Author: tdr

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TOG Hackerspace at Dublin Comic Con Spring 2026

We had a brilliant weekend at Dublin Comic Con Spring 2026, with TOG Hackerspace back on the floor meeting loads of curious visitors, makers, sci-fi fans, and people discovering us for the first time.

Our stand was packed with a mix of what makes TOG great: games, radio gear, 3D prints, and homemade sci-fi props. It gave us a great chance to show off the kinds of projects our members get up to and to chat with people about making, hacking, building, fixing, and learning new skills together.

One of the best parts of the weekend was getting to talk to everyone who stopped by the stand. Some people already knew TOG, while others were hearing about the space for the first time. We had loads of great conversations about electronics, creative projects, fabrication, radio, cosplay props, and all the different things that can happen when you get a community of curious people together in one space.

Events like Comic Con are always great fun for us. They are a chance to share a bit of the spirit of TOG out in the wild and hopefully inspire a few more people to come along to one of our open nights, workshops, or events.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello over the weekend. We had a great time, and we’re already looking forward to the next one.

You can see more photos from the weekend here:
https://www.tog.ie/gallery/nggallery/album/dublin-comic-con-spring-26

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TOG Repair Café at DCU’s Climate Action Fair (Green Week 2026)

We’re heading to DCU Green Week as part of the Climate Action Fair — and we’re bringing a mini TOG Repair Café setup with us. Come say hello, meet loads of other brilliant groups on the day, and if you’ve something small that’s broken, bring it along and we’ll do our best to help you get it working again.

Repair Café details

  • When: Wednesday 4 March 2026, 11:00–14:00
  • Where: Ground Floor, U Building (GLA), bottom of the steps
  • What to bring: “broken tech and trinkets” (small, carry-in items work best)
  • Cost: Free to drop by (it’s part of the fair)

What is a Repair Café?

It’s a friendly, drop-in repair meetup: you bring the item, we bring the tools and volunteer know-how, and we’ll troubleshoot it together. Even when something can’t be fixed on the spot, you’ll usually leave with a better idea of what’s going on (and what to try next).

More info

DCU have the full Green Week / Climate Action Fair listing here:
https://www.dcu.ie/sustainability/campaigns

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Adult Learners’ Festival 2026 at TOG: Spring Into Learning (Tuesday 3 March)

For Adult Learners’ Festival 2026 (2–6 March), TOG is turning our normal Tuesday Open Night on 3rd March into a festival-friendly, drop-in evening as part of #SpringIntoLearning #ALF26.

When

Tuesday 3rd March, 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Free, no booking required — just drop in.

What’s happening?

A relaxed, welcoming intro to the hackerspace:

  • Pop in for a tour and a chat
  • See what members are building, fixing, or learning
  • Bring a question or a small project and we’ll help you figure out next steps

TOG as informal adult education

TOG is a great place for learning by doing. Across our group nights and workshops, you’ll find people picking up practical skills like:

  • Electronics (soldering, debugging, sensors)
  • Making and fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting, prototyping)
  • Repair and reuse (fixing everyday items, sharing tools and know-how)
  • Radio and comms projects (antennas, digital modes, getting started)

More festival events

See what else is on during the festival: https://www.adultlearnersfestival.ie/events/

Come along on Tuesday 3rd March and Spring Into Learning with us.

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Repair Cafe for Trinity’s Green Week!

We’re teaming up with Unit 18 (Trinity in the Community) to run a special Repair Café as part of Trinity’s Green Week. It’s a smaller Repair Café than our usual big TOG events, but it’ll still have all the best bits: friendly fixers, practical repairs, and plenty of good chats.

Got something broken? Bring along your small household items, small furniture, or electrical bits that have stopped working, and we’ll do our best to help you repair them while you wait. Expect a bit of hands-on problem solving, a cup of tea, and a nice lunchtime vibe.

When: Friday, 13 March 2026 — 12:30–2:30pm
Where: Unit 18, Trinity in the Community (Trinity College Dublin)
Cost: Free / all welcome
Tickets: Booking required — very limited places

👉 Full details + booking link:

https://www.tcd.ie/sustainability/event/?trumbaEmbed=eventid%3D197629508%26seotitle%3DGreen-Week-Repair-Caf%26view%3Devent%26-childview%3D%26returnUrl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.tcd.ie%252Fsustainability%252Fevents-listing%252F

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DMR Demonstration Evening

If you’ve been DMR-curious for a while (or you’ve a radio sitting there with a half-finished codeplug), this is a great chance to see a full setup done properly, step-by-step.

On Tuesday, 24th March 2026, South Dublin Radio Club, in collaboration with TOG Hackerspace, will host a DMR Demonstration Evening at the club in Rathfarnham.

What’s happening on the night

Jeffrey Roe (EI7IRB) will give a practical demonstration covering:

  • Setting up a DMR hotspot
  • Creating and programming a codeplug
  • Tips and lessons learned during setup (the bits that aren’t obvious until you’ve tried it)

This session will suit:

  • Anyone new to DMR who wants the “what talks to what?” overview
  • Anyone with an existing setup who wants to tidy it up, improve it, or avoid common pitfalls

Want to contribute?

Members who’d like to give a short demo or presentation on other parts of DMR are very welcome to get involved — different radios, different workflows, different approaches all help.

Event details

  • Date: Tuesday, 24th March 2026
  • Free: No Booking Required,
  • Time: 19:30 – 21:30
  • Venue: South Dublin Radio Club, Ballyroan Community Centre, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14

We’re looking forward to a good evening of radio chat, practical demos, and plenty of Q&A. See you there!

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New power tools added to “Repair Café in a Box”

We’re delighted to share an upgrade to our Repair Café in a Box programme: we’ve added a range of power tools to the equipment kit that community groups can borrow to help run repair events.

This work is funded by the Community Climate Action Programme (Round 1) under the Government’s Climate Action Fund. It builds on our 2024 funding and helps us expand what we can offer through our Repair Café rental programme, making it easier for more groups across the Dublin region to host repairs safely and confidently.

What’s included?

Alongside the usual Repair Café essentials, we now have a suite of power tools and related kit available to loan. The goal is simple: help fix more things, reduce waste, and keep useful items in service for longer.

Borrow the kit for your Repair Café (free)

Since 2024, this programme has supported Repair Cafés and community events all over the place — including plenty hosted by ourselves at TOG. If you’re organising a Repair Café (or planning one) and you’d like to borrow the equipment at no cost, just get in touch and we’ll help you figure out what you need.

Thanks

This project is made possible with support from Dublin City Council, in partnership with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

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