Category: News

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Tog’s Christmas Decorations, Upcycled And Laser Cut

Over the last month in Tog Hackerspace, we’ve been in full festive production mode. Between design chats, test cuts, cutting sessions, and the inevitable packing table chaos, we’ve put together around 80 Christmas decorations and cards, and got them into the post as a small thank you to friends and supporters of the space.

A big thanks to Ambrose for this year’s design. It looks great, it cuts beautifully, and it gave us the perfect excuse to properly put our new laser cutter through its paces. Huge credit as well to Jeffrey for putting in serious hours on the cutting and keeping the run moving.

First big run on the new laser cutter

This was the first proper big production run on our new VEVOR 100W CO2 Laser Engraver, and it has worked brilliantly. Clean cuts, consistent results, and a far smoother process than you might expect for a first large batch. For a community workshop tool, reliability matters, and this one has already earned its keep.

Upcycled acrylic, from old shelves to Christmas decorations

One of our favourite parts of this year’s batch is the material story. The acrylic we used is upcycled. It came from a donation of bookshelves that had lived in the space for years. They did their job, but we don’t have a use for them anymore, so instead of sending the material off to waste, we turned it into something small, useful, and festive.

We also took a hint from the internet along the way. After listening to feedback, we’ve been filling up the sheets of material with more little extras to reduce waste. Of course, it’s ducks 🦆

A proper team effort

This run was a whole team effort across the month. From early design chats, to setup and test cuts, to sorting, packing, and getting everything ready for the post, loads of people chipped in. If you helped at any point, thank you. These batches only happen because the community shows up.

Photo gallery

Link: https://www.tog.ie/gallery/nggallery/album/christmas-baubles-2025

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New “TogWeb” HF Antenna for EI0TOG

We have a shiny new addition to our amateur radio setup at Tog Hackerspace.

A huge thanks to Niall Donohue EI6HIB, from our friends in South Dublin Radio Club, for the generous donation of a cobweb antenna. In true Tog fashion, it has already been renamed the “TogWeb”.

Over the next few weeks we will be installing the TogWeb at the space and getting it tuned up for our HF station. The cobweb design gives us multi-band HF coverage in a compact footprint, which suits our city location nicely.

Once it is up in the air, it will:

  • Improve our HF receive and transmit performance
  • Give us more reliable contacts across Europe and beyond
  • Make it easier to demo HF to visitors during open nights and events

If you are interested in amateur radio, HF operation, or you are curious what all the wires and boxes are about, drop by the space on one of our open evenings. We are always happy to show people the station and talk radio.

We hope to log many more QSOs under our club callsign EI0TOG using the TogWeb. With a bit of luck, you might even end up in the log yourself.

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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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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.

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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!