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I agree with this as physical meets are also good for swapping hardware or looking at projects etc. The IRC / Matrix channels are slowly gaining more users. So we can help people set up Matrix etc if they want to join in there.
Paul
On 2025-09-16 22:07, Adam Ainsworth wrote:
Exeter would be a great place for meetings - some of the meetups I've been to have had dozens of attendees (and the Tech Exeter conference gets hundreds), I think it might just be a lack of awareness of the group or of the meets. I dont think I've seen any advertising for the Raspberry Pi meet outside of the library - I don't know if it's mentioned in any of the magazines etc.
I think there is definitely still a place for real-world meets, obviously so much of FOSS happens online but it would still be nice to have chats and sessions in person, and certainly from the hardware standpoint that makes everything so much more real.
Having a greater presence on social media, promoting the group in other groups (and returing the favour) and maybe a slightly more active website would all be of benefit, I think. Maybe promoting the group at the universities as well?
Sorry, I've gone in to a little bit of a ramble. These are all just suggestions - of course I'm new and not familiar with the things that are currently in place or have been tried without success - but I'm happy to lend a hand if I can
Adam
Hi Adam
Good to hear from you. The LUG used to meet up in Plymouth, but I think the numbers just dropped off, there was a meeting online on the 3rd Saturday but that has dropped off too.
I have been trying to expand the Tinkerers meeting but I don't think Torbay is exaactly a hive of techy people, even though we do have things like the Eletronics, Photonics innovation centre and a few high tech companies in Torbay.
If there are other groups, I can try and reach out so we can promote other groups.
It would be nice to get more meets going, either social or more techy depending on what people want from that.
Hopefully the lug can keep going as I find the social, techy and other help given to me and others really useful.
Regards
Paul
On 2025-09-14 15:34, Adam Ainsworth wrote:
Hi All,
I've been lurking on this email list for a while, this is my first contribution.
I'm a web developer based in Exeter, I've been meaning to get to one of the Pi meet-ups at the library for years but never seem to get round to it. I will do my best to attend in October.
I'm a semi-regular attendee at Tech Exeter but they haven't been as common recently.
There is also a semi-regular coding meetup at the Generator Hub down the quay called Curiously Code, although I've only managed to attend one of them - the next one is this Thursday and I'm going to do my best to go.
Finally, there was a WordPress meetup but that died long ago and it seems an attempt to resurrect it last year was unsuccessful/
Adam
This is a great thread
If people in and around Exeter want to the Fablab is still in the Exeter central library which you can join and use their printers and laser cutter and other machines
If people fancy meeting up to talk Linux, microcontrollers and robots and such the Raapbery Pi Jam also still runs on the first Saturday of the month in the Robough Room in the central library 10-12. That tends to be a bring and share (either your project or why your project isn't working). Plenty of arduinos and other microcontroller too. Or just come and have a chat.
Trevor
> On 10 Sep 2025, at 12:21, Gordon Henderson <gordon+lug@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 9 Sep 2025, Sebastian via list wrote:
>
>> Dear Gordon,
>>
>>> On 09/09/2025 14:35, Gordon Henderson wrote:
>>> I did like the little meet-ups. There is nothing like it where I am now. There is a ScotLug - but that's in Glasgow and I don't think they've met up in some time. Both Edinburgh and Newcastle (both 1.5 hours away) have hackspaces - The Edinburgh one is expensive and has expensive parking, the Newcastle one is cheap and free parking, but while I do visit Newcastle regularly, it's not on a convenient day for me.
>>> ...
>>> Actually, we have a "mans shed" in town, but they're mostly woodworkers. There is another in Kelso which is only 10 miles away, but it's mostly crafts, there is little that goes on in the way of electronics and computing. Or was, last time I visited. Maybe I ought to try them again... Who knows.
>>
>> I have never been to a hackspace in Britain, but my impression from visiting them in other countries is that they are often closely affiliated with the anti-fascist movement, having historically served as an incubator for what is now the European Pirate Party (not to be confused with the European People's Party!)
>
> I've not heard of anything remotely like that, but I've not been abroad for a number of years now and my relatively recent experiences of speaking with a friend who did some work in a sort of hackspace/incubator project in India was quite the opposite.
>
> Although I'm relatively apolitical and quite often miss nuances like that.
>
>> In contrast, the hackspaces in the UK seem to be less overtly political and have more in common with the Do-It-Yourself and Maker philosophies. I'd be interested to hear whether this matches your experience or whether I'm describing a distinction which does not really exist.
>
> Limited experiences in the UK - Devon LUG meets weren't quite a hackspace, although Paul did try to get get and keep things going with the Tech Jams. A Makerspace did kick off in Exeter - they're a different thing having to meet certain criteria to become part of "Make" so they managed to get funding for it via the ne wLibrary project. There was briefly an attempt at a hackspace in Exeter some time back though, I visited them once, but it wasn't going anywhere.
>
> There was one in Penzance which I visited a few times, but it sort of faded out, I think more due to personalities than anything political, but personalities and political leanings? Who knows.
>
> But essentially, a bunch of like-minded people wanting to do "hacks" - ie. "cool things" with technology. e.g. When I visited the Newcastle one there was someone tinkering/reverse engineering and older ANPR camera system - it ran Linux and downloaded a database of numberplates to look out for and ping-back the results... Another was tinkering with LED matrix signs and there was access to machine tools, lasers, and so on. Paying members could have a bit of storage space, etc.
>
> I only visited the Bristol one very briefly and got a similar idea, but that was pre-covid. Not visited the Edinburgh one. (yet). It's just a bit tricky for me to get to and at £35 a month too expensive.
>
> Manchester? they hosted the first Pi Jam from what I remember - and again a bunch of like-minded geeks who just want a nice communal place to tinker.
>
> The Kelso Mens shed has areas for communal knitting and fabric crafts, as well as metalwork. They did have a lot of old schools electronics projects. (as in electronics kits recoverd from old schools when they were torn down) They do a lot of stick making too (That's walking sticks and shepherds crooks to the uninitiated - we have world famous stick makers in the locality) Maybe I ought to visit again.
>
> I'm probably lucky in that I have a nice office space at home with most of the tools I need, but I lack a 3D printer. Back then I bought a laser cutter an it's been put to good use, but now I think a 3D printer might be nice, but I can't justify the spend on one right now. (Anyone need a self-employed remote-working geek to help fund my toy collection? ;-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Gordon--
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