Toots · Hackerific

Here are the toots from my Mastodon account. If you’re into ham radio and technology this is a great inclusive server with an awesome mascot called Alex.

It's Alex! A soft brown mastodon holding a handheld radio in their right hand and carrying a blue bag over their shoulder — Alex, the mastodon.radio mascot

Posted status:

Feb 20, 2019

I always find https://crontab.guru/ super useful when tweaking cron entries. It’s more convenient than the man page and simpler than embedding a big comment at the top.

→ View toot on mastodon.radio

Posted status:

Feb 19, 2019

Does anyone on @mastodon.radio and in the UK fancy a Gherkin keyboard PCB set? I have two sets of the main PCB, top & bottom plates going spare and will happily post them on.

Info on my builds at: https://hackerific.net/2017/10/08/building-a-30-key-keyboard/

and the original idea at:

http://www.40percent.club/2016/11/gherkin.html

They’re tiny and so hard to use, but super fun!

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Posted status:

Feb 15, 2019 #soldering

Amazing! There’s a hand #soldering world championship!

https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/hand-soldering-world-championship

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Posted status:

Feb 14, 2019

I just noticed that Elektor have a new booked ‘KiCad Like a Pro’. Could be interesting, but it’s a bit expensive, especially with £7 shipping.

https://www.elektor.com/kicad-like-a-pro?mc_cid=cf6823df05&mc_eid=a15184bd16

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I’m learning a lot while trying to get my CNC producing decent output. Having to delve into schematic capture and PCB design, which I’ve not done since uni days, followed by conversion to gcode, levelling and milling.

In gcode the learning curve is basically Y10 (🤦‍♂️sorry, bad joke).

I picked kicad because I don’t like the idea of being beholden to Autodesk, and I’m a Linux/Mac person, but it’s pretty complicated. Quite a lot to take in!

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Posted status:

Feb 10, 2019 #amateurradio #sstv

Managed to record some of the ISS’s warblings using my phone’s voice recorder and decoded this. Not sure what it is to be honest. Next time I’ll be better prepared! #sstv #amateurradio

A noisy and grainy image of some machinery and a dark panel. The bottom of the image has a date written on it, but it’s too noisy to read.

When my pi is less busy I’ll try QSSTV, This decoded pretty fast so I must be missing part of it!

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Posted status:

Feb 7, 2019 #hamradio #amateurradio

Ordered a CW Invaders kit after stumbling across a case design for them on thingverse.

Ordered via http://project59.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-656.html (English link at the top of the page). Should be fun when it arrives and when I finally take the plunge and start learning! #amateurradio #hamradio

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Posted status:

Feb 7, 2019

I’ve added some quick and dirty limit switches and a z-probe to my 2417 CNC, and also updated the GRBL version to the latest!

I’ve learned a lot about how it works and think I might almost be ready to use it in anger. Of course I still have a more beefy spindle to install and some new connectors to crimp…

A stepper motor on top of a 3D printed cage. The motor drives a small gantry with a motor inside, which is just out of shot.

A wider view of the 3D printed z-axis of the machine. There’s a stepper motor at the top and a gantry holding a motor. The housing has a sticker of a man with a comically large tongue (it’s a friend of mine)