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Apple AirPods are designed to die: Here’s what you should know
  • Possibly Huawei if you're not in the US. Sony open backs? Or maybe just some xiaomi model, but I can't vouch for sound there.

    I'm in the same boat and use the regular airpods 2. The 3rd gen would be ideal too unless Huawei entices me to switch over.

  • I can never go back, I can see why torrenting is so popular in Canada
  • No, thank you for making me get out of bed to set it up on my server.

    The mobile app is so much better. Plex works better on LG WebOS, but I'd say it's on equal footing on Google TV.

    Tailscale also seemed to work perfectly fine for remote access.

  • This console generation seems skippable
  • Let's put it this way. Split screen was a mostly console exclusive feature before some genius decided to kill it off. Locking multiplayer behind a pay wall at some point was also the stupidest idea I've ever seen.

    Most new titles for consoles are exactly as enjoyable on PC. The experience is almost identical. Companies prefer it this way too.

    They can make a nice exclusive and release it for PC 2 years later to reap double the profit.

    The above has me thinking that consoles are becoming a niche. I'd just get a steam deck for portable gaming and a play pass for the exclusives not yet available on PC.

  • The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion
  • I finally tried Death Stranding a couple of days ago. I'm still on it. The visuals and storytelling are quite compelling.

    I do understand why it's not for most people, though. You do put a lot of effort into walking, but honestly, I've played harder games for less, so it's quite alright for me.

    You do eventually get better accessories and become faster.

    Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart is also an amazing game. Rather relaxing to play. The visuals and story are also quite nice.

  • Microvawe transformer spotwelder. Is there a way to improve it?
  • Yeah, just gonna chime in here real quick.

    I went down this road just as you. I found out that most MOTs are rather weak for 18650 nickel strips.

    You need a transformer rated around 1500 watts. Most are 700-900 watts. I ended up wiring 2 transformers in parallel. Also, make sure to remove the transformer's shunts. They are a form of current limiting and will impact your amps at the end.

    Finally, make sure to carefully regulate your pressure with the copper tips. High pressure does indeed equal a weaker weld.

    AC in general is also not the best for very short pulses of welds. I have found that 40-60ms work best for 0.2 with around 1000amps. Anything less didn't weld tbh and the MOT couldn't pull amps fast enough. I tried all sorts of windings and cable thicknesses. I finally chose 6AWG and I'm happy enough with 2 transformers.

  • MOT spot welder / discussion
  • Could you send it over? Seems good to check it out. I'll be on the lookout for a more powerful transformer in the meantime. I also went out and bought a more reputable SSR still rated at 40 amps.

  • My customisable solar hot water system controller (project in progress)
  • Hmm, the heater element being controller disregarding your will is a bit of a bummer.

    Thanks for clarifying, so you are indeed circulating the water itself, it's not a separate line used as a heater. In this case you really are at the mercy of either your pump, pipe length, ambient temperature, insulation and/or sun intensity.

    Have you monitored the temperature at the panel on the roof itself? Also, what type of insulation are you running on those pipes?

  • MOT spot welder / discussion
  • Hmm, maybe I should have clarified. You would be correct if I was talking about doubling the overall power. I meant simply adding another turn to my secondary coils so as to raise the voltage and lower the amps a bit or to connect the 2 transformers in series.

    Caps seem like a decent idea actually. The house is rated for something north of 40 amps so I should be fine for a ms load.

  • MOT spot welder / discussion

    Would anyone like to chime in. I recently made an MOT spot welder for 18650 nickel strips. I can reliably weld 0.2mm nickel. Although I do need a slit if I'm doing nickel <--> nickel (stacking for more amps).

    My main problem here is that I had to use 2 parallel transformers since I can't source a single more powerful one e.g. 1500w

    The current ones are around 700 and 900 watts. Together, they manage around 20 amps from the wall 220v, that's about north of 4kW, so I'm guessing 2000 amps at 2 volts in theory.

    In practice, I'm probably closer to 1000 amps due to heat and smaller electrode tips near the end for the spots.

    Any ideas if raising my voltage to 4 volts would help with welds? I might also switch out my SSR since it seems to be sagging on that end. I measure more amps on the free directly connected cable from time to time, versus the one coming from the SSR.

    Edit: The cables on the secondary windings are 16mm2 or around 6AWG. I'm confident they can handle the load since I can't really feel any heat in them. They barely heat up after 5 seconds of a constant short. I'm doing mostly 50-60ms pulses for the welds.

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    My customisable solar hot water system controller (project in progress)
  • OK this is interesting, but also differs. If I have read correctly, you're circulating the water in the system as a whole.

    I'm also using a solar setup, but I'm using a serpentine coil running a separate coolant liquid. The coolant is used since winter goes from -10 to minimim -20 degrees celsius.

    What are your coldest months like?

  • Gamers who have gamed for a long time
  • Hmm, this is an interesting one.

    I rarely play alone anymore. Which makes it even more difficult as you get older. It's hard to match up with other people when life keeps them equally busy.

    I've also noticed that I want a new experience from my games, kind of like searching for that new movie. Games rich in their story and yet not that distracted in side quests seem to keep me going. God of War was ideal, Horizon too. Baldurs Gate 3 had me for a while, but most online titles suck the time out of me at almost no return.

  • InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)RO
    roterabe @discuss.tchncs.de
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