Sylvain Miermont @miermont@qoto.org

Does that seems like a workable solution? Has it already be done? Does something better already exists? What do you think @jrsikken @SexyCyborg @arturo182 @blitzcitydiy @timonsku ?

I've made a small schematic of the idea, representing 6 desks, from 'A' to 'F'. Desks B+C and D+E are mobile, guided by high rails, with wheels on the floor, connected to mains + networking from ceiling junction boxes. Desks A and F are fixed, and suitable for plumbing, hoods with extraction, etc.

Assuming 90cm deep and 2m wide desks, a 90cm "alley" to roll through with a desk chair and a 90cm "access" alley on one side of the room, that would result in 10.8m² of usable desk space + many cubic meter of accessible storage in a 18.3m² room.

So, for all those different tasks and tools, having dedicated desk space, or zones, seems really useful. But, unless you live in a large detached house or can rent additional space, it's hard to find room to fit all that.

Here's my proposal: assuming you're working alone, and nobody but you needs to simultaneously be in front of several of those desk areas, what if you used the principle used by high density shelf storage for your workshop? But instead of shelves, you have desks with storage space on top.

But wait, there's more!

As some of the #OSHW projects you've published (because, of course you do :wink:) generate interest :crossed_fingers:, you want some zone to do #smallBatchAssembly. *Just* some additional desk space for a manual stencil printer, some efficient way to do components placement (have you heard of PnPAssist? If not, https://hackaday.io/project/179878-pnpassist ), fore sure a hot plate or reflow oven, and hopefully a testing jig ✅ .

Also, because #DIY #electronics projects are rarely "just electronics" and need enclosures, you want space for a filament #3Dprinter, maybe also a resin one, with some dedicated "wet" zone for finishing, including a water source and sink. The sink is a must-have anyways if you want to etch some PCBs from time to time.
Sure, you can order low-cost high-quality #PCB online, but sometime you just need test some stuff *now* and a breadboard with loose wires is not good enough (RF, clocks, high-speed buses, noise-sensitive sensors, etc).

So far, so good, that can fit in a tight space.

Now you also want to have some desk space for one or two "ongoing projects" in various state of completion, or a disassembly/repair that won't be finished in a week-end. Or maybe some long-duration testing of one of your quasi-finished #project.
So, more "zones" needed because putting everything in and out of boxes would mean lots of "context switching", and squatting the living-room table is a sure way to irritate your partner/roommates/parents and get your project mariekondoed 🗑️ away.

I hope you're having a great Sunday, let me share an idea I got yesterday.

Let's say you're thinking of your next #electronicsLab. You have a space that can be kept reasonably dust free, and at a comfortable temperature, great. For starters, you want to have a zone for soldering and rework: ESD mat, soldering/desoldering station, binocular :microscope:, wire racks, the basics. You also want to have a zone for testing/flashing, with a PC, various power supplies, multimeters, oscilloscopes, and maybe some specialized equipment.

On December 1st, 16:00 German time, there will be a presentation on Lora application to Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) that could be relevant for lots of environmental monitoring projects happening in the wilderness.

It will be live on Youtube (possible to catch it later).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srTsFzihRWc

Time for a short #bookReview 📖

I finished reading #TheDawnOfEverything by D. #Graeber and D. #Wengrow.

It's quite a long book that took me way more than a month to go through, but worth the read and the last fifth of the book, post conclusion, is notes and references that can be skipped without losing too much. Overall very interesting, I warmly recommend it, even if some chapters were going a little too deep into the archeological record for my non-specialist tastes.

It was illuminating, specially as I had previously read #GunsGermsAndSteel by J. #Diamond and #Sapiens by Y. N. #Harari, both very popular books, and both adopting a very deterministic view of past human history.
I'm not 100% convinced by the interpretations of Graeber & Wengrow, but they appear to make a real honest effort at understanding our past, they base their reflections on recent archeological records, and present a much more nuanced "story of the human civilizations" than the previously cited books.

The book doesn't really provide any actionnable advice on how we should collectively go forward, but at least it tries to set the record straight on what was previously attempted ... with various level of success.

Did you know that #CO2 can be used as a #refrigerant gas in #heatPumps? And that it's very efficient at it.
It requires significantly higher pressures than typical refrigerants gas but it doesn't require a chemical plan to fiddle with fluorinated products, and that seems to be a huge plus. Also, it is cheap, guaranteed not to have any undesirable effect we might discover later, non-flammable, non-toxic and has a GWP of 1.

With a COP above 3, the global #efficiency of a combined-cycle methane power plant + transmission loss + point of use COP gives a higher efficiency than burning the methane directly even in the best furnace money can buy.
And we know very well how to store hot water, so spreading daily peak heat demand without massive *electricity* storage is much more feasible.

This weekend it's