What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[mnementh]

I sure hope they've spent some time on their physics engines since 7. Their small FBL helis & acro quads were totes out to lunch; even the big ones felt like flying a brick. 

And still no wireless dongle, for the price they charge...? SERIOUSLY?!? 

mnem
*flip!*

[mnementh]

    Ordered the 18th.        Arrived today.

Sold as "New Other", appear to be "lightly used" & repaired; found a scarred screw like somebody replaced an earpiece. 100% functional! 

First impressions: SDE MUCH improved over DK2 & Rift CE. Barely noticeable, & rotated 45° like the CE, but higher res and better contrast greatly reduce perceived fuzziness compared to the CE. I am actually typing this while viewing my browser through the WMR home portal, something I could NEVER stand to do with either of my previous HMDs. Same wearability complaints as other users; lenses too close, need extra-thick forehead pad to get focal distance right & overhead strap to eliminate excess nose pressure. Still better than most FPV goggles. 

I almost bought a few months ago when the full kit was reduced to $299, but I was just overextended due to recent Ryzen 3700X build. ~$150 is, I feel, a reasonable price for "lightly used" headset only, especially considering I really want to do the Valve Knuckles controllers anyways.

mnem
*Virtual-ily*

[TheSteve]

Just got Version 9 that just came out!

I'm still using RF4.5 - living in the past!
It is really only for additional helicopter practice in the winter though. With the nice weather I try to get in 20-60 minutes of real flying per day with my micro heli fleet.

[mnementh]

  ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑


4.5...?!? You fly micros and practice on 4.5? How can you STAND IT? The physics on RF6-7 are simply ATROCIOUS; nothing at all like a real FBL micro. Pretty sure 4.5 has to be worse yet.  That shit will teach you to fly WRONG man.

mnem
Spew and a half...!!!

[TheSteve]

Hah, I don't fly any of the micro stuff on 4.5. I often fly a 90 sized heli inside a building. It has quite a realistic feel to it and the walls come up pretty quick. I can already fly around my yard no problem with the real helicopters. The sim is more for inverted practice and some basic stunts etc.

edit - started years ago with a Blade CP, had a trex 450 and trex 600 but didn't fly them much. Then went to micro's with the Walkera 4#3 and was a part of the brushless conversion rage(was very active on rcgroups.com). Then got out of heli's for a few years, but recently got back in with a Nano S2, Blade 130S and a Fusion 180. It helps I now have a backyard that is big enough I can fly at home.

[mnementh]

Same here. Mostly Genius CP, Mini CP, Axe100 (9 Eagles rebrand) and 450-500 size CCPM/FBL. Even their 500 size feel like they're mired in molasses to me; trying to do funnels and tick-tocks in RF 6-6.5 nearly broke my brain. 

EDIT: Too bad you're all the way over by Vancouver... I'm moving to Toronto in a few weeks, and I have a couple Fusuno FUC-1071 (For Fusion 50) canopies left over from modding my 500 that need a new home. They're not worth the cost of postage, tho...

mnem

[TheSteve]

Bought a DLP printer to make these:

[technix]

Bought a DLP printer to make these:

What are those?

[GreyWoolfe]

They look suspiciously like wave guides.

[xrunner]

Bought a DLP printer to make these:

Nice. Anything special about the resin for those?

[TheSteve]

They are RF horns(antennas), lowest freq(biggest horn) is for 18-26.5 GHz. The smallest ones are 110 GHz. They are of course just for show at the moment until they have some metal plating on the inside.
It is standard Elegoo resin.

[beanflying]

Tempted to pull the trigger on a DLP but as the usage would be sporadic pouring and storing open and used containers of resins keeps stopping me before you get to the messy cleanup and post curing. Shame the results are just so good 

I have been playing with epoxy and poly resins for 30+ years btw so it's not a lack of knowledge just an understanding of some of the downsides of the technology.

[TheSteve]

Printed a little something for my wife as well.

[beanflying]

Watching a random eevblog2 video today on modding a commercial smoke extractor while unpacking some carbon impregnated filter material for another job. eBay auction: #143251038585 Quick rummage into the fan collection and out with the shears.

Works a treat even without a shroud, 12V 120mm fan running 7-8V  @ .2A  (for less noise and it works well enough) I have only been using a little fan on an arm over soldering jobs in the past but maybe a DIY enclosure and extractor project coming up. Laser cut ply/acrylic or 3DP for the body is the question

[Mr. Scram]

They are RF horns(antennas), lowest freq(biggest horn) is for 18-26.5 GHz. The smallest ones are 110 GHz. They are of course just for show at the moment until they have some metal plating on the inside.
It is standard Elegoo resin.

Which printer did you buy? Is it the Elegoo Mars?

[TheSteve]

They are RF horns(antennas), lowest freq(biggest horn) is for 18-26.5 GHz. The smallest ones are 110 GHz. They are of course just for show at the moment until they have some metal plating on the inside.
It is standard Elegoo resin.

Which printer did you buy? Is it the Elegoo Mars?

It is the original Anycubic Photon - the cheapest of the cheap, but it is impressing me constantly.

[mnementh]

Yeah, I've seen them as cheap as $199 a few months ago. I almost pulled the trigger, but was overextended already. Wouldn't have bought the Odyssey+ but for the price just being too good.

@bean - Nice knock-together. I used plastic pop fasteners to hold the filter in place on mine.  If you're going to make a frame, you should 3DP it with hinge flanges like a GoPro mount so you can attach it easily to an articulating arm. One of those things that's been on my DSIGD list for like a year... 

mnem
 

[beanflying]

Yeah, I've seen them as cheap as $199 a few months ago. I almost pulled the trigger, but was overextended already. Wouldn't have bought the Odyssey+ but for the price just being too good.

@bean - Nice knock-together. I used plastic pop fasteners to hold the filter in place on mine.  If you're going to make a frame, you should 3DP it with hinge flanges like a GoPro mount so you can attach it easily to an articulating arm. One of those things that's been on my DSIGD list for like a year... 

mnem
 

Decided on 12V flop it on the bench option. Laser cut ply or acrylic with three frames, two at the front to sandwich the filter (fairly stiff) between them. Offset from the fan a little so all of the surface will pull air and not be hindered by the motor as much. 150mm on the base front to back for a little more stability. Simple PWM ESC and a jack mounted back there too.

Gave me an excuse to model a rough 120mm Fan to add to the collection too.

Still a WIP 

[tautech]

Bean, Defpom printed one:
https://youtu.be/z1r5QduH_Qg

[beanflying]

Bean, Defpom printed one:
https://youtu.be/z1r5QduH_Qg

I hadn't seen that one. Ian Johnson did a tube mod for the Hakko here I had seen https://youtu.be/25oSsyMBpj0

None of them appeal to me as I deal with ducting on Coffee Roasters and would rather not for flexabilty on the bench.

[Mr. Scram]

It is the original Anycubic Photon - the cheapest of the cheap, but it is impressing me constantly.

I've been looking at these printers but the small build volume has been putting me off.

[mnementh]

Having done a LOT of fan and ductwork type stuff, NEITHER of those solutions are actually "fit for purpose". The ducted filter cube decreases the airflow velocity to the point of uselessness for fume extraction, and the ducted Hakko thing... SERIOUSLY?  All it does is approximately double the space taken up by the thing when stowed, and EVEN WORSE space-wastage when deployed. 

Just like mine with the square of filter cloth tacked to the front of a fan, bean's take has the beauty of form following function. KISS applies here in the absolute; unless the mod improves effectiveness (which the increased filter surface on bean's design DOES while also directing airflow much more usefully), it's pointless.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

@bean - Nice knock-together. I used plastic pop fasteners to hold the filter in place on mine.  If you're going to make a frame, you should 3DP it with hinge flanges like a GoPro mount so you can attach it easily to an articulating arm. One of those things that's been on my DSIGD list for like a year... 

mnem
 

Decided on 12V flop it on the bench option. Laser cut ply or acrylic with three frames, two at the front to sandwich the filter (fairly stiff) between them. Offset from the fan a little so all of the surface will pull air and not be hindered by the motor as much. 150mm on the base front to back for a little more stability. Simple PWM ESC and a jack mounted back there too. Gave me an excuse to model a rough 120mm Fan to add to the collection too.

Still a WIP 

I like it a lot. I'm not sure if this was your intent or not, but f you make it so the filter element applies across the curved surface, you'll decrease air resistance thanks to larger surface area while at the same time directing airflow in a manner that greatly enhances the directionality of fume extraction. Added bonus will be longer life of individual bits of filter. Well-done. 

mnem
 

[Nominal Animal]

For a silent/low noise fume filter, try using two fans in a push-pull configuration on either side of the filter.

Counterintuitively, you might want to use a reverse cone in front of the intake to increase the speed of the airflow, i.e. a cone where the air intake is at the narrow end.  This way the speed of the airflow is much lower at the filter, and even low-noise fans can generate enough of a pressure differential or airflow through the filter.

It might be interesting to do a three/six-fan setup, where the fans are side by side, and the air intake is a horizontal slit only a few mm tall; i.e. a triangular prism with one of the three faces facing the fan, and the opposite edge is the air intake.

[mnementh]

Fan in front of the filter is not a good idea with soldering smoke; it carries a large component of vaporised rosin which will quickly coat an unprotected fan with nasty stuff that looks like tobacco tar and contains lead/tin/antimony.  The little bit that gets through the charcoal filter material we're using still makes things noticeably nasty-looking after a few dozen hours usage.

Two fans in a Vee works very well and enhances stability; it also allows you to use slower, quieter fans and still get the air velocity at the filter you need for useful fume suckage. Downside is heavier, takes up more bench space in use.

mnem