My hacking week-end

Last week-end I participated in a hacking workshop for women only. Our boys were really upset about being excluded and I still don't quite understand why they weren't allowed to join. But apparently it's a way to get more women involved in electronics... Anyway. 

We didn't really have time to hack into any device, but we created some sound-guns as I call them. 

First step: electronics 

You can see a battery, a switcher, a speaker, lots of wires and other things. On the left is a light sensor, which defines the electronic sound: more light means a higher tone and the other way round. Typical girls: nobody, even the workshop organisers, knew how this electrical circuit works exactly, we just had a guide HOW to do it. I wasn't lucky, I was among the first ones to finish the circuit but mine just refused to work. So when everyone was nearly finished with designing, I still struggled with this part. After several hours, when I started replacing all elements, I discovered that the breadboard (the white base with holes) literally MELTED under one of the elements... 

Second step: design 

It didn't have to be martial, but since provided material for design consisted of pipes, it was meant to be. Yes, you probably could have made something like a flute... But it's so much fun to make a gun in terms of invading a public space.

Third step: testing in public 

On the second day, when everybody was finished (except for me, because my instrument refused to work when I just started designing the instrument, so I had to take someone else's gun), we went to a park and marched all the way through it like an army, annoying people who tried to enjoy their sunny Sunday. 

In the evening I decided to use the sound-gun to do the homework for a Friday course, where we have to intervene in a public space. Me and Maria went to a restaurant with our guns, ordered a coffee, chatted peacefully and then at some point turned the sound on... Five people left immediately, asking us if we both were ok. Another couple asked us afterwards, when our next performance would take place. All in all it felt unbelievably uncomfortable, because every one in the restaurant stared at us. No wonder, it was so loud, that they couldn't carry on with their conversations... But apart from that, nobody said anything, not even the staff. 

See where the university takes me... doing embarrassing things every week... 

Late in the evening of the same day I reconstructed the whole circuit once again from the scratch, but this time it worked, yey! In the morning I did the design. So, here it goes:  

Have a lovely day! I am off to the next workshop, this one is on pure data. Nick will have deepest sympathy for me, I'm sure. :)



P.S.: Here is a bit of embarrassement from the last week's homework: