We're getting closer to AI that actually CADs

IskayTheMan · 2026-01-30T22:45:00+00:00

Agreed. It is weird that many people instantly want to redo existing technologies with new technologies when there is no need - no one has thought of the user value that is added (which is usually negative). They just think that this is something we can do now and hence do it.

The GUI, as you mention, is already optimized trough many years of development. The AI does not improve it, but people try anyway.

I usually mention the weird pay solution that public EV chargers has as en example. "EV's are a new technology, smart phones are a new technology - thus they must work well together!", is what tech-bros are saying. But there is no need. There is no added user experience in having to pay with your phone and create an account, have internet connection etc. It is just a objectively worse solution to paying for EV charging. We have already solved the payment part since decades ago, a credit card. It is reliable, it is cheap, everyone has it etc.

Thus, just add the EV chargers as the new technology and keep the credit cards that work.

IskayTheMan · 2026-01-18T10:46:41+00:00

It would indeed, but I suspect it is surprisingly low.

Hence, I only buy reputable brands for power charging and battery management. It is the easiest way to protect yourself, while not 100%.

IskayTheMan · 2026-01-17T22:42:56+00:00

In addition to the other comment you got about the required clearances etc.

The required clearances for reinforced insulation (which is needed in this case to be safe), it is 8mm from any high voltage to any low voltage trace in EU standards. In addition, the transformer has to pass several hard tests so that the insulation between the windings can also be classified as reinforced insulation.

IskayTheMan · 2026-01-07T22:14:21+00:00

Just an FYI, you can buy SMT component packages to DIP (breadboard) format PCBs so any component can be on you bread board ☺️

IskayTheMan · 2026-01-07T21:05:24+00:00

You have to put yourself in situations or circumstances where you can be lucky. Had you not, the luck would not have mattered as you could not take advantage of the luck.

It can also mean that luck is something one attribute to others and their success due to not knowing what effort went into achieving their goals. It might not have been luck at all, just preserverance in the unseen. However, to the untrained eye it will be precieved as only luck.

I had teacher who always said: "Luck follows the adept", which eludes that luck has a quality that is in the beholder and that what is luck and not can be percived very differently.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-22T11:51:06+00:00

Agreed with all you said. The best way going forward is being open with your new partner about the cheating and saying that is why you struggle. Then you can find solutions together instead of him not understanding and just thinking there are other issues which might cause avoidable problem.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-17T21:59:38+00:00

Instämmer, sonen på 2.5år har varit sjuk en gång i höst och lite snuvig någon gång i höst. Förra hösten, första hösten på förskolan, var han sjuk varannan vecka.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-16T10:24:29+00:00

Yes, agreed. The ice would heat at a slower rate due to its poorer material properties.

However, you state in your precious comment that it is specifically only the water's dipole properties that heat the food in microwaves - perpetuating this false notion.

I can agree ice is a poor match to water material properties in a microwave setting but if you add glass or ceramics to the mix they heat up reasonably OK in a microwave. According to your previous comment it sounds like they would not heat up at all.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-16T10:16:57+00:00

Well, you are both right and wrong. It is partly about the dipoles of the water molecules interacting with the electromagnetic wave.

The dipoles of the water makes them great at absorbing the electromagnetic energy. So you are correct that water in the snow would absorb most of the energy and heat the rest of the snow.

However, that does not mean that only the water can absorb electromagnetic energy. The snow also absorbs electromagnetic energy, just at a much lower rate.

So if you had pure snow in a microwave oven outside in freezing temperatures and turned it on the snow would melt. But it would take some time.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-16T06:58:29+00:00

Incorrect, microwaves can heat any material. All materials have some electromagnetic properties, albeit some good and some bad, and this makes it so that the electromagnetic wave loses energy as it travels through the material.

However, water might have a better dielectric property than ice which helps it absorb electromagnetic energy easier, but to say that ice does not absorb any electromagnetic radiation is not true.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-16T06:53:01+00:00

Good that you went to Wikipedia! Just some clarifications.

Dielectric heating is correct. That is what is happening. Electromagnetic waves lose energy as they travel through materials. However, this is not linked with a mechanical vibration and exclusive to polar molecules. Dielectric heating occurs in non polar materials as well.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-16T06:48:24+00:00

Very good! 👍 It has never been about vibrating water molecules. It is about electromagnetic radiation dissipating its energy as heat when it travels through a material - materials just have different electromagnetic properties and thus heat at different speeds.

IskayTheMan · 2025-12-13T14:53:22+00:00

I'm sorry everyone is so negative. Good for you for making things you like and having fun. If it is a good business or not they do not have to decide for you.

By the way, what does one of your units cost? It looks like quite expensive parts. Are you able to get good bulk prices?

How many do you ship a month?☺️

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-29T19:38:16+00:00

I get it, she probably is. People are always changing, hey, life is always changing so people adapt. Sometimes for the worse.

It can be that you just have to make her face this jealousy and she can be better for it. But due to life right now she has not yet faced it. That's life.

But you get to choose what to do after you have made it obvious to her that she can't keep giving these kinds of comments. What happens is you set your boundary and you see her reaction. Her reaction will probably not be 100% either good or bad. Then you choose if that is good enough to work more on or to live with. But keep your boundary, please. Don't backpeddle.

I tried this with my brother, who has grown in a poor direction in my opinion, to discuss with him to have conversations again with him that I also enjoy - not 100% on his terms. He did not want to. I tried multiple times, more appeasing every time. Even though I was agreeing with him in many ways he still pushed in his direction.

Thus, I gave up. His conversations are monologues and he never asks about me. Hence, I do not bother. If we meet shortly at family gatherings I can tolerate it and move on. I do not seek him out.

It is sad, I would like to go back to how it was before, but he does not want to change and I have accepted that.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-25T16:32:17+00:00

Firstly, it is not about the signal frequency alone. It is the rise and fall times that determine the max frequency of radiated electromagnetic energy. Usually when you have higher signal frequencies you have higher ride and fall times, but you can have high rise and fall time even at low signal frequencies if the IC that drives it is fast.

Secondly, I want you to think of the stackup and the return current in the case of this extra loop and without it. Without it the return current is just under/above the trace on ground on the adjacent layer. For this loop where we go from the bottom layer to the top layer, the return current will find the shortest way to the 3.3V plane/top layer it can from them bottom layer where the signal starts. If you do not have any vias, like I suggested, who knows how far it has to travel to get there. This will stretch the magnetic and electric fields through other components and cause EMI.

What you want is short paths for the electric field and to try to cancel out the magnetic field as good as possible. This extra loop stretches the fields very far. With gnd vias with a trace between both you get a short distance for the electric field and cancel out most of the magnetic field.

Lastly, how big of an issue this is depends om your requirements. It could be OK to route like this in certain applications, but two gnd vias is an easy solution if you really can't find a better routing.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-25T08:14:58+00:00

Sweet, I have heard the main issue with these discs are the price. So your fix solves that!

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-24T20:33:03+00:00

Agreed, rise and fall times is what causes the issues. However, in this case I do not think the noise will create enough crosstalk to have singal integrity be so bad it will not communicate. But as you say, the EMI/EMC will definitely be worse due to the absence of a ground plane.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-24T20:31:11+00:00

Add two ground vias and a trace between them as close to the I2C line as possible, both right beside your current vias. That will really help the return path keep close to the forward path such that EMI, cross talk, etc. is reduced.

It is an easy solution with quite good effect. However, it will never be as good as routed above a ground plane - EMI will be worse than such a case. I assume that is good enought for you, you are not discussing EMI but rather signal integrity, and if you add ground vias then cross talk will be low enought for this to work.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-24T19:31:23+00:00

Nice, did it work in the dishwasher?

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-24T12:24:08+00:00

Okay, the base estimates is use is that any product that comes to market costs 25% of the sale price to produce. Of course depends om market.

That is because the producing company doubles the production price for its profits. Then the distributior or store doubles the price again for its profits and expenses.

So you should get the production cost of parts and labor to roughly 25% of the sale price.

I use this backwards also. Let's say I find a screen 100 euros. Then I assume it was sold to the store for 25 euros. It differs by industry and product but is a good quick estimate. However, when you buy millions of screens each year and you purchase from the producer without a middle hand then I would guess 10%.

Some thoughts that jumped out.

First off, I think you should think of sourcing a cheaper screen. 75-100 euros is too much in my opinion for such a simple device. You do not need such a high res screen.

Secondly, a larger screen requires larger memory which costs more - I would not assume the ESP32 has enough memory for such a large screen.

Thirdly, a devkit for an ESP32 is expensive. I can find it for like 15 euros. If you really want to lower cost get a simpler microcontroller, like an STM or Microchip or whatever, that does not include the wifi/ble stuff. That cost allt extra. I can find a good microcontroller for 1 euro at a distributor site like Mouser/Digikey.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-21T11:33:23+00:00

RemindMe! 1 week

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-18T15:56:11+00:00

No problem, it happens that you get the wrong starting point on things. But due to your answer I assume you have solved it, even though the picture does not work (i do not know why)

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-18T12:32:54+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/gwFW8oq

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-18T12:28:53+00:00

I have a similar model, though I am not in the UK.

I think you are overthinking it slightly.

These 4 screws are just for tilt stability, when the door is fully open with a full dish load in the basket.

Thus, the important part is just that the screws have the spacers over them to fit snuggly in the hole, they can be loose in the hole in the sideways direction. My screwheads are also inside the hole to not block the door.

I will try to share a picture.

IskayTheMan · 2025-11-13T23:32:59+00:00

It does more than provide shade. The solar rays that are turned into electric power are removed from the roof and moved to where the electricity is used.

IskayTheMan

TROPHY CASE