Inaugural event! 

We begin with a discussion of FPGAs and FPGA board design + Xilinx ISE / Webpack and more by Matt Berggren. This is the first in a multi-part series focusing on using FPGAs, including an in-depth look at building an FPGA board (Xilinx, Spartan 6 LX9), power considerations, layout, etc; also a first look at building FPGA systems, JTAG programming, debug, and more. Later we'll get into HDL-based entry, mixed HDL / SCH / state machines, simulation and synthesis, and more.

We also have Mike Szczys, Editor in Chief from Hackaday! Mike will be discussing "Community built Open Hardware: The case of Mooltipass". For those that don't know, Mootlipass is a USB Password manager built by the Hackaday community and staff across the open web. Mike will discuss the challenges (and rewards) in designing open hardware across the web.

Last but not least! Chris Gammell is here (from the Amp Hour podcast). Chris discusses using using KiCAD and will have a look at the latest round of KiCAD features and enhancements from CERN (of which there are many)! Expect to learn more about using KiCAD and the KiCAD development process, resources, and where to get started if you care to contribute to KiCAD.

We welcome other presentations and content from attendees. Please contact the meeting organizer if you want to demo something to the group. We will reserve time to show off projects once we have a sense for who and how many we have.

Speakers will be available to answer questions and provide feedback and support wherein possible. Food and drinks are provided and spaces are limited! Please be sure to give up your spot if you can't attend.