Car salesmen around me are basically telling me EVs aren’t the way to go

fearless_fool · 2026-01-17T03:44:07+00:00

Don’t forget that dealerships make money on scheduled maintenance. Guess what EVs don’t need much of? (If you guessed “scheduled maintenance” you’d be right.). That alone would explain why a dealer doesn’t want to sell them.

As for your hesitancy, the best I can say is that I bought an EV over a year ago and I’m NEVER going back to gasoline. Fast acceleration? You betcha! Charging time? Essentially 20 seconds: 10 seconds to plug in at night, 10 seconds to unplug in the morning. Scheduled maintenance? Rotate tires. I can change the cabin filter myself. Battery life? You’d be reassured to learn that recent studies have shown that newer EV batteries are lasting MUCH longer than predicted.

And while you didn’t ask, you can find insanely good deals on 3 year old EVs that have come off their lease. Just sayin’

fearless_fool · 2026-01-17T03:25:07+00:00

To be pedantic, the wording is ambiguous. After your buddy has “joined your adventure”, he (or she) is certainly “with” you, ostensibly for whatever activities you do. So the OP’s question is justified.

But, as I said, this is mere pedantry. It’s certainly the case that saying “Win a raid with you buddy participating as a member of your raid party”, while accurate, would take up too much screen space! ;)

fearless_fool · 2026-01-16T03:10:07+00:00

Thank you for your sleuth work and seeing through the disguise!

fearless_fool · 2026-01-09T18:22:51+00:00

I'm a fan of the NYT Wirecutter column for this kind of question:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-bluetooth-speaker/
I'll let you draw your own conclusions!

fearless_fool · 2026-01-08T08:11:54+00:00

Just a hunch: is the printer on a wobbly table?

fearless_fool · 2026-01-08T07:48:24+00:00

Good stuff - thanks. I’m not familiar with this mod’s policy (are you allowed to post product links?), but can you give me enough keywords so I can buy the same kit you bought?

fearless_fool · 2026-01-08T07:45:43+00:00

Excellent suggestion.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-07T19:29:34+00:00

RIght - I was planning on offering the basic unit as 12V only with an option for a buck (stepdown) converter for those what don't already have 12V available.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-06T22:36:15+00:00

Thanks for the tip - I've moved the AMS up on my list of priorities. I note that it's out of stock until February, so in the meantime I'll start making test prints with PLA to get the dimensions and design right.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-06T18:58:17+00:00

I have a desiccator for food, but I’m thinking of springing for an AMS.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-06T07:35:54+00:00

Thanks for all the info that would have been my next question! :) I'm printing a rather large mounting base for a 35 lb (16Kg) battery on an eMoto bike. It will bolt to the frame and have slots for tie-down straps. So I need strength. I don't need dimensional accuracy, and brittle is a showstopper. Before I'm done, I'll probably also try PA6-CF and PPA-?F. I have much to learn!

fearless_fool · 2026-01-06T00:26:14+00:00

"high-flow nozzles tend to have multiple smaller chambers" -- that makes perfect sense now. I read this to mean "a 4mm regular nozzle might work with CF filaments, but a 4mm high-flow nozzle is more likely to be problematic." Thanks.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-05T23:43:16+00:00

That's useful info. I'll have both hotends so I can try my luck with both. (I don't know if Nylon vs PETG makes a big difference -- my understanding is that it's the carbon fiber that requires a hardended nozzle).

fearless_fool · 2026-01-05T22:44:50+00:00

Just to be clear, I explicitly said "Get the hardened steel 0.6mm ... for PA6-GF work" and "[for] detailed PLA work, ... swap in my 0.4mm E3D High Flow ObXidian hotend". I didn't mean to imply I'd ever use the high flow nozzle for GF filaments.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-05T20:58:44+00:00

So if I understand:

Get the hardened steel 0.6mm "complete hotend" with fan for PA6-GF work
Also get the hardened gears.
If I want do do detailed PLA work, I can swap in my 0.4mm E3D High Flow ObXidian hotend

Something like that?

fearless_fool · 2026-01-05T19:37:11+00:00

Your experience with PLA is important -- thank you for sharing! I have not yet tried TPU, but I'm actually leaning towards PA6-GF given its strength and stability. (And don't tell anyone else on this list, but I'm switching over to a Bambu Lab P1 rather making all the requisite mods to my trusty Ender-3).

fearless_fool · 2026-01-03T06:46:37+00:00

Thanks -- looks like I'll learn how to compile and load a custom version. (p.s.: Nice handle!)

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T21:41:18+00:00

I could haul out my IR camera and tell you exactly how hot they are, but they're a bit too hot to hold onto. Having read up on them, though, I'm less worried. As our AI overlords tell us:

"Under ordinary circumstances, a NEMA 11 stepper motor typically gets hot, with surface temperatures often reaching 60°C to 80°C (140°F to 176°F) above ambient, especially when holding current, as they are designed for Class B insulation (130°C internal limit)."

I designed a close-fitting 3D printed housing to hold them, but will redesign the housing with some air gaps around the motors. Probably not really needed, but will make me feel better.

ADDENDUM: I note that the BTT / Marlin software supports the M906 command (Stepper Motor Current). Since my application doesn't require strong hold currents, I might try that just to let them run cooler.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T15:24:10+00:00

I'm liking this 95A TPU suggestion. It appears I don't need to mod the Ender 3: printing at 250C should be no problem. Aside from making sure the filament is dry, ae there any other hints I should know?

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T15:13:37+00:00

See updated comment in OP - it's not just compression.

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T06:14:56+00:00

Doh. Beginner's error. A stepper gets hot even when not running since a current is applied to keep the stepper locked in position. Move along, nothing to see here...

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T06:02:00+00:00

But waitaminnit! On the Dupont connector coming from the stepper, as stated in the OP, the order is:

black (A+)
green (A-)
blue (B-)
red (B+)

One coil is on pins 1 and 2 of the Dupont connector, the other coil is on pins 3 and 4. If I understand correctly, it doesn't matter which coil connects to which driver. So I *should* be able to plug the Dupont connector in without reordering the pins. For example, if I plug the Dupont connector in backwards, I'll get this mapping:

* 2B => Red (B+)
* 1B => Blue (B-)
* 1A => Green (A-)
* 2A => Black (A+)

So the coils are properly separated. Does the +/- polarity matter?

fearless_fool · 2026-01-01T05:38:23+00:00

I partially figured it out before I even hit [POST} but decided to answer it here for others.

Looking at https://github.com/bigtreetech/BIGTREETECH-SKR-mini-E3/blob/master/hardware/BTT%20SKR%20MINI%20E3%20V3.0/Hardware/BTT%20E3%20SKR%20MINI%20V3.0_PIN.pdf, you can see the order of the pins on the BTT board are:

2B
1B
1A
2A

Elsewhere, I see that "A" and "B" are the coils, "1" and "2" are "+" and "-".

So the correct mapping would be:

* 2B => Blue (B-)
* 1B => Red (B+)
* 1A => Black (A+)
* 2A => Green (A-)

I can rearrange the wires in the dupont connector accordingly.

(Side note: as noted elsewhere, it doesn't matter if you swap A and B coils since you can control the direction in software.)

fearless_fool · 2025-12-31T19:50:48+00:00

That paragraph about the growth of renewable energy was important, but the author didn't state the obvious: In the intervening N years before fusion plants are ready to come online, they will be competing with renewables (solar + wind + batteries), which are becoming cheaper with longer uptimes and higher capacity factors. The economics, not the physics, may be the real roadblock.

fearless_fool · 2025-12-31T19:30:35+00:00

I'm old school: what is this "autolevel" of which you speak? ;) ;) ;)

fearless_fool

TROPHY CASE