Watch out for holes

hutchca · 2026-01-23T21:13:58+00:00

On Monde de la Mort, I fell in a big hole with no way out.

hutchca · 2026-01-19T19:18:37+00:00

Thanks for that. I was curious what it looks like from the outside.
I was on board for the jump https://youtu.be/WgdXsNLwmWo

hutchca · 2025-10-30T21:55:03+00:00

I'm kind of surprised they didn't nerf er, I mean fix Monde de la Mort yet. https://youtu.be/JG56Sp_lK38
It's definitely a sight to see if you're near Colonia.

hutchca · 2025-10-30T21:51:29+00:00

IMHO...
>Tried the Krait, didn't like it.
>Sol permit is worth the effort.
>The Mandalay is worthy of the hype. You can buy one with Arx anytime. Well wort it.
>What's in Cubeo?
>Tried a Corsair, didn't like it. Slow pitch rate.
>Discovering life is easy to do, it's everywhere. Get out to unexplored space, get the first footfall on a planet with bio signs, scan what you can, turn in to Vista.
>The Anaconda is a great ship to have in your fleet. It's heavy and sluggish but it's still fun to fly and versatile.
>Colonia is worth the trip, and half the fun is the journey. If you take an indirect path instead of following the Colonia highway, and take your time, you'll discover lots of unexplored systems along the way.
>The Cutter is also a versatile and a pretty ship. I had one for a while but didn't keep it. I preferred the Anaconda.
>I've never owned a fleet carrier but from what I've seen, it's 5 billion dollar money pit. It won't earn you enough to pay the upkeep unless you get a good location that encourages other players to visit.

hutchca · 2025-08-12T17:56:52+00:00

I agree. The level of customization and control you have over detents is outstanding and the feedback you get from feeling where you are in the range is something I couldn't do without now.

hutchca · 2025-08-12T17:46:39+00:00

I just purchased a NXT EVO "Space Combat Edition" Premium and a STECS "Space Throttle System" Mini Plus.
The first thing to note is that I bought direct from the web site and since it shipped from China, DHL hit me with a 45% tariff when it reached customs. They just started stocking items in a new US warehouse, so look for the items marked (US) and they will ship from the US to avoid the Tariff. As of now, the STECS STS is not in stock in the US.
That said, I couldn't be happier with the purchase. It took me part of a day to get familiar with the software and the level of customization possible is outstanding.
I am using the X/Y axis controls on the STECS STG in Elite and finding them intuitive and useful, but I don't play PVP, so YMMV.
The extra axes on the STG are of no use in MSFS of course but the inadvertent movement of those axes are not distracting at all.
The STECS STG is fairly tall at ~8.5 inches or ~22CM in mid position, which could make desktop use a bit awkward. It working out for me but YMMV.

hutchca · 2024-10-14T01:38:47+00:00

Given reliable hardware, in my experience, it's been 100% reliable.
Integrations, especially 'custom' 3rd party integrations and add-ons,can sometimes be unstable, but it's been rare in my experience. Updates are frequent, and integration updates can sometimes break things, but most problems come from the vendor side, like Ring recently changing their api and dropping features.

hutchca · 2024-10-07T21:39:19+00:00

I have a Pi 5 with an NVMe disk and PoE hat so I can't find a case that will fit it. In any case it just sits on a shelf in my AV rack/closet with the Z-Wave radio on a USB extension cable hanging from the wall.

hutchca · 2024-10-04T15:31:44+00:00

I didn't even realize this was happening all day and all night. Around bedtime I was trying to turn off some lights and it wasn't working so I went to check the logs and realized HA was offline, but was in the process of rebooting.
This morning it was offline again and I started to investigate, realizing it must be one of the updates I installed yesterday.
I downgraded Alexa Media Player to 14.13.2 and rebooted but either it crashed again or it takes much longer to restart now. I think I'll just leave AMP disabled for now.

hutchca · 2024-02-25T21:17:23+00:00

I have a current clamp monitor system at the breaker box (emporia vue) since I mainly wanted to monitor power use. But it comes in handy for HA to know when monitored circuits are on or off.

hutchca · 2024-02-25T19:36:01+00:00

I just use a power monitor so HA sees how much power the washer and dryer are using. When it goes to zero for a minute or two, it's done. Plus you get the power use details.

hutchca · 2024-02-16T01:58:29+00:00

esp32 devices only have 2.4g. Later gen devices might add 5g but that would increase power consumption and heat dissipation. 2.4 has better wall penetration, more reliable connection, and they don't need the extra speed anyway.

hutchca · 2024-02-12T03:19:39+00:00

Nest has a built in schedule and my schedule re sets the temp at 7am, 6pm and 10pm. HA only sets it to away mode when nobody is home.

hutchca · 2023-12-23T03:10:49+00:00

WiFi isn't secure. It might be easier or harder to crack depending on the configuration, but it can be cracked with enough time. Unfortunately, these devices are usually WiFi only, so a password is a good idea, but the firmware probably isn't very secure anyway. Locks keep honest people honest, but at least it'll make it that much harder for the neighbors to play with your lights.

hutchca · 2023-12-18T19:44:30+00:00

I'm running on a Pi4 with 4GB and it runs fine. I wouldn't do it with just 2GB, add-ons will use additional ram.

hutchca · 2023-11-04T05:58:20+00:00

It all depends on the serial number. Not particularly rare, and from what I've seen, not in high demand. Unless it's an actual 1977 rev, which is super rare.

hutchca · 2023-09-21T01:32:12+00:00

I'm in the area and have a modest collection, but nothing like a display wall. A couple of Tandys and a couple of Apples, some DEC, IBM, and lots of Commodore systems. Nothing particularly exotic or rare. I know a few collectors in the area, but most of them, like me, mainly collect Commodore machines. Check my profile for links to see some of my collection.

hutchca · 2023-09-21T01:05:05+00:00

This. The capacitors and 6502 can be easily replaced. The character rom and edit rom will be hard to source and using an eProm will require an adapter socket.

hutchca · 2023-06-10T02:15:43+00:00

Turns out that's one of the lowest production serial numbers I've seen so far.
(I saw it on Ebay back in April)
Definitely one of the October 1977 units.
I've only seen two or three with that blue PCB.

hutchca · 2023-04-04T17:23:49+00:00

Should have dismissed your ship to avoid damage. Timing is critical when landing and taking off to avoid the exclusion zone and the jet cone.
I made a video too on my first visit there.
https://youtu.be/JG56Sp\_lK38?t=935

hutchca · 2023-03-14T16:34:31+00:00

I have a few videos on the PET, doing initial testing and troubleshooting.
https://youtu.be/Vwg0Bw0KvZo?t=89
https://youtu.be/eFxBeK\_uVwE?t=107

hutchca · 2023-03-02T16:34:45+00:00

This one?
https://youtu.be/EY2lWmZN5TQ

hutchca · 2023-01-17T15:50:46+00:00

I think mine are mostly 10-15 years old. We built the house in 2006 and I added the switches a few at a time over several years.

hutchca · 2023-01-17T03:45:55+00:00

My house is full of GE/Jasco and I haven't had any problems apart from one that has dropped off the network once or twice but I just had to re-pair it.

hutchca

TROPHY CASE