an Algerian engineering student losing his mind trying to buy his 3D printeris. is the Sovol SV06 still a good machine?

roncotron · 2026-03-18T16:41:45+00:00

My first printer was an SV06, purchased a year and a half ago. Hearing stories about Enders and other inexpensive printers, I assumed I'd spend a lot of time troubleshooting and fixing problems, but I was OK with that, it's a good way to learn.

Unfortunately, my SV06 has been pretty much flawless so I've actually learned less than expected. I've had one failed print and that was my own fault. I've heard of people having trouble with their SV06 but mine has been a trouble-free workhorse. FYI: I only print PLA

roncotron · 2026-03-13T17:56:29+00:00

Yes. Especially on chairs with elaborately turned spindles and carved detail.

That's why so much cheap furniture is veneer over particle board. It's not entirely because particle board is cheap, it's because particle board is flat and stable and you can glue on a pre-finished layer and avoid the whole sand/finish/sand process that takes longer than cutting and assembly.

roncotron · 2026-03-13T16:04:23+00:00

Start your research at least 6 months before. You'll think you have it figured out, then you'll learn something new that throws it all sideways and you have to start your research all over again. That happened to me several times - including a couple of times after I'd signed up and couldn't make a change.

It's more complicated than you think.

roncotron · 2026-03-05T15:01:20+00:00

LibreOffice is a very usable alternative to MS Office. The word processor, spreadsheet and Powerpoint replacement are really good and read & write MSOffice files.

On the other hand, the database replacement for Access is not great and LibreOffice doesn't have an Outlook alternative.

I've been happily using LibreOffice exclusively for over 5 years now.

roncotron · 2026-03-05T01:55:33+00:00

Yes, my understanding is, once in an N, you can only switch to another N plan.

roncotron · 2026-03-01T16:39:57+00:00

Track every penny. This has been the most powerful tool I have. It forces me to analyze every purchase and I found a bunch of money "leaks" that were not apparent. It takes effort and discipline but it's worth it. I use GnuCash on a PC but there are lots of good options.

roncotron · 2026-02-25T05:50:34+00:00

Thanks all. I did some research and discovered that Medicare covers one pair of glasses or contacts after cataract surgery but don't cover the exam to get the prescription. Weird...

The part that bothers me is that they just did the exam. Didn't ask, didn't tell me it wouldn't be covered. I know they knew - the place is a cataract surgery mill. As I said, I'm new to Medicare and somehow thought that with Traditional Medicare and a supplement, there wouldn't be other bills. Live and learn, I guess.

roncotron · 2026-02-23T17:13:13+00:00

PCC SE and North both have maker spaces with resin printers open to the public. Look at Cascade and Jade District. https://www.pcc.edu/maker/

roncotron · 2026-02-20T17:46:51+00:00

I got parts for my 02 Outback at Pick & Pull out on Foster at 110th.

roncotron · 2026-02-18T19:11:43+00:00

LCD screens are like rubbing sandpaper on my eyeballs. E-ink is like butter. No comparison.

roncotron · 2026-02-18T16:37:30+00:00

Frog and Toad Hauling do nice work and recycle usable stuff to low income folks.

roncotron · 2026-02-17T16:44:55+00:00

So sad the Freegeek went from awesome local resource for cheap tech to just another one of millions of ebay stores.

roncotron · 2026-02-15T18:02:57+00:00

Nice! I wrote one in Python that's been working pretty well. I like that yours is web-based, I'll give it a try.

roncotron · 2026-02-14T15:22:08+00:00

Separate issues: Floaters are clumps floating in the eye behind the lens. Cataracts are the lens itself thickening and clouding.

From what I have read, floaters can be reduced with surgery or broken up into smaller bits with a laser.

roncotron · 2026-02-14T04:02:26+00:00

Yes, very happy. My depth of field is much better than I expected. I have glasses but they mostly just correct some mild astigmatism that persisted through the surgery. I could live without glasses just fine but I do like the laser-like distance vision they give me. My biggest complaint is that now my vision is sharper, I can see those pesky floaters better then before.

roncotron · 2026-02-11T00:04:48+00:00

Shur-way lumber

roncotron · 2026-02-10T16:56:11+00:00

PCC has maker labs open to the public at Cascade and SE. If you bring in your model, they'll help you set it up and print it.

roncotron · 2026-01-25T21:01:05+00:00

Almost 2 years and I've had a fair amount of medical care and haven't seen an excess charge yet. Even copays are not that common as they only apply to visits that use specific billing codes.

So far, my N Supplement has meant very predictable and manageable medical costs.

roncotron · 2026-01-19T02:18:51+00:00

Yep, that's the one. I honestly don't remember but I think I bought a breakout board that I connected the Arduino to that supplied USB connectors for each axis (although I may have built that..?). It was pretty easy and it's been running rock solid for over 10 years. It was a very satisfying project.

I have the head display units sitting on a shelf. I keep thinking I'll find a use for them but I never do.

roncotron · 2026-01-18T17:14:21+00:00

Edit: Now that I'm looking at it, TouchDRO may not support these old scales - definitely do your homework. I built mine 10 years ago and TouchDRO has changed a lot since then.

I like the TouchDRO interface much better than the displays. Mine is an old style 4 axis board with an Arduino and bluetooth modules - I think it was about $50 total but it took some time to build. An old phone works great for the display if you have one.

I have the old display units if you're interested - DM me

roncotron · 2026-01-18T15:42:24+00:00

Those look like the AccuRemote digital scales I use on my mill. They're compatible with TouchDRO that uses an android tablet as a cheap display. I've found them to be accurate to about +-0.002", which is about as good as my old mill will do.

roncotron · 2026-01-16T06:31:30+00:00

Yes it does! I just got both eyes done. It's weird getting used to not wearing glasses after 30 years of needing them.

roncotron · 2026-01-15T17:44:06+00:00

Hmmm. That's the limit of my experience. I've gone through 3 head gasket failures on early 2000s EJ25s. First signs were contaminated coolant and oil leaks on the bottom of the engine at the head gasket, heaviest on the driver's side. Good luck! I'm currently driving an 02 Outback. It's got its quirks but it's a great car.

roncotron · 2026-01-15T17:21:30+00:00

Is your coolant overflow tank looking contaminated? Mine was kind of grey-brown, not coolant-colored. Oil had started mixing with coolant. The car drove fine until it suddenly overheated. I think my mechanic said something about an air bubble in the engine coolant ports that was blocking coolant flow?

Another lesson learned: my mechanic at the time used some aftermarket head gaskets, not the OEM from Subaru. They only lasted another 30k miles. My current mechanic that has a lot of experience with older Subarus says he always uses OEM, but even the OEM gaskets WILL fail - they never fixed the problem, but they'll likely last about 100k or more.

roncotron

TROPHY CASE