Software engineer (video games). Likes dogs, DJing + EDM, running, electronics and loud bangs in Reservoir.

  • 0 Posts
  • 60 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: June 11th, 2023

help-circle

  • I backed the Kickstarter, and oh wow did I get my money’s worth! I genuinely wasn’t expecting them to finish, and that’s fine - I was there for the support and the ride, however it turned out.

    It’s been so long since I originally backed the project that I’m not really that interested in playing it any more, but I’m happy for them that they got it over the line… well, most of it.

    Like many Kickstarters they promised a lot without realising just how difficult or expensive it would be. There’s still a lot of deliverables ahead for them, but they’ve been pretty open about running out of money and operating on pure good will at this point, and I can’t say I blame them with over a decade of their lives poured into it.

    I hope it does well for them!









  • I’ve played around with using PLA to make plant pots on an old Ender 3. It wasn’t quite waterproof, but pretty close. If you wanted a perfect seal for underwater shenanigans, I’d probably experiment with different wall thickness settings, and maybe temperatures/fan cooling settings. You want to try and minimise the tiny air pockets between layer and filament drawing lines. (Resin 3D printers are probably better at this tbh.)

    I had reasonable success using a hot air gun to melt the outer layer of PLA to make it perfectly smooth, but this can deform your object if it heats up too much, so I’m guessing very hot temperatures and less contact time would be the ideal setting.

    You could also try smearing Vaseline or resin coating the outside of the object.




  • Best place to start would be to look at the thermostat hardware you’ve currently got, and start searching online if anyone has integrated it into Home Assistant.

    I’ve lived at a few houses now with Home Assistant. In all of them I was able to integrate my HVAC and automate it, but some brands and hardware are definitely easier than others.

    I think the most extreme of them required a custom esphome device connected to its PCB to talk to Home Assistant, and another required me to write my own custom component.

    Hardware and brands make a huge difference, but sometimes you’re stuck with what you’ve got.






  • For couch gaming, the discontinued Steam Link hardware is still king IMHO. I tried switching to the Android app on my smart TV and have had nothing but trouble with connection quality (even over a gigabit wired connection) and maintaining 4 controllers connected to the TV at once. It seems extremely sensitive to host hardware and software issues, which often change underneath you with TV updates. The Android hardware and software it runs on is just too variable to ensure a consistent reliable experience, and Bluetooth controller support is often hit or miss.

    The Steam Link hardware was amazing as it did exactly what it needed to do, and most importantly was tested more thoroughly than the thousands of Android devices that all have their own quirks and specs. I hope they bring it back.