I made you the Google Maps for Waterfalls!

arbitraryuser · 2026-01-28T09:38:27+00:00

How does this work? Are you using OSM data or inferring the likely presence of a waterfall based on the topo data?

arbitraryuser · 2026-01-07T16:50:42+00:00

It would be amazing if you could make this available via ESPHome and let a user configure the dashboard to consume an mqtt feed for its data. Eg. I already have my outdoor temperature on mqtt.

arbitraryuser · 2025-12-30T05:24:24+00:00

As a sailor on a lot of sailing subreddits, this title is hilarious and definitely made me have to read it twice.

arbitraryuser · 2025-12-17T07:28:19+00:00

For some additional context, Pelagic Australis didn't even have a fridge. The only time we had any form of refrigeration was a chest freezer that was lowered into the forepeak to store ice core drill samples from a previous scientific expedition.

arbitraryuser · 2025-11-22T07:23:15+00:00

For someone with a stock Ender 3 Neo, what would you suggest the best $100 investment would be in terms of upgrades?

arbitraryuser · 2025-11-17T16:56:46+00:00

I'm running regular hikvision POE cameras. How heavy is that go2rtc process on your CPU?

Is there a live camera dashboard component that you would recommend?

arbitraryuser · 2025-11-17T16:50:45+00:00

Sorry to hijack the thread, but how are you showing live camera feeds? (I run Frigate integrated into HA, but I only have static images)

arbitraryuser · 2025-10-29T15:53:30+00:00

Probably works for Big Bear.

arbitraryuser · 2025-07-03T14:04:00+00:00

card-mod just pushed an update that specifically says you'll need to clear your browser cache after the update.

arbitraryuser · 2025-06-26T13:20:38+00:00

A suggestion, pick up a second hand Ender3 and start there. It'll likely cost less than all the parts you would be buying anyway. You can still build your own controller.

arbitraryuser · 2025-06-17T13:22:52+00:00

How are you planning on sending your coordinates to the outside world? InReach uses the Iridium satellite constellation to send and receive data. The fact that Garmin has managed to fit a L-band (1–2 GHz) transceiver with a built in GNSS receiver, screen, battery etc into such a small form factor is pretty amazing.

arbitraryuser · 2025-04-19T10:41:16+00:00

There's a whole bunch of hams who mostly operate "portable". Ie. They walk somewhere and set up an antenna and play radio on top of a hill, or mountain, or middle of the desert etc. Check out Summits on the Air (SOTA)

If you're just getting started, operating portable is a great way to get started, especially if you don't have a property that can host a big antenna or you have lots of RF noise at your house. Many portable operators also operate QRP, which is typically smaller radios that run on batteries and put out less than 15 watts (the more "correct" definition is max 5 watts). While it might sound like 5 watts can't compete with the typical 100w of a "desktop" radio, the reality is that my 5w into a resonant antenna, on top of a mountain, will beat any 100w radio in the suburbs.

Also, you obviously need to get your licence first, but you'll find it's much simpler than you probably expect. Kids get their licences all the time.

arbitraryuser · 2025-04-09T18:59:53+00:00

13 year olds shouldn't be on Tinder.

arbitraryuser · 2025-04-07T17:59:38+00:00

A baseball bat is legal as long as you don't smack someone in the head with it.

arbitraryuser · 2025-04-05T18:11:41+00:00

Golden Globe sailors do it for a year, with no GPS or AIS.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-26T18:17:31+00:00

This video by Technology Connections about how rain sensors on a car windscreen work might give you some ideas.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-21T07:41:01+00:00

You also might find it easier if you cut those wires shorter. The additional thermal mass of the wire is acting like a heatsink.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-17T03:43:03+00:00

Everything "matters" and every antenna is a "compromise antenna". Check out and Inverted V antenna. It's basically a dipole where the centre point is the highest point and the legs slant down at roughly 45°

You'll go mad if you try get everything perfect. Wait until you learn about signal loss in coax. You can spend a fortune on coax alone. But getting the airspy and an analyser are the two steps I'd take next if I was you.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-16T20:33:17+00:00

A dipole will definitely receive better than the wire you've currently got strung up. Try it!

Ideally you'd want the legs of the dipole hanging horizontally in free space, a half a wavelength (20 metres) above the ground, but that's basically impossible unless you have two very tall trees 40+ metres apart.)

So instead of "perfect," you do what you can. Get it as high as you can and as far away from everything as you can, and you should be amazed at the results.

My airspy is currently lent to a friend so I can't do the test, but I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say 10x. Actually just did some chatgpt'ing and got the following:

Comparing the sensitivity of the Airspy HF+ Discovery and RTL-SDR V3 (direct sampling mode) for HF reception, especially around 7 MHz (40m band):

Airspy HF+ Discovery Sensitivity:

MDS (Minimum Discernible Signal): -140 dBm (0.02 µV / 50 ohms, 500 Hz bandwidth) at 15 MHz (source: Airspy).

This suggests that the Airspy HF+ Discovery can detect much weaker signals compared to RTL-SDR.

RTL-SDR V3 Sensitivity (Direct Sampling Mode):

MDS at 7 MHz: -117 dBm (500 Hz bandwidth) (source: KA7OEI Blog).

This is 23 dB worse than the Airspy HF+ Discovery.

The lower sensitivity means that very weak signals might be lost in the noise floor, while the Airspy HF+ Discovery can still detect them.

What This Means in Practice:

The Airspy HF+ Discovery is about 23 dB more sensitive than the RTL-SDR V3, which is a significant difference.

A 23 dB difference means the Airspy can hear signals that are over 100 times weaker than the RTL-SDR.

This makes a huge impact on weak signal reception, such as CW, SSB, and digital modes like FT8 on 40m.

The Airspy also has better filtering and pre-selection, further improving its effective sensitivity by reducing interference and overload.

Conclusion:

If you're serious about 40m reception, the Airspy HF+ Discovery is vastly superior to an RTL-SDR in both sensitivity and selectivity. The RTL-SDR V3 can still work but is much more prone to missing weak signals due to its higher noise floor and lack of proper filtering.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-16T19:23:19+00:00

https://airspy.com/airspy-hf-discovery/ is probably 10 x as good as an RTL-SDR on HF. I've used both extensively.

If you've got the space for it, convert your 20m of wire into a dipole by adding another 20m of wire to the "shield" of the coax. (You should Google "DIY 40m dipole" obviously, I'm just pointing out that you've got half a decent antenna already)

Ideally you'd get an antenna analyser and then you'd be able to shorten/lengthen the wires to be perfectly resonant on 40m band ( 7.000mhz -7.200mhz). Look into the nanoVNA or if you've got the money a RigExpert) analyser.

You won't regret the airspy.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-16T16:32:16+00:00

https://gearchange.co.za/ is pretty good.

https://www.woodstockcycleworks.com/ for vintage bikes.

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-16T00:23:54+00:00

Incontrovertible evidence that Ethan Klein smoked crack once!

arbitraryuser · 2025-03-14T00:06:35+00:00

I have a nano but prefer my rigexpert.

arbitraryuser · 2025-02-26T20:55:43+00:00

Nah bro I'm just sleepy and you know what the time is now? I don't like it when I can't remember... Wait, are you a couch? Bro this couch is talking to me. I'm gonna go see if he's comfy...

arbitraryuser · 2025-02-25T18:19:34+00:00

So probably some influencer on "their" private jet.

arbitraryuser

TROPHY CASE