

Electromagnetic Field: a 3-day maker/hacker/geek camp in the UK - metabrew
https://www.emfcamp.org/

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petercooper
Their networking setup is insane(ly awesome). A 2.8km microwave link to a
gigabit connection, porta-john network cabinets, and donated IP address space
so every attendee gets a dedicated public IP address. I've heard this field is
right near a sewage works though, so be prepared(!) :-)

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ajb
(Checks google maps) Yes, there's one just to the south. let's hope the wind
is blowing the other way.

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jonty
There is a very large embankment between the site and the plant, we've been
and investigated the field many times to check that it was suitable for the
event before putting any money down, and it's totally fine.

Don't worry, it concerned us just as much as you!

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ajb
As it happens my office is right next to a sewage farm, so I can tell you that
they only stink a couple of days a month. It depends where in the process they
are. So you could check it out several times and still be unlucky on the day.
That's interesting about the embankment, though. I'm not sure if our one has
one (it's at 52.233319, 0.155565). Do you have information that it's to reduce
the smell, or were you assuming that that's why you couldn't smell anything
when you went?

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DanI-S
I've been wanting to do something like this in the Bay Area - even if on a
smaller scale (1 day, no camping, under 50 people). I do a lot of work in the
park and would love to spread the fun.

Would anyone be interested in helping set it up? Drop me an email; my address
is in my profile!

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fs111
you should hook up with the folks from noisebridge:
<https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Noisebridge>

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DanI-S
That's actually an awesome idea.

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polshaw
_> Please note that all our volunteers... are required to buy a ticket._

Ouch, full price £95 to work at a bar.. why would anyone want to do this? You
would have thought at least a discount!

They say it is not profit.. where is all the money going? or is it the sort of
non-profit where one guy has a big fat salary? Most of the networking stuff
seems to be donated, speakers are unpaid (and also have to pay full price)..

I don't wish to shit all over this, it's a great thing.. (and i'm sure there
are costs that need to be covered) but some more transparency would make me a
lot more comfortable with it..

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jonty
Our budget is entirely public and linked from the wiki, nothing is hidden, and
nobody is drawing a salary. We're only just going to break even at this point.

It turns out that equipping a barren field with generators, lighting, wiring,
power distribution, marquees, seating, toilets, showers, water, cooking
equipment, bar equipment, security fencing, safety equipment, first aid
equipment, radios, and plant equipment for moving the aforementioned
everything, is expensive. Especially when you're doing it on a scale <1000
people.

The most interesting thing for me has been the cost of getting water in the
field. There's supposedly a standpipe there, but the council are denying all
knowledge so we have to get a container brought in. It costs a FORTUNE. You'd
think water was some kind of precious metal based on the pricing.

Regarding speakers/volunteers, this is an event you're a participant at, not
purely a viewer. We have an absurdly high ratio of speakers/attendees - a
large number of ticket holders are related to the hackerspace movement where
participation is expected.

We are offering free day tickets to speakers, but nearly all of them are
choosing to pay for a full ticket and spend the whole weekend at the event.

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metabrew
I just bought my ticket for this. Don't think I've ever stayed in a tent that
has gigabit internet before, should be interesting.

The list of talks and workshops is diverse. See some of you there.

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antihero
How are you going to power the laptop?

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jonty
The tents also get power.

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flangey
Bring 20m+ of mains + network cable to link yourself to the nearest Datenklos
and you're all set.

