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Iffy Books | 404 S. 20th St., PHL

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September 10, 2023
  • Zine

🛡 Make a Faraday shield for your phone

Photo of a zine with a photo of aluminum foil on the cover and the following text: "Make a Faraday shield for your phone at Iffy Books / presented with PRACTICE." Inside the zine is orange construction paper and several pieces of aluminum foil.

On September 9th, 2023 we hosted a workshop on how to make a one-time-use Faraday shield for your phone to block radio communication via the cell network, wi-fi, and Bluetooth. […]
August 27, 2023
  • Zine

🐢 Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python

Closeup photo of a zine with the title "Draw with code! An intro to turtle graphics using Python." There's a turtle icon on the middle of the cover with a zig-zagging line coming out of its tail, and several lines of code on the left, such as "left(90)" and "forward(10)." Text on the right says "free zine!" The Iffy Books logo and address (319 N. 11th St. 2I, PHL) are at the bottom right corner.

On Saturday, August 26th we hosted a self-guided Python Turtle workshop to coincide with the Philly Bookstore Crawl. It went really well! Here’s the zine we used, which you’re free […]
June 23, 2023
  • Event
  • How-To

Notes for Router Hack Day 2 at Iffy Books

Flyer image with firmware code in the background, a photo of a router in a box labeled "$8 Challenge Router", and the following text in yellow: Router Hack Day / Sat, June 24th 1-6 p.m. / Iffy Books

Saturday, June 24th, 20231:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.  You can find this document at the following URLs: For the past few months, a handful of people in the Iffy Books […]
April 12, 2023
  • How-To

☀️ Circuit diagram for a solar-powered LoRa node

A circuit diagram for a solar-powered LoRa radio node, including a solar panel and battery. The text reads as follows: Iffy Books / Let’s Make a Solar-Powered Chat Network / 5V 6W monocrystalline solar panel / 100 nF ceramic capacitor / 100 uF electrolytic capacitor / MCP1700-3302E LDO regulator (flat side facing forward) / TP4056 battery charger w/ protection circuit / USB-C cable / 18650 lithium-ion battery / Heltec LoRa32 V3 w/ antenna

We’ve been hard at work running tests and writing documentation for on our upcoming workshop Let’s make a solar-powered chat network, in which we’ll build weatherproof LoRa nodes running Meshtastic to support a […]
April 10, 2023
  • How-To

🐎 Make a Solar Zoetrope

Template for cutting out shapes to make a zoetrope, with the following text: Iffy Books Solar Zoetrope ⓵ Print this template at 100% scale. Use black cardstock for best results, or color in the shapes with black crayon/marker. ⓶ Make a strip of white paper, 16 in. (41 cm) by 1.25 in. (3.2 cm). Line it up with the template and draw 11 evenly spaced frames, one for each vertical notch. Use thick, dark lines. ⓷ Cut out the zoetrope shapes with scissors and connect with tape/glue to make a single loop. ⓸ Make a cardboard circle with radius 2.5 in. (6.35 cm) and attach to the bottom of your zoetrope loop with small strips of tape. ⓹ Mount your animation strip inside the zoetrope, with a frame under each vertical notch. ⓺ Attach a gear to the shaft of an electric motor, then glue your zoetrope to the gear. Give it a spin and look through the notches at a downard angle to see your animation! iffybooks.net/solar-zoetrope / Public Domain

This past weekend we hosted a workshop called Make a Solar Zoetrope, as part of the DVAA Everyday Futures Fest. It was super fun! If you didn’t make it, we’re […]
March 24, 2023
  • How-To

Challenge Router Progress Report

Photo of a shrinkwrapped router box that reads "Atlas Media Wireless AC1200 Dual-band Router." There's a green piece of paper taped to the box with the following text: "$8 Challenge Router / Can you install OpenWRT on this router? We'll give $100 to the first person who can show us how. / You can also use it as a regular router! / Proceeds benefit Philly Community Wireless & Iffy Books"

The following is transcribed from a conversation with Jim from Trashpanda Village, with a few edits for clarity. You can buy your own Atlas Media challenge router here. What we […]
January 10, 2023
  • Zine

New zine! Against Intellectual Property by Dante Scanline

Photo of three copies of the zine "Against Intellectual Property" by Dante Scanline at Iffy Books. The text begins, "As an intellectual property (IP) abolitionist, I don’t support any legal enforcement of intellectual property. IP includes things like copyright for creative works and patents for inventions and processes."

We liked this blog post by Dante Scanline so much, we made it into a zine! We’ve handed out hundreds of copies at Iffy Books, and now you can print […]
November 16, 2022
  • Zine

☀️ New Zine! Build a Solar-Powered Music Synth

Zine cover for "Build a Solar-Powered Music Synth," with the Iffy Books logo in the lower left corner. In the middle of the page there's a black-and-white drawing of cute hamsters assembling electronic components on a breadboard. A spiral sun is overhead, with a curving arrow pointing at a pair of music notes.

Our new how-to zine is ready to share! In this project you’ll build a solar-powered oscillator circuit, using two NOT gates to generate a square wave. Then you’ll add two […]
August 29, 2022
  • How-To

Security for Reproductive Health with Alison Macrina

Title slide with a purple-tinted photo of people using computers, the logo of the Library Freedom Project, and the following text: "Security for reproductive health." Every slide in this presentation has the following text at the bottom: Library Freedom Project / https://libraryfreedom.org

On August 27th at Iffy Books, Alison Macrina led a workshop on how to protect your online privacy when accessing information about reproductive health. Here’s a PDF of her slides, […]
July 25, 2022
  • Meetup

Permacomputing Meetup Notes ☀️ July 24, 2022

A flyer with a black & white drawing of a flower at the center, with a microchip instead of a flower head. The text reads \"Iffy Books Permacomputing Meetup / Sun July 24 • 1 pm – 3 pm EDT / 319 N. 11th St. #3E, PHL / Join the audio meetup with Mumble! Server: 134.209.32.64 Port: 64738

E-waste in Philly • Rabbit Recyclinghttps://www.rabbitrecycling.com • eForce Compliancehttps://www.eforcecompliance.com E-waste we want to reuse Computers Motors Speakers Hard drives Cell phones, even if they’re carrier-locked E-paper displays How can I […]

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