December meeting

Malcolm Victory came along and told us how he has patented the adaptor he has designed for his for his rotary drier cover. Jed told us about his involvment with the proposed Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Michael Polley had some useful contributions, but most memorable was his recent experience of being involved in an aeroplane crash! Rick had some ideas to pass by us, including an idea for thermally sensitive clothing, and another idea for protecting frail people when they fall over. I got some advice about my software ( www.heeks.net ).

November meeting

Tonight we were Dan, Rick, Jed, Marcus, Malcolm White and Charles Penny. We mostly discussed ideas for the Upton flood defense. Malcolm also described some interesting uses of a MP3 voice recorder.

October meeting

Tonight we had a new member join; Rick. Also at the meeting were Marcus, Jed, Morris, Francis, Guy and me ( Dan ). Rick had some ideas about Upton flood defenses. Marcus has also thought about this a lot and had some drawings of his designs for a barrier.

September meeting

Tonight we were Dan, Geoff, Barry, Mike Dean, Gordon, Morris, Mike Redman, Guy, Chris Baddiley, Marcus, Ian.

August Meeting

There were only 5 or 6 of us.

July meeting

Tonight, we were: Dan Heeks ( me ), Guy Unwin, Gordon Heeks, Jed Marson, Marcus Cleaver, Ian Browse, Chris Baddiley. Chris told us how the view of the night sky in Mathon is superior to the view of the night sky in Malvern, because of the laminar airflow on the western side of the Malvern Hills. Also he talked about the Dyson desktop fan. I talked about my CAD/CAM software ( HeeksCAD ). Guy showed us some nice stainless steel frying trays. Gordon told us about SAS combat knives and described the correct way to kill a man. Jed suggested ways to capitalise on the club's assets and told us about his own situation regarding housing. Marcus showed us his low cost idea regarding food tins that don't stack on top of each other effectively.

June meeting

Tonight we were Mike Dean, Ced, Barry, Gordon, Mike Redman, Morris, Michael Polley, Francis, Me ( Dan ).
Mike Dean told us how he had motorised his satellite dish, so that he can adjust it from indoors. Ced asked for some advice about magnetism. Barry talked about lack of funding with his project. Gordon asked for advice about his can wall measuring work and Mike Dean told us about modulating lasers. Mike Redman brought in some water sensing cable. Morris asked us to consider various military problems. Michael mentioned his idea and I found a previous example on the internet, where someone has done the same thing, but I didn't find an actual product. Francis mentioned his project and funding. I told everyone about my milling and how I am going to Mach 2010 tomorrow. Mike was impressed with my Dell Mini 9 running Ubuntu and with mobile broadband.

May meeting

Sorry, I forgot to do a blog entry for April.

Tonight, we were Chris Baddiley, Marcus, Ian, Dan ( me ), Geoff Hawkesford, Guy, Francis, Mike Dean, Gordon, Ced, Morris, Jed.

Chris was only at the meeting for a few minutes, because he had to be somewhere.
Marcus had an interesting idea regarding food tins.
Ian had an interesting idea regarding silicon sealant tubes and Marcus told us his idea regarding epoxy adhesive.
I told everyone about my milling over the last few days.
Geoff asked me about my milling.
Guy told us about his latest product, oven roasting bags.
Francis had nothing to tell us, of his own, but he explained what a laser interferometer was, when asked.
Mike Dean was out of the room when it was his turn, and we may have forgotten to come back to him. He explained how frequency modulation is used in radar or laser distance measurement.
Gordon told us about his can wall measurement work.
Morris got us talking about improvised explosive devices and the war in Afghanistan.
Jed talked about investment for small businesses.

March meeting

We didn't have access to our normal room at the Malvern Hills Science Park, but we were allowed to use the canteen, which was perfect. I put a piece of paper on the front door telling people where we were, I hope nobody turned away without reading it. I brought some coffee and milk, but they had left coffee out for us. Attending this month were Peter Martin of Junkk.com, Mike Dean, Francis Wall, Gordon Heeks, Dan Heeks ( me ), Ced Jackson, Mike Redman, Jed Marson, Charles Penny. Peter told us about his "Re:tie" again, a clever little idea to re-use something we would normally throw away. Mike Dean told us a little of the history of stage coaches. Francis asked for advice about funding for his business plan, which Jed, Charles and Ced had some good advice about. Gordon told us about pre-historic Britain and tin mines. I showed my free CAD/CAM software ( http://code.google.com/p/heekscnc/ ) and got a lot of suggestions from Jed and Charles. Ced didn't have anything to ask advice about, which was lucky because I had used up the last of the time of the meeting with my turn! Mike Redman told those few remaining about his success with damping the sound from an extractor fan in his house, which had been annoying his wife. I forgot to take a picture of the meeting so here is a picture of my software.

February Meeting

We had a new member join us; Chris Baddiley ( on the right of the picture ), an astronomer and physicist. Guy Unwin was there and showed us his new products including a silicone coated mat which can be used on a tray to stop things sliding, or as a dashboard mat. There was various advice asked for, especially about home insulation and Marcus Cleaver had most of the answers. Ced Jackson showed us the electronic dowsing rod that Barry Dawson made for him, like he said he would. Michael Polley's problem related to cats got us all thinking again, but we are no closer to a solution for it.

January Meeting

The library event was a success. See here.
We had two new members come to this month's meeting; Roger and Ced, but this picture is of Jed and Francis.Around the table were Me ( Dan ), Roger, Ira, Francis, Barry, Ced, Mike, Michael, Jed, Guy.
We all got the chance to talk about our projects and get advice from each other. I asked for some more advice about my bath safety project. Roger told us about his ideas, including an idea for a website. Ira's idea would be amazing, if it works, but it needs a working model to prove the idea. Barry said he would make a prototype for Ced's dowsing idea. Michael was looking for solutions for a problem related to cats. Jed praised everyone's ideas and offered help to bring them to market. Guy showed us his latest products including low-cost microwaveable vegetable steaming bags.

I collected membership fees from most people.