A Monday morning chat (and maybe snack).

Join us on Monday, 11am @Moorabbin, for a social chat and a cuppa. Feel free to deliver a mini (very mini, just wing it!) delivery on anything that been keeping you engaged recently. That might be some travel photos or how you grafted the pear tree. That’s why we called it pot luck pics.

Microcontroller Discovery workshops

I have somewhat reluctantly, albeit with a sense of relief, decided to take a break from the microcontroller workshops. The reason is that I am going overseas on September 1 for 3 weeks, and there’s a pile of stuff I have to do to prepare. So right now, no head space to prepare further workshops (there’s quite a bit of prep required). But I’ll be back!

Do you like fixing things?

Did you attend the monthly meeting last (Wednesday) night? The guest presentation was largely about Repair Cafés.  A Repair Café is a place/event where people can take household items and get them repaired, maybe having a cuppa while they wait. We have done a couple of ad hoc repairs for members and non-members from time to time, in one case saving a local therapy business possibly hundred or thousands of dollars. So the thing is, we would like to see a path forward to initiating a Repair Café in the club. But we need people to come forward and offer their skills to make it happen. If you have a knack for fixing things, how about emailing me and offering to take part?

An email tip

A trick I have used for many years: If you have a gmail account, say your address is thatsme@gmail.com, and you sign up for something with a company you suspect may sell your emial address or flood you with spam, you can use an email address like

thatsme+dodgybrothers@gmail.com

If they spam you, you can go to your gmail account and set a filter to block their emails. Or if you get spam from someone else addressed to that unique address, you know who leaked or sold your address.

It’s called a disposible email address

David Stonier-Gibson

Click here for a compact tabular presentation of this month’s SIG events.

📌Essendon SIG

📅Friday 8/8/25 – 🕚Time: 9:30am to 11am – 📍Where: Hybrid at Nancye Kirchner Neighbourhood Centre

• Essendon SIG provides assistance with computer skills including word processing, spreadsheets, digital photography, music applications. multimedia, computer maintenance and product reviews.

Register here

 

📌Wadham House SIG

📅Friday 8/8/25 – 🕚Time: 10am to 11:30am – 📍Where: Wadham House

• As the topics and the type of meeting (in-person or hybrid) will vary, please register for the meetings to receive emails with details for each meeting.

Register here

 

📌Microcontroller Workshop SIG

📅Saturday 9/08/25 – 🕚Time: 11am to 4pm – 📍Where: Hybrid at the Headquarters

• We build all sorts of projects.That can be anything but usually based on Arduino, Raspberry Pi’s.
• 3D Printing projects.
• The Saturday Workshop is a great environment to talk about anything related to these projects, share ideas, help others etc… Bring your projects along!

Register here

 

📌CNC Project

📅Sunday 10/08/25 – 🕚Time: 12pm to 3pm – 📍Where: At the Headquarters

• This week – Continuing on with the project.
• To get email updates, join the mailing list by sending an email to cncproject@melbpc.org.au

Register here

 

📌Pot Luck Picks

📅Monday 11/8/25 – 🕚Time: 11am to 12pm  – 📍Where: At the Headquarters

• A Monday morning pickup to get your week moving.
• A group where members tell us about their latest project, interest, discovery, fun fact or anything you like. Just a talk or a full audio-visual demonstration. Whatever excites you. All in about 5 minutes.
• Come and join us at the club rooms in Warrigal Road. Bring your own lunch. Tea and Coffee provided.

Just show up

 

📌Investment Tools WASINT SIG

📅Tuesday 12/8/25 – 🕚Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm – 📍Where: Online

• Become more confident in the use of Web and software tools as part of your financial life. Join others, both at the monthly meeting and through the online Web board to share favourite sites and information sources in the exploding field of online financial information.
• Investment Tools Meetings are for general educational purposes and should not be considered as recommendations or financial advice.

Register here

 

Be Connected Learning

📅Wednesday 13/8/25 – 🕚Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm – 📍Where: At the Headquarters

• Tutoring for members of the public and Melb Pc members in digital literacy; use of smartphones, tablets and computers.

Just show up

 

📌3D Printing Group

📅Wednesday 13/8/25 – 🕚Time: 1pm to 3pm – 📍Where: At the Headquarters

• Join us and share successes and failures in the group. There is always something to learn.
• Suitable for beginners through to seasoned veterans. Just a love for 3D printing is all that is required.
• One of the projects we will be working on is building a “DIY Kit”  3D Printer CoreXY and learning Klipper.

Register here  I strongly recommend you call Mic to confirm, before rocking up. Number in registration page

 

📌Microcontroller SIG

📅Wednesday 13/87/25 – 🕚Time: 7pm to 9:30pm – 📍Where: Online

• We are microcontroller and Arduino enthusiasts. We also like to dabble in electronics and build things that go.

Register here

 

📌Sunbury Daytime SIG

📅Thursday 14/8/25 – 🕚Time: 9:30am to 12pm – 📍Where: At Hume Global Learning Centre

• The Sunbury Daytime SIG is providing support for advanced computer users and newcomers in a welcoming environment.

Register here

 

📌East SIG

📅Thursday 14/8/25 – 🕚Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm – 📍Where: Online

• At East SIG we provide an entertaining and informative session covering a range of computer topics for all levels; some from invited speakers and some from our own members.
• George Skarbek hosts the popular Q&A segment.

Register here

 

📌Spaces Online Chatroom

📅Always – 🕚Time: 31/7 – 📍Where: Online

• Informal discussion board covering a wide range of interests.
• Need advice on any computer related topic? Spaces has a Space for all the usual suspects – Windows, Microsoft 365, Email, Computer Help, Linux OS and Using Google.
• Then there is Chit Chat that can be about anything. Discuss the latest cars in Vehicles or your new hot water system in Home Energy. There are a lot of Spaces.
• Spaces is a private discussion board just for MelbPC Members. It can only be accessed with a melbpc.org.au email address and password.
• Register by emailing the offfice@melbpc.org.au and asking to be added. Then go to https://chat.google.com/ and log in with your MelbPC credentials.

Yours sincerely,

The Melbourne PC User Group.