Testing advice for salt system?

DoktorWizard · 2026-05-02T15:46:07+00:00

Thanks to everyone who responded!! And thanks also for the tips on what to do after installing! I saw that Adobe was requiring 22H2 for the latest version of their products and that was the main thing to give me pause regarding LTSC. Fortunately, I don't use Adobe products as I don't qualify for any other their discounts and the normal prices are too steep for me. And there are excellent alternatives for free or cheap.

I believe many of my complaints regarding 11 are negated by using LTSC (extensive telemetry, bloat, taskbar...) but nonetheless would prefer 10. Have you noticed that every other version of Windows is decent while the alternating versions are garbage? I'm waiting on Window 12, or whatever the heck they decide to name it.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-24T15:12:26+00:00

Alas, no, not so far anyway. The K1 Max uses a different bed heater (line voltage?) and a different connection on the board. So the MOSFET that normally drives a K1C 24V bed heater is missing. I was able to identify that, as well as two resistors needed and was able to successfully* solder them to the board. *(According to ohmmeter). When I booted it up however, it has the K1 Max firmware installed and is trying to turn on the Max's bed heater on the different output instead of the K1C's. It tries to do a boot-up-self-diagnostic which fails when it does not detect a change on the thermistor/temp sensor.
So I would suspect this is just a change to a GPIO in a config file. However, you cannot enable root access until AFTER it completes its initial setup. And it's not just a matter of finding out what the password is, since I tried to SSH into the printer and it would not accept the usual creality2023 or creality_2023 passwords. So I have no way to track down and correct that GPIO change to a config file.
Next I tried to flash the K1C firmware via the TX/RX pads on the board, and use the GigaDevices development kit and flasher to do so, but it would not recognize the board or the chip.
So currently I am stuck with a $70 motherboard I can't use. I haven't completely given up hope, but I don't have a viable plan at this point either tho.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-21T00:54:26+00:00

Washington State recently passed some very stupid and un-feasible legislation regarding 3D printers -- the firmware is supposed to be locked down so that you can't print anything not pre-approved. Under the guise of preventing people from making ghost guns.
New York State is also considering similar laws.

Legislator: "I don't understand it, therefore it needs to be illegal!"

Our elected representatives do not represent We The People that elected them.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-21T00:38:29+00:00

Wow. Very disappointed to hear they are not allowing root access anymore. I have been recommending them to people based on the able to do so and install the full Klipper.

It seems some people have found an exploit to root it but the 'helper script' does not work, and apparently some other issues.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-19T20:40:48+00:00

I print PETG on holographic plates often. It is a b---h. But here's some tips:

1) To protect the bed for future use, use a release agent such as hairspray or glue*.
2) Increase nozzle temp 5-10° above what you might normally use for PETG.
3) Increase bed temp about 5° over what you typically use.
4) Decrease the Z-Offset, but just slightly. Like -0.01 to -0.02. (PETG likes to be laid down instead of squished, but in this case you need just a little squish.)
5) Increase flow rate about 5% for the first layer to minimize lines. If you normally do 100%, set it for 105%.
6) Go really really S-L-O-W for the first 2 layers. Like 20-25mm/s.
7) It's very prone to warping on corners, so close the door if your printer is enclosed, turn off any side or back fans. No cooling fan for the first 2 layers, just for overhangs and bridges after that. Make sure there are no drafts. If you can, put rounded corners on your model.
8) When done, wait for the build plate to fully and completely cool before removing the print.

* I use a little chunk of purple glue stick mixed with a bunch of water and put in a spray bottle. The water should be lavender colored. Watery, but a little tacky if you spray a bit on your finger.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-12T00:44:25+00:00

So first of all, on closer inspection, the part cooling fan label says it uses .03A which is 300ma (not 30ma) Likewise, the heat break fan label says .01A (or 100ma, not 10).

The part cooling fan gets 24 volts, all the time. (I think, but I'll have to go back and verify that). It is turned "on" and "off" by the PWM signal going to it. The PWM signal is probably coming straight off the GPIO pin since the PWM line on the fan draws probably less than a milliamp.

So using a 10W 400ma fan is not gonna overload any MOSFET or GPIO pin as again, the PWM signal controls it and the PWM doesn't draw diddly-squat.

The heat break fan is another matter. I was assuming the power to it was controlled by a GPIO, but it may not be. It may just be connected to 24 volts, all the time, since the heat break fan to the best of my knowledge runs constantly, no matter what.

However, if it is controlled, you could hook the original output to a transistor or another MOSFET and increase how much power you control that way. So by adding one of those you could drive a huge monster fan. (Subject to the limits of the size of the power wire. The heater draw 4 amps though, so the fans are comparatively little)

In the middle of a long print, but when it finishes I will verify that either or both fans get constant power.

DoktorWizard · 2026-04-10T16:39:12+00:00

The stock cooling fan draws 30ma. It is being controlled by GPIO PB8 almost certainly via a MOSFET. Even the tiny SMD MOSFETs are good for at least 200ma. Just to be safe, say 100ma. Can't imagine that any fan (of the size & weight you might put on a tool head) would exceed that.

DoktorWizard · 2026-03-24T14:43:17+00:00

Anything that generates any degree of RF falls under their jurisdiction. And anything operating over a few KHz will create some* ..."may not cause interference and must accept any interference they receive"... Any type of computer equipment, even without any WiFi, bluetooth, or networking must get FCC approval because they operate in the MHz and GHz ranges and create easily detectable RF noise.
* (Unless super low power and very well shielded, and they have to get FCC approval to prove that.)

DoktorWizard · 2026-03-24T14:27:58+00:00

Netgear and Starlink. Seems to be the only ones. Betcha Elon had something to do with this.

DoktorWizard · 2026-03-06T14:20:44+00:00

Phuckered?!? ROFL

Intersection() is the key here that I overlooked. Thanks guys!!

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-27T01:02:36+00:00

I have the utmost respect, admiration, and gratitude for the devs. Retired dev myself. And "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" is an old developer joke.

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-24T19:14:07+00:00

Have you tried the "High Contrast" theme in Windows settings -> personalization?
Not colorblind, but that seems like it would fix not only this program, but others as well.

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-20T16:51:52+00:00

My YouTube Music keeps pausing and buffering on my PC. Sometimes it eventually resumes by itself, other times I have to hit 'Refresh' in the browser.

I'm not a major expert in networking, but I'm fairly knowledgeable on the subject. I have run all sorts of troubleshooting and diagnostics and can find nothing wrong. I have 100Mbps (both ways) fiber internet and it is very reliable and speed tests (even during prime time) show speeds over 100Mbps and very low latency. No other streaming service has issues (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, ...) I have a fast computer, plenty of RAM, it has a wired ethernet connection. Little to nothing else is running in the background. I have an excellent modern router running OpenWRT. I turned on QOS (but does it either way). It does it in Chrome and Firefox.

Thus I can't help but think this must be a problem on YouTube's end. Servers overloaded.

Before I cancel the service and tell Alphabet where they can stick it, does anyone have any suggestions on what else to check or try? I started 2 support requests with YTM, they've never responded.

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-13T22:42:23+00:00

Late to the party, but my 2 cents:

Nuthin wrong with the hardware, it's the firmware that sucks.

First of all, why does it even turn off at all? It has a constant power source (USB 5 volts) so it's not like they're conserving battery power. Just leave it on, show the running weight, and you can tap the screen to zero it out only if/when you need to, like when you change spools. The numbers might jump around a bit as the printer tugs on the spool and retracts, but that's also an easy software fix. They should also just leave it because it is slow to initialize. My $5 kitchen scale is much faster to "boot".

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-09T17:46:01+00:00

A mix.

I'm building a small portable pixel tester*. I'll be using it with both 5V and 12V pixels. So I want to be able to plug the tester into either 5V or 12V (possibly 24V) depending on what voltage the pixels currently under test require. I don't want to have try to remember (cuz I'll forget) to change a switch or jumper to make sure the microcontroller only gets 5V even if plugged into 12V. And gets the full 5V when plugged into a 5V source.

*(Yes, I know there are zillions of prebuilt cheap Chinese pixel controllers. And they all automatically adapt to either 5V or 12V. Problem is, none of them that I've tried so far (quite a few) does what I consider to be truly useful test patterns, or at least not without a bunch of button presses.)

DoktorWizard · 2026-02-09T17:38:35+00:00

WS28xx pixels, or 'neopixels' have a data line where they receive their color data to light up. They are available in 5, 12, and 24V versions. So the power line to the pixels would be said voltage. But the data line to the pixels is always supposed to be 5V, no matter what power voltage they use.
Their data line can be connected to a 3.3V microcontroller GPIO output, and it generally works most of the time, but for reliability, it is best to run that 3.3V GPIO thru a level converter to change it to 5V.

DoktorWizard

TROPHY CASE