[Swansea Hackspace] Open Source Hardware Camp 2026 — Sat 29/08 & Sun 30/08, Hebden Bridge

[Andy Bennett]

Hello,

I'm pleased to announce that we have a total of 11 talks and 3 workshops 
confirmed for Open Source Hardware Camp 2026!

As in previous years, there will be a social event on the Saturday 
evening.

Cheers,
Andy

  //


Open Source Hardware Camp 2026 — Sat 29/08 & Sun 30/08, Hebden Bridge

29th & 30th August at The Birchcliffe Centre, Birchcliffe Road, Hebden 
Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 8DG, UK.

Registration:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-source-hardware-camp-2026-tickets-1992209880381

Open Source Hardware Camp 2026 will take place in the Pennine town of 
Hebden Bridge, which is approximately 1 hour by rail from Leeds and 
Manchester. Budget accommodation is available at the Hebden Bridge IOU 
Hostel. Details of other local accommodation can be found at 
www.hebdenbridge.co.uk and via Airbnb and Booking.com etc.

There will be a social event on Saturday evening from 7PM.

Any questions should be directed to the Discussion List.

   Open Source Hardware Camp 2026 is dedicated to the memory of Ken Boak 
(1966-2026), a founding member of the group, a prolific contributor and 
a good friend to many.

*** Saturday :: Talks ***

— Technical Cartoons for Fun (and Profit?)

What happens if you combine a traditional text book, a bunch of hand 
drawn diagrams, and a cartoon robot?

Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) has a reputation as one of the more 
mysterious electronics subjects. This project is an attempt to make 
learning about this subject more intuitive and fun through the power of 
cartoons.

In this talk, James will touch on the subject of Electro-Static 
Discharges (ESD), inspirations behind this project, different learning 
styles, the self-publishing process, and lessons learned along the way.

* James Pawson is an electronics engineer, trainer, practitioner of the 
dark arts (EMC), and now author.

— Clean-room reverse engineering the ATTiny 1-series On Chip Debugging 
peripheral

The 1-series is a range of ATtiny microcontrollers released by Microchip 
in 2016. They contain an avrxmega3 CPU and a UPDI interface for 
programming and debugging. The vendor datasheet for the part documents 
the UPDI protocol and provides information to use the Chip Erase, NVM 
programming and User Row Programming functionality. The information 
provided also allows the interactive reading and writing of the entire 
CPU Data Space, which allows host-side interaction with main memory and 
the on chip peripherals. As a result, these features are all well 
supported in open source tools.

Finally, the UPDI chapter of the datasheet promises a range of debugging 
features including hardware breakpoints, run-time readout of program 
counter, stack pointer and CPI status registers for code-profiling and 
program flow control (go, stop, reset, step into). However it is silent 
on the details required to make use of them.

In this talk Andy will explain how he reverse engineered the On Chip 
Debugger to write a datasheet that has been used to implement a GDB 
Server for these devices.

* Andy Bennett is a highly skilled technologist, business leader, 
entrepreneur and problem solver with almost 20 years experience working 
in technology. He has worked in a wide variety of industries including 
government, finance, higher education and consumer electronics.

He has a passion for new technologies and has often been at the 
forefront of pioneering research, development and new product launches, 
offering both strategic oversight and hands-on development.

— A tale of two tiles: custom chips at home

Open source silicon provides ordinary people with an opportunity to 
manufacture real chips! Hundreds of people have made their own designs, 
but what does the journey look like? This talk will cover the who, what, 
how and why of the process, with a look at two of Kristaps’ own 
submissions and a light dive into tools that make it possible.

* Kristaps Jurkans is a recent graduate of the University of Lincoln, an 
open source hardware and software enthusiast, and a big fan of 
disassembling anything just to learn more about it.

— What does the future hold for an electronics engineer in the age of 
AI?

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you 
will have noticed that the world is changing at an unprecedented pace. 
The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) is impacting all areas of 
knowledge work, doubly so for technology related roles.

So, what does the future hold for an engineer as we move into this new 
era? In this talk we will take a look at some exploratory work Alan has 
been performing over the last year or so to see what's possible with 
LLMs in the open source hardware space, and what this might mean for the 
future of open engineering in general. We will look at some of the tools 
that are already available, and some of the exciting possibilities that 
are on the horizon. We will also discuss some of the challenges that we 
will need to overcome in order to fully realize the quality, educational 
and productivity benefits emerging in OSHW. So, if you are an 
electronics engineer, a hobbyist or just interested in the future of 
open source hardware, this talk is for you!

* Alan Wood has been working with embedded electronics and FPGAs for 
many years. His recent work includes smart grids, 3D printers, robotics, 
automation biotec diagnostics, flow computation, measurement and multi 
protocol integration. His current research is focused on multilayer 
concurrency, mixed language models for complex systems, linux and Rust 
based embedded development, realtime testing, capture and analysis. He 
is a long term advocate of open source communities, previously a 
moderator (aka Folknology) for xCORE, the co-founder of myStorm open 
hardware FPGA community, as well as a co-founder of Surrey and Hampshire 
Makerspace.

— RISC-V — the road to ubiquity

Systems based on the open source RISC-V instruction set architecture are 
becoming more available and popular in both MCUs and SOCs. The MCU 
ecosystem is already well developed, but SOCs have greater dependencies, 
and software stacks that have only recently been marked as production 
ready. As always happens with new stuff, the hardware people are waiting 
for broader software support, and the software people are waiting for a 
larger hardware installed base. This talk will examine the forces that 
are driving RISC-V forward, and what still needs to happen for RISC-V 
SOCs to go mainstream.

* Chris Swan is a long term member of the OSHUG community, and past 
speaker on security, homebrew projects and the Open Compute Project. In 
his Engineer role at Atsign he’s been involved in bringing RISC-V 
support for the Dart programming language into Docker official images. 
That’s given him a front row seat to how hardware and software have been 
developing over the past few years. Chris contributes to the broader 
community as a Google Developer Expert (GDE), InfoQ editor and co-host 
for the Tech Debt Burndown Podcast.

— Emulating the great machines of the past!

There are now many excellent software emulations of early systems such 
as the PDP-8 and PDP-11 and as such they work well and support the 
various operating systems and applications.

However, the excitement of operating the functioning front panel cannot 
be beaten! The range of DEC machines now available as functioning 
replicas will be shown and the techniques used to emulate both the 
software and hardware will be discussed.

* Kevin Murrell is a retired software industry entrepreneur. He 
co-founded The National Museum of Computing with Tony Sale in 2005. He 
is the author of several books on the history of British computing and 
is an authority on early home computing. He is a committee member of the 
Computer Conservation Society and serves as editor of its journal, 
Resurrection.

— This is Not a Chip Butty, but bare silicon needs COB and a PCB, Dave

Getting custom, open-source silicon back from the foundry is amazing, 
but a piece of silicon won't do much without connectivity. This talk 
offers a look into the practicalities of getting bare, open-source die 
connected to the PCB using Chip-on-Board (COB) wire bonding.

While COB is a standard industry process, most factories expect 
automated, high-volume runs. When you turn up with an artisanal batch of 
assorted chips, things can get somewhat experimental.

We will dive into how multiple Open Source ASIC project die were bonded 
to boards, the physical realities of the assembly process, and the fun 
to be had along the way.

* Stuart Childs has spent the last decade working directly with 
factories in China, acting as the glue between the clever people and the 
manufacturing hubs that can make the things. Before diving into 
industrial production, Stuart was a member of the UK Maker Belt and 
wider UK Maker scene, increasingly bringing colour, silliness, and fun 
to the workplace. As a member of Tiny Tapeout and a long-term Wuthering 
Bytes attendee, he combines a passion for open-source hardware with the 
joy of working with others on unusual projects.

— A Multi-Function Instrument for School Physics Experiments

An overview of school physics apparatus shows that much can be traced 
back to the work of the Nuffield Science Teaching Project in the 1960’s. 
Modern equivalents, having no other commercial use, are expensive. 
Off-the-Shelf commercial instruments are a poor match to educational 
requirements. Solutions using general purpose computers raise many IT 
support problems in a school environment.

The multi-function instrument can replace several separate instruments. 
The emphasis is on suitability for the school environment: robust, 
simple to use, and lacking extra features that serve little pedagogical 
purpose.

The objective is to produce an open hardware and software design that 
can be easily reproduced by others or form the basis for alternative 
variations.

* Alan Bernard. After an apprenticeship with Thorn Electrical Industries 
leading to a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Bradford 
University Alan joined a small company where he designed nucleonic 
equipment, electronic organs, and apparatus for the Nuffield Physics 
Project. After running his own business manufacturing instrumentation 
for the wire-drawing industry he joined ITT developing liquid crystal 
displays. This led to him designing Public Information Displays for 
airports, bus and train stations, and on-board trains. Finally, he 
worked as a physics technician at Bradford Grammar School; a position he 
held for 12 years before retiring at age 72.

— Powering Your Home With Your Car

How to utilise your very own Big Battery for '1/10th' the price of a 
"Home Power Wall". (The car comes for free!)

This adventure takes low cost overnight “off-peak” electricity, and the 
occasionally available zero cost excess grid electricity. By utilising 
the woefully underutilised battery in my EV, it is possible to then 
power a home each day with those low cost electrons to avoid the much 
more expensive non-off-peak electrons. Except… There are no UK agreed 
standards for doing that yet. Here is a personal all-Open-Source story 
for economically connecting a home to a Big Battery on wheels.

* Martin Lomas has followed the world of computers since the beginnings 
of the home computer revolution in the UK. He gained degrees in Computer 
Engineering and subsequently Computer Systems Design. At Fujitsu he 
worked on, at the time, the world’s largest Application Specific 
Integrated Circuit ICs. He moved back to academia to develop cutting 
edge Scanning Probe Microscopes for biophysical investigations at the 
dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Nottingham, gaining 
his PhD.

Martin then supported a multinational pharma research company for all 
their open source server and computing needs, becoming their IT 
Director. Since then, he works for himself. More recently, he is 
considering his next career adventure! Especially, he enjoys making new 
things and making them work well! He also enjoys hiking, beer, wine, 
cheese, and the world of Linux. His interests span across technology and 
science, and computing and the ongoing old/new phenomenon now marketed 
as “AI”.

— FreeCAD Improvements and Exciting Uses

FreeCAD, the open source CAD package for mechanical engineering and 
more, has had heaps of development in the last few years. Whilst we 
aren't quite at the "replace Catia or Solidworks in all sectors" tipping 
point yet we have lots more users, a better (but by no means perfect) 
user experience and we are beginning to see FreeCAD getting used in all 
manner of cutting edge use cases.

In this talk Jo will quickly run through some of the developments and 
explore why it might be worth people who previously didn't enjoy FreeCAD 
to take another look. We'll blast by some high end applications of 
FreeCAD such as computational fluid dynamics, multi body dynamics and 
FEA and also squint at some interesting projects undertaken by 
organisations you might not at first glance think would use FreeCAD! 
I'll throw in some fun aspects of the community development and talk 
about FreeCAD's upcoming (but hopefully delivered by the time this talk 
takes place) first round of their global open source hardware design 
competition!

* Jo Hinchliffe is a freelance technical writer and community developer 
working across a variety of technical sectors with a passion for open 
source.

Jo is the author of FreeCAD for Makers, a well received book from the 
Raspberry Pi Press covering beginner and intermediate level usage of 
FreeCAD. Also on the Raspberry Pi Press Jo has authored “Design an 
RP2040 Board with KiCad” which not only covers the basics of designing a 
PCB for fabrication, it goes on to cover automated assembly services, 
virtual warehousing and more.

In article form Jo has written for many platforms, these include 
multiple STEM/STEAM articles for the American magazine Kids Code and 
Computer Science, these articles range from tutorials on micro 
controller projects, to fun maths activities and articles highlighting 
historic STEM figures. For the Raspberry Pi Press magazines Jo has 
written dozens of articles and features. Often his own projects, these 
have included a wide variety of subjects, wooden boat building, an open 
source carbon fibre filament winding machine, watch making, cable lacing 
in space, and much more. A somewhat complete list of articles can be 
found here. Toms Hardware, Jo has written numerous articles for Toms 
Hardware including a series on basic use of the Linux terminal.

Finally when Jo isn’t writing for his paid clients he can currently be 
found writing, designing and publishing a free and open source magazine 
of his own called SOURCE.

— Open Wetware: How a bioart project inspired a biopunk future

This talk will summarise the current trend in biodesign/art to open 
source 'recipes', through the lens of a recent art project Phycologica, 
which attempted rather foolishly to reimagine a LCD screen made out of 
algae.

While I wouldn't recommend anyone else reproducing our design- it would 
just lead to more ewaste- I believe there was still great value in the 
process of doing this project and in sparking imagination. This was 
never intended to be rebuilt in its current form.

Through preparing this talk I would like to explore, while documenting 
the important bits of the project - the recipes, the care guide, the 
ethics, what is the value of documenting a project like this? I am also 
interested in exploring the documentation itself as an artwork- beyond 
the original piece.

We won't reach a more technologically sustainable (solarpunk) future 
without community collaboration and sharing- the exact ethos of open 
source hardware. Therefore I propose that the goal of documenting this 
project will be to collate a library of alternative, bio appropriate 
technologies that are more aligned to a sustainable society that we want 
to see in the future.

Jon Somerscales is an Experience Designer & Interaction Prototyper 
researching novel interactions and regenerative design that could 
highlight better outcomes for us and the planet through a critical 
making practice. His interactive design work spans digital software, 
services and installations.

Studio Blue Green's Phycologica artwork is a collaboration between Jon 
Somerscales and Andrew Stone. Studio Blue Green aims to Amplify and 
recenter living systems through experience design and creative 
technology, creating impactful, planet-first interventions, encouraging 
environmental stewardship and ecological consciousness.

// Compered by: Kevin Murrell //

Swap Table

Due to popular demand there will once again be a swap table at Open 
Source Hardware Camp, where delegates can bring along surplus 
components, dev kits and (smaller!) unfinished projects to give away and 
swap with others.

Please note that larger items such as VDUs and printers must not be 
brought along and any unwanted items must be removed at the end of the 
day!

ITEMS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, 
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY 
AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL 
THE ORGANISERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, 
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, 
PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR 
PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF 
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING 
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF ITEMS 
RECEIVED, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

*** Sunday :: Workshops ***

— Practising the use of LLMs with open source electronics projects

This workshop will explore some hands-on use of some of the emerging 
tools, LLMs and strategies for using them in the engineering space. We 
will play with some of what is already available, and explore exciting 
possibilities on the horizon. We will also discuss common challenges 
that we need to overcome including pitfalls, risks and limitations. So, 
if you are a practicing hardware/firmware engineer, or hobbyist, this 
workshop gives you an opportunity to tinker with the OSHW future.

Participants should bring:

     - A laptop.

Hosted by: Alan Wood.

— Retro Computing Simulation

Some of us hanker after an original minicomputer with all the switches 
and lights but no longer have access to the hardware. Indeed, few of us 
have the space required to recreate installations from those early days 
when disk drives were the size of washing machines!

There are excellent software emulations of many of these early systems, 
but the excitement of operating a functioning front panel cannot be 
beaten!

We expect to be demonstrating the following running replicas:

    - Wireless World Computer
    - Raspberry Pi based PDP-1, PDP-8, PDP-11 and the PDP-10
    - FPGA-based LGP-30
    - FPGA-based PDP-8
    - IMSAI 8080

We will show the systems running and welcome user interaction. So, get 
out the old CP/M handbook and the DEC Introduction to Programming and 
off we go!

Participants should bring:

    - A laptop.

Hosted by: Kevin Murrell.

— The Project Salon

The project salon is part show and tell and part project clinic, which 
will provide an opportunity to discuss projects and share skills and 
experience with fellow OSHCamp delegates. For example, this might be 
showing off your latest creation, sharing details of a neat hack, or 
seeking advice on a particularly tricky problem which has brought your 
project to a standstill.

Rod Moody will be bringing along Raftabar — the autonomous robot which 
made its debut at OSHCamp 2024 — and sharing details of numerous 
upgrades made over the past few years.

Short presentations are welcome and if using slides these should be in 
PDF or OpenDocument Presentation format.

Participants should optionally bring:

    - A project. Exercise common sense! E.g. nothing large or dangerous 
etc.
    - Slides (PDF or OpenDocument Presentation format).

Hosted by:

* Andy Bennett.

* Rod Moody was born in 1940 and at 15 years of age started an 
electrical engineering apprenticeship with Dale Electric, a manufacturer 
of diesel-engine driven electrical generators ranging from a few kW to a 
few MW, for both base load and standby applications. Through day release 
and night class he gained an HNC in electrical engineering, and at the 
age of 19 was appointed to the post of Test Department Manager. He went 
on to become Electrical Engineering Manager responsible for running the 
design office and designing control systems using relay logic, and 
following which Engineering Director.

In 1992, at 52 years of age Rod joined Deep Sea Electronics as their 
Engineering Manager. DSE were quite small at that time and using 
through-hole technology, but with improved product design and the 
introduction of SMT production they grew very rapidly over the eight 
years before Rod retired in 2000 at 60 years of age. DSE is now the 
leading supplier of microprocessor based controllers to generating set 
manufacturing companies worldwide.

In retirement Rod spends most of his spare time with projects involving 
mechanics, electronics, and software using the Raspberry Pi and Arduino 
microcontrollers. He continues to be a keen gardener as he has been from 
an early age, has a keen interest in all aspects of science and 
engineering, and is currently leader of the York U3A Science & 
Engineering World group.


NOTE:

There are separate tickets for Saturday and Sunday.
A light lunch will be provided each day.
Please aim to arrive between 09:00 and 09:15 on the Saturday as the 
event will start at 09:20 prompt.




-- 
andyjpb at ashurst.eu.org
http://www.ashurst.eu.org/
http://www.gonumber.com/andyjpb
0x7EBA75FF