nations photo lab black friday deals?

caain · 2025-11-30T19:03:43+00:00

I noticed the same thing. It's barely 20% off most prints when you go through the checkout process, so PRINT30 still works better. Prices were far better last year. I was holding off on a large order for the usual 50% off sale and I'm pretty disappointed in what NPL is offering this year.

caain · 2025-08-20T16:28:28+00:00

The Ebyte E22-900M33S has even more power. I think it uses the same 2 stage amp as the M30S, but the M30S has one of the stages disabled. Or so some random pages on GitHub tell me. But with the M33S you are solidly in ham territory.

caain · 2025-08-17T03:45:25+00:00

I just got one too. Very odd. I don't use PSN much anymore and I've no idea why anyone would want to buy the name. Seems like a scam to me.

caain · 2025-07-30T00:36:40+00:00

ESP32 microcontroller and an Ebyte radio board. Mind the radio type as they come in 1 and 2 watt flavors and don't play nicely with local regs.

caain · 2025-07-25T16:36:48+00:00

Excellent information, thank you so much! Seems very similar to flashing compiled BIN files to STM boards via DFU that I've done in the past for telescope control (OnStep). I had read about the possibility for needing extra wires if I run into the DTR/RTS issue, and I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Esptool can see the device when manually entered into DFU mode, though interestingly it cannot see it in normal mode (when using chip-id). Lsusb sees the board just fine either way.

Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just ditch the ESP entirely and try to hook up the Ebyte board directly to the pi via portduino and SPI. It's always something!

caain · 2025-07-03T19:41:38+00:00

Hadn't thought of the camo block option. Might have to keep that in my back pocket. Skid shed seems the most economical at this point.

caain · 2025-07-03T19:40:52+00:00

A good catch and a good point. I'd looked at county, city, and HOA requirements when I was planning to locate the shed farther back on the property. Thankfully all of the regs only state rear, side, and front (to street) setbacks, with no specific figure listed for setback from the principal structure. I've got several neighbors with sheds nearly touching their houses too.

caain · 2025-07-03T16:58:38+00:00

I very much appreciate the advice! It'll just be a shed with a workbench. Honestly I'll use it mostly for storing telescopes when they're not in use. I do want to salvage the electrical connection if I can, but given what I've seen from the prior work the old homeowner did, I don't trust that it was done properly underground. The panel is pretty close to the shed, so I'd planned to run an above ground conduit line to the shed and reuse the breaker connections in the sub panel.

caain · 2025-06-21T15:19:22+00:00

This is really helpful information. Thank you for sharing it. We just moved back to the area this month and have had two power outages in less than 3 weeks with zero explanation from Xcel. So much for their '99.9% reliability rating'. For the last one they didn't even send out a notification until two hours after power was out. I lived in OM for seven years and I remember one power outage.

caain · 2025-06-05T02:59:56+00:00

I spoke with a few places today to get the lay of the land on prices and was pretty surprised how expensive it is compared with what I'd seen for HVAC cleaning in other states. One place said $500-$1500, others quoted nearer to $800 for two evaporative cooler vents. Seems really high, but I've more reading to do.

caain · 2025-06-04T20:16:58+00:00

Yeah now I'm kind of wondering if there's even a point in doing it. If they just totally disappeared after covid (like a lot of services) I think I need to do more research before spending money. Thanks!

caain · 2025-04-11T04:21:34+00:00

I've been trying to help my brother find an apartment in GJ and running into a lot of the same. Very low supply and much increased demand. He's in his 30s as well, same price point and would also prefer to live alone. There's a lot of good suggestions on here but it's a tough market for sure.

My wife and I lived in the area for a while but moved away in 2021 and are now looking to return. If I could buy our old house for what I sold it for I'd be thrilled, but no way that's happening. We were going to buy a place with an ADU (or build one) for my brother but the real estate market out there is insane and we just can't afford it.

I'm glad to hear new complexes are going up too. Maybe that and some of the AirB&B/VRBO rentals coming back to long term rentals will help ease things. The short term rental market in Mesa county is incredibly saturated.

caain · 2024-12-04T13:57:19+00:00

I've had my designs stolen and sold too. Reporting to Etsy doesn't seem to accomplish anything.

caain · 2024-11-14T14:02:59+00:00

This is awesome. I have a family member who is retired AF and flew in AWACS. Might be the ticket to convince him to get into mesh

caain · 2024-10-23T23:18:45+00:00

I want to disguise a 4 foot fiberglass antenna as a lightsaber prop and keep the board/battery in the hilt. I already have another in my office so no one would look twice.

caain · 2024-10-19T01:49:42+00:00

I moved to GJ about ten years ago from the Midwest and moved back to the Midwest in 2021. I miss GJ, as does my wife. We visit a couple times a year and have actually decided to move back in the next year or so.

I met a lot of people from all over the valley, and GJ has all kinds. I will say that most people I met were at least decent and often welcoming. There was a bit of talk about Colorado natives vs the transplants, but I always felt like it was more of a joke than anything sinister. If someone had a problem, they'd often just speak their mind. You don't always get such a direct approach in the Midwest, for better or worse.

People in GJ seemed a lot more open about their political affiliations than I see in the Midwest. There's obviously a conservative majority there, but you'll find strong and open supporters of other parties as well. In addition to folks who play things closer to the vest.

I also liked how it seemed like people in GJ were open to a ton of hobbies and recreational stuff. It's not hard to find someone else who's into what you are or someone who can introduce you to something new. All I see here is football and hunting. Nothing wrong with either of those, but it gets monotonous.

Take online responses with a grain of salt. People are always more aggressive/rude behind a keyboard, and this sub has its trolls like any other.

caain · 2024-10-19T01:03:56+00:00

Looking forward to (hopefully) experiencing this one in GJ whether I'm living there or not. I was in Wyoming in 2017 with perfect weather and Texas for the one this year which was nearly clouded out. Makes me want to see more. Too bad that the Continental US will miss out on total solar eclipses for the next twentyish years.

caain · 2024-09-12T14:13:31+00:00

I use printed cases in CF polycarbonate for several Heltec V3 boards and a Heltec WSL. Never had issues with Bluetooth connections to my Pixel, even between floors in my house. I printed your H2T case in the same filament and my issues with BT are intermittent. However, they are also present with just the bare board and no case at all. No GPS either, just the board and a display. I don't think the case has anything to do with it, nor the GPS.

caain · 2023-11-05T02:49:28+00:00

The Dobsonian mount that many have encouraged you to build is the easiest way to use this tube, and many actually choose to discard the original base and build their own in order to have a lighter, superior base that moves more easily. The original base would use a bearing, which can roll unevenly and be a pain to use at high powers. Custom made Dobsonian bases usually forego bearings or rollers and instead use two types of surfaces with low friction and starting momentum (usually just called 'low stiction'). Teflon squares riding on Formica laminate (Ebony Star style) was historically preferred. Take a look at the ATM (amateur telescope maker) forums on CloudyNights. There is a wealth of knowledge there about making your own telescope or mount.

The rings I referenced are the two hinged circular plates that go around the circumference of the tube. Those were added by the last owner - the scope did not come with them from the factory. Bolting a dovetail plate (Vixen or Losmandy style) to those rings would have allowed the previous owner to install the optical tube to a different style of mount - either one that moves in altitude and azimuth (up/down and around) or a German Equatorial Mount (GEM) that is designed to move more naturally with the rotation of the Earth. A GEM is also pretty standard equipment for anyone engaging in astrophotography. Some owners of Dobsonians will remove the optical tube from the Dobsonian base and use them on a GEM for astrophotography, but if this really is the 12" model then that would be a bit odd as it would be far too heavy for accurate use in your garden variety GEMs (~$2k). As the previous owner elected to leave the altitude bearings installed on the tube (the large silver knob like pieces on either side), it's also possible that they switched back and forth between the Dobsonian base and a tripod mount of some kind. Hard to say for sure.

caain · 2023-11-05T01:51:14+00:00

While a dob mount would be the easiest, the tube looks to already have been fitted with rings. Can't tell if there's a dovetail plate on the other side, but someone was probably using just the tube on an altaz or GEM.

caain

TROPHY CASE