schematic diagram into a PCB layout that can be sent to a manufacturer. The example will be a deliberately simple circuit featuring an LED, a couple of integrated circuits and a selection of passive components.

The aim of the evening is to show the complete journey from an electronic idea to a professionally manufactured circuit board without getting lost in an overly complicated design.

What will be covered?

During the demonstration, you will see:

  • How to start a new PCB project in KiCad
  • How to create a schematic diagram
  • How to turn the schematic into a PCB layout
  • How electronic components are positioned and connected
  • How the finished design is prepared for manufacturing
  • How a PCB order is submitted to a manufacturer

This event is ideal for electronics hobbyists, makers and anyone curious about how printed circuit boards are designed.

Please note that this is a live demonstration rather than a hands-on workshop.

Event details

Date: Friday, 14 August 2026
Time: 7:30 pm–9:00 pm
Location: TOG Hackerspace
Places: Limited to 20 people

The demonstration is expected to take approximately 90 minutes.

Booking

Places are strictly limited to 20 attendees, and advance booking is required.

Book your place through Eventbrite

Early booking is recommended, as this is a small session and places may fill quickly.

A note about the photos

The circuit boards shown in the photos were made during a previous project at TOG and are included for illustration only. They are not the boards that will be designed during this event.

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The Irish Embassy Returns to Electromagnetic Field 2026

TOG members and friends are heading to Electromagnetic Field 2026 from 16 to 19 July, where we will once again be helping to run the Irish Embassy village.

Electromagnetic Field, better known as EMF Camp, is a volunteer-run camping festival for hackers, makers, artists, engineers, scientists and anyone interested in technology and creativity. The festival brings together talks, workshops, installations, projects and villages for four days at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in the UK.

At EMF, villages are self-organised camping and activity areas built around shared interests. The Irish Embassy is a loose collective of people with a connection to, or interest in, Ireland.

Despite the name, we are not connected to the Irish Government. Expect tea, projects, power adaptors and microcontrollers rather than passports and visas.

Following on from the Irish Embassy at EMF 2024, we have another busy programme planned.

Landing, Setup and Getting to Know Each Other

We will begin on Thursday with an informal landing and setup session. Drop by the village, meet your neighbours and help us get the shared space ready for the weekend.

Hardware CTF

On Friday, the Irish Embassy will host a drop-in Hardware CTF challenge.

Participants will use one of our custom ESP8266 challenge boards to solve a series of hardware and software puzzles. Bring a laptop and see how many flags you can capture.

Make Your Own Extension Lead

Our Make Your Own Extension Lead workshop will introduce participants to safely wiring a Type G plug and extension lead.

The session will cover cable preparation, plug wiring, fuses, strain relief and basic electrical safety.

IoT with Arduino Cloud

The beginner-friendly IoT with Arduino Cloud workshop will show participants how to connect an ESP32 and environmental sensors to the internet.

Participants will collect sensor readings and display them through an online Arduino Cloud dashboard.

Build Your Own Satellite Ground Station

In the Build Your Own Satellite Ground Station workshop, participants will assemble a TinyGS station and antenna.

TinyGS is a community network of low-cost ground stations that can receive signals from LoRa satellites, CubeSats and other objects passing overhead.

Build Your Own Air Quality Sensor

Our Build Your Own Air Quality Sensor workshop will introduce participants to environmental monitoring and citizen science.

Participants will assemble an internet-connected sensor that measures particulate matter, temperature, humidity and air pressure.

Visit the Irish Embassy

When there is no workshop or challenge running, the Irish Embassy will be a place to meet people, share projects, compare notes and relax with a cup of tea.

Anyone attending EMF with a connection to, or interest in, Ireland is welcome to visit. Check the Irish Embassy village page for our location and the latest programme information.

You can also follow the Irish Embassy on Mastodon at @irishembassy@chaos.social for updates from the village during EMF Camp.