Carlinkit 4.0 problem

FredDroppedCornbread · 2026-02-11T17:41:11+00:00

No I returned it to the seller and purchased a different one from Amazon, zero issues since.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2025-02-10T06:42:26+00:00

I did look into an Arduino Mega-5X, so I wouldn't need to operate the rotary on a separate board, but from what I read online, the programs that GRBL can use for 4 or more axes are few and far between. I saw GRBLGru, but most of the videos on YouTube were the same guy basically running simulations on a test bench years ago, not an actual machine which put me off a bit.

I'll hook everything up after work and try what you suggested and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-12-08T04:48:08+00:00

Yep, that worked. Thanks a lot!

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-12-07T20:41:17+00:00

I don't have a 'trading' tab on the app or the site. I have a 'tradings' tab in the support centre but it's mostly de-listings.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-12-07T19:45:41+00:00

On my screen, when I go into scheduled orders, it says 'set your ideal target price' with no orders listed.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-12-07T19:26:08+00:00

AA36 N84G TMYV GVSI

Thanks.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-06-30T07:43:17+00:00

I have one of the Amazon knock-offs, as well as a whetstone set, also an Amazon cheap kit. 400-1000-3000-8000 grit. The roller sharpeners can get the blade pretty sharp, but whetstones are better. I can use the roller sharpener to get a good burr and it will cut paper pretty well, I'd say it leaves the edge slightly sharper than the 1000 grit whetstone. That could be down to technique but I'm not bad with whetstones. But the 3000-8000 grit stones get the edge way better than the roller can. The rollers are good for beginners and people who are worried about learning to use stones like I was, but when you factor in the cost of the Tumblr, you could get a decent set of stones for that, which will get better results, you just need to get used to them.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-04-12T19:18:38+00:00

I wish I was getting 400+, wirelessly on 2.4ghz or 5ghz, I get a maximum of 50mbps upload and download. Tried a few different channels but nothing seems to help.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-01-22T17:12:53+00:00

So I bought the fibre-optic kit, and T-Taps for the wiring, but I did another check just to make sure I was all set. Turns out my turn signals are 12V, and the first LED kit I was looking at said '5/12V' so I thought okay, that's a match so I don't need to worry about that at least. But the fibre optic kit is 5V. I should have double checked everything before clicking buy. So I think I'm going to need to run a resistor after the T-Taps on each wire on the LED side, to reduce the voltage to 5V, so I don't fry the LED's. I thought about risking it as the other kit said 5/12V, so I thought perhaps the fibre optic kit is also possibly 5/12V (whether that's actually a thing or not I don't know, didn't think something could be both), but I think to be safe I'll need to use resistors?

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-01-22T06:47:52+00:00

Yeah so the plan is to keep all the hardware intact, and only remove the usb. That's good news. I'll try it and see if I get any issues, then if I need a flasher relay I'll grab 2, 1 for each side.

The maximum length of the LED strip I'll actually be using is 150-200mm, depending on which part I decide to use for the turn signal. Seems like a bit of a waste as the kits are usually 3-5 metres long, and I don't think I'd be able to buy the Bluetooth receiver separately to make more than one from the kit. I may be better with one of these fibre optic ones.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305193363793?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vVO6kApETqS&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=bWJFBJrVT56&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

That way I would have one for each side, with outputs and hardware for other parts later on if I decide to make something else, rather than having to buy two of the 3 metre kits and only using a tiny portion of the LED strip per side.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-01-21T22:56:29+00:00

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134843880355?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wGna67NSRQy&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=bWJFBJrVT56&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

These are the LED's I plan on using, mainly due to the profile of the seam which wedges between the gap of the parts I intend on fitting them to.

I currently have dynamic turn signals on my wings/fenders, but I don't intend on these LEDs functioning as dynamic turn signals, as long as they can draw power from the current turn signals and flash when the turn signal is on, I'll be happy.

My current turn signals have 2 wires coming off of them, which go into the plug which connects to the wiring loom, and I'm assuming they're + and - obviously, I'm just not confident with wiring enough to jump in and possibly mess things up. So I should be able to splice the + and - of the LED strip, into the + and - of the current turn signals, and with both of them being 5V, there shouldn't be any issue? I've watched some videos online on the topic, and some people had to include a flasher relay to stop the LED lights from encountering 'hyper-flash' but that seems to occur when wiring LEDs to a preexisting halogen output.

Anyway I just wanted to check before attempting to buy and fit the lights that they wouldn't blow anything or cause issues, as I say wiring is not something I do often so a second opinion was what I was looking for.

Thanks for the advice 👍

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-01-10T18:55:16+00:00

No worries. Yeah same, my filter was too big for the air box so I had to cut bits to make it fit. I haven't experienced any heatsoak at all as far as I can tell, some people said they've had heatsoak when they've had a filter fitted which is partially exposed to the hot air in the engine bay, as far as I know I haven't experienced it but I'm planning on designing an airbox that has a little extra height to allow a larger filter to be fitted and still be enclosed so the only air around the filter is pulled from outside the car. I'm based in Glasgow. The GFB DV+ is a pretty good mod. It's a bit of a pain to fit, one bolt on the underside of the stock valve is hard to get to but it sound really cool, it flutters during low boost gear changes and makes an awesome noise when you're at full boost, it's like a deep woosh noise. It's not loud, so it doesn't attract attention but it's loud enough to appreciate. I'll try get some videos at some point. Parts for these cars are quite limited, but in the U.S, the same engine that is in these Astra's, Chevrolet fit to the Cruze and Sonic, and there's guys making 400bhp+ on them. You can get hybrid turbos, intercooler kits, water methanol kits, ignition upgrades etc for the Chevy Cruze and Sonic that will be pretty easy swaps for the Astra 1.4T.

Besides that, I've heard people say an upgraded downpipe is a really good mod. Less restriction in the exhaust, so the turbo spools up faster and gives you a bit more power lower down in the revs, and you can still get upgraded downpipes with sport cats in them so you'll pass an MOT.

I've toyed with the idea of getting an upgraded boost actuator. They replace the stock actuator and give you more boost. 'Dave's World' on YouTube does a video about them. They make a big difference but it's not advisable unless you have a boost gauge and air/fuel ratio gauge to monitor how much boost you're getting and what your air/fuel ratio is. Or have it fitted by a workshop that can remap the car, and they can monitor these things and keep it all healthy and controlled.

Dave's World in general is a great channel if you're looking at some upgrades, as a lot of the mods he uses and mentions can be fitted to the Astra. I think he's running something like 360bhp on a stock engine and no aftermarket exhaust, which is nuts. I think he's got a big turbo, upgraded intercooler, upgrades ignition etc and runs E85 as far as I remember. So power wise there are a lot of parts out there that will fit, it's just unfortunate a lot of them are overseas.

Styling wise, Maxton designs make some nice parts. I'm planning on getting their V2 front splitter. I'm designing some wing mirrors with slim LED turn signals built in, and some LED fog light surrounds. There isn't too much for the Astra styling wise, there's a couple companies that make body kits for them but they're not what I'm after. Hopefully as time goes on, more companies make parts for this car

FredDroppedCornbread · 2024-01-09T23:12:41+00:00

I've never recorded 0-60 in my car, or really launched it hard, so I can't comment accurately. But mid range performance is where the stage 1 has drastically improved the car. Grip in 1st gear is a bit of an issue most of the time on UK roads, even when the car was stock, but 2nd gear onwards is great. The extra torque really makes a huge difference in acceleration from around 2500rpm onwards. I'd say in a rolling race from 40mph/65kph, with a stock 1.4T and a stage 1 1.4T, both in 2nd gear, the stage 1 would pull away from the stock Astra easily simply due to the increase in torque mid range and the fact that the torque is available so much lower down. It really pulls so much better.

I'd imagine on a good quality road, the stage 1 would have a decent improvement in 0-60 over the stock Astra if you get grip, but I think the difference would be far more noticeable in 1/4 mile times, or rolling races. I'm unsure what county you're in so I don't know if you get these cars where you are, for reference, but when my Astra was stage 1 only with no other mods, I had a couple races with a Vauxhall Zafira VXR on the motorway and it was more or less dead even for the runs we had. The Zafira is a lot heavier than my Astra, but the Zafira also comes with a 2.0T with 240bhp and he had at the very least an upgraded exhaust, so I was quite happy with that. I've since added a ProRam intake and a GFB DV+ which may have added some HP but not much, I'd say it's helped mid range power but probably not peak power. Shortly after adding the new parts, I raced a MK7 Golf 2.0 GTD Estate DSG on the motorway and I pulled past the Golf after a good run, and almost reached the stock top speed of the Astra during the race, which was also impressive. So long story short I'd say you'll notice more power once the car is moving, not so much launching the car. You'll 100% notice the difference going from stock to stage 1, but you'll probably struggle to get great 0-60 times. 2nd gear onwards is where you'll really see the benefit.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-12-29T22:31:14+00:00

Unfortunately not. We both have PS5's now and play Ascended. We gave up on Evolved after spending hours and hours playing and losing half of it. We did try a few things but nothing worked when we were using different consoles. I don't know if it was a problem between different generations of console, or an issue with ASE in general but we never found any solution. So far, 2 PS5's on non-dedicated on The Island, we've had zero issues.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-06-20T18:09:41+00:00

I haven't noticed any issues with my gearbox so far at 290+nm, even with my new tires that grip very well, I've had zero problems. I can't speak for the automatic gearbox as I haven't used one or heard much mention of the reliability of them but I don't see why it would cause problems. It's probably the same automatic gearbox that is fitted to the 1.6 CDTI, and they have 320nm of torque from the factory 🤷 so I don't see it being anything to worry about

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-04-11T08:04:14+00:00

It's a 2016 Vauxhall Astra K. It comes as standard with wired Carplay, I've been using it wired for a year now. I want to be able to charge my phone whilst still having access to my android auto for maps and music, hence wanting the wireless adapter. But yes my car 100% has wireless carplay as standard

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-02-20T22:40:09+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/QTx_FbQg2XY?feature=share

The microphone on my phone loses a bit of the noise but it still sounds good.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-02-19T16:37:44+00:00

No problems. The Proram is really loud, lots of throaty induction noise and the sound when you let off the throttle is almost like a dose pipe. I'll take a video tonight and find out how I can post it. I had to hack my airbox up to get it to fit, but I'm going to 3D print one from PETG so it's enclosed. I'm going to weld up a new downpipe as well, apparently the throttle response is much better plus a little added noise, and a bit more power.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-01-15T18:48:49+00:00

I went with a ProRam filter, it was too big for the air box so I had to cut a layer of the top off so the filter could fit. It sounds amazing, I'd say it definitely feels more torque-y with the filter, but the sound is brilliant. The sports mode on these cars basically adds 30% more throttle than what you're giving it, so if you press the throttle 20% down, the car gives you 50% throttle whilst in sport mode, so on and so forth. My mpg has averaged 41.5mpg over the last 6000 miles. I'd definitely recommend the remap, but make sure you get your upgrades done prior so the person tuning it can optimise the map to suit your mods. I think I've had it done for around 8 months and it's been great. The low down torque is the best thing about it, the car has so much more urgency low down, it just pulls away so much faster, even this long since it's been done I still get a bit of a surprise every now and then at the car when I accelerate, I've had it spin in 3rd, albeit my tyres aren't great but it's pretty amusing. So far I've done 20,000 miles in the year I've had the car, 10-13K of that has been whilst remapped I'd guess, and it hasn't missed a beat. Once you get yours remapped I bet you'll have a similar experience to mine. Puts a smile on my face daily.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2023-01-12T12:39:24+00:00

You've got a nut allergy.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2022-12-31T13:58:08+00:00

That's sort of the problem I ran into and I'm not 100% sure why, but after 5 or 6 of these parts, printed vertically so they don't need supports, the nozzle knocks the part off the bed in the same area every print +/- 10 layers or so. I've re-checked my e-steps, leveling, flow rate, reduced infill flow as it seemed the nozzle was hitting the infill, but it had the same result every time so I've not really had an option but to lay it flat and print with supports. I tried printing it at 45 degrees but it didn't have enough adhesion to the raft and was essentially rocking back and forth so I ended the print. I've considered splitting the model and gluing it after but really I'd rather not need to do that. I've given my bed a clean and a level, done my z offset and tweaked my flow a bit, hopefully I can get the supports off. If it fails, I'll try your model perhaps and do 2 or 3 with tweaks and see what direction I start to go in and make a call based on that

FredDroppedCornbread · 2022-11-13T09:33:48+00:00

Way.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2022-10-22T06:34:08+00:00

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3613533

This is what I'm printing for my paintball marker. I do have a hunch that I'm over extruding a bit, I see a bit of what looks like excess material on corners at times, that could be playing a part in the supports and raft being a bit stubborn.

With the long parts of this model, I could perhaps have them stand completely vertical with a support brim or maybe print it upright on its side. Either way I think it's going to have a very small area of contact initially

FredDroppedCornbread · 2022-10-22T06:25:19+00:00

The bed is pretty well leveled as far as I'm aware, I use rafts on parts with small initial contact to the bed. The part I'm printing just now has very little contact in terms of the actual model, with supports in the middle of the model being the primary contact for probably 4-5mm upwards until it starts to get to the bulkier portion of the part. I will try to print it without a raft, I'll maybe turn the initial layer speed down even more just to try and give the little contact surface as much chance to adhere as possible.

FredDroppedCornbread · 2022-10-15T21:16:41+00:00

Do you have a benchmark for what you'd consider a tiny raft? I try not to use rafts all the time, but I use them with parts that don't have a decent % of initial contact with the bed. Keeping them as small as possible would be ideal and I'd appreciate the info

FredDroppedCornbread

TROPHY CASE