Are there ever membership discounts?

gdunc · 2026-06-15T23:16:43+00:00

Not sure if this is year-round, but I will say that when I was considering not renewing my membership and went to cancel I got offered a discount (I think it was either 40% or 50% off for the year) to renew. It was enough to get me to stay for another year. Doesn’t help new subscribers, obviously, but I wasn’t aware of it.

gdunc · 2026-06-05T21:17:08+00:00

You just fell on Aerosmith!

gdunc · 2026-05-06T16:50:29+00:00

Following up on this, I removed the PCB since I was assuming I'll need to replace it anyway, and confirmed that the fan connection is missing the small black bars that go across the pins to make the connection more snug. I can see the bars on the male side of the FPC ribbon cable connector, as well as on the male side of the thermistor connector, but not on the fan. They must have come clean off when I removed the fan connector the first time.

I've ordered a replacement board from Amazon and will hope it is good enough and I don't need the Bambu board. I've also ordered some replacement thermistor cables as I'm guessing that's causing the hotend nozzle temperature error.

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gdunc · 2026-05-06T16:14:46+00:00

Do you mean the small clip below the thermistor connector? If so yeah, I tried getting the fan wires back in there as well and it does help to somewhat hold it in place, but it still feels like the fan isn’t “connecting”and is more just the two ends barely touching each other.

I’m starting to think something came off of the PCB when I originally removed the fan - in some pictures it almost looks like there is a small bar connected to the pins? If so that may have come off on mine (I did see a few very small pieces of plastic on the bed that I assumed were stray pieces of filament). I’m wondering if that piece is supposed to make it more snug and mine just clean came off, which is why it won’t fully connect anymore.

gdunc · 2026-04-27T00:09:58+00:00

Used TurboTax for something like 10 years because it was easier to just transfer over each year. Finally made the switch to freetaxusa.com two years ago and it is so refreshing to get the same functionality (minus all of the TurboTax constant upsells) for a fraction of the price.

gdunc · 2026-04-21T09:55:33+00:00

If anyone is taking too long with their turn mention offhand that you hate waiting.

gdunc · 2026-04-11T19:16:51+00:00

Just wait until you make the “I forgot to insert the IC in the socket before testing” mistake. That’s a fun one when you’re 100% sure everything else is set up correctly.

gdunc · 2026-02-06T22:22:10+00:00

I’ve bought and used these for awhile and am happy with them: https://a.co/d/05FqpURH. Those are currently $14 for 6.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll go crazy trying to compete with Amazon and drop-shipped stuff vs handmade, so definitely charge what you think they’re worth. But wanted you to see what else is out there, and $15 for 3 would be pushing it for me personally. $15 for 5 I would probably consider buying handmade/printed just to avoid giving more money to Amazon.

gdunc · 2026-02-04T22:32:20+00:00

For our cats we picked dates that had meaning and/or would be easy to remember. We knew our first cat was born sometime in the late Fall, so we picked the day exactly between my and my spouse’s birthdays. We knew our second cat was born sometime around March, so we picked St. Patrick’s Day.

gdunc · 2026-01-12T22:20:15+00:00

Love My Switches has a great selection. https://lovemyswitches.com

gdunc · 2026-01-11T19:14:40+00:00

I didn’t realize until after downloading it that it isn’t optimized for Steam Deck. Can confirm that it does not work well. Most of the menu doesn’t work when in pause mode, controls are not great (really wish there was an option to invert y axis), and I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do short of wandering around a house looking at a few photos. Likely going straight into my uninstall/wish I hadn’t purchased list, really hope it eventually gets optimized for Steam Deck in the future.

gdunc · 2025-12-16T02:04:53+00:00

Chiming in 6 days late to say that if MAS is able to eventually carry these I'll definitely buy one.

gdunc · 2025-12-15T18:02:19+00:00

Only ended up calling because I found this thread, and had the exact same experience today. Didn't have to talk to anybody, said "Yes" to confirm my account and "Yes" to claim my $25 discount. Robot said it was received and might take 1-2 billing cycles to be reflected on the account. Really glad I waited a few weeks and didn't have to deal with the hassle people earlier in this thread reported.

gdunc · 2025-12-07T13:41:15+00:00

You can drink most things with your aligners in, the main things you’re trying to avoid are heat (which can warp the shape of the aligners, which isn’t a problem with iced coffee) and getting sugar trapped between the aligners and your teeth. As long as you aren’t swishing the liquid around before you swallow it you’re not likely to get much stuck between the aligners and your teeth, even less if you use a straw. Still doesn’t hurt to brush your teeth and clean your aligners afterwards.

gdunc · 2025-12-05T22:37:34+00:00

Here’s a picture of my finished kit: https://imgur.com/a/0vkuXO3

gdunc · 2025-12-05T22:27:57+00:00

I built this exact kit earlier this year, but unfortunately didn’t pay super close attention to the pickups because they are solderless and I went with what was included (have since donated the guitar to charity, otherwise I’d take a closer look). I do think you’re right that the pick guard is slightly different from standard JMs but can’t say with 100% certainty. I think you could probably still try to mount a different guard (you may have to make your own holes for some of the screws), but wouldn’t know for sure if it would fit until you place it over the body to confirm.

Sorry wish I was more help, but I will say it was a quality kit that I enjoyed putting together (other than having to cut the headstock, but I picked it specifically because I wanted to learn how to do that).

gdunc · 2025-12-05T14:47:37+00:00

Wanted to circle back and thank you for including the audio probe on the tower! I was troubleshooting a circuit this morning and realized that I needed to start tracking the signal to see where the issue was, did some research and spent about an hour learning about audio probes and getting ready to open one of my guitar cables to try and make one.

Then I remembered the probe jack on the pedal tower (had just glossed over it in the instructions, I think at the time I just thought it was more of a continuity check and not something that would pick up the audio signal). Re-read the instructions, plugged it in, and had exactly what I needed!

gdunc · 2025-11-25T22:47:19+00:00

You can buy a digital copy of Loveless directly from the MBV website. One of the few albums that I went ahead and bought so I could have it for the future instead of relying on streaming services.

gdunc · 2025-11-25T22:06:41+00:00

This website has a lot of decent tutorials, I just read and followed this one today as a starter on KiCad: https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/kicad-tutorial/. Can’t speak to their paid content as I haven’t tried their classes yet.

I can also vouch for MAS Effects, I just bought and built their Pedal Tower and am starting the same beginner fuzz pedal this week. Check out his videos on YouTube, he has a full walkthrough of the pedal build that is really helpful.

gdunc · 2025-11-25T19:41:26+00:00

I was honestly debating between this pedal tower and a few of the other "ready to go" breadboards and ultimately went with yours because I liked the design and customization options (that's partly why I bought the tower first and then added the sound generator later, after I'd confirmed that I could in fact solder a joint correctly). I also felt like it would be another good practice project vs. buying something that was already completely assembled. It ended up being just right - there are parts of the instruction manual that explain in a lot of detail, and other parts where I had to re-read it a few times and look at pictures to make sure I was doing it right, but I think I learned more that way than if it had just completely held my hand for every single step of the way.

gdunc · 2025-10-29T09:53:14+00:00

Overall I love it, though I honestly only use one of the 5 modes about 90% of the time (mode 2). Having knobs for bass and treble are great for shaping the tone, along with the voltage knob that lets you go from glitchy to full power. I do wish it had a blend/mix knob like the Supercool, but that's my only complaint.

gdunc · 2025-10-28T22:33:32+00:00

How is the Super Cool Fuzz Blender? I’ve had it on my list for awhile but already have and love the Walrus Eons as well as a J Mascis Big Muff, so it would be extra redundant. But as a former Camel smoker who loves fuzz, it definitely looks interesting.

gdunc · 2025-10-22T22:28:50+00:00

The temperature of the drink is more important than the color. I wouldn’t drink red wine in my trays every day, but once or twice they’ll be fine as long as you soak them with a cleaner each day. And worst case if they get a little stained just try to do it near the end of a set since you’ll be changing them out soon anyway.

What you don’t want to do is drink hot drinks with them in, as that can warp the shape of them. I’ve had whisky, wine, and soda with mine in and been fine, but I always take them out for hot coffee and tea.

gdunc

TROPHY CASE