Meetup in the Netherlands - Saturday July 30th, in Breda!

[GertSanders]

If there are sufficient candidates, the next step would be to start a Doodle to choose date and location.

[AWI]

Add wine and i'm in

[Yveaux]

@AWI Great to hear you're in

[GertSanders]

By this summer the City of Things lab in Antwerpen should be taking shape. Getting a MySensors gateway running and communicating with the platform we plan to build for CoT would be a great topic for a meet at my workplace, since we are the IT department of the City of Antwerp.
There are already several meetups on this topic, and more to come.
To give an idea why we do this:
https://www.iminds.be/en/succeed-with-digital-research/city-of-things

[TimO]

Count me in!

[TheoL]

Count me in !

[Sander Stolk]

Will be there!

[GertSanders]

Since most participants are in the Nederland area, I do not mind coming to Rotterdam or Amsterdam for a weekend to participate in a meet up.

[Yveaux]

@GertSanders OK, great, but I only counted 6 people so far... Would be nice if the group would become a bit larger I think.

[TheoL]

@Yveaux I agree with you. But for most people the summer seems like an long time from now. And others just wait until an event is organized before they sign up. Maybe it's a good idea to meet each other ahead of the meeting and discuss how and where we're gonna meet??

I don't know where about you guys live. But I live around Amersfoort. Maybe meeting at a seats-to-meat?

[GertSanders]

@TheoL @Yveaux aai iz in Antwerpen

[TheoL]

Because the temperature is rising, I've prepared the BBQ for this weekend. It also made me think about this topic again I'd really would like to meet you all. So if every one is still interested, give a holla on this forum. I'm volunteering to organize this, I just need someone extra. Because my time is a bit spare lately.

Since the response to this topic is a bit low. I'll explain the purpose of this meetup (at least how I see it). We're all fund about electronics and IoT otherwise we wouldn't be on this forum. The meeting is for everyone, regarding level of knowledge, who wants to spend some time with other enthusiastic. It's not a meetup in which we can see who's the best or knows the most. It's about spending time and having fun with people whom share the same interest.

If we can make a good estimate of how many people want to come, we can start looking for the best place to hold this meeting. Maybe we can look for some sponsors as well. It would be awesome if we could get some sponsors. Because I truly think that MySensors deserves more exposure to a broader public.

So. Let me know if you want to come (why wouldn't you) and if you want to help out with the organization. Also if you have big garden and life in southern area of the Netherlands. And if you don't mind that we come to you place, let me know.

My boss pays for my gas, so I can take three people with me when I drive to the meetup. I live near Apeldoorn.

[GertSanders]

@TheoL
I will come anywhere below Rotterdam. If it's near Amsterdam i will need to plan for a weekend and take my better half with me. And get one of our kids to babysit the dog and/or the yougest. All can be organised.
Given the earlier reactions somewhere in Nederlands Barbant would make sense. I'm probably the southy of the bunch

[Sander Stolk]

Will join from Amsterdam till Eindhoven because I live in the center below Rotterdam!

[Yveaux]

@TheoL Judging from the reactions in this post so far, the list of potential visiters seems rather limited...
Maybe its better to start things small first. When it's a success we can discuss how to go from there.
I live a bit above Eindhoven, so that seems like the ideal location. However, my garden is rather small.

[Yveaux]

I've created a planner in Doodle: http://doodle.com/poll/pttgx7rnc7h55myq
Please pick the dates when you're available, so we can converge to a date!

@GertSanders @AWI @TimO @TheoL Could you help picking a date, guys?

@damme Why did you fill in the planner, as it seems you can't join at all?

[TheoL]

@Yveaux Super. I filled it in as soon as possible.

I already figured out, that the southern of Rotterdam would be the best place. So somewhere between Breda and Eindhoven seems to be the center.

I don't want to plan out the complete meeting, but my suggestion is to come up with a list of things we can do. That will make it easier to pick a place where we can meet. I can't wait to finally meet you all.

[27maximilian]

I would also be interested. But I didn't fill out the doodle because my schedule for the next month is not fully set yet. So it doesn't make sense to accommodate my preferences for the date as they might change.

I would just wait for you to set a date and then join if I am available, if you don't mind. South of Rotterdam would be perfectly fine for me. I would only suggest to meet somewhere close to a train station as some people (me included) might not have a car.

Regarding things to do, a workshop-like meeting in which people present their projects might be nice. I saw something similar in the OpenHAB forum.

[TheoL]

@27maximilian Near a train station is great suggestion. If needed I can pick some people up.

We have to think about how we can arrange the workshop. If people come by train, it might be hard for them to bring along their projects.

[scalz]

too bad I'm living a bit too far...7-8h by car..but that's mostly because my planning is too much tricky for this year..I would have come and been the french guy speaking frenglish
But I hope to see you guys in future, next time
have fun

[TheoL]

@scalz I would love to meet you. Maybe next time, we can do it in Belgium.

[Yveaux]

I had a quick look for a meeting place near the city center of Eindhoven, and all I could find were the commercial conference places.
These places will easily charge E 40,- per person, which is above budget IMHO.
So, if either of you knows an inspiring place which can easily be reached by public transport, then please let us know!
Another option is to move away from city centers to a more rural location, but then we'll have to carpool.

[TheoL]

@Yveaux Maybe there's a seats to meet somewhere in the area. I look it up later on. Also don't know if you care about soccer and PSV. But if so congratz. Didn't see that coming

[GertSanders]

De maand mei komt stilaan aan een einde. Juni komt er aan. Is er al zicht op een locatie in de buurt van Rotterdam (lijkt de consensus te zijn) ?

[sincze]

Count me in.

[BigDog]

count me in

reken maar op mij lijk me leuk
hoor wel als er een locatie is

[Yveaux]

@BigDog location seems to be the problem so far. Finding a meeting shack is either very expensive, or away from a city center. If somebody in the south knows of a good meeting place (or has a big garden ) then please let us know.

[sincze]

@Yveaux how many people are we looking at (location Breda)

[Yveaux]

@sincze 8 to 10 max, I think. But even less have filled in the planner I set up.

[BigDog]

@Yveaux 8 a 10 peoples max and afcourse on route of public transport?

[Yveaux]

@BigDog I'm not sure about public transport. I'll come by car, don't know about the rest. Maybe some can carpool to eliminate the public transport requirement.

[sincze]

@Yveaux We have a central station nearby., and bus stops.
However I need an amount of people that we expect hahaha to figure out if we can host this meeting at the location I have in mind.

[sincze]

@sincze whaha I see 10 people max okay ???

[Yveaux]

@sincze don't ask me for confirmation :bowtie:
I'm just guessing an amount based on the replies in this thread. Anyway 'registration' is still open, if you want we can just limit the maximum at 10 - the first 10 register can join!

[sincze]

@Yveaux For the moment I have a go on the location. 10 min walk from Breda CS. have to work on the details but I have a location available. with demo possibilities.

[Yveaux]

@sincze awesome!
Any limitations on the date?

[sincze]

@Yveaux No limits. can be during weekend or afer office hours

[GertSanders]

@sincze
Weekend would be perfect

[Koresh]

I'm so far away - live in Minsk (Belarus), but I'm ready to join this party (I can travel by car or by plane).

[Yveaux]

@Koresh That would be awesome!
If you need any info getting there (mainly on the Dutch/Belgian side of your trip) we can always help!

[Yveaux]

Ok guys. I had another look at the doodle planner at http://doodle.com/poll/pttgx7rnc7h55myq.
Seems all of you are available Saturday July 30th.

Lets's set that as the date then!

@sincze Can you arrange the location for this Saturday? Maybe we can chat a little -- faster than by posting messages...

[GertSanders]

@Yveaux
I have blocked it in my agenda

[alexsh1]

@Yveaux I'm going to be on vocation so most likely I'll give it a miss. Where abouts are you meeting up? I am be travelling back and forth work wise (working vocation) so if I'm back on this date I'll try to make it

[Yveaux]

@alexsh1 Seems to become center of Breda. Details to be announced shortly.

[alexsh1]

@Yveaux you really set it up in the middle of Nederland and België

[GertSanders]

For those attending, there is a Google Presentation link where you can add to the agenda and show&tell during the meet up (30 july, location is being finalised)

If you want to add to the presentation, please send me a message with your email and I will add you to the editor list.

The presentation is in dutch (at the moment), we hope that will not be a problem for the attendees.

[Yveaux]

@GertSanders Thanks for the initiative Gert
I've included a link to the document in my top post. Everyone can view & comment on it (only few can edit).

[Sander Stolk]

I will be there!

[Samuel235]

I'd request for this to be filmed for the guys like me that are interested in attending and/or the future of our community and MySensors, however i only speak and understand English. Too bad

[Yveaux]

@Samuel235 if any non-Dutch speakers join the meetup I won't mind to do any presentation in English. Don't know about the rest though.

[alexsh1]

@Yveaux I'd do my best. My Dutch (or Flemish depending who you talk to) sucks.

Bedankt
Alex

[Yveaux]

@alexsh1 No probleem. I'll just switch to English or even a bit French Monsieur

[alexsh1]

@Yveaux Stick to Dutch please
This is funny that Breda was chosen. It is at the border and probably equal travel distance for Dutch and Belgians. I

[Yveaux]

Registration system changed! Please read all about it in the top post!

[GertSanders]

On the topic of presenting something, I can present in english if that is what the crowd wants.

Here is another idea: I have been wanting to buy some flash memory for my boards, but the transport price to Belgium kills it for me when ordering low amounts (Mouser charges 18 USD, Digikey charges 20 USD). However if several people want some flash memory IC's for their boards maybe we could do a group buy and distribute the loot during the meetup ? Any fans for this idea ?

Specifically I would like to buy some AT25DF512C-SSHN-B

[Koresh]

I tried to register me and and Yury some minutes ago. But I don't know any of avaliable payment systems We can pay via paypal. Is it possible?

[Yveaux]

@Koresh that shouldn't be blocking!
I'll check what options are possible. I'll get back ASAP.

[Yveaux]

@Koresh paypal should be added as payment option in about 2 weeks.
I'll report back when it's operational, OK?

[Koresh]

@Yveaux said:

@Koresh paypal should be added as payment option in about 2 weeks.
I'll report back when it's operational, OK?

ОК. Can you register us right now? We will pay asap.

[Yveaux]

@Koresh chat me your real and forum names and I'll arrange your reservation upfront.

[the cosmic gate]

COOOOOL just 10 min driving for me !And maybe can arrange some people to take some home made (open-hardware) PCB's

[Yveaux]

@the-cosmic-gate great! Hardware designs are always appreciated
Don't forget to register upfront BTW!

[the cosmic gate]

@Yveaux said:

@the-cosmic-gate great! Hardware designs are always appreciated
Don't forget to register upfront BTW!
Sure, and it's @CM i read .... ( NAC Breda sponsor )

The idea is that some people who designed some open hardeware PCB's like @GertSanders en off course @TheoL can bring or show there hardware .
And people can buy it for example

[sincze]

@the-cosmic-gate great stuff on more from the 'local' area. 10 minutes away.. Mmm Teteringen???

[the cosmic gate]

@sincze said:

@the-cosmic-gate great stuff on more from the 'local' area. 10 minutes away.. Mmm Teteringen???

hahah almost : Etten-Leur / Hoeven ( i drive a bit faster then normal )

[sincze]

@the-cosmic-gate
Aha ho-even... Count me in from oudenbosch

[TheoL]

@the-cosmic-gate I'm attending the Meetup, but I'm afraid I won't be able to bring some stuff. But if there are any questions I'm happy to answer them. We could design some MySensors stuff together, like a design-a-ton?

[sincze]

@TheoL Hi Theo, maybe you can make some pictures of your sensors and give a nice presentation???

[TheoL]

@sincze I'm currently working on something. It's not really fance buy I have a lot of fun making it.

Will there be a domoticz controller?

[TheoL]

@AWI will you be attending as well?

[Yveaux]

@TheoL we're still looking for people who want to tell /present something. Would you like to show it there?

[TheoL]

@Yveaux I'd love to but then I would have to make a promise I can't keep. The reason why I not have been active in this community for the last couple of months, is because I'm following an online course at San Diego university. This takes up most of my spare time. My employer paid for this so I can't slow down.

At the moment I'm doing the final capstone. Which I hope to finish within 5 weeks. Maybe I'll finish it before the meetup, but most likely I won't. That's not the only reason I want to finish it. I'm taking classes to become a therapist. It's just something I like to do, I'm not gonna do this for a living. The next year starts in September. So if I finish the capstone, I'll have the month of August without any obligations, which sound great for a change.

I just don't want to give you hope that I'll be able to finish my capstone before the meetup and have time left to prepare a good presentation. But I'll promiss I'll bring my latest project. Just don't expect it to be really original.

[TheoL]

If somebody wants to do a presentation, but has no inspiration for one. I'm interested in the following topic(s):

• Demo of how to mod a proMini so that it can be run on batteries (like removing the annoying led e.t.c.).

• The electronics for emulating a touch button (like the one's found in coffee machines). I'd love to MySensorfy my coffee machine So that I'll wakeup with the smell of fresh coffee...

• Do's and don'ts when writing sketches.

• Sharing experience of the different Home Automation we all have

• Present the configuration of your own Home Automation system???

Maybe we can brainstorm about a new awesome sensor. I'll bring me laptop and some electronics with me, so that I can do some coding if needed,

[Yveaux]

@TheoL I totally understand! We all use MySensors for our hobby projects, and are in constant struggle to find a balance between private life, hobbys and work (and even more...).
If you manage to have some presentation available on July 30th, then we'll just slip it in on the agenda.
There will also be room for some static display, or just visit and enjoy the day with fellow MySensors enthusiasts!

[Yveaux]

@TheoL Thanks for the ideas!
I still have to prepare a presentation and really appreciate input on which topics people like to hear about.

[Koresh]

@Yveaux I hope I will make a presentation. I am too busy now too so I do not promise a thorough lecture. But I plan to share some hardware practices with my new boards as examples.

[Yveaux]

@Koresh awesome! Keep us informed so we can balance the topics presented that day.

[Sander Stolk]

Since I cannot go to the meeting but I already bought a ticket is there anybody who wants a ticket for 10 euro?
I'm selling mine.

[TheoL]

@Sander-Stolk I'm sorry you hear you can't attend the meeting. But maybe we'll meet another time.

[TheoL]

@Yveaux Do you know if someone is bringing a MySensor gateway (id=1) and Domoticz? Maybe I can bring my new project with me and demonstrate it. I'm currently bug fixing, but I think it'll be a cool project to show to you guys. Maybe I can explain some of the design choices and some of the code. Because the hardware part is really easy but the coding was a p*1n in the butt. I think I almost pushed my ProMini to the max.

I hope that I can finish it before the 30th so no hard promise. It's still mySensors 1.5.4 but it should work on 2.0 I guess.

[Yveaux]

@TheoL I'll bring an esp gateway (id 0, 2.0.0) running an mqtt client. Not sure if it will fit your needs.
I'll bring some components too, so we can also assemble one on the spot.
Would be great to see your new project, and we'll certainly make room if you want to present something, even if it's not completely finished yet!

[27maximilian]

@Sander-Stolk if you didn't sell your ticket yet, then I would take it. My calender has freed up and I would be happy to join.

[Sander Stolk]

@27maximilian
Hi, Ticket is still available!
Please PM me so that we can arrange the costs.

[Sander Stolk]

Ticket is sold!

[stefaanv]

Count me in for the conference. Will fill out the form later.
Let me know if I need to bring some real beer

Stefaan

[Yveaux]

@stefaanv great! Get your ticket here : https://shop.ticketflow.eu/mysensors/en/
Not sure if the location allows beer
Maybe @sincze can shed some light on the topic?

[stefaanv]

OK, got the ticket.
If the BBQ is still on, I'd like to come with 4 people (2 adults, 2 children). Just let me know what's the price per person.
Looking forward to meet you all.
Can't bring my sensor, it's a chicken shed. I can bring foto's and demo over the internet.
My setup : domoticz on rPi3, MySensors Gateway, RfxCom gateway, Domoticz linked to 3 wago PLC's, some Python code, sketches, c# on mono, etc

[Yveaux]

@stefaanv BBQ depends on the weather and people willing to join. Albert Heijn is just around the corner, so I suggest to just go there and get some meat

[sincze]

@Yveaux @stefaanv Beer we can keep in the fridge for the roof terras.

https://www.google.nl/maps/@51.6036664,4.770773,3a,75y,177.22h,63.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAuGFeySeONIAAAQo8TJd-w!2e0!3e2!7i12000!8i6000

Considering the price for the event at the moment no arrangements for a BBQ.

[sincze]

This post is deleted!

[GertSanders]

I would like to thank the organisers as well as all the participants for a very fun and interesting day ! It has given me new insights and inspiration

[the cosmic gate]

I planned to come over, but my son is sick so I'll had to take care of him ;(

[TheoL]

First of all I'd like to thank @Yveaux and @sincze for doing a great job for organizing this meeting. And I'd like to thank all the participants for sharing all the things. It was great to meet all of you and you inspired me to keep on promoting this wonderful community.

I also like to thank @stefaanv for sharing the details about how made the mechanics for controlling the chicken shed door. @GertSanders for explaining and demonstrating how he made the SMS gateway/node. And lost but not least @Koresh and Yuri (I forgot your forum name) for the great demonstration of their hardware. And also for the masterclass how to design stable MySensor nodes.

Count me in for the next meeting. It was great to have this international meeting.

[TheoL]

@GertSanders I'm considering to buy some flash memory, once if've figured out how to add them to my projects. Are you still planning on doing a big order?

[ericvdb]

Did anyone took some pics?

[TheoL]

@ericvdb if I'm not mistaken @sincze took some pictures for the sponsors of the meetup.

[Nca78]

@TheoL said:
... @GertSanders for explaining and demonstrating how he made the SMS gateway/node

Any forum post about this SMS node @GertSanders ?

[sincze]

@TheoL, @ericvdb I updated the presentation (at the top) with the pictures I received indeed.

[stefaanv]

Thanks also from my side. Learned a lot of new things during the meeting. It will take some time to try everything out.
My son caught a lot of Pokémon in Breda (untill the phone battery went flat) and my wife did a lot of shopping, so everybody was happy !

[GertSanders]

@Nca78
Not really a post, but the sketch to use it as a sms node is on OpenHardware.io.
After renovating our kitchen this weeks I will do a full writeup.