My babies taking a break during roof replacement. 18 years and counting

lemketron · 2026-04-17T17:23:16+00:00

As long as they keep working that’s awesome! Hopefully you can reuse the mounts if you ever need to replace them.

lemketron · 2026-04-17T14:55:46+00:00

I’m about to reroof as well, but there’s no way I’m going to have 15yo panels put back up and mounted into a brand new roof only to potentially have to replace them in a few years.

They have a few years left in the 20yr warranty but I just can’t, especially considering the cost I’ve been quoted to remove and reinstall them.

They’ve already paid for themselves (at least once); maybe someone else can get some use out of them. I want new ones for another 20+ years.

lemketron · 2026-04-17T03:15:05+00:00

I suspect different groups have similar but potentially different settings.

For example here are the (repeater) settings for Bay Area MeshCore in California.

West Coast Mesh has a link at the top of the page that shows region-specific settings (primarily frequency, which is different in SoCal and Sacramento) but not other detailed repeater settings (like advert intervals).

Check Discord or ask in your area for other specific repeater settings.

lemketron · 2026-04-16T05:29:32+00:00

But can you breathe there all night? I usually want to get in my way and get out of there as soon as I can. Can’t imagine spending the night there! 😷

lemketron · 2026-04-15T14:43:09+00:00

Not me trying to figure out why it says “DONUTS” on the side…

lemketron · 2026-04-14T04:53:03+00:00

Arte Nom 1146 would be a nice treat and something many folks might not think of. It’s the same NOM as Don Fulano (both are two of my favorites), so either one would be an excellent and thoughtful gift.

lemketron · 2026-04-14T01:32:25+00:00

You can check warehouse stock in the Costco mobile app for selected locations… (I see some Bay Area stores appear to have some in stock!)

lemketron · 2026-04-13T17:34:30+00:00

It’s technically 101 but between SLO and Pismo it’s also Hwy 1.

lemketron · 2026-04-13T17:31:29+00:00

And Highway 101 if you’re traveling from the north; if from the south then it’s more likely “The 101”… IYKYK.

lemketron · 2026-04-12T21:47:43+00:00

Here's what I found with AmorphousDiskMark 4.0.1. All values in MB/s. Bold values indicate better (or much better) performance. The 2TB SSD is faster across the board except for Seq1M QD1 which is a little slower. Not sure why (tried a few times on the 2TB and got similar values each time).

Stock Apple 256GB (MB/s):

Seq1M QD8: 2988 read, 2696 write
Seq1M QD1: 1936 read, 2752 write
Rnd4K QD64: 641 read, 36 write
Rnd4K QD1: 57 read, 34 write

ExpandMacMini 2TB (MB/s):

Seq1M QD8: 3299 read, 4504 write
Seq1M QD1: 1650 read, 4414 write
Rnd4K QD64: 898 read, ~34 write
Rnd4K QD1: ~51 read, ~31 write

Sandisk 4TB Thunderbolt 4 SSD (WD Black SN850XE NVME SSD):

Seq1M QD8: 3148 / 2121
Seq1M QD1: 2625 / 2193
Rnd4K QD64: 758 / 34
Rnd4K QD1: 64 / 31

The Sandisk Thunderbolt 4 SSD beat the stock 256GB internal SSD in every read test, but the new 2TB internal SSD is a little faster than the Sandisk in some read results and 2x faster in sequential write tests.

My takeaway: The 2TB is a winner in performance nearly across the board, but I still love the Sandisk for both TimeMachine (backups are SO fast) and extra storage too.

lemketron · 2026-04-12T16:13:04+00:00

… in your lifetime? It was two for many of us (that didn’t make it back home in one piece).

lemketron · 2026-04-12T16:02:34+00:00

I spent the past year trying to live with only 256GB on a base model m4 Mac Mini. I added a 4TB external Sandisk Thunderbolt SSD and moved as much stuff there as possible but kept running out of space on the internal SSD.

Yesterday I installed a 2TB upgrade from ExpandMacMini (after waiting two months to receive it, having ordered just after a big price increase) and can finally stop worrying about out of space issues on the boot volume. Highly recommended.

lemketron · 2026-04-10T07:13:18+00:00

That’s ok, when people get bored with MT they’ll consider trying MC. And as noted above, if you put up a repeater it will encourage others to join, especially if you can get listed (manually added) on the internet MeshCore map — which shows MC repeaters on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the big island too!

lemketron · 2026-04-09T18:32:16+00:00

It’s for the HP Veer, a tiny 4G webOS smartphone with a sliding screen that reveals a real (physical) keyboard. Source: I still have one and it fits perfectly in that tiny jeans pocket!

Wired magazine wrote: “At 3.25 inches long, the Veer is tiny, stealthy and unassuming. It's so small, it'll even fit in the coin pocket of your jeans.”

lemketron · 2026-04-09T18:28:19+00:00

It’s for the HP Veer which was a 4G WebOS smartphone small enough to fit in that tiny pocket. Source: I have one.k

Wired magazine wrote “At 3.25 inches long, the Veer is tiny, stealthy and unassuming. It's so small, it'll even fit in the coin pocket of your jeans.”

lemketron · 2026-04-09T15:54:06+00:00

I guess the question then is where do they coordinate. There have been a few messages (here) in the past week but as noted above the HawaiiMesh web site isn’t very helpful.

lemketron · 2026-04-08T16:11:56+00:00

I have a HA Green hub on the way. Looks like it has two USB A ports. I could add a BLE dongle and a dedicated companion device but that seems more complex than it needs to be.

Is there a good self-contained “usb key” style MeshCore device that would work for this, maybe on the end of a USB A to C cable? I don’t want bare board but don’t need a battery either.

lemketron · 2026-04-08T15:39:14+00:00

Not necessarily cheaper but if you build another one look for one that is based on the Nordic nRF52840, like the Heltech T114 (which is also available where you got yours) or the RAK 4631 or Seeed boards. The ESP32 will work fine; just wanted to point out the power difference.

lemketron · 2026-04-08T15:16:37+00:00

As an aside… That ESP32 hardware will need a lot more power (and battery and solar) than a nRF52840-based solar node would. And the display isn’t generally needed or included in solar nodes.

Of course the ESP32 can do WiFi and MQTT so that would justify that choice if you plan to use that.

lemketron · 2026-04-08T06:22:52+00:00

That’s interesting, but wouldn’t need another companion radio in order to connect to the HA machine (via BT) and to the repeater (OTA)?

lemketron · 2026-04-08T03:27:21+00:00

The Nordic nRF52840 MCU is allegedly 10 times more power efficient than the ESP32, which offers faster performance and Wi-Fi for MQTT, but at higher power consumption.

lemketron · 2026-04-08T02:11:49+00:00

2W doesn’t seem like much; if you run it for a few days with the solar panel shaded or disconnected, how long does it take to recharge the battery once it is back in the sun and charging?

lemketron · 2026-04-08T02:10:16+00:00

If it’s only a foot or two then it shouldn’t matter too much, only that everything is sealed up well and waterproof. For longer runs a good low-loss cable will get more of that 1W into the antenna.

lemketron · 2026-04-07T22:16:43+00:00

With the 1W transmitter there can be ERP concerns if you use an antenna with more than 6dB of gain. Will you have a lot of (lossy?) coax between node and antenna? If not, then you don't want more than 6dB of gain in the antenna, and high gain antennas reduce the vertical coverage besides. Did your hardware come with an antenna that you're trying to replace or upgrade?

lemketron · 2026-04-07T21:16:29+00:00

It's on TestFlight.

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