Modern Upgrades for Vintage Tech: A TOG Soldering Adventure

Post by our member Eduard Garanskij

Some members of TOG know me for my passion for retro computers and programmable calculators.

Over the years, I’ve collected several rare machines and long dreamed of building add-on devices for them, something to expand their memory or load software from modern storage devices like SD cards, or even over Wi-Fi. These vintage devices typically load from tape or floppy disks, which is a painfully slow process. However, due to a lack of time and experience with complex electronics, I hadn’t been able to complete any such project.

That changed last month when I met Roman, a new TOG member. He offered to help and turned out to be much more experienced in electronics design. Using KiCad and modern components like an FPGA and ESP32, Roman designed a custom board. These chips are incredibly small and require special tools and techniques to work with.

We had the board manufactured at JLCPCB.

While I have a general understanding of electronics, I had never soldered such tiny components before. Roman had some experience with small parts, but even for him, this was a new level of precision.

We found a preheating plate at TOG and ordered a stencil to apply solder paste. Yesterday, we met at the space to try soldering the smallest chip on the board.

The first step was applying the solder paste using the stencil. This turned out to be trickier than expected. We had to align the stencil perfectly with the board’s pads, spread a thin, even layer of paste, and carefully lift the stencil without smearing it. It took us several tries. Sometimes the stencil shifted, and other times we applied too much paste.

Before soldering the actual chip, we did a test run on a spare board without placing any components, just to see how the paste would behave during reflow. That helped us understand how the solder would spread and whether it would stay properly on the pads. It was a useful trial that gave us more confidence before working with the real part.

Eventually, we decided to go ahead and solder the chip, even though some areas had a bit more paste than ideal.

We used a special hot plate that gradually heats the board to around 240°C. As it warms up, the solder paste melts and flows onto the pads, guided by surface tension.

The process is slow, so the whole operation took a while. But in the end, the chip was successfully soldered. You can see it in the photo, though there’s still some leftover flux that we’ll need to clean off with isopropyl alcohol. Unfortunately, we ran out of time on Monday evening, so that step will have to wait.

We can’t fully test whether the chip is working yet, as other components on the board still need to be soldered. However, we’ve checked for shorts between adjacent pins, and everything looks good so far.

This was just the first step, but it already feels like a big achievement. With a bit more work, we hope to bring some of these old machines back to life, with modern upgrades that keep the retro spirit alive.

Find all the files on the github page.

You can see even more photos on our gallery.

From Vienna to FAB25: A Maker’s Journey Continues

Here’s a travel diary from one of our members, Jeffrey, who recently attended FAB25, a global gathering of fab labs and makers held this year in Brno and Prague. He shares highlights from workshops, talks, late-night chats, and even a few vegan cakes.


After wrapping up the multimeter workshop at Metalab in Vienna, I continued my summer travels by heading to FAB25 in Prague, the annual gathering of fab labs and makers from around the world. This year’s theme? Bridge the Gap. And what better way to bridge communities than by bringing a bit of Ireland to the Czech Republic?

Day 1 – Brno

The conference this year was split between two cities: Brno and Prague. To kick things off, I jumped on a ~2-hour bus from Vienna over to Brno. After an uneven journey and a quick check-in, I was meeting people right away.

I caught up with Andreas Kopp and Charles Eck from the Erfindergarden Foundation based in Munich. We talked about all things repair and what we should cover in our upcoming working group session together.

The conference kicked off with a great opening, especially a talk from Scotty Allen on storytelling and making. There were also some interesting sounds and beats from Noisy Pots, a Czech duo who put on a great show to get things started.


Day 2 – Brno

The day kicked off in the beautiful Janáček Theatre with talks about the future of the Fab Foundation. In the afternoon, I joined the first of a three-part workshop by the Vulca Network (of which I’m a member), titled Define Your Erasmus+ Strategy.

The session explored how fab labs and makerspaces can access Erasmus+ funding and collaborate internationally. It was practical, clear, and very encouraging, demystifying a system that often feels daunting.

Later that day, I helped run the session How Repair Cafés Can Save the World alongside Andreas Kopp and Rafael Calado from Repair Café Lisboa. We explored how to start, sustain, and connect Repair Cafés across regions and the role they play in circularity, empowerment, and community resilience.

The evening ended with the Conquer the Castle Party, complete with traditional Czech music, brilliant views of the city, and lots of maker chat.


Continue reading “From Vienna to FAB25: A Maker’s Journey Continues”

Aquarium Automation

Check out this cool aquarium project by our member Hussam. This is an aquaponics project called ”PIPONIC”. The system can be monitored and controlled remotely. Aquaponics combines fish and plants in one self-sustaining setup. In this case, the fish and plants are goldfish and mint.


The system runs on a Raspberry Pi 3, with a few key components:
• A light sensor that turns on LEDs in the dark
• A 12V water pump that cycles on/off to keep the water moving;
• A MAX31865 sensor that monitors water temperature for the fish (16–24°C);
The system logs data to a CSV file and sends it to Hussams website via an API for real-time monitoring. A camera connected to the Pi allows a visual check the water level.


You can view the live system status here https://hussamalhayek.com/aquaponics-status/
View the full code + WordPress integration and more details here https://github.com/Hussam424/Piponics


Hussam is currently working on automating the water level and would love to team up with others to explore new ways to expand the system and make it even more sustainable and smart. TOG has been the perfect place to experiment, learn and share creative ideas about projects like this. The aquarium is in our kitchen in the space. You can usually find Hussam at Electronics Night on Mondays. Feel free to drop by if you’d like to chat, share ideas, or collaborate on improving the system!

Classic Car Tinker Day at TOG

Own a classic car or thinking about getting one? Join us at TOG Hackerspace for a special tinker day dedicated to classic car enthusiasts. It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow owners, share advice, and check out the workshop facilities we have on offer.

This free, open session is all about bringing like-minded people together. While access to group tools like welders and saws is limited to members, we want to give visitors a full tour of the space, chat about what’s possible, and spark ideas for future collaboration.

We don’t have a car lift (yet), but we do have a good selection of gear to support small jobs, including metal car ramps, axle stands, general hand tools, and some specialist equipment, such as a lathe.

Feel free to bring along your classic car and any bits you’re working on. Whether you’re mid-restoration or just want to talk shop, you’re very welcome.

When: Saturday 19th July 2025 from 3 pm to 6 pm
Where: TOG Hackerspace, near the Red Cow, behind Mr Price
Eircode: D12 CF6V – https://www.tog.ie/location

Stick around afterwards for our monthly open social night from 7 pm to 11 pm. We’ll have homemade pizza fresh from our DIY oven and plenty of good company. There’s loads of free parking available on site.

Hope to see you there!

Build Your Own RISC-V Computer – Olimex RVPC Workshop

Have you ever wanted to build your own computer from scratch? Now’s your chance! Join us in Tog Hackerspace on Saturday, 16th of August, for a hands-on workshop where you’ll solder and program your very own Olimex RVPC kit — a compact and open hardware RISC-V computer.

🕙 Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm💰 Cost: €25 per person (plus booking fee)

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/build-your-own-risc-v-computer-olimex-rvpc-workshop-tog-hackerspace-tickets-1446556703039?aff=oddtdtcreator

🔧 What You’ll Be Doing

  • Solder up the Olimex RVPC kit – don’t worry if you’re a beginner, we’ll guide you through it.
  • Program and run your new computer using an open-source RISC-V CPU.
  • Get an introduction to low-level programming and system setup on an open hardware platform.

💡 What’s Included

We’ll provide:

  • The full RVPC kit from Olimex
  • USB-C power cable
  • PS/2 to USB adapter

🧰 What to Bring

  • A laptop
  • A USB or PS/2 keyboard
  • A VGA monitor and VGA cable (if possible – we’ll have a couple on hand but not enough for everyone)

Whether you’re a hardware hacker, a Linux tinkerer, or just curious about the future of computing with RISC-V, this workshop is a great way to learn by doing. Spaces are limited, so grab your spot while you can!

Come solder, learn, and leave with a computer you built yourself.