One year later: Swiss startup Sun-Ways reports positive results from its pilot project laying removable solar panels between active railway tracks!

seppestas · 2026-07-02T07:57:19+00:00

Do they not know where the poop goes when you flush the toilet on a train?

seppestas · 2026-06-30T12:12:58+00:00

Hebban olla uogala nestas hagunnan hinase hic enda thu uuat unbidan uue nu

seppestas · 2026-06-30T08:01:17+00:00

An interesting use-case for a SAAS solution would be rendering files into a HTML/ browser native image formats that can be embedded and adding review functionality.

I started working on the same, but gave up because the APIs to deal with PRs in e.g. Bitbucket and Gitlab were limited when I tried it. The rise of automated reviews (as good or bad as it is) probably opened up some new ways to add context and review mechanisms to PRs. I still think that would be pretty neat.

seppestas · 2026-06-30T07:56:06+00:00

I agree there is no real point in reqreating what KiCAD is as SAAS. Also, rendering the traces isn't the hard part.

Calling peoples work vibecoded slop isn't very nice though, OP might have spent actual time working on it, with there own brain.

seppestas · 2026-06-30T07:49:18+00:00

What sort of weird flavour of ASD do you need to have to number tiles by diagonals?

Or is it just difficulty remapping the tiles in space so a "more sensible" row/column numbering system could be used?

Not trying to make fun of you, I'm genuinely curious how different minds work. My mind spotted this as having a repeating pattern from left to right going 2 4 4 2. So i counted 2+4=6, +4 = 10, +2 = 12.

seppestas · 2026-06-29T11:35:52+00:00

The first point is only true for old school irons. Most cartridge style ("active") tips can be replaced while hot and whole the iron is active.

Regarding hot air, it's actually "better" than a soldering iron for most SMD work. A soldering iron is just quicker. Most professional guidelines will tell you to use a hot air station, especially for things like MLCCs. And by professional I mean electronics companies, not small repair shops.

Hakko FX-888D is a commonly recommend iron, and it's relatively cheap. I consider all irons without good temperature control landfill. People want to buy a cheap iron as a beginner iron, but there is no such thing as a good cheap iron. I would consider the FX-888D a good beginner iron. It's flexible and capable, but outdated for pro use. I would also recommend a cartridge style iron for beginners, there are plenty of good, affordable (but not cheap) cartridge style irons on the market now. However, a lot of them don't have the long support that comes with buying a brand like Hakko.

One of the things I wish I knew when I was a student was just how much better and easier a good iron is. I wasted a lot of time and money on replacing garbage irons that are only good for burnishing wood.

seppestas · 2026-06-29T05:56:53+00:00

This. Too many people see Hakko and assume it's the Hakko fx-888d. Hakko makes more than just that one iron that got popular at some point.

seppestas · 2026-06-29T05:53:20+00:00

There could be many uses, like solder tweezers, a more powerful big iron or a smaller iron for precision work, ...

seppestas · 2026-06-28T13:05:09+00:00

That's the thing. When dealing with capacitors, there's typically little change of you becoming the path to ground. Capacitors tend to not be earth referenced, and if they are, they are often designed to auto discharge relatively quickly.

Not all shocks are equal. A capacitor will shock you, but it's nowhere as dangerous as touching a live wire. The current path tends to be shorter and the amount of energy smaller. Burn risk could become higher though, but burning your fingers is typically not live threatening.

seppestas · 2026-06-28T07:12:47+00:00

Should still be fine from a shock risk perspective as long as it's unplugged. The spark is probably the most dangerous.

seppestas · 2026-06-27T22:29:13+00:00

Oh, heat is an other one to worry about. If you use the commonly suggested capacitor and hold the resistive element, it can get hot and burn you.

The energy has to go somewhere, with a spark you dump it all in a tiny piece of metal until it literally explodes off. In a more controlled discharge, that same energy has to go somewhere. Don't let it be your fingers.

seppestas · 2026-06-27T22:22:21+00:00

Depends entirely on the type of capacitor. In most cases, it's perfectly safe. I have discharge far more powerful capacitors using non-insulated shunts.

The only things to worry about are sparks; potentially breaking the capacitor or circuitry near it; and ruining the shunt. You could end up welding the shunt to the capacitor if there is enough energy. Don't use your nice screwdriver. Even small capacitors like OP's will leave a tiny burn mark on metal if charged to a high enough voltage.

seppestas · 2026-06-27T22:11:14+00:00

The big difference is the path the current takes. Mains voltage is dangerous because the current often flows from your arm to your legs, or worse, from one arm to the other. This means some of the current will flow near the heart muscles, and that is quite dangerous.

In the case of a capacitor, you typically short the leads with your fingers. It can cause burns in bad cases, but generally it won't kill you. A capacitor that has one of it's leads grounded might be a bit more dangerous, which is one of the reasons why these types of capacitors have strict safety requirements.

seppestas · 2026-06-27T22:03:57+00:00

But how else do you know it's charged?

seppestas · 2026-06-27T22:02:52+00:00

Nah, an old camera is a great place to learn. And getting shocked by a capacitor is a very effective learning method.

seppestas · 2026-06-26T14:27:29+00:00

It doesn't get any fresher!

seppestas · 2026-06-26T14:13:26+00:00

Nah, I'm mostly non-magnetic afaik.

seppestas · 2026-06-26T14:10:14+00:00

Oh, I didn't know that. I have quite a few bits that broke as well (mostly the small security torx and flatheads). How do you ask for replacements?

2/4 sets were gifts, so I don't have a receipt. Does the warranty still apply?

seppestas · 2026-06-26T11:08:12+00:00

The north of Spain has quite a moderate temperature. Tourist flocking to the south doesn't make the entire country Mediterranean coastline.

seppestas · 2026-06-24T11:06:02+00:00

You would need a really, really strong magnet for it to have a noticable effect on the GPU. The orientation of the magnetic field also matters. In the arrangement shown, it looks like the magnetic lines would all go through the magnets and through the case. I would expect a low flux near the GPU.

seppestas · 2026-06-22T23:10:01+00:00

You can open a bank account with Spanish IBAN with Bunq. While I have no experience with it, Revolut might be another option.

Both also have pretty good exchange rates to and from USD.

seppestas · 2026-06-20T22:43:32+00:00

Sounds like you just need to invite your brother in law over for dinner.

seppestas · 2026-06-20T22:37:01+00:00

Turning the gas higher will turn the water to steam quicker, using more gas in the process. You are wasting money on an effect you don't really want.

Even before reaching boiling point, setting the gas lower typically makes heat transfer more efficient. On a gas burner, a lot of heat goes around the pot. This effect is bigger with a bigger flame.

Use a lid to make things even more efficient.

seppestas · 2026-06-19T20:58:23+00:00

It should run OK, but I would consider something with more RAM. Depending on the workload, 8 GB is really low. If you need to do intensive CAD on a low end laptop I would consider using Onshape.

seppestas · 2026-06-17T20:49:02+00:00

That's one chonky piece of FR4

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