TX/RX Labs (Houston Hackerspace) United States of America
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About TX/RX Labs (Houston Hackerspace) USA
TX/RX Labs is a non-profit hackerspace dedicated to expanding the knowledge of our members and community. We are located near downtown Houston and are always excited to have the opportunity to teach and collaborate with others.
Contact information for TX/RX Labs
- Website: http://txrxlabs.org/
- IRC: irc://irc.freenode.net/#txrxlabs
- E-mail: txrxlabs@gmail.com
- Mailinglist: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/txrxlabs
- Address: 2010 Commerce St., Houston, TX 77002
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65203885425
- Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/TXRXLabs/
- Wiki: http://txrxlabs.org/wiki/
Our Goals
- Our goals are to bring creative people together, to serve as an incubator for free thought and inquiry, to produce art, inventions, consumables and ideas that challenge convention, solve problems and create a meaningful community in the process.
Where to sign up
- You can become a member by coming to one of our Open House Friday’s and telling Patrick (our Treasurer and President) or James (our Director) that you want to be a member. The membership fee gets you access to tools, collective wisdom, and a racous list-serve! We have been known to stay late and turn the volume to eleven. We look forward to welcoming you to Tx/Rx Labs.
Why Help?
- Imagine how much innovation could occur if the creative community in Houston had access to the tools needed to bring its ideas to fruition. We believe that we must revive the tradition of design and manufacturing in America after decades of neglect and decline. Many of America’s greatest industries began in inspired moments in garage workshops. We hope to provide you with that workshop.
How to Help
- Become a member. Our greatest resource is the diversity and creativity of our members, and we are always open to new perspectives and disciplines.
Volunteer!
- We need people to help spread the word about what we are trying to do. Email us at txrxlabs@googlegroups.com or visit us on Open House Fridays and we will find a way for you to help.
Make a donation.
- We are currently trying to move to a bigger space, and have started a Kickstarter project to help generate the cash we need to make the big move. Please go to the webpage (http://kck.st/d2plX0) and show your support for what we do.
- Donate tools, computers, electronics. Have a tool you don’t use that often? We can use it!
Tools available at TX/RX Labs (Houston Hackerspace)
by KINGJACOB
- TXRX Labs has an ever growing array of tools and facilities for use in endeavors which further our mission of improving ourselves and the community. As a non-profit we are always seeking donations of new/used/repairable equipment to help us obtain new capabilities, our list of wanted items can be found at the bottom of this page, if you have any of these items please consider making a charitable donation to the lab.
3D Printing Lab
- Cupcake 3D Printer (Extrusion)
- 2 Mendel 3D Printers (Extrusion)
- 3D Workstation (Blender, Art of Illusion, Skienforge)
Electronics Lab
- Multiple Oscilloscopes
- Spectrum Analyzer
- OpenBench Logic Analyzer
- Bus Pirate
- Bench Power Supplies
- Function Generator
- Soldering Station
- Reflow Workstation
- PCB Mill
- AVR Programmer/JTAG
Machine/Metal Shop
- Okuma LC-30 CNC Lathe
- Powerhawk/Burgmaster 3 axis CNC Vertical Mill
- Tree 3 axis CNC Vertical Mill
- Drill Press
- Dry Cut Saw
- Abrasive Saw
- Plasma Torch/CNC Plasma Torch
- Mig/Tig/Stick Welders
- Oxy/Acyt Rig
- Band Saw
- Power tools (grinders/saws all etc)
Wood Shop
- Table Saw
- Router Table
- CNC Router
- Miter Saw
- Band Saw
- Power tools(Drills/routers/saws/sanders etc)
- Planer
- Biscuit Joiner
- Computing Lab
- 96 Blade Compuational Cluster
- 5 general use laptops
- Multitouch Surface
Bio/Chem Lab
- Coming Soon!
Items Needed
- Adjustable Height Workbench stools
- Shop Fan
- Copper Wiring
- Electrical Conduit
- LCD Monitors
- Shop Dust Collector
- Gas Cylinders
- Shop Air Compressor
- Lab Glassware
- Lighting
- Vibration Isolation Chamber
- Analytical Balance
- PCR Sequencer
- Garbage Cans
Recent Successful Projects at TX/RX Labs
Wall of Hack project milestone completed
- From the TX/RX website:
- The Wall of Hack project a RFID libe heartbeat visualizer that also serves to allow new members to learn the labs capabilities while also adding their own mark to the lab, has met its first Milestone Stage. Wanjun Zhang led up the prototyping of the first box which mean the pcb is being produced in-house to let us mount the smd components, the housing is being successfully 3d printed, the code to drive the I2C LED controller via bit-banging from an ATTiny13 is complete. Hopefully the first box will go up once the faceplate is done being milled this weekend.
- Images here.
- Project Outline here.
Soldering Success
From the TX/RX website:
- Our first soldering class was a huge success! We had tons of new people out to learn the basics and hopefully start a journey into creativity with electronics. The time flew by but by the end everyone was already pro, most of the participants assembled kits looked better than mine did which os probably a credit to how well James did at teaching. Hopefully the participants will have their interest piqued and continue on to some of our other courses. Dont worry if you missed out on this one there will be more intro classes coming up soon! You can check out more pictures of the event here.
Standing Events at TX/RX Labs (Houston Hackerspace)
- Monday
- Tuesday
- 5-11pm Tinker Time(Open Lab Hours)
- 8pm-till Locksport International
- Wednesday
- 5-11pm Tinker Time(Open Lab Hours)
- Thursday
- 7:30-11pm Desolder and a Movie
- Friday
- 7-11pm TX/RX Lab Open House (Food and Drinks!)
- Saturday
- 2-5pm (Last Sat of Month) Comp Sci @ TX/RX
- 6-9pm ARC Research Collaborative meeting(Bio/tech)
- Sunday
- 11-5pm Pancake Open Science Sunday! (Food and Drinks!)
Membership Levels at TX/RX Labs (Houston Hackerspace)
- If you’d like to become a member, please visit with one of us at our weekly Open House held each Friday at 2010 Commerce Street, Houston, Texas 77002. Members of TX/RX Labs enjoy varying access to the Lab depending on their membership level. All members must sign a liability waiver and agree to abide by all Lab policies. You may also sign up via paypal at txrxlabs.org/membership
“Amigotron” – $10/month, or one year for $100
- Support the endeavors of Tx/Rx Labs.
- Free access to Lab talks and events.
- Access to the TX/RX Labs private email list.
- Free TX/RX sticker and tooled keychain dongle!
“Tinkerer” – $25/month, or one year for $250
- Free access to Lab talks and events; discounted rate on workshops.
- Access to the TX/RX Labs private email list.
- Free accompanied access to the Lab, including weekly scheduled “Tinker Time.”
- One regular-sized personal storage drawer.
- Your own hacker handle prominently displayed on TX/RX Labs’ illustrious Wall of Hack.
- Free TX/RX sticker and tooled keychain dongle.
“Hacker” – $80/month, or one year for $800
- FULL-TIME STUDENT RATE – $50/month, or one year for $500
- Free access to Lab talks and events; discounted rate on workshops.
- Access to the TX/RX Labs private email list.
- Voting rights at TX/RX Labs member meetings.
- Lab key with 24/7 unaccompanied access to the Lab after an evaluation period.
- One large-sized personal storage shelf.
- Your own hacker handle permanently engraved on the infinitely awesome Wall of Hack.
- Free TX/RX sticker and tooled keychain dongle.
“Table Hacker” – $120/month or $1,200/year
- Due to high demand and limited space please inquire at txrxlabs@gmail.com for availability.
- Free access to Lab talks and events; discounted rate on workshops.
- Access to the TX/RX Labs private email list.
- Voting rights at TX/RX Labs member meetings.
- Lab key with 24/7 unaccompanied access to the Lab after an evaluation period.
- Your own private, dedicated work table for personal projects and storage.
- Your own hacker handle indelibly lazed on the arcane and terrifying Wall of Hack.
- Free TX/RX sticker and tooled keychain dongle.
Active Projects at TX/RX Labs
- Here is a link to a list of active projects at Houston Hackerspace, TX/RX Labs.
2 highly recommended novels for and about Hackers
If you are a hacker or just want to know more about hacker culture these two books are highly recommended.
- Read the Daemon novel by Daniel Suarez for a compelling and dramatic science fiction story of how hackers could lead society into a brighter future.
- The second novel in this series is Freedom (TM) by Daniel Suarez.
