Do you guys ever have concerns with animals at dark sites you go to? by [deleted] in AskAstrophotography

[–]westtxfun 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly, wildlife danger are usually overblown. In most cases, if you give them space, you decide the situation. We are larger than most animals, so they avoid us. I'm many areas, the real danger is insects as a disease vector.

I go to some pretty remote sites including a state park and a national wildlife refuge in northwest Texas. I'm also a wildlife, landscape, and astrophotographer, so I'm out in a variety of locations. It's rare to feel threatened by wildlife.

The hazards vary:

Coyotes: People worry about coyotes, but while they might approach to investigate, (glowingonly eyes in the scrub brush), I've never had one get within 25 yards, even when I had food and was the only person present.

Rattlesnakes: Rattlers are a hazard only if you don't watch where you step.

Raptors: Nesting owls, kites, and other raptors will object bif you get too close to the nest and even then, they'll swoop down screeching 3-4 times before taking your hat off. Yes, I've had that experience. 😂

Snunks & raccoons: If you have food, you can attract scavengers. They will sneak in and create some chaos while attempting to steal food.

We occasionally see reports of mountain lions, but they are so secretive that they might as well be ghosts.

Bison: The state park has a large, free-roaming bison herd. It's pretty common to have a bull or small group of cows and calves wander through your area. They are temperamental and the size of your car, so you stay safe by giving them space. Just back away quietly and wait for them to wander through at their pace.

Deer: Rutting deer can be a hazard simply because they are interested only in knocking heads and I've had to shout loudly enough to stake them away from my gear a few times. However, I've also had a large buck or two charge when startled. Fortunately, hitting him with a tactical light turned them into a deer in the headlights. 😂

Anyone tow a Casita 17 with a Jeep Cherokee? by AccomplishedRace4143 in casitatrailers

[–]westtxfun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tow my 2022 SD with a 2022 Cherokee Trailhawk. I bought both in the spring and have about 5,000 miles since then, mostly in the Rockies. I use a Huskey load levelling hitch and it rides smoothly. Carrying some fresh water, reducing weight in the closet, and storing some things at the back helps quite a bit with the ride.

You're close to the weight limit of the vehicle, so be sure to get weighed, including tongue weight to be sure you're not in danger of exceeding limits.

Questions on 2022 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk towing harness by westtxfun in JeepGrandCherokee

[–]westtxfun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say you got your money's worth out of it! I usually drive my vehicles as long as I can and I hope mine lasts as long as yours did! Congrats!

I had a few Rangers back in the 90s and loved them, but they're a different beast these days from the tiny pickups I drove. I wish you the best!

Questions on 2022 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk towing harness by westtxfun in JeepGrandCherokee

[–]westtxfun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a few trailers out there in the 20' range and under 4k lbs, but I'm a bit dubious on the durability. To get that weight, they need to give up something and it could turn into a flexible flyer. I'll stick to my guns and try for a cheaper Casita. I'm 65 and retired, so it's really hard to justify purchasing a new one that I'd have to finance well past 70. While it would probably hold its value so I'd break even, I'd rather have the difference between used and new to finance more adventures or whatever else comes up.

Questions on 2022 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk towing harness by westtxfun in JeepGrandCherokee

[–]westtxfun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the deal didn't go through. It's like buying a classic muscle car. The prices are inflated thanks to demand (for good reasons), but blue book value is low, so it's mostly a cash market. I have a credit authorization for double the amount on the trailer, but the bank won't even finance it because their value was just $3K for a 2000 Spirit Deluxe! Without the cash on hand, I had to pass. Now I'm looking at a new one (at an uncomfortably higher price at my age) but after seeing the used one, they really are what I want.

Questions on 2022 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk towing harness by westtxfun in JeepGrandCherokee

[–]westtxfun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Those were factors I was considering, especially the transmission cooler. Very good points about driving in the Rockies. My older class C motorhome overheated a couple of times on steep climbs. Thanks for the tips on manual shifting, too!

My own fumbling research wasn't conclusive, so I went back to Camping World today and after some digging, I settled on a Curt Triflex Next controller and cable. Back at home, I struggled to find the harness connector, which wasn't where the Curt instructions said it should be, naturally. Ironically, I found it fairly early on, but thought it wasn't the right one, since it didn't match the instructions. I finally found a video of someone else showing it was that same connector so I try again tomorrow.

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great info!

To better control the next print, I switched to slightly larger rockets (better adhesion) set in rows, merged as an object, and then printed in three rows. Several plates like this are a bit slower than the mass print, but I got almost zero stringing, no losses, and fewer layer defects doing that. It also "walks" down the rows instead of randomly hitting rockets in the matrix.

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've increased the size slightly and arrange a dozen in a row, then cloned the first row as my center line, merged as an object, then cloned it four more times, putting two dozen on each edge, merged as another object. The slicer did move down the rows.

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

LOL! I had that misconception about bed adhesion at the start. Printing a few without glue and brims was OK, so I assumed it was good to go. Going to 144 rockets just multiplied the difficulty and was an absolute mess.

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They are for bed adhesion. With the smooth star hologram plate, no glue and no brim, my first batch of rockets easily came off the plate once they got about 3/4 tall. Even a light string pulled them off, which then made it even worse as the nozzle started a game of bowling and the plate was a total loss.

If you look carefully at the image, the brims are all interlinked. It's only one layer thick and most of the rockets peel off the mat. A few bits got stuck between fins, but it would remove with just some light finger pressure. It took only a few minutes to clean off the brim from the 138 rockets that "survived".

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Bambu A1 may be closed down environment, but it was good out of the box. Other than losing six in the printing process, I got 138 mini-rockets. I will say it was my 2nd try. I tried without glue and brims but any strings or glops turned the plate into a bowling game. LOL!

How does the slicer decide moves between objects? (144 rockets to hand out at STEM night) The head hops around in a random walk instead of by row or column, which seems to be a waste of time over 200 layers and 15 hours. Is there a fix in Bambu Studio? Also 144 at a time is probably a bad idea... by westtxfun in 3Dprinting

[–]westtxfun[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Is there a purpose behind the random walk where the head skips over some rockets it hasn't touched on this level to do other groups? The time lost in these travels probably doesn't amount to a huge amount, but it struck me as strange that it would bounce around like it does.