We’re excited to announce that Tog Hackerspace will be hitting the road and setting up a table at the SEARG 2025 Radio Rally & Electronics Fair, taking place on Sunday, April 13th, in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow. The rally is part of the Irish Radio Transmitters Society’s (IRTS) AGM weekend and is hosted by the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group (SEARG).
📻 Event Details 📍 Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow 🗓️ Sunday, 13th April 2025 🕥 Doors open: 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 🔗 More info on the event here
We’ll be showcasing some of our radio-related projects, electronics builds, and all things maker-y. Whether you’re into amateur radio, DIY electronics, or just curious about what goes on in a hackerspace, drop by our table and say hello!
Expect to see everything from TinyGS satellite ground stations to homebrew antenna builds and maybe even a few surprises. If you’re a fellow maker, hacker, or ham radio enthusiast, we’d love to chat and connect.
This is a great chance to meet the wider radio and electronics community in Ireland, and we’re delighted to be part of it.
We are excited to announce that we will have a stand at the Phoenix Amateur Radio Club Annual Radio Rally on Sunday, February 16th, 2025. The event will take place at Coolmine Community School, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.
This rally is a great opportunity for amateur radio enthusiasts, electronics hobbyists, and makers to come together, exchange ideas, and explore the latest in radio technology. Whether you’re a licensed operator, an SWL (shortwave listener), or just curious about the world of radio, there will be plenty to see and do.
At our stand, we’ll be showcasing some of the projects and activities from Tog Hackerspace, including:
Amateur Radio and SDR (Software-Defined Radio) demonstrations
Homebrew electronics and DIY repair projects
IoT and embedded systems that integrate with radio communications
Information on upcoming workshops and events at Tog
We’re always eager to chat about all things radio, hacking, and making—so be sure to stop by! Whether you want to discuss your latest radio setup, learn about our hackerspace, or just geek out about RF technology, we’d love to meet you.
Admission to the rally includes access to a variety of traders, exhibits, and talks from experienced operators. And of course, tea and sandwiches will be available on the day to keep everyone fueled up for a great day of radio and tech.
Mark your calendars, and we’ll see you there!
For more details on the rally, check out the Phoenix Amateur Radio Club (EI2PAR).
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If you’re interested in joining Tog Hackerspace or learning more about our events, visit www.tog.ie or drop by one of our open nights.
Are you fascinated by space and want to learn how to receive data from satellites and weather probes? Join us in this TinyGS Station Workshop where you’ll build and program your ground station and antenna to receive data from space. This hands-on, beginner-friendly workshop is perfect for anyone interested in radio, electronics, IOT, antenna design, and space exploration.
About TinyGS: TinyGS is an open community-run network of Ground Stations distributed around the world to receive and operate LoRa satellites, weather probes and other flying objects, using cheap and versatile modules. With a TinyGS ground station, you can receive data from a variety of sources, such as CubeSats.
Are you fascinated by space and want to learn how to receive data from satellites and weather probes? Join us in this TinyGS Station Workshop where you’ll build and program your ground station and antenna to receive data from space. This hands-on, beginner-friendly workshop is perfect for anyone interested in radio, electronics, IOT, antenna design, and space exploration.
About TinyGS: TinyGS is an open community-run network of Ground Stations distributed around the world to receive and operate LoRa satellites, weather probes and other flying objects, using cheap and versatile modules. With a TinyGS ground station, you can receive data from a variety of sources, such as CubeSats.
What You’ll Learn: During the workshop, you’ll learn how to build and program a TinyGS ground station and a quarter-wave ground plane antenna. No prior experience is required, and we’ll provide all the necessary materials, tools, and equipment to guide you through the process.
Materials Provided: All necessary materials, tools, and equipment will be provided for the workshop, including a quarter-wave ground plane antenna kit, a TinyGS base station kit, and a USB cable. You don’t need to bring anything except a WiFi device(computer or phone) configure and create a Telegram account. At the end of the workshop, you’ll take home your very own TinyGS ground station and antenna. You’ll be able to use your ground station to receive data from satellites and other flying objects and explore the fascinating world of space and radio. If you have any questions or want to continue learning after the workshop, we’re here to help.
Morning Session – Sold Out
Date: Sunday 12th of November 11am to 1pm
Location: Tog Hackerspace, Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V
Cost: €80 plus fees. Profit from ticket sales goes to fund Tog.
This event is to coincide with Science Week which runs from 12-19 of November. Events are happening all over the country. Visit scienceweek.ie for more.
Space is fun. Receiving data from space is even better.
TinyGS is an open community-run network of Ground Stations distributed around the world to receive and operate LoRa satellites, weather probes and other flying objects, using cheap and versatile modules. https://tinygs.com/
This hands-on workshop will cover building, programming and setting up your own TinyGS station.
Participants will build their very own quarter-wave ground plane antenna, and base station to take home. All they have to do is plug the box into a USB charger.
This workshop is perfect if you want to get started building your first antenna and get started in the world of radio.
No amateur radio license is required to operate the station, only if you wish to send data to space.
Let’s go on a journey of repair with Jeffrey. We have a Dynatron radio model SRX 26. I think it’s from the 1970s. The radio came from Henry which has been in his family since it was new. Unfortunately it has been waiting on me to repair it since September 2020.
I started off by wiping all the dust I have let fall on it. It is a crazy heavy thing. The best way to start is to have a good look over the radio. The point is to find any problems with the cable and to check it is safe before ever plugging it in. It also seems to be missing its record player cartridge (the needle).
The radio lead and fuse are the next places to check. It is using an older style of plug that should be replaced at some point. The fuse and lead are fine. Now for a power-on test. the unit is not showing any signs of life.
Now to take it apart and show everyone’s favourite part the insides. There looks to be other historical repairs carried out. If you look at the above image on the left-hand side.
An internal mains fuse looks very “crusty”. After taking it out it’s clearly blown. There are also two more fuses that are blown. The type of fuse is nicely labelled on the radio but I had none in stock. A short walk down to RS and picked up a bag of replacement fuses.
It came alive! Well it turns on anyway. The next step to try and find some suitable audio leads to test the sound. I only had a headphone adaptor but soon was getting sound from the radio but with a lot of hisses.
To overcome the hiss, I attacked all the knobs with some switch cleaner. You take off all the knobs and spray in the fluid. Give the knobs a good turn, backwards and forwards to work in the cleaner.
The last job was to mount the speaker port that was loose in the cabinet. Unfortunately without that type of lead, I could not test it.
Check out the radio in action in the video above. The radio seems to work fine with headphones. The turntable needs a cartridge but that is a job for the radio owner. If you would like to see more photos of the repair check out our gallery.
