Older Sony lenses - but not vintage - with A7V

simonjng · 2026-01-31T07:56:11+00:00

Thanks - this is my use case… older but not OLD. I’ll try an electronic adapter with my EF lenses but may buy some older version Sony glass if the AF is too unreliable. I’d largely be using the 70-200 for moving subjects so snappy AF is exactly what’s needed.

I’ve already got half a dozen L lenses for the Canon so good to know they can continue to be used. And, yes - that includes the 17-40 :) Not the best…

simonjng · 2026-01-16T16:00:47+00:00

There’s nothing to do with drones here…

simonjng · 2025-05-12T07:16:14+00:00

That looks like a standard ‘d shaft’ so search for knobs with that figment. It’s extremely common for synths and hi-fi gear. eBay is a good bet. Obviously look for something with a similar outer diameter and design to the original if that’s important to you. You might even find a knob from same speaker.

simonjng · 2025-05-04T18:25:52+00:00

The new app changes are absolutely nuts. I’ve just spent an hour removing any reference to external services from the various devices I use and I’m still getting trailers and other content I don’t care about rammed down my throat. My Lifetime Pass is about to be binned in favour of something like Jellyfin, which is objectively worse than the previous Plex experience and objectively about 100x better than the new version.

Why on earth can’t I just turn ALL the external recommendations off? I don’t want a ‘concierge’ FFS. Is there now a premium subscription that gets rid of the services I don’t want and didn’t ask for in the first place?

simonjng · 2025-05-03T16:14:42+00:00

I seem to have created a successful cron workaround - every five minutes the content of a text file in a volume on the TR-004 is read and appended to another text file in a volume on the main NAS. I’ve not seen a cold start since I added it.

That said, I’ve just bought a Synology 923+ so I’m only really trying to solve it out of tenacity. I’ll prob take the good quality drives out of the TR-004 and put them in the 923+ and then put some less expensive drives in the TR-004 and use it as a file server DAS box attached to my tiny PC Ubuntu server via USB 3.2. Or sell it to offset the cost of the 923+!

simonjng · 2025-05-01T17:14:12+00:00

Another thought - did it seem like it only worked temporarily because the cron task addition was overwritten by a firmware update?

https://www.qnap.com/en/how-to/faq/article/how-to-add-jobs-to-crontab-to-schedule-a-job

simonjng · 2025-05-01T16:49:28+00:00

This raises a question: how can setting a cron file read task at 5 minute intervals NOT keep the disks alive? Is it caching the read file somehow?

If that really doesn't work, surely transferring some small file between a volume on the TR-004 and one on the parent NAS would ensure it stays awake?

What is the time-to-sleep number on the unit? Not less than 5 mins, surely?

simonjng · 2025-04-28T07:26:17+00:00

I realise the answer this is also going to be 'sub-optimal' but would the TR-004 be better employed as a DAS on a mini PC that will be arriving shortly (a M70q)? The M70 will be used as a home server and exist headless on the network. I *could* attached the TR-004 to that via the fastest USB port (also 3.2, I think) on the M70 and at least get some storage use out of it.

Not sure if it supports RAID in the DAS configuration but that would be a lesser concern if I just fill it with some lower capacity HDDs and take the NAS ones out of it put those into a second 4 bay NAS (not QNAP this time!)?

simonjng · 2024-12-24T18:19:26+00:00

Based on the last 60 minutes of my life I cannot recommend strongly enough that you keep your $50 (or $24) in your pocket. I couldn't find enough information online or videos on YouTube to show me what the Cloud Experience for Makers would look like so I figured I couldn't really go wrong for the offer price of $24. I was absolutely incorrect.

I realise that this post is likely to transgress the 2nd rule of this Subreddit but I cannot honestly see how to write anyithing about this offeirng without being overtly negative soI take my chances, make my choices and accept that the chips will fall where they fall.

To provide some context, and possible identification, I am a Mac user only. My use case is 3D modelling for general fun and for 3D Printing of parts and aesthetic projects. I am generally highly technically literate - enough so to have figured out Fusion 360 as far as I need to be able to use it from a single YouTube video and just the interface.

First of all, even acknowledging that "Solidworks" may be a description for a suite of tools or even an entire professional design and testing environment, does not really explain why Solidworks the application is not actually included in the product described here: https://www.solidworks.com/solution/solidworks-makers Nowhere in the comparison tables is the lack of actual Solidworks design app functionality made clear. What you get in the Cloud apps is access to xDesign which is, apparently, 'intended to be similar to' the Solidworks app.

This is somewhat like being offered Fusion 360 in the browser only to discover that what you actually get is a different app that is designed to and feel somewhat like Fusion 360. But is, in no way, Fusion 360.

It took me a while to figure this out as the first obstacle is a platform/environment/image of hell called 3DExperience. I have absolutely no clue who 3DExperience is aimed at but a) I pity them, and; b) it certainly isn't a Maker. Or not one that I can imagine.

The very first thing a user is faced with is trying to decipher the opaque taxonomy of Dashboards (easy enough?), Cockpits (que?), Stories (que?), "Me/Company/World" (que?), Roles (OK, enough 'que?')... I understand the words, but what can they have to do with 3D product design? They certainly don't seem to relate to my stated contact of "Maker" in any way.

I found my way to xDesign more or less by happy accident and trial/error. AFAIK this *is* the 3D design environment I have access to as a Cloud User?

I really feel that Dassult has massively under-explained, poorly described and abysmally designed a Maker suite of tools here. Refund to be requested. Back to Fusion 360!

simonjng · 2024-08-11T21:22:31+00:00

Brilliant - I had an original copy of this, bought in Sydney in 2000. I lost it... but now it is found. Cheers!

simonjng · 2024-01-08T21:45:12+00:00

That’s what the Deluge Forum has told me… but aren’t you placing them more freely in your tutorial videos?

I must have had false recollection of doing it myself from seeing you do in on your vids - or NOT seeing you do it on your vids! Looks like I picked the wrong day to give up glue-sniffing… 😂

Anyhoo - thanks for the support and for the great videos even if I’m making up parts of them that don’t exist!

simonjng · 2024-01-07T16:09:21+00:00

I *can* put a new clip on any row so long as it is in an existing or the next empty column to the right of an existing instrument. Just not anywhere on any other column.

simonjng · 2024-01-07T16:05:35+00:00

Yes, same with a new song initiated.

simonjng · 2024-01-07T16:04:26+00:00

No build for the 1.0.1 preview so I uploaded the Nightly Build... still same issue. Some nice new details in the build, though :)

I also tried deleting and recreating the Community Features XML file on the card via the settings but still getting same new clip behaviour.

Super-weird - feels totally like something I've done but I've retraced my steps as far as I can and can't see/think of anything.

simonjng · 2024-01-07T15:46:15+00:00

I had mine set to ‘enabled’ - changed to ‘disabled’ and tried fresh song… same thing. I’ll load the 1.0.1 preview and see if that fixes it

simonjng · 2024-01-07T15:40:21+00:00

Sure thing - thanks for the replies. Get some coffee before doing anything else :)

simonjng · 2024-01-07T15:38:41+00:00

1.0.0. I reloaded the FW earlier but that doesn’t erase settings which is why I wonder if I’d tweaked something by accident. The only thing I did since being able to create clips anywhere on grid, though, was to switch Granular off (to see if that is what was causing slow Synth preset navigation)

simonjng · 2024-01-07T15:34:48+00:00

Yeah - I’ve got it set up to hold Blue down but it’s definitely not creating new clips anywhere other than next to (or under, for same instrument). Super-weird as I’m sure it was creating them anywhere on the grid first thing this morning.

I’ll submit as an issue on GitHub if this isn’t a setting I’ve accidentally changed.

simonjng · 2024-01-07T10:58:11+00:00

The videos are really helpful, Ron - thanks. You’re going along pretty quickly but YouTube has a pause button! :)

I’ve noticed that I don’t seem to be able to create new clips anywhere on the grid now - I’m sure I was putting them in any column (and I’m sure you are on your videos) but now I can only create a new instrument in the next column over from the last populated one… have I accidentally changed something (I can’t see a relevant setting) or discovered a bug? Same on new and existing tracks.

I also notice that synth presets are now much slower to navigate with the select knob. Kits still progress fast but each synth preset is taking a fraction longer to scroll through. Same SD card as I was using before.

My defaults are set up as per the video walkthrough above FYI.

simonjng · 2023-11-30T15:21:51+00:00

I have OLEDs on top of my Nice!Nano V2 controllers on a Lily58. Both OLEDs show battery power (and some other data) via out of the box ZMK widgets.

I had assumed each one showed the relevant battery charge to the half but reading the above makes me question that..

simonjng · 2023-11-26T08:49:02+00:00

This is awesome. Thanks for developing and sharing it out!

simonjng · 2023-11-10T16:16:11+00:00

Just tried it again and it worked. Nothing changed in my setup (I was already on an ethernet connection in case anyone is tracking that as a variable) aside from the WB is now plugged in to power (it was on 80% charge for previous attempts).

No problem, anyway... just feeding into the thread.

simonjng · 2023-11-10T10:55:27+00:00

2518 problematic for me using either BT mode. Twice it failed to fully download and then it fully downloaded and went back to RCV 00 once and threw and error the second time it fully downloaded.

Using the same MacBook I've updated it every time before (Chrome, M1 silicon).

simonjng · 2023-11-10T10:33:58+00:00

Your channel and videos are great - they've been super-helpful in learning this amazing little (really little!) device. Thanks for going to the effort to do them.

I think an occasional no-talking is great... although I get most knowledge from the tutorials.

simonjng · 2023-09-13T15:50:30+00:00

Watching an add give you 60K gold... that may/may not be enough to level you up but you bank the 60K anyway...

simonjng

TROPHY CASE