I’ve completed all of the electronics and mounted the front panel to the main PCB. I connected it to my Mac via USB-C, powered it on and downloaded the firmware. Note until the firmware loads there is zero sign of life. A bit spooky 👻

Fortunately no magic smoke and display and controls worked fine. I haven’t done any tests yet nor tried to operate it pending case completion.

The QMX+ board progresses with the installation of diodes, inductors, the PA transistors and the hand-wound transformer. I think the transformer looks like a stick man 😁

Note: Hans just announced a rev 2 of the PCB. This simplifies a few construction steps. He also said #28 wire can be used to wind all the toroids instead of #22 on some. This will make things a bit easier.

64 solder joints later - the capacitors are in. They look decent so hopefully they’re all correct. Done for today.

And so it begins: the main QMX+ circuit board, next step soldering in 32 through-hole capacitors…

I got two Heltec v3 LoRa devices set up for Meshtastic. After being up for a few days I have seen a few other nodes in the area (or passing by). I’m not sure how I will use mine yet. YouTube is full of videos about Meshtastic but almost none show practical applications.

I printed these nifty cases but the batteries I had on hand are too large to fit in them. I kludged together a micro-to-pico connector so I can get an idea how long this can run on a battery.

Dawn’s embracing arms…

I got my RTL-SDR.com v4 dongle today and replace the Nooelec dongle.

I keep worry thing coax antenna cable is going to eventually pull the dongle out of the USB socket. What are folks doing to secure theirs? All I got right now is to rubber band it to the Pi case.

We went on a hike in a wildlife refuge this morning. We started about 9:30am and thought we were beating the heat which was about 75F. This was our first hike where we weren’t properly prepared. Temps went into the 80s immediately, it was humid, and there was no shade. And the trail info we had neglected to say the 2nd half was a very hilly road hike (no side trail) which was even hotter than scrambling over the rocks.

Lessons learned and we have a tale to tell on ourselves.

My social media’s all about the poop these days. But here's another kind…

In this case my wife suggested a holder for our dog poop cleanup bags which made a quick fun project. My MK4 handles flex, TPU-like, filament like a champ so I decided to use flex for the cap material to get a snug fit with a nice feel and texture. We keep this at the exit through the back door.

https://www.printables.com/model/952199-po

My attempt to repair our fridge door was foiled.

The gold-colored screw on the left is inset into a plastic piece with insufficient gap to allow my socket to go around the head. I tried forcing it a bit but had to give that up for fear of breaking it. I also tried using pliers but although I could get a grip I could not turn it.

Any suggestions for what I could use to get this off? They obviously screwed it on at the factory so there has to be a solution. Help greatly appreciated!

Lovely sky as I headed out to exercise.

I got my new car and I’m now in CarPlay heaven. The 11.6” screen is damn stunning.

ma ma ma my mamatus… ☁️

Hamburger tacos in process. 😋😋

The sky above me. Quite a pleasant evening out back.

Well dayum this isn’t good. We were chilling watching 24-in-24 on YouTubeTV when the AppleTV popped up a “you’ve been logged out” message in the middle of the screen. This was followed by some chaos geting a personal device authenticated and with a new password. Most time-consuming was having to redo all app-specific passwords. I haven't seen this mentioned on my general feeds but others are reporting it on the MacRumors forum.

I hope no damage was done!🤞🏻🤞🏻

I’ve been wanting to try the fuzzy option in PrusaSlicer and finally remembered and had a model to try it on. The left object is without and the one on the right is with the fuzzy option enabled. Both are printed with the same Amolen Silk PLA gradient filament. The color variation is random.

I really like the fuzzy version: both its appearance and the way it feels in the hand. And it hides seams well.

Here is one of the more unusual phone photos I got just post-eclipse. Not a good photo but I find it interesting nonetheless.

Quick phone shot of corona

We went crazy and bought an automated bread maker (Zojirushi). I was a bit skeptical but our first loaf (white bread) turned out amazing. Even the kids and in-law were impressed. I wanted to make a wheat loaf today too but it turns out we lacked one ingredient.

My adventure in using flex filament continued today. I found this simple model for holding 1/4” screwdriver bits: https://www.printables.com/model/133496-fl

This is a great use of a flex filament because the holes are small enough to snugly hold the bits and at the same time the flex makes them easy to remove.

My previous 3D benchy didn't want to release from the satin PEI sheet so I used textured for this print. It lost adhesion at about 4mm height so I added a brim which worked well.

I bought some Fiberlogy 40D flexible filament for my first attempt at Flex. I used PrusaSlicer’s builtin preset and printed it on my MK4 w/o input shaping. Most of it turned out well and the bow area has a nice flex. The surface has a nicer feel than PLA or PETG. But there is a a defect on the front. I think the angle was too much for the filament or preset. Also the text “3D Benchy" on the stern is less clear. (½)

Hamburger tacos in process…

Can you solve the mystery?

Periodically this watch face shows up on my Apple Watch, it usually shows up midday. I like it. But I didn’t create it and I cannot find it in the Watch gallery. And it only shows up on the watch face for a quite short period of time before disappearing as silently as it arrived.

Do you know the source of this face? ⌚️

Laying out on our back patio sofa and this is my view. The weather this month has been crazy warm in the 70F and even up in the 80s. Normally February is our most wintry month. Not complaining though. It is so much easier to be active in this weather.