F.A.Q

What is a Hackspace?
A hackspace is to engineers and makers what a library is to book lovers. They exist to allow the pooling of resources and equipment between a group of like minded individuals. They also allow you to meet other people with both related, or interesting, skills and interests.

Aren't hackers bad people who break into your computer and steal your passwords?
No we are not, though Hollywood keeps portraying us like that. We are reclaiming it's proper meaning.

The phrase 'to hack' originally meant was originally used when you put something together in a rough and ready fashion, or modified something to do a job it was never designed for. This would generally be a prototype, or a one-off modification, rather than a production item.

A small sub-group of 'hackers' were the computer hackers. They 'hacked' computer software to make it do things it was never designed to do. These were generally fun, or interesting things that would not necessarily be 'allowed' normally. The first computer games are a prime example. Hollywood however rolled a large and diverse group of skills and mentalities (Crackers, social engineers, scam artists etc) into the generic title of 'hackers'.

Why would I want to join a bunch of Neckbearded losers sitting around playing with computers?
The hacking community is a wide and diverse group. We have members with interests and jobs ranging from Blacksmiths to Cameramen. You are as likely to find someone turning wood on the laythe, or angle-grinding metal, as working on a computer.

As people we tend to be fun and lively, interesting hobbies tend to lead to interesting people and so discussions and chatter can range wildly. Our membership covers the whole age range, and many social groups. We are gender neutral, though we tend to attract more man than women.

Where are we?
We have recently located to a new site in central Reading. We are 5 minutes from the station, with parking available on site. Directions and postcode can be found here:

Finding Us

When can I come down?
Members have 24/7 Access to the hackspace, using a swipe card system to log in. If you are a new or perspective member however, we have a social evening on a Wednesday. this generally starts about 7:00pm, though this can vary. This is the best time to come down and meet new people and say hi.

When you arrive, there will generally be several people about to show you around and introduce you to people.

How much does it cost to join?
While we wish we could run the hackspace for free, we need money to cover the rent etc. Our current membership fee is £25/month for full membership. This is negotiable though, if you cant afford it.

Membership includes use of most of the tools and whatever communal materials are available. Some of the equipment also has a small usage fee to cover high running costs (most notable being the laser cutter).

Where does your equipment come from?
Most of the equipment is either donations, or on long term loan to R-Lab. Many people have, quite high end, equipment that gets little or no use, stuck in the back of a shed. By allowing others to use it, everyone benifits. Other pieces of kit were brought by groups of members for use by the space.

We are also always looking for any potentially useful parts, equipment or resources people are willing to donate. Far to many companies throw away very useful and interesting stuff, just because it is a little obsolete, or broken. If you have anything you might want to donate, please let us know via the google group.

How can I contact you?
We have several communication channels. The main one however is google groups. We can be found here: | Mailing List

We also have a | facebook group and a |flicker account.