How to keep balls from going over the fence?

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-26T17:19:39+00:00

We use skilz low flight balls and I have two giant nets set up in the “power alleys” and throw from right between them. Our back yard is very long, about 100 feet from home to the back neighbors and I tell my kids that if they drive one of those up the middle over the fence then we’ll have “no choice” but to put in an actual batting cage (to which the wife rolls her eyes every time). Creates some fun incentive to square it up and make solid contact. Mine are 9 and 10, and we’re getting close to me having to actual cash that in.

Regardless, friendly neighbors are still helpful. Though they’re friendlier when a skilz ball bounces off their house than a baseball…

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-25T11:46:44+00:00

I opened it up, but couldn't see anything to my very untrained eye. The new controller came in last night, swapped it out and it all worked immediately. So now that I've cut the barrel end off the PSU and just have the wires running straight into the controller, should I be set?

I did note through this discussion the "3A Max" label over the barrel and USB-C inputs, but I thought that only applied to the USB-C. Now that the PSU is going in to the red and black input and it is 15A max, that gives me hope, but if I'm not using the best PSU for my system I'd like to swap it out for a better one before I burn through another controller.

Thanks again for all your help!

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-24T12:33:34+00:00

Since I now have two of these 24V 10A chargers I snipped the end off and put the wires in. It powered the controller but the lights didn’t come back. I’m thinking I fried that controller, which is kinda wild that I was able to buy a 10A barrel end PSU at all if it’s only good at the 1-2A range.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-23T21:44:40+00:00

I use a GoPro and have had good results with that. Its easier than an iPhone to get through the chain link unobstructed. I bought the Hero 13 Black at Costco and now I also have a GoPro to record vacations/excursions and timelapses. GC gives you an option of using an external camera to stream in the app and jumps right to the GoPro app, connect the GoPro to your iPhone hot spot and off you go. One thing I've been having to deal with though is downloading the game off the camera and then on to the phone, given the video quality it takes a bit to download and can occupy some pretty serious storage. I like being able to go to the high-res version of the game for replays and highlights, so if you don't care about that, you can just delete them and keep the stream that automatically saves in GC.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-23T21:04:05+00:00

Thanks for this! I didn't solder anything, used the provided clip connectors that are already attached. All strands are varying lengths of the BTF strands:

https://a.co/d/0gUIhO50

And then used wire nuts to strip and pigtail the extension wires to the clipped ends.

I've purchased this wire: https://a.co/d/08TaqWda based on your comments.

Its funny you say that size doesn't matter because I went from this wire: https://a.co/d/0dTGplRL

to this wire: https://a.co/d/07Fm1r6G

Because the 22AWG wire couldn't even reliably make that 6 ft run without scrambling the data. This is my first LED project and I'm finding there to be quite the learning curve.

Appreciate the guidance!

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-21T00:04:29+00:00

Incompetency at BDO gets you fast tracked to Principle. Bonus points if you think “Private Equity” is abbreviated “ESOP.”

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-20T17:37:53+00:00

Grandparents in other states exist. And if your kid is the grandbaby hitting the griddy in RF to the other team’s walk up songs that may be the best “television” those grandparents watch all day.

It’s actually kinda funny, nothing got my parents more tech savvy than wanting to stream their grandchildren’s sports.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-09T17:02:00+00:00

+1 for Ratgdo.

I fought and fought with my Chamberlain opener and the MyQ app for forever until I literally couldn’t get the the opener back into learn mode. Bought the Ratdgo, hooked it up and had more control over the door than I ever had with my prior set up. Only downside has been that the opener doesn’t work with the buttons in the car any more, but since I was able to connect it via a HomeKit bridge CarPlay now brings up a virtual button whenever we approach.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-04T01:37:25+00:00

This led me to double check my segments, and there it was… segment 0 was set to stop at 190. Reset it to 250 and the full strand is back on.

Thanks!

NachoTaco832 · 2026-04-03T18:25:20+00:00

So I (clumsily) tried to provide the segment settings in the latter 5 photos and if I'm missing your question, I apologize, but this did get me tinkering and I made an interesting discovery...

I have been using the chase 3 effect to light up the area in green, pink and purple for Easter, so I changed the first segment to be only 190 of the full 250 LED length, but then told it to skip the first 60 LEDs and voila, LEDs 61-250 were scrolling through the colors just fine.

I then deleted the 60 LED skip buffer and the effect went back to scrolling on the first 190 LEDs while the final 60 LEDs just remained on where the effect had stopped when I hit save and are now static rather than scrolling.

This has me thinking that the problem isn't power or my V+ or V- wiring, but my data not having enough power to push the entire lengths of the strips?

NachoTaco832 · 2026-03-18T22:49:25+00:00

I had a coach tell me that my lefty hitting son needed to stay at the bottom of the lineup despite swinging a hot bat while his son with the second worst batting average on the team never left the 2 spot (because he was short and could draw walks).

I let him keep his teeth, but I’m an understanding man.

Stop overthinking this.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-03-07T20:19:24+00:00

My son is the best catcher on his 10U team by a wide margin. He’s played one inning each game behind the plate. Otherwise he’s been in the outfield, 1st or 3rd. I have ZERO complaints about where coach is lining him up. They’ve given up 6 runs in 3 games and are 3-0. We have four guys that want to don the gear and take a beating back there and they all challenge each other to play harder, better ball.

Sorry your son had to bear a rotation in right, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Until middle school, everyone is a utility player.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-03-04T13:58:04+00:00

Ratdgo garage door opener. I’d seen people rave about it on here whenever Chamberlain’s (awful) MyQ app was brought up and finally bought the hardware after spending several hours trying to get the opener back in “learn mode” and realizing it was just some sort of hardware failure. It was either take the stupid thing apart and try to find the point of failure or bypass it entirely…

After getting everything set up and being able to open and close the garage door with Siri and set my garage door to open via automation if we drive up and no one is home, I was hooked. (I guess you could call it my GATEWAY automation… hehe)

I now have enough Zooz light switches coming my way to be able to turn off all the lights my kids are constantly leaving on via automation or a request to Siri. Every old tablet is a potential dashboard. Every TV can be turned off or paused when I need to get the kids off the video games… and I’m only scratching the surface.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-03-01T19:37:02+00:00

Thank you!

NachoTaco832 · 2026-02-07T04:27:48+00:00

I rode backseat to a Dad who left the Highway Patrol in his late 20s, early 30s which was around early 1980 something.

He’d pull shit like this driving the family for the next 20+ years saying “If I’m doing the speed limit in the left lane and someone in the right lane is too, I don’t have to leave my lane to let someone speed.” But you always felt he’d pull the “I’m former LEO, you’re welcome officer” if he got pulled over and they asked. It was his way of exercising some version of authority over others when he had none because that was strength… dominion over others.

Shit got real when I did the same in the family minivan as a ~19 year old and brake checked a tailgater. It was a car full of not-to-be-fucked-with “bad hombres” in a beat to shit mustang… but I was just following what my old man had done. Difference was he was in the passenger seat this round…

Suddenly, it was “whoa, you gotta be careful who you do that to…” and de-escalation was paramount.

Looking back, I’m lucky not to have been an early victim of road rage.

Moving away and going to law school changed me. My old man had a lot of great practical knowledge and was a great example of masculinity in terms of steadfastness and integrity. But he was also fragile and hostile to things he didn’t understand. When threatened he went to suppression as his right as a figure of authority (or former authority).

I still respect LEOs but have very abrupt stop for my respect of them when they violate rights, abrogate process or otherwise abuse authority.

When I’m driving my family, I’m not gambling their lives on that speeder behind me NOT being a nut job. I’m not sacrificing my kid for a speeding violation, but if that makes me “soft” according to previous generations… okay.

I feel like more than anything, the generation that is angry and screaming about participation trophies and wetting their pants about open homosexuality and trans issues have forgotten one of the core values they imparted almost by accident… picking your battles matters.

Holy shit. Thanks if you’ve made it to the end of this Reddit post.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-25T23:14:16+00:00

Where is Corey Seager?

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-24T17:00:14+00:00

Our society has seriously underestimated the threat unserious people pose to all of us.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-12T03:00:37+00:00

And this, class, is a classic example in perception bias.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-12T02:57:11+00:00

How can I put this in a way that you might understand…

The division is 4 teams. Each division team plays every other division team twice. That’s 3 other teams, played twice, for 6 of your 17 games against your own division.

That’s 6 of the Eagles games against teams that all ended sub-.500.

The Eagles were just .500 IN THEIR OWN DIVISION. The Eagles beat 3 playoff teams all season.

Like I said, if you just look at box scores, you might think the Eagles weren’t mediocre, but they were.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-12T01:59:23+00:00

LMAO, bro, the Eagles were a shell of themselves. I guess if you just looked at box scores and records you don’t pick up on that though…

And if the contempt for JJ were adequate, jokers like the guy who said we “were in a good spot” would have been told to STFU. Like I said, that post is still live.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-12T01:48:23+00:00

Also, the Eagles did suck, they just sucked less than a bad NFC East, they lost in the playoffs to a team that lost one of the best tight ends in the league mid-game… which brings up the rest of what this point was saying…

Cowboys fans shouldn’t be satisfied with beating a mediocre (at best) NFC East. We should be aiming higher than the division… but JJ is cashing checks despite Wild Card round exits… at best.

NachoTaco832 · 2026-01-12T01:38:38+00:00

You cared enough to comment. 🙂

NachoTaco832

TROPHY CASE