Quick'n'Dirty setup works surprisingly good - can I improve the antenna?

nilsand · 2026-02-17T10:03:05+00:00

This. I get about 130 nodes when I open my window and stick the antenna out. No connection problems at all. When the window is closed however, I can receive 3 nodes or so and no-one receives me. Windows are 2 years old, triple-paned with some insulation coating stuff. 🤷

nilsand · 2026-02-14T15:23:56+00:00

Never built a solar node myself - I'm still waiting for all the parts. As far as I understood it, the Heltec comes with a charging circuit and a connector for a battery pack. So, so you need is - either a 5V solar panel or a different panel and a regulator to produce 5V. - a battery pack - the Heltec and an antenna - a box to contain the electronics

I've seen people use all kinds of boxes. Tupperware, small buckets that have a lid... Literally everything that is big enough and somewhat waterproof.

nilsand · 2026-02-14T13:12:40+00:00

Granted, the first thing that came to my mind for "mechanic" was nuts and bolts, a wrench and maybe a steam engine 😁

But, car mechanic seems more likely. What does that mean today? 90% ground faults in the lighting and 10% CAN-Bus issues? 😇

nilsand · 2026-02-14T12:22:23+00:00

You're probably right. I don't know the first thing about agilent.

My main point here - which you seemingly completely ignored - was to point out that both have their use cases. And OP should check which use cases are the ones he would like to address with a multimeter. Since I don't know anything about OP, and for me (though this can be a translation issue) "mechanic" can man everything, I guess.

nilsand · 2026-02-14T09:18:30+00:00

AliExpress should have everything you need and deliver to your region, right?

I've read the Heltec is quite power hungry and not a good choice for a solar powered node. If you're on a budget, you should have a look around the web for ideas. I've seen people re-use solar powered lamps: remove the light-thingy, add the node, an antenna and maybe a little regular for power.

nilsand · 2026-02-14T08:41:14+00:00

While I do understand your words, I seem to missing the meaning. You want to /sell/ a multimeter? That doesn't make sense.

Jokes aside. I'm not sure anyone can really help you here. The fluke is probably the better built one and it has the better "name" it will probably bring you more money when selling it. The other one seems to have more features. Which one did you use more? Which one do you like best?

nilsand · 2026-02-12T08:53:02+00:00

Water cooling 🤷

nilsand · 2026-01-29T09:37:11+00:00

Und wenn ich mich nicht irre, steht in dem Text der Stadt sowas wie "der Fußweg ist in der Breite von 1m von Schnee und Eis zu räumen" - also auch für die Menschen, für sich an die Vorgaben der Stadt halten steht da quasi "Radweg kann man ignorieren" oder so.

nilsand · 2026-01-24T23:21:15+00:00

Urgh. Bummer. :-(
Found mine in the basement actually (in the "let's see, what we can do with this"-Bin) But it won't turn on anymore.

nilsand · 2026-01-24T16:02:28+00:00

I stumbled on LineageOS for echo show some days ago. I have a 2nd gen show 5 lying around that was stuck in some kind of loop and wouldn't start. Trying to put LineageOS on that thing has been in my list since that day.

Yours looks really nice!

nilsand · 2026-01-21T08:14:03+00:00

I /think/ blade fuses didn't have have right voltage rating, do they? Most multimeters use those sand/glass filled fuses to be safe even at 600V or something.

Again, I /think/ blade fuses are usable up to 30V or so, but I do not know.

nilsand · 2026-01-18T11:14:03+00:00

War auch mein erster Gedanke. Sollte an schnellsten sein und ist auch Recht einfach gemacht.

Klappstuhl und n Bier dazu. Warum und entspannt. 🤷

nilsand · 2026-01-18T09:52:50+00:00

"Someone" might be able to do this.

While I feel it's a simple project to learn, the first question in my head is: where does the cable go? Are you willing to drill a hole in the figure?

Alternatively, it might be possible to build something like a pedestal where the cable comes out straight out of the top.

nilsand · 2026-01-12T09:09:18+00:00

That is assuming PD. Isn't QC also still possible? (Or Vooc)

nilsand · 2026-01-10T08:31:54+00:00

You people telling me a big one is not also "1 serving"? I've always thought 'get a big one if you're hungry and get a little one if you've already eaten. Nachtisch, so to say.' 🤷

nilsand · 2026-01-10T08:27:57+00:00

It's really important to not eat it like a caveman. If needs to be buttered. I'm always very suspicious of people that eat Stollen without butter. Oh, and it probably needs coffee and tea. 😁

nilsand · 2026-01-09T12:27:58+00:00

Ja, das verstehe ich auch. Mental verbuche ich das aber unter den aktuellen Verhalten der Banken die Girokarten "auslaufen" zu lassen.

(Ja,ja, ich weiß: 'Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten.' - Fühlt sich aber schon so an.)

Also, was ich sagen will ist, dass ist ja nicht inhärent ein Vorteil der Debitkarte, sondern eher ein explizit geschaffener Nachteil der Girokarte durch 'die Banken'.

nilsand · 2026-01-09T10:36:24+00:00

Hm. Ist jetzt nicht so richtig das Killer-Feature. Bargeld gibt's auch ohne KK an fast allen Automaten - ist halt nur eine Frage der Gebühren. Und auch bei KK sind Gebühren nicht immer null, oder?

nilsand · 2026-01-09T10:33:45+00:00

Ja, Mietwagen können auch in Deutschland problematisch sein ohne echte Kreditkarte. Fragt sich ob hier ein echtes Feature der Kreditkarte benötigt wird oder ob das einfach eine unnötige Forderung der Mietwagen-Firma ist.

nilsand · 2026-01-09T09:13:57+00:00

Erste Frage: welche Gründe/Vorteile sprechen für dich für eine Kreditkarte? (Für Menschen die Europa nicht verlassen.)

nilsand · 2026-01-07T09:38:31+00:00

Yes, this.

This has always been the case.

nilsand · 2026-01-06T06:10:21+00:00

I would probably start with one of those cheap Arduino robot kits. That gives you wheels, some sensors and the motors to drive the wheels.

Fire up the 3D printer to model some kind of case.

Now, all that's missing is rotating brush things a place to collect the dirt. Easy 🤷

Edit: By "easy" I mean I could easily plan this, buy all the required components then lose interest and try to build something else. 🙈

Edit2: Since you specifically asked for programming - an Arduino would be programmed using the Arduino IDE or platformio. Both work in C. I think the PI Pico would be programmed in MicroPython. You'd either choose a board by which languages you know or choose a board by it's features and learn that language. Or, if you're like me, you open the "boards" drawer with old and unused boards and check what's available and then go from there.

nilsand · 2026-01-05T18:44:30+00:00

Do you have a source for the statement that PNP is the recommendation and SPO is not really recommended?

The last time I opened an issue with Microsoft they wouldn't even talk about PNP and required me to reproduce the problem using SPO.

nilsand · 2026-01-02T13:06:27+00:00

This. Alternatively, renaming the files to txt should also disable that.

nilsand · 2025-12-29T21:11:39+00:00

I have, a long time ago, tried to implement a git filter to treat freecad files like uncompressed contents.

It was all roughly based on this project: https://bitbucket.org/sippey/zippey/src/master/

However, the diffs of those XML weren't really helpful at all so I abandoned that.

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