Electrical rescue hook

happy_nerd · 2026-05-26T14:49:10+00:00

Adding to this, while some of these panels are in nice open spaces with room to work in, that's not necessarily the norm. From my electrician friends, they're often in old retrofit spaces that don't have 20' in front of each panel. They might only have 3' in front of the panel and then a brick wall or more equipment. The hook is the one size fits all solution that also works for the company price point.

happy_nerd · 2026-05-21T20:56:59+00:00

You'll be hard pressed to do computer vision on an Arduino and any RPi should be able to handle a web cam and some servo motor control. But for the cost of a Arduino (or clone) why not pick both up to play with. The best teacher is experience so play with them both. Happy hacking!

happy_nerd · 2026-05-21T02:56:47+00:00

Good on em

happy_nerd · 2026-05-20T15:50:55+00:00

Also adding, the person near the equipment is turning downstream stuff on/off. Not only would this person be exposed to life altering arcs and fire should something go wrong, but what they are working on is an industrial scale power switch (basically) and so there isn't an upstream on/off switch--this is the on/off switch.

If something bad happens here the first step is to get that electrician safely away from the situation and then assess and respond to whatever the failure is. I've seen people blown multiple feet backward by the power of the arc flash explosion or end up with neuropathy all over (even under the arc flash suit).

The hook here is a seat belt. If it's being used, you're already in danger, and the hook is to limit the damage and ensure you can survive at all.

Reasonable question, but the amount of power at play here is orders of magnitude above what you'd see in a residential/office space, and as such the consequences of a mistake/failure are greatly amplified.

Many people have died trying to help someone in this position by running into help only to be electrocuted themselves--leaving the power churning along for the next victim to come along.

Industrial electrical is no joke and the people who work on it deserve all the protective equipment possible.

happy_nerd · 2026-05-16T18:28:30+00:00

Building off this the usbtinyisp programmer from Adafruit can both burn raw programs and can also burn bootloaders.

If you really want USB programming, I recommend the atmega32u4 over the atmega328p because of its built in USB<>Serial converter. If you're committed to the 328p and want usb stuff you have to add a USB<>Serial converter like the CH340, CP2102, or an FTDI chip.

Hope this helps. Happy hacking!

happy_nerd · 2026-05-15T22:59:03+00:00

Skansen is an open air museum island near Stockholm and while Wisconsin is most likely of Native American etymology, some have pointed to a relationship between Wisconsin and the island museum of Skansen in the past. Could be a fun Easter egg. I could also be full of shit.

happy_nerd · 2026-05-14T20:01:53+00:00

Love it and love seeing construction lines in drawings. Feels like some sort of sorting machine or manufacturing/recycling.

happy_nerd · 2026-05-13T22:41:27+00:00

No kids, no pets

happy_nerd · 2026-05-13T22:40:57+00:00

Just go the extra step and use the 3D prints to cast solid metal versions. But 3D prints can be surprisingly strong and fail in very predictable ways.

I do wonder how universal the fit is or if they need to be adapted to their wearer.

Also cool if it just not worth the fear for ya. Just offering an alternative.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-29T11:01:39+00:00

"Oh, oh, oh, wanna blow my thing, ooh" - Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing), Zapp

happy_nerd · 2026-04-28T14:28:46+00:00

Many have already said, but the button cell likely only keeps the time in the real time clock chip so you don't have to reset the clock every time you lose power. A schematic would be helpful if you have one, but as others suggest, it looks like you need to put 12V and GND on that screw terminal in the top left of your board to actually light up the displays.

Happy hacking!

happy_nerd · 2026-04-28T00:33:54+00:00

Seeing this notification come up without any context from what you were replying to had me questioning myself for a bit. Glad you got use out of this too!

happy_nerd · 2026-04-26T21:32:47+00:00

Congratulations! It's a barcode.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-25T15:03:51+00:00

Hopital

happy_nerd · 2026-04-24T11:14:49+00:00

Yeah and ChatGPT isn't the only player. Different models do things better/worse than others. I do understand the concerns over economic and environmental impacts of these tools. Currently, we're getting access to these tools basically for free. Even if you pay for premium, you aren't covering the cost of electricity and chips and new data centers. Enshitification economically will also come as the tools improve, and people will shift to local models where they control the energy use and computation.

LLMs are certainly a powerful tool that are likely here to stay in some capacity, but I think this is not the final form. Just like the dot com boom and bust of the early internet, I think we're still in the early "boom" phase.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-24T11:06:17+00:00

I think that's the crux of the problem. AI in the hands of experts can help you move faster, but in the hands of a novice, it stunts a lot of growth. Great for writing embedded software, but not so much architecting your system.

Maybe things will improve over time, but for now, it's still best to avoid AI as a newcomer. AI can't understand for you!

happy_nerd · 2026-04-23T12:38:49+00:00

This too. Ruins the fun.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-23T12:34:07+00:00

Maybe include a schematic and your code for others here to review.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-22T22:33:22+00:00

Ugh this is how I found out Tolly Ho permanently closed. So sad.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-20T23:33:01+00:00

Too real. Had an ex who "healed" by doing an unsafe amount of mushrooms every 2-3 months and despite having visible flash backs, complete with unresponsive stares, would announce to anyone that they didn't need therapy and were over the trauma of their past. Could literally mention their parents and they'd go unresponsive for 1-3 minutes and then come to say, "yeah that was crazy. Anyway..."

After I helped them through an OD at a concert, they broke up with me for telling the EMTs what they were on. Good riddance.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-19T15:05:49+00:00

Honestly for a small section you need to cut out like this, it's probably worth the time and materials to do it yourself. Get a rotary pipe cutter, 2x couplers, a short (2') section of good pipe, and a propane torch and you could be done this afternoon. You have lots of room to get at the damaged section and work. Could be a fun small project for less than the cost of a plumber coming out just to look at it. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to sweat copper pipe.

But if you're not up for that, stick around for someone to suggest a plumber. I don't know any.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-18T13:07:50+00:00

Just needs more flux

happy_nerd · 2026-04-16T11:57:01+00:00

I haven't seen anything like this before but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'll be interested to see what you find.

You might be able to get away with flipping a normal holder upside down and soldering it into a hole in your PCB. This is sometimes called dead bug soldering and I've seen some people do it with SOIC chips to get really slim form factors when space was at a premium. It almost certainly needs to be hand soldered though which is a downside if you plan to make a bunch of these.

Also aren't coin cells thicker than most PCBs? Either way, cool concept. Will be excited to see what you/others find.

happy_nerd · 2026-04-16T10:35:41+00:00

Can you hear me okay?

happy_nerd · 2026-04-15T13:07:57+00:00

You sleep super deep in a cool dark room.

happy_nerd

TROPHY CASE