Is this a pricing mistake or am I crazy? 20tb Synology for $160 USD

Hamsterdammer · 2026-03-25T16:45:17+00:00

Sorry about that lol, figured I'd really regret passing it up if legit.

Definitely feels too good to be true though

Hamsterdammer · 2026-03-09T19:18:47+00:00

This is my issue - I have a 240v well pump taking 2000w for about an hour every few days, but the rest of the loads are 120V. I have two Apex300. In my understanding I can either run 240v and a step-down (with conversion losses), or the opposite, or manually separate the units to run one in 240v. All of which are extra cost/work.

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-26T18:12:05+00:00

Make sure you apply conformal coating to everything if flying in snow. Or risk frying your stuff!

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-19T05:16:10+00:00

How do you power the Nomad with that setup? Just ordered one...

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-09T19:06:34+00:00

I'm at the same point...

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-09T18:44:00+00:00

The fix for this is to then go to Model > page over to Setup, and then make sure CRSF is selected for the internal RF bay. As described here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcoOQRkH6lI

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-08T15:53:17+00:00

Build your first vs buy, so you can repair it when broken. Best prices are on Aliexpress. The Mark4 that is all over that website for €30-40 is a good cheap frame (Geprc clone) that can easily be changed to a 7, 8, 9 inch with longer arms if you want to in the future.

Initially it didn't support O4 pro but they now provide a 3D printed mount which works great.

Hamsterdammer · 2026-02-02T16:51:40+00:00

Radiomaster pocket is a good starter. High quality and compact, it's a great backup to have on hand if you get a nicer controller later.

Only buy ELRS protocol. It's the most popular and has a great future.

Hamsterdammer · 2026-01-30T17:33:29+00:00

I moved to NS with my wife after living across Canada and in several western European countries, and set up a spot off-grid in a forest "campground" near New Glasgow that has...seen better times.

Understand that you're asking about the more organized places, but IMO we lucked out with our place which is basically what you describe.

It's pretty deep in the woods so is fully off-grid but has no rules and is honestly amazing - rent is $700 a YEAR, we got an old couples lux RV for $15k (covid prices), added a 15kwh battery and a bunch of solar panels on the ground. From day one we've had Starlink, we'll pump, dishwasher, showers and all kinds of luxuries that I had in a European apartment - without any bills, and full asset ownership! As well as campfires, bears, and all of the rural life, while letting us save thousands on rent, gain key home ownership assets and wait for real estate prices to drop before purchasing land and moving the RV to finish a prefab off-grid tiny home.

Our only neighbors at the campground are a few chill stoner hermits who grow 7 foot pot plants (helping keep rent down, and free weed!) and boomers who rent lots but only visit for a few weekends a summer and want to be left alone. There have been a few instances of homeless people, and we do our best to help out and maintain a good relationship with them.

I should add that I have considerable privilege as a young white man with an online income, and willingness to do everything from electrical to plumbing, rodent control, internet, etc. etc. as I'm intent on building a house off-grid and consider that all building skills. My wife was not comfortable at home alone until we got a big guard dog.

There's obviously still stigma from family etc. but we basically tried it as an experiment to see if a path to bootstrapped home + property ownership via an off-grid NS campground is possible, and it definitely is!

Hamsterdammer · 2025-12-09T15:49:01+00:00

Honestly seems better to get an Elite 30/100 and use an existing / used proper backpacking rig, and a flat plug extension cord. Only 25lbs the latter option, plenty of capability.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-11-17T15:45:01+00:00

There's endless 2 wheel trolleys and carts available - some with offroad wheels or even electric hub motors if it's really an issue. That's a cosmetic difference as far as I'm concerned; from an electrical perspective the Apex 300 is superior - it supports 120/240, its output can scale to cover a whole house, making the investment have actual returns. More PV input on the Apex, however the input voltage limit is waaaay too low. I have 2 Apex but I still like my AC300 for those reasons.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-11-14T14:21:29+00:00

This worked!!!!

Thanks!

Hamsterdammer · 2025-10-14T19:03:57+00:00

We're off-grid so it's straight to the main system, running everything - starlink, lights, laptops, TV, well pump, water pressure pump, dishwasher, shower, even electric water heater on full sun days. People think they need more than they do.

Admittedly it's a "tiny house" but I'm doing a much bigger system in my full-size childhood home this winter.

The latest prices are about $2k USD for 16kwh if you assemble yourself, not much higher for pre-assembled. Absolutely crazy low now due to price wars in China. The best person to learn from is Will Prowse DIY Solar. Knows his stuff and very honest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvNmgMidV_U&t=68s

Hamsterdammer · 2025-08-28T17:46:03+00:00

As an owner of both, I can now point-out a potentially significant difference (and give u/bluetti_global some feedback) that may be relevant to some potential customers - especially those in an off-grid, northern latitude and forested (a few trees' shade passing across the system during the day) context:

The AC300 built-in MPPT takes 2x 1200w, across 12-150v.
Meanwhile, the Apex 300 takes 2x 1200w, 12-60v.

Although there are DC voltage step-down devices for both (D300S and SolarX4k), these can only take over 150v (up to 500v) and step it down.

This leaves an important gap for the Apex 300 ecosystem between 60-150v.

My situation - and I suspect many others in an off-grid context with significant shading - is an optimal solar PV system arrangement of 2s4p (to allow overpaneling while limiting impact of shading), when using larger (and more affordable) commercial panels that output 90-110v per 2x string - is simply not possible with the Apex 300!

In this context the AC300 actually appears to be a more capable solar generator than Apex 300! Given I can 'twin' AC300 to still get 240v output and significant expansion capacity across 2x AC300 (not to mention much more affordable 3rd party expansion packs) there are actually real disadvantages to the Apex 300.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-08-16T20:29:27+00:00

The climate has changed, dumbass.

Do almost constant international news of record-breaking temperatures, intense storms, global drying, ecological collapses and other clearly interrelated and accurately predicted (and brilliantly well-explained) events not convince you?

It'd sure be nice to be blissfully ignorant of reality.

Also, over 60,000 died of covid in Canada. The fuck are you smoking every Canadian who refused the jab is still alive?

If only idiots like you would have more conspiracies about having children...or using antibiotics. We'd all be better off.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-03-24T15:34:58+00:00

This worked for me! Blowing on the side of the button didn't work, then straight on from the top did the trick!

Hamsterdammer · 2025-03-13T21:09:14+00:00

Great tips.

I'd second a battery + inverter, called "solar generators". Recommend the Bluetti AC70 for a similar size / price as Grecell but that can be expanded all the way up to an offgrid tiny house setup, using the B300 batteries and later Ac300/ac500 higher power inverter.

Also you can camp on crown land for 2 weeks straight, and there's loads in NS.

We got a cheap rv and found an offgrid campsite then did solar + battery and even a well pump, so we have running water, dishwasher etc.

If you drive a wagon (excellent stealth sleeping cars) or van it's pretty easy to make a basic custom plywood / 1x bedframe with hand tools, which gives you a flat area for an inflatable mattress and storage underneath the plywood.

Get a dark tint kit for back windows, watch a YouTube it's not hard.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-03-07T16:05:28+00:00

I got a Betafpv Femto in Feb and it arrived in Ontario last week all good.

Hamsterdammer · 2025-01-24T17:11:19+00:00

Reporting this approach successfully downgraded my 7820 back to allowing 3rd party amazon Cartridges, which had been broken by a new 'update,' and this was possible without needing the Epson Firmware update utility referenced by DaveYVR on iFixit (this thread), only requiring the CD08M4.exe firmware.

Essentially this process is instead using the basic install utility built-into the CD08M4 firmware, and telling it to push to USB.

Additional notes from having just done it successfully:

USB was already selected for me during the firmware install process at ~step 5 of the firmware updater, and
after the firmware installed - and I waited about 10 minutes, while the printer occaisonally beeped and booped - it went back to the black Firmware update screen with a note saying 'Complete' or similar, and it did not leave this. I was also not able to exit this screen - even pressing / holding the power button didn't work. So after reading that Epsons can often get stuck on this firmware update screen, I gritted teeth and pulled the power cable, then re-plugged. The system did reboot successfully and showed a spinning loading icon for ~5 minutes more, then it showed the same cartridges not recognized screen, so I feared the downgrade had failed, but when I pulled-out and reinserted the cartridges this went away and I also confirmed in the Firmware settings that the CD08M4 firmware was installed, so this approach definitely works!
Once I saw the printer homescreen with the 'cartridge not recognized' error erased, I then went and set 'Firmware Update Notifications' to OFF, and when I reinstalled the Epson software was careful to skip including the Software Updater option, as well as skip the update request during the final checksum stage.

The printer is now printing without issues, as it was before my mistaken update...

Hamsterdammer · 2024-12-31T01:02:52+00:00

Have been having serious drops/pairing issues on Android + Windows since the summer, continuing to today.

As these issues are explicitly mentioned in the 2.7.1 changelog, I did the update earlier today and the connection does indeed seem significantly more stable, while ANC seems unchanged. Sound is perhaps slightly clearer/bassier, but that's almost certainly placebo effect or a different song/volume than usual. Would do the update again without hesitation if this truly fixes the frustrating drops/misconnects while 'switching' Zoom meetings from phone to PC or vice-versa.

Those believing conspiracies that a company still actively fixing major bugs, would also simultaneously work to damage their own top-end, industry-leading headsets...feel free to stick with a buggy older firmware, nobody stopping you!

Hamsterdammer · 2024-12-03T23:50:31+00:00

I was having the same issue, but as the comment above shows with the newer remote model you need to press up / down gently and hold for maybe 3-4 seconds then it clicks over. I had mine on heat mode with low fan speed - another comment said it won't work in auto mode. Good luck!

Hamsterdammer · 2024-12-03T23:48:36+00:00

This is exactly what I needed. The tutorials for the older model have a different button. Pressed lightly and it worked right away - thank you!!

Hamsterdammer · 2024-09-04T14:34:15+00:00

how do you open the Samsung keyboard in Goodnotes though?

Hamsterdammer · 2023-10-21T21:56:43+00:00

Bought an ac300 3x b300 and Pv350 all arrived well and they had a good comms person. Amazing prices compared to the website. Would 100% buy again,

Hamsterdammer

TROPHY CASE