I’ve been running a QRP WSPR transceiver for a bit over a year. I’m not sure why but now I feel I should retire it. It doesn’t take any maintenance and is tiny but I still feel like a cleansing is due. I’m having a “less is more” feeling.

I had the parts on hand so I built a quarter-wave antenna for my FOSS TinyGS (satellite ground station).

I deployed the antenna on a post in the backyard, now to see how well it performs. The SWR and Smith charts look very good but real world performance has a mind of its own.

I also used parts on hand to build a battery+solar panel charger for the TinyGS. It tested out OK but for now the actual Lora board is powered from mains.

Https://tinygs.com

We ordered coffee from Wonderstate Coffee for the first time and chose Driftless, an organic medium-dark roast wonderstate.com/products/organ. The beans were roasted the same day they were shipped to us. Lovely aroma and taste. 👍🏼 ☕️

I think the Doctor Strange Bust model posted by iczfirz https://www.printables.com/model/59079-doc turned out great (though it did require a few organic supports). My teenage son immediately added it to his collection in his bedroom.

Oh, very nice. I got my first confirmed satellite packets this morning from PC4L-L!

I’ve had my MK4 printer set up for 9 days. It already has 4 days and 22 hours of print time 🤣

Thanks to the backend admins I got my tinygs.com/ satellite receiver on their network. Now I need to work on getting my first satellite pass.

Just finished the 3dsets.com Sandy Mini included with my Prusa MK4. Really happy with it. It took a couple of days of printing to complete.

Filaments: Prusament Royal Blue for the body, Lipstick Red for the seats, Eryone Matte Black for the tires, Hatchbox Silver and Black for the rest.

Tried to set up my TinyGS (satellite ground station) today but cannot get the MQTT credentials to work in spite of repeated tries. So far nothing in the Telegram group has been helpful.🤷‍♂️ Time for patience I suppose.

This morning I started my longest 3D print ever - 11.5 hours. Thunderstorms began shortly afterwards and dumped 1.5” of rain and still going. I’m wondering if I will get an unintended test of power out recovery on my MK4 later? Hope not.🤞🏻

I’m definitely pleased with my MK4. Nozzle changes are a breeze and even without the fancy new input shaping stuff it is a lot faster than my MK3S+. E.g. a 3.5 hour print on the MK3S+ takes only 2.7 hours on the MK4. Can’t wait to try the input shaping firmware when it hits beta.

With the arrival of my MK4 I decided to create a revised holder for 3D related printing tools. This is a compact model that holds 11 different tools. It’s not specific to the MK4. I’ve posted it to Printables if you’re interested: https://www.printables.com/model/522010-pr.

I started using OnShape to learn CAD and did a few designs successfully. But I ran into some limitations even for my simple models and I’m not a fan of the fact I can’t save the designs to my own storage.

Thanks to the new Fusion 360 course at Prusa Academy I got over the hump and I’m able to make the switch. I still have a lot to learn about F360 but I can now enjoy the process instead of just being frustrated.

Completed the first nozzle change on my MK4. Very straightforward and it sure is nice handling cold parts vs “give you 3rd degree burn” parts.

Of note, the used nozzle, hotend and heater block are clean as new still. Never saw that on my MK3S+.

I set up my MK4 today which was a breeze. After a quick test print I designed a Nextruder nozzle holder as my first “real” print. I wanted a space-saving vertical orientation and I’m very happy with the way it turned out.

printables.com/model/519957-mk

Looking forward to setting this up tomorrow. And eating some Haribo in the process. 😋

Pleasant surprise of the day: A notification from DHL that my Prusa MK4 will be delivered at the end of today, 2 days earlier than expected. Guess how I plan to spend my 4th of July😉

Twas a lovely sky shortly after dawn

A lot of small things had me feeling a bit down this week. I got a shipping notice for my Prusa MK4 this morning though so I’m feeling better now😉

TVs are more complicated than ever (smart == difficult) yet the manuals that come with them these days say little more than “turn it on”.

The struggle is real: MIL’s TV broke and I’m trying to get a smart TV to play dumb. I may have to drag her kicking and screaming into the smart device era.

It is interesting to me that while, apparently, social media in general is popular and continually expanding my participation continues a marked decline. Over the past couple of years I’ve dropped FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and so forth and most recently Reddit (pre-API fiasco). They all turned into time sinks with no decent return. Don’t miss them at all and I have more time for healthy activities. Sticking with Mastodon though.

That didn’t take long! Very cool. mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/

I love this sunrise

Welp, the heat index for today hit 117Fº. But yeah we’re still gonna cook dinner on the outdoor grill 😜

It is weather you can wear season here. Temperature 80F+ first thing in the morning and humidity 90%+ so naturally came home soggy after working out. I think I’ll feel dryer in the shower. So thankful for air con.