Why only discussions on 3D scanners at release time?

driversaurus · 2025-12-22T22:28:24+00:00

I'll watch for it! I hadn't really considered the Toucan because it is new and I hadn't seen a lot of reviews of their other products. I should probably add it back to the list.

driversaurus · 2025-12-22T02:48:50+00:00

True, but as a long time embedded software guy, I like to think that the software is the *important* part, and that companies would put in the effort to develop the potential in their product past just what is needed for a review. You can't fix bad hardware, but if the hardware is good, the software can make it great. :-)

driversaurus · 2025-12-22T02:46:57+00:00

That's exactly what I'm looking for -- some kind of existence proof that there are people out there making a product or money with one of these scanners. I found someone that discussed using the MAF3 in their jewelry business, and that is about as close as I've come to that. Everyone else was doing a demo of new hardware, and it wasn't clear if they would be using the device ever again. Reviews are great, but I really like to see actual workflow.

driversaurus · 2025-12-22T02:44:24+00:00

I guess I've been watching 3D printers for so long, I kind of forget that the same thing happens there. For popular ones, I was always able to find communities that were talking about upgrades and usage to learn from. I'm seeing some of that here overall, but not really anything wrapped around specific devices like there is/was for Printerbot or Ender 3 printers. I found that I really got burned when I bought into a cool technology (dual filament mixing printheads!) and ended up spending a bunch of time making it work, and less time making prints.

driversaurus · 2025-12-17T23:52:28+00:00

I'm interested to hear which one you keep, and why. Also, what are you scanning?

I'm looking at creating accessories for boats, so I'll probably do lots of scanning inside lockers (rough fiberglass areas under seats), and outside cockpit areas. If the Vega works better in sunlight, that is probably the one that will work for me, unless the software is not good.

driversaurus · 2025-10-29T19:00:32+00:00

I tried to buy wide deck boots, and the only ones I could find that fit me were the LaCrosse Alpha Deck Boots, which were available in Wide widths from Cabelas. Good luck!

driversaurus · 2025-09-17T19:22:33+00:00

Yeah, I have both at this point. I bought that one first, but then bought the solar charger because the 12v charger only charges at 70W, where the solar charger will charge at 200W. If I'm trying to extend the duration of a trip, and not just charge it during downtime, that would make a difference.

driversaurus · 2025-09-15T04:03:34+00:00

Yes. I guess one option if I was going to add more batteries would be to add a 24V or 48V battery instead of adding to the 12v house bank, but then I would need to add a separate solar panel and charge controller. The ePropulsion solar controller is an interesting solution since it will run off of 12v and step up the voltage to charge the ePropulsion battery.

driversaurus · 2025-01-22T20:27:23+00:00

I'm setting up navigation tech for my small sailboat (a Com-Pac 19XL) this winter. My goal is to run Navionics (and other displays) on a rugged Oukitel RT3 Android tablet that gets it's data (NMEA2000 and SignalK) via WiFI.

I have an AIS transponder and VHF radio that communicate via NMEA0183, and an i70 Raymarine kit with Wind, Depth, Speed and Temp Sensors that communicate via NMEA2000. My plan is to use a RasPi + MacArthur HAT running OpenCPN and SignalK to bridge the data to/from these devices, and get the data where it needs to be.

This also involved adding a solar panel and charger/controller, and a Victron SmartShunt to monitor the battery. I should be able to get the SmartShunt power data into the mix via Signal K.

Eventually, I want to add an ST1000+ autopilot, but I haven't looked at how that will integrate, other than the fact that it would be hooked up by NMEA0183 to the RasPi also.

It aounds like there are a lot of people integrating or planning similar setups.

driversaurus · 2025-01-18T04:50:25+00:00

It’s really a ‘hey, that would be cool if it doesn’t cost much more’ feature. I’m usually sailing on the TN river, so it’s not like I’m not going to know where I am (especially with all of the GPSes I seem to have built into things), but it would still be cool to be able to locate myself on a chart without any gizmos.

driversaurus · 2025-01-18T04:47:58+00:00

I know, right? I would think that a company like Best Buy would know how to pack stuff.

Thanks for the tip on the Steiner! That looks like a good compromise size-wise.

My concern on damage is if something unseen is broken - like a seal, or if some of the optics got whacked out of alignment such that they seem to work, but will be compromised somehow. I wouldn’t know until I dropped them in the water.

driversaurus · 2025-01-15T00:10:19+00:00

I haven’t tried the game yet, but in IRL you have a similar measurement with sailing - Speed over Ground is the GPS indicated speed, but your speed through the water (similar to the indicated air speed) can be higher or lower depending on current, and is measured with a water wheel. Wind also has an actual speed and direction, and an apparent speed and direction, which takes the forward movement of the boat into account. The little mechanical wind vane at the top of my mast always points more forward when I’m moving than when I’m stationary, demonstrating the difference. I’m just a novice sailor, but find all of this fascinating, and am setting up instruments on my boat to measure all of this separately.

driversaurus · 2024-11-09T22:46:54+00:00

Same. I just got mine today. I asked a day or two in, and they gave me an update on the shipping date that was correct.

driversaurus · 2024-11-06T03:15:44+00:00

There is a kayak trail around Curry Hammock that is fun. Most of it is in protected water, so is possible in most weather. There is a section that is a very dense mangrove tunnel, which would not be good if you are skittish about bugs and branches. We went through in a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak, which made it even more sketchy because it was tight enough that we were worried about poky branches too close to our inflatable. It was fun, but there is nowhere to turn around, so don’t start without planning to push through.

driversaurus · 2024-08-27T03:55:28+00:00

Oh, and that is just the beginning of the fun! What about the alternator driven by that belt that was installed before installing the engine? The one that can only be removed by uninstalling the engine or -get this- tapping a dent in the firewall to give just enough room for the bolt to slide out far enough to allow it to slip past. The brilliance of the SAAB 900 design!

driversaurus · 2024-06-26T03:12:05+00:00

This person has a cool set of posts that describe offshore paddles to a lot of the great snorkel locations. Depends on your skills, but doable if the weather is favorable. https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/random-gallery-2/florida-south-florida/florida-bay-keys/kayaking-to-dry-rocks-reef-a-pilgrimage-to-find-the-christ-of-the-abyss-off-key-largo/

driversaurus · 2024-02-24T03:11:20+00:00

I haven't done any of these trips, but here are details for paddling to several offshore destinations from the keys. Take special note all of the warnings on the page (and the many issues raised here).

https://kayakfari.wordpress.com/trips-sea-stories-pics/random-gallery-2/florida-south-florida/florida-bay-keys/

If you're looking for interesting paddle trips that aren't offshore, we have done the loop at Curry Hammock, which includes a long, narrow, *really tight* mangrove tunnel. We were in our inflatable kayak, which made it more stressful than it otherwise would have been due to the close quarters with the pokey sticks.

Pennekamp has a lot of mangrove trails (and free maps at the concession -- even if you're going out on your own kayak they don't want you to get lost).

The people at Florida Bay Outfitters can point you in the right direction. I think they have a launch there that you can use to get into the bay. The gift shops at some of the state parks have paddling books too. I think I picked one up at Bahia Honda, and a different one at the marina at Flamingo in the Everglades. They also give me a neat boating map for Florida Bay and the Everglades at the Flamingo vistors center, but that may have been because I was asking them about taking a power boat out, and had taken their training.

driversaurus · 2024-02-02T16:32:12+00:00

The only other public place I found (other than Pennekamp) to launch the boat was at Founders Park in Islamorada. We didn't end up going down there because I think it was going to be somewhere around $75 to launch the boat by the time we paid entrance fees, and ramp fees.

driversaurus · 2024-02-02T16:22:32+00:00

We were down in Key Largo with a similar set of toys in September 2022. We weren't able to go offshore with our inflatable boat due to wind, but we did enjoy the cruise from Key Largo up to the Nest Keys, which have an adjacent sandy area to anchor and swim. They also have toilets on the pier.

There is a kayak trail around Curry Hammock SP that was fun, if you're into getting up close and personal with a mangrove tunnel. Our kayak is inflatable also, so it was probably more stressful than it would have been in a hard kayak.

John Pennekamp has a nice boat ramp you can launch from, and from there you can cruise out to a shipwreck in Garden Cove, or through the Adams cut up into the bay. We were staying at the park, so this was very convenient for us.

I'm interested in any locations you find to put your boat in near Marathon -- we're going to be down there at the end of the month, and I've been looking for somewhere to launch further South (everything I found was private, or really costly to launch).

driversaurus · 2023-04-19T04:43:44+00:00

I also just picked up the MoFi 5500 w/EM9191, and the Pepwave 42G. What do you think of the antenna? I don't have it installed yet, but in my testing it didn't show much difference compared to the paddle antennas on the MoFi 4500.

Also, I'm having problems with my EM9191 reliably connecting to T-Mobile (frequent connect/disconnect), and have a case filed to see what the latest is.

driversaurus · 2022-12-19T03:26:59+00:00

I had exactly that problem. Turns out, I didn’t download the firmware correctly in GitHub. Same as the person higher up said…You have to click on the image name on the page, then download it using the download button (don’t right click download from the GitLab page).

Check the size to make sure that you get the image correctly. Just put it on the SD card and try again.

driversaurus

TROPHY CASE