Re: working outdoors

[wants to do electronics work outside in park].
> > Assuming these logistical problems could be solved, there is also > the question of whether any aspect of this activity (e.g. melting > and possibly vaporizing solder) on a park bench might be illegal. >

Why not check with the local police? I'm guessing you aren't at MIT or you could find a workplace there - somewhere.

Generally, I'd guess you can do this assuming you don't make a nuisance of yourself. Nuisance and tolerance vary from place to place, so why not just ask? I'd suggest you tone down the details (like melting solder with a Fresnel lens) when asking the police so as to be taken seriously.

Of course, you must be careful not to litter or damage public property by, say, dripping solder on the bench or leaving hazardous materials around for children in the park to get a hold of.

As a note, I had a personal lab when I was a student. I kept it broken down in a closet in my small studio apartment. When I did my work, it'd take me a whole hour to set up and an hour to knock down, but I'd work all night making those setup times reasonable. There is a lot you can do with small spaces if you put your mind to it.

-paul ianal

In article , Allan Adler wrote: [snippages]

You say:

That's really, really, really your best option. Don't forget to pester science teachers at high schools, professors at universities, and (assuming you are the person described at

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%20author%20... ) everyone you know or knew at Dartmouth, MIT, Brandeis, Yale, Brown, URI, etc.

I am not a lawyer. But I don't think this is primarily a legal question. I see two big dangers:

I'd be somewhat concerned about the possibility of bullying/harassment/theft. Leaving the equipment unattended would certainly be unwise. (How you would take bathroom breaks?) An area frequented by engineering students would reduce the chances of bullying and harassment--but might well increase the risk of theft!

Another danger is that anything involving visible smoke and melting substances might look to someone as if you were doing something that was somehow drug-related. That could attract unwelcome attention from a) the law or b) from people interested in drugs.

In general, your chances of getting in trouble would depend very much on whether or not you were bothering the people around you.

I--uh, I'm not a lawyer and this is NOT ADVICE--wouldn't think you could get into serious trouble with the official law. The worst that would happen might be that a cop might say "You can't do that here." If you said, "OK," packed up and left, I'd think that would be the end of it. (Arguing with a cop or defying a cop is, of course, risky--and it's risky whether or not the law is on your side).

To your practical questions:

They have small soldering irons that run off little propane cylinders rather than electricity, but I don't know details. There are also rechargeable cordless soldering irons; I don't know how long they stay hot or how much work you can do with them without a recharge.

There are small portable instruments called "scopemeters," which are like digital multimeters but with a small LCD screen and some oscilloscope capabilities. They are much smaller than a laptop, and probably not quite as obvious a target for theft. I think they cost $1000 or more, though.

-- dpbsmith at world dot std dot com "Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print! Sample chapter at http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html Buy it at http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10808 ISBN 1-4033-1406-3