David Lang - Zero to Maker: A Beginner’s Guide to the Skills, Tools, and Ideas of the Maker Movement, 2nd Edition

Copyright 2017 David Lang. All rights reserved.

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October 2017: First Edition

Revision History for the First Edition

2017-10-15 First Release

See oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781680453416 for release details.

Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. The Maker Media logo is a trademark of Maker Media, Inc. Zero to Maker, Second Edition and related trade dress are trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Maker Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While the publisher and the author have used good faith efforts to ensure that the information and instructions contained in this work are accurate, the publisher and the author disclaim all responsibility for errors or omissions, including without limitation responsibility for damages resulting from the use of or reliance on this work. Use of the information and instructions contained in this work is at your own risk. If any code samples or other technology this work contains or describes is subject to open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of others, it is your responsibility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such licenses and/or rights.

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David Lang is a cofounder of OpenROV and OpenExplorer. His work has been featured in The New York Times, WIRED, and Popular Science. David is a TED Senior Fellow and a National Geographic Explorer. His TED talk on DIY robotics and ocean exploration has more than one million views. He lives on a boat in the San Francisco Bay.

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

Joseph Campbell

T he entire situation was unfamiliar. I was in a part of the world I had never seenthe foothills of the Trinity Alps in Northern California, deep in the heart of Trinity County, where the cell phone reception seemed as prehistoric as the surrounding landscape. We completed the seven-hour drive from San Francisco, through the giant redwood forest, to explore the Hall City Cave. The beam of light emanating from my headlamp exposed vivid details: threatening stalactites, a rock wall covered in spiders, and a few inverted, sleeping bats. I was carrying a large yellow Pelican case containing an underwater robot I had helped design and build. That was really new.

I think the next time we do this, we should wait until the summer, I said to my friend Eric as I handed him the case to get a better footing as we descended farther into the cave. The clunky, waterproof boots I was wearing were not the best choice for spelunking, but they were my only option given the awful weather outside the cave. He looked at me and smiled. It was obvious to all six brave souls who were making the trek that choosing a January date for our trip to the cave was not wise. With such a dry and mild winter we thought Mother Nature might spare us a few more nice days, but we had pushed our luck. The heavy, constant snowfall was an hourglass constantly reminding us of how little daylight was left and how much worse the return trip could get.

My remark to Eric was meant to be lighthearted. A series of nearly trip-ending incidents had left the group exhausted. We woke up to worse-than-expected weather and were forced to scramble to find chains for our car tires. After we made it up the mountain, we found the back roads to be impenetrable. Luckily, we met a Wildwood resident who offered to help plow us through the snow-covered back roads. By the time we reached the cave, everyone was tense and tired.

Ever since Eric Stackpole and I first met and talked about underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and ocean exploration, we had been plotting for this moment. Eric tells the backstory, The Legend of Hall City Cave, much better than I do; its his favorite story to tell and he will share it with anyone willing to listen, whether its a full auditorium or a small dinner party. He always starts out the same way: ensuring that his audience has a full 90-second attention span to dedicate to his tale. He shakes out his arms and takes a deep, preparatory breath, Whooooosh! A wave of his hands and an exaggerated exhale take them back in time.

Flashback, 1800s. Northern California. Gold rush. Two Native American men rob a gold mining operation and make away with an estimated 100 pounds of gold. A sheriffs posse is assembled to track down the men. After days of chase, they eventually catch the two men, but they no longer have the gold. The sheriffs posse makes an offer: Tell us where you hid the gold and well spare your lives. The men explain that they hid the gold in the Hall City Cave. Despite the sheriffs promise, both men are hanged on the spot. The posse returns to the area the men described and, sure enough, theres a cave. They dont find the gold, but toward the back of the cave they find a hole six feet in diameter and filled with water. The underwater cavern extends down farther than they can see, and they lack the tools or technology to explore further, so the sheriffs posse gives up.