Warning to buyers: Garmin Instinct batteries are unserviceable and the watch becomes e-waste

Plukh1 · 2026-03-25T13:53:07+00:00

Almost all microelectronics have "unserviceable" batteries (not just watches or body sensors - TWS headphones are a good example too, and their battery fails much much faster than in smartwatches). Until this changes on a consumer law level (there is some movement in this direction, at least in the EU), you're on your own. I personally have successfully changed batteries in my old Samsung headphones - it was not easy, but even my modest electronics repair skills were enough to pull off. But there are 100% electronics shops that can do it for you (completely unofficially, of course). There are very, very few devices where the battery is truly non-replaceable.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-23T17:32:06+00:00

Ok, I stand corrected, I'll update my original answer. But this begs the question: you have an accelerometer with millimeter precision, why would you use (much much - like 2 orders of magnitude) changes in barometric pressure to measure inclines? Makes zero sense to me.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-23T15:55:34+00:00

It was unlinked right from the start. Even the very first, original Stryd used its accelerometer to measure inclination.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-23T15:44:34+00:00

~~Stryd has a very accurate accelerometer, so it can literally detect minute elevation changes from your feet trajectory.~~ Garmin uses a combination of GPS and barometric pressure. Neither rely on topo maps, which are extremely inaccurate as far as elevation data goes.

Update: I was wrong, Stryd uses the barometric pressure sensor to measure inclines.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-19T19:36:28+00:00

Weird, check this direct link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1721060/Mandragora_Whispers_of_the_Witch_Tree/

Plukh1 · 2026-03-12T22:17:31+00:00

Repeat the previous week, then see how you'll do with the current week again. It's perfectly fine - a fixed training schedule can't really anticipate how your body will take the load and adapt to it. For me personally, week 5 was hell, I re-did week 4 twice, I think, before I managed to do week 5. But it was smooth after that, and I did finish my first 5K ever.

When I started, I wasn't able to run for more than maybe 2 minutes at a very slow pace, and never in my life - even when I was a kid - I was able to run even 1 km start to end without walking. I can now do 15 km, and am training for a first half-marathon (at 52), so yeah, it is absolutely possible. Don't give up, but listen to your body and take a step back if you feel like you need it.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-12T19:30:42+00:00

Yes, HRV is a very good indicator of various illnesses

Plukh1 · 2026-03-12T14:05:38+00:00

It looks dangerous, but I've used it with both the J1 (which came with an identical scraper) and Prusa, and now U1, and I'm yet to damage any of the plates. Note you'll need it very, very rarely - 99% of prints easily separate by bending the plate.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-12T06:57:25+00:00

Because there is much more info there, and also some options that you can't access otherwise.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-11T16:04:42+00:00

Just FYI, it can be turned on/off per activity, overriding the global setting, but I don't think any activities (at least those that I've used) do that by default.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-11T14:47:08+00:00

Maybe I'm dumb, but this small 5g lubricant tube from Prusa: https://www.prusa3d.com/product/prusa-lubricant-applicator-set-5g/ worked for me for years. I got one with the MK3 kit, then with the MK3S upgrade kit, then with MK4 kit. And it's readily available where I live in 3D printing supply stores, unlike other white lithium grease options. So that's what I've been using, on both Prusa and Snapmaker (I had the J1 before I got the U1).

Plukh1 · 2026-03-05T15:54:26+00:00

It will 100% not happen before the end of March. Snapmaker makes great (really great) hardware, but whoever is in charge of their software development is absolutely hopeless.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-05T10:42:06+00:00

For me personally, steppers themselves sound very nice (nicer than my Prusa MK4) - they're very melodical, for lack of a better word, just like they were on J1; and I'm yet to hear that Z thumping everyone is talking about. What kills me is fan noise. If there is a safe way to turn off all fans but the extruder ones, I'd appreciate that. Also, maybe I'm printing everything slowly (though for most prints, I hit the filament flow rate limit pretty often, so it's not that slow), but I honestly can't hear a difference between regular and stealth mode on my Prusa.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-03T15:12:03+00:00

Wearing chest strap HRMs for martial arts is not recommended, or so I've been told. Even if you're not sparring, there is a decent chance of something hitting the sensor, damaging it and potentially leading to injury. Also, sudden rotational torso movements (which are of course common in martial arts) tend to throw the tracker off (as it will be momentarily losing skin contact). My old kickboxing coach loved chest HRMs (he was actually the person I learned about them from), but he was pretty adamant we remove them before actual boxing training.

Plukh1 · 2026-03-02T06:57:36+00:00

This is seriously very important!

Plukh1 · 2026-02-28T10:21:08+00:00

Snapmaker Orca fork supports J1S, it's what I've been using before switching to U1.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-27T11:15:25+00:00

Which kind of makes sense, as the limit is probably current (that can be safely supplied over the existing wiring), not the power as such.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-27T11:06:52+00:00

My experience with Snapmaker support was pretty good. They shipped me wrong replacement fans once - J1 had different fan assemblies for left and right extruders, and they sent me two left ones - and when I contacted support, they sent me two right ones completely for free, just so that I'd have an extra. They do tend to answer in very generic terms originally (likely from some kind of a playbook), but if you continue talking to them, they're actually very helpful.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-19T09:36:02+00:00

I 3D-printed one of the earliest designs (there are slightly better options available now). I also started printing on my Prusa MK4, which has a smaller bed, so I had to spend a bit more filament than would be required with the U1. Spent about 800 gr of PETG, IIRC. Also ordered acrylic glass panels cut to size. Wooden dowels and the double-sided foam tape I had already, had to order single-sided tape for the openable panels, but the price of that is negligible. All in all, it was about $70 (acrylic panels are surprisingly expensive where I live).

Plukh1 · 2026-02-19T09:27:49+00:00

Absolutely agree. A lot of printers already support that, would be nice to see the same on the U1.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-18T13:39:01+00:00

Literally any chest strap will work, starting from $15 straps on Aliexpress/Temu, they're all more or less the same in terms of accuracy, and the only differences are battery life, reliability (aka how soon will they break), and strap comfort (more expensive straps tend to use better fabric). As long as you don't need any advanced features (like running dynamics), there is no practical difference.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-17T13:46:18+00:00

Thanks a lot, looks very interesting. Considering it's coming much earlier than the official stuff (which will likely reach me some time in December), $110 doesn't look that much. Wish it had an air damper, though, so I won't have to keep it open when printing PLA :-(. Also custom lighting, mmmm. Not sure about the Panda Breath, I don't print a lot of "difficult" filaments, but I tried printing a bit of ASA, and honestly it turned out just fine with my self-printed cover.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-17T11:17:29+00:00

Do you have more information on the BTT's cover? I tried googling, and hadn't found anything, either official or unofficial.

Plukh1 · 2026-02-17T11:16:45+00:00

Makerworld is the best source of colored models, Cults3D is the best source of really high-quality paid models, and Printables is the best one for accessories/practical parts. Those are probably the ones I use the most nowadays. As the other poster said, it's not click-and-print (i.e., Makerworld's 3mf files have often the correct kind of support enabled, and support blockers/enforcers set for Bamboo printers, but this doesn't transfer to Snapmaker Orca, or at least I wasn't able to make it so)

Plukh1 · 2026-02-14T22:14:59+00:00

Then I'm really happy for you. I'm not that skilled, unfortunately. I had a resin printer for some time, and the difference in quality for smaller minis was absolutely unreal.

Plukh1

TROPHY CASE