Yay! DHMN Makerspace Now Under Full Power!

Electricians finished the wiring upgrades yesterday for the main DHMN (Distributed Hacker/Maker Network) workroom in the makerspace at 120 N. Morrison Street, Appleton, WI. Before the upgrades the room had only ONE 20 amp circuit for all eight 120 V outlets in the room. And all the outlets were dual outlets. Thanks to Willems Marketing, we now have three 20 amp circuits in the room, and all eight outlets for the workroom are quad outlets. I also asked to have the dual outlet in the Lounge area (at the bottom of the stairs) changed from a dual outlet to quad, and that is likewise completed!

Can you imagine the limitations of having only one 20 amp circuit for all the DHMN makers in the main work space? Between laptops, soldering irons, drills, and other implements of creation that require electrical power, there would likely have been numerous circuit breaker resets. We'll still have to use common sense, depending on who has what plugged in, but fewer power strips will be needed, and the power won't unexpectedly die on us routinely.

The just-finished electrical work points out an opportunity for the electricians and electrical-minded amongst the group. It might make sense to review the wiring for the basement and mark up a floor plan to show all the electrical outlets, listing what circuit they are on. For the main workroom, the two quad 120 V outlets on the north wall are on one circuit, the two on the west wall and the west outlet on the south wall are on one circuit, and the two on the east wall and the east one on the south wall are on the third circuit. However, I didn't ask the electrician which breakers those three circuits are on.

Next up is refurbishing the back (south) wall and doing any wallpaper removal and painting that is to be completed before DHMN move-in. The wall guys are supposed to start on Thursday this week.

Great to have the space getting better and better. Thanks, Mike V and Willems Marketing!

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