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SparkFun will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th to support our team in being able to go out and vote! Orders placed after 2 pm MT Monday, November 4th will ship on Wednesday, November 6th. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
The time has finally come - Maker Faire New York is this weekend, September 17th and 18th. That means the SparkFun crew is about to head out to the "city that never sleeps" for some good ol' fashioned Maker Faire madness. We hope that we see a lot of you out there. In case you are heading out, check out this map for our booth location:
Click on the map for a larger version of the whole area.
See us there, down in the corner by the train tracks? We are also near the hackerspaces, which is pretty awesome. We are excited to meet with our customers, check out some awesome projects, and hold a few of our famous soldering workshops. Once again we'll be asking for donations, this time to benefit two local charities - Expanding Your Horizons and the Food Bank for New York City. This year we are bringing four kits - the Big Time Kit (SparkFun's own DIY watch), the Multimeter Kit, the ever-popular Simon PTH, and the Weevil Eye (a DIY night-light and e-textiles kit that responds to how dark the room is).
We are really excited to head out to NYC for the weekend and we hope many of you can come. Make sure to swing by our booth to take a soldering class, get some swag, or just have a chat. While we are at it, what should we do while we are in the city? We won't have a ton of free time, but are there any great restaurants or bars in Queens we can't miss? Hidden sights to see? Let us know in the comments! Cheers!
You guys should come to the Maker Faire here in the UK
The Faire was awesome, thanks guys! Do you guys plan on posting the source code for big time?
Had a great time this weekend at Maker Faire, wish I had more time to spend talking to people!
We weren't able to do the SparkFun soldering kits, due to the line. I wanted to order the BigTime and the Weevil Eye, do you guys offer the Weevil Eye on your site? I didn't see it.
- Keep up the great work!
I don't see the Big Time either, do you sell either of these on the site?
I believe this is the Big Time kit:
Time Watch Kit
Thanks for finding that one for me!
Doesn't the Big Time kit that was at the Faire use an ATMEGA, and this one uses a PIC?
I appreciate the help!
Aha, good eye. Turns out there's a new one coming that is just like the one brought to Maker Faire! I have no idea when it will actually show up on the site, though.
Please, please, please, do at least a few SMD soldering classes next time. I was really hoping for those. For many of us, PTH is old hat, but I'd love to learn SMD....
I was at the MakerFaire. Did a round to see what everyone brought - had to go back to SparkFun for a solder class; donation to a worthy cause + kit = awesome time!
Not sure who was who(or even MakerFaire volunteers or SparkFun employees), but all were very friendly and helpful!
I had the best time today at the Sparkfun Makerfaire area! I learned how to solder and created the "big time" watch. :)
No need to leave that area of the city for excellent food. Try sripraphai, they are on the 7 line. Their Thai food is good enough for manhanttanites to make the trek to qns. King of corona ices is in walking distance from maker fair. There are also wonderful taco trucks under the 7 train on roosevelt near junction. I am excited to check out your tent on Sunday!
I will be bringing my Wife, Sister, and two friends from Rochester, NY! Can't wait!
So, stupid question...do you guys actually bring some of your stock to MF, or just the abovementioned kits?
I HIGHLY recommend an excellent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art called "Talk To Me: Design and the Communication Between People and Objects." The perfect intersection between Sparkfun and Contemporary Art/Design.
NYTimes called it "one of the smartest design shows in years — by which I mean that it’s intelligent but also that it’s made for the texting, tweeting, social-networking, app-downloading, smartphone-wielding museumgoer."
One example: The EyeWriter. It was inspired by a paralyzed graffiti artist and it transforms ocular movements into drawings.
MoMA is located in midtown Manhattan at 11 W 53rd st btw 5th and 6th ave off of the E train. (35 min. from Flushing)
open everyday 1030am - 530pm except tues
NY Times review: http://tinyurl.com/3rn3bnb
Hey Sparkfun check out my book while you are there. The Apress booth "Practical Arduino Engineering."
My daughter and I are so excited to be going. We love NYC but we love being a maker even more. See you all there.
Queens has got to be the most ethnically diverse place in the world. I am not kidding. It beats LA in the number of different kinds of ethnic food available per block because LA ethnic restaurants tend to be more spread out.
Prepare to have your minds blown, food-choice-wise.
Other stuff? There is a HUGE Korean sauna/spa in Queens that I've never been to that is supposed to be incredible. I forget its name.
Brooklyn has a big surplus/electronics store.. Leeds electronics..
NYC used to be electronics heaven when I was a little kid but the building of the WTC destroyed the part of the Canal Street neighborhood that had the highest density of electronics stores (the western part) I would still visit Canal Street but the electronics mecca aspect of it is long over.. There are several electronics related stores.. a neat, VERY high density electronics parts store in the back of another store.. A store that JUST sells CCTV and other surveillance equipment..Lots and lots of stores that sell cheap consumer electronics..fake handbags..etc. Please don't miss Canal Street just for its historic value.. Imagine dozens of stores selling every kind of part you can imagine in bins piled up to the ceiling, with not an inch to spare.. thats what it used to be like.. Mind blowing. US companies with their investor pressure for high yields feel consumer electronics isn't profitable enough, so a lot of the non-military activity has shifted to Asia now.
I hope all of you have a great time while visiting the Big Apple.
OMG, you want good food REALLY close to the Maker Faire!?
Go to the Jackson Hole (Astoria Blvd location). It is literally 5 minutes from Maker Faire.
http://www.jacksonholeburgers.com/
They have THE BEST burgers in the world. They say they are 7oz burgers, but I'd say it's pretty close to 16oz AFTER they are cooked. HUGE and Delicious!
P.S. they have a ton of other non-beef items for non-beef eaters. Excellent food.
As a UWYO alumnus, I approve of the name and logo of this establishment.
Must go to Feast of San Gennaro - Little Italy - Check it out.
Wish I could join you guys... have a hot dog on me !
Why leave Queens? The 7 train takes you from the Maker Faire to real Latin, Thai, Indian or Chinese food in mere minutes - twice as good and half the price for what you'd find in Manhattan. Flushing/Main Street for Chinatown; 74th and Broadway for Indian. There's good Mexican food right in Corona, if that's where you're staying. DO NOT waste your time traveling to Little Italy in Manhattan - it's been decades since that was a good idea.
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2011/08/street-food-us-open-where-to-eat-corona-flushing-queens.html#continued
O hell yes! :P I will surely attend!
I suggest you do the obvious walk in central park. Warning, it is seriously huge, so plan your walk accordingly. It will take easily more than a day to walk from the south to the north of central park.
SHAKE SHACK! You have to try it at least once, especially if you come to New York rarely. The lines are usually long depending on which you go to, but it is very organized, and the food is delicious. They give you extra cheese with cheese fries, so you can dip your burger in it. Heart attack, mm :P
All of those are in manhatten though. :(
will come by on Saturday.
any chance of a solder paste workshop?
Not this time, I'm afraid - there is just not enough room. You could always come to SparkFun HQ!
For dinner, Carmine's, www.carminesnyc.com, 200 West 44th Street, is one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.
For drinks, McSorley's Old Ale House, www.mcsorleysnewyork.com, 15 East 7th Street, is a must see. It's one of the city's oldest bars and has a great old-Irish charm to it.
See you guys this weekend!
For Italian, I'll challenge anyone to beat Luna, on Mulberry just north of Canal. It's a little hole in the wall, authentic, and populated by Italians. It's not the flash of a lot of the other restaurants in Little Italy which cater to tourists.
Didn't Luna close some time ago? Think there's a souvenir shop there now.
I love the symbol just above the "Music Stage" :P
Yay! Sparkfun leaves the confines of the west!
Doesn't look like I'm gonna get to go. Guess I'll have to wait 'til next year. * sob * whaaa... ;_;
Jump in a cab, head into the city. Have dinner at Mary Anns, Corner 2nd Av and 5th street, http://maryannseastvillage.com/ , start the night with a pitcher of frozen.
Walk to 1st Av between 9th and 10th, check out Coyote Ugly, and finish the night at Joes, 6th street between A and B. Late night supper at 7A, conveniently located at the corner of 7th St and A.
Then Drunkenly pay a cab driver $30 to take you back to Queens, and expense the whole night ! Warning take lots of cash !
Ima comin' who on your staff can be expected to attend
There will be 25 of us there from a variety of departments - swing by and say hey!
alright! i will! see you in NY
Ill come by and introduce myself
Where are the times for the various workshops? I'm bringing the kids (2) in and want to be sure they hit this up!!
We'll be running the workshops from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. We'll be admitting people to the workshops on a rotating basis as the solder stations open up - so feel free to stop by anytime!
Hope you can come to Mini Maker Faire in Oakland, CA next month.
Details?
Sunday, Oct 16, 10a - 5p
http://ebmakerfaire.wordpress.com/