Went shopping at Lidl and found this. I was thinking of getting a 20m hose for compressed air, already. Maybe, this works. I always have a strange feeling with supermarket brand tools. The step-drill bit was good.

Now, I can use the USB-serial converter for programming the ESP8684 module on my project pcb. The status LED is blinking. I have used the schematics of the ESP8684 devkit m1 as a base. No buttons (reset & boot) required for programming. DTR & RTS do that job.

I got my #ESP8684 Devkit M1 blinking. Of course, it was not supported by the Arduino IDE, so I had to download the ESP-IDF, which is a shell/DOS like application of only 1.5 GB download size. The target to select is ESP32C2, not ESP8684. Things you have to find out…

The #Omnifixo is such a handy thing! Here, I am just using the clamps, which have a magnetic foot, to hold a display for testing in front of the case. The construction of the clamps makes it easy to position them. And it is perfectly stable. It is worth every cent!

After 3 months, my #picoCalc arrived. It was an easy build. Even if you have two left hands and five thumbs on each (like me). It is a Raspberry Pi pico based mini computer, which runs e.g. a BASIC interpreter (picoMite) and has accessible GPIO pins. Let the distraction begin! 🤣🤣🤣

Social media is full of moon eclipse images. I went out, waited an hour until the clouds were almost gone. Took a time lapse and kind of failed. This is by far better than my time lapse 🤣🤣🤣

I prepared food with tweezers. It did feel right. 🤣🤣🤣

@morefunmakingit.bsky.social did some nice SMD repair work. Great Sunday morning video to watch.

I actually like the nano sponges for cleaning up the flux after soldering. They absorb the flux, that is solved in isopropanol. And the glass bottle with the wide base is my first good one (I had two smaller plastic bottles before, which I have dumped after a short time).

My „all new parts C64“. Ultimate 64 elite II + RetroFuzion clear case + my home made mechanical keyboard.

Some progress with the 2nd prototype of the #C64 #keyboard. I had printed the stiffener, so I have installed it, but the construction is actually not any wobbly without. The software for the pro micro requires some work. I only did some fun work 6 months ago.

The black frame for the C64 keyboard looks so much better 🙂 no soldering tonight, though. I need to do some work.

My 3D printer didn’t work for weeks. The PEI build plate wasn’t sticking enough anymore. At least, the last attempt screwed up my print head. Fixed the thing with another broken head and it works again. This is the so much required black frame for my C64 keyboard project.

Sorry for being more astrophotography than electronics, recently. I did solder, but well… boring stuff. This is from last night. Andromeda galaxy and the veil Nebulae. I was trying EQ mode and mosaic on my #Dwarf3 for the first time. And I did some trickery with #GIMP.

The joy of rentware. No Windows 10 for #fusion360 after January 2026. You fucking bastards, #autodesk! I have paid until April 2026, but well... anybody knows a 3D cad software, that can import Fusion360 projects? I don't want to buy a new computer.

This battery powered blower is good enough to blowing off the isopropanol after washing (the flux off) the assembled PCBs. One more cool AliExpress find. There are different versions for the different 18V batteries. Mine is Makita, I have also seen Dewalt, Bosch, Ryobi, Milwaukee battery versions.

The Andromeda Galaxy. Taken from my backyard with a little device (Dwarf III). Sure, there are better pictures. This is my first and I am impressed, what the Dwarf III is capable of.

Almost monochrome :-)

Ozzy passed away. (My son has drawn the picture when he was four years old)

This 10V precision source from AliExpress is quite useful and definitely worth the money.

I totally agree.

Last night on my terrace… #M57 #LagoonNebula #Dwarf3 #Dwarflab

I have found a (slightly) #radioactive camera #lens in my collection. #Asahi #Pentax #SuperTakumar 1:1.8/55mm. Thorium was used to increase the refraction index of the glas lenses while reducing the optical dispersion.

Although my leg is still not good, I was able to do some couch astronomy, yesterday night. I have put the DWARF III on a tripod on my terrace and tried to find something interesting in the sky while keeping my leg high. That is M5 star cluster, the Eagle M16 and Omega M17 nebula.

It would be so nice, if AI would spell properly. It is „PRÄZISIONSSCHEISSEN“ without SSS. After I have got rid of the antibiotics‘ side effects, I definitely want such a badge.

Strong in you, the selling force is, young master. Sell the saddle of a galloping horse, you can—unnoticed by the rider, even.

I have found this very nice video about using solder wick. Recommended view. youtu.be/IjOh5ShVX_w?...

I asked ChatGPT for a movie poster for the Rocky Horror Simpsons Show 🙂

I have soldered a bit. A little relay board. The panels are a great help. It is a bit faster and visual inspection is way easier.

I paid the tariffs and I had to pay a postie fee. Fresh from Australia, the Retro Fusion Mechboard64. Ordered last Sunday. It did not even take a week and shipping was less than 20€. #RetroFuzion #Mechboard64

Mayhem!

I had three bad 3D print attempts today. I cleaned th3e build plate each time with IPA, I leveled it each time. The culprit: a piece of resistor wire trimming, that stuck to the magnetic base plate. I just didn't see it before (I thought, it was matter of the old filament.

Life has been hard to them.

ChatGPT made a word cloud with the funniest sounding German words for me :-) I know, that my wife had to laugh about kaputt, when she started to learn German.

My wood working skills are a bit limited, I think. But good enough for things in my lab/basement. A shelf on rolls. I need to store stuff better. I like furniture on rolls, so it is easy to reconfigure everything, depending, what I am doing.

A made to measure lab shelf to be. My wood working depends a lot on the weather. Since I could not find my dowel drill tool, I had to buy a new one. I wonder that the old one didn’t fall on my feet, yet.

ChatGPT is way too much fun.

The word „betaprutal“ screwed me up. I don’t have much use for „verbosity“ and „exuberance“, but I know the meaning. This year in August will be my 50th anniversary of learning English. It still sucks 🤣🤣🤣🤣

That is what happens if you borrow your scope probes to the pencil eating colleague 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Still playing with AI. I asked for solving a simple Sudoku. ChatGPT said, it was not solvable. I solved it and asked, if I was correct. It said, yes, then asked me if it should create a juxtaposition. The result was total crap.

Yesterday, I was experimenting with AI again. I think, ChatGPT is by far better than meta AI. First, I was asking for an ESP8684-Mini programming interface again. It prompted the wrong answer. I asked about my grandpa‘s Buddha statue. I believe, the answer was ok. It explained gesture and vase.

And 7/4, 9/8, 10/4 etc. And never ask for Take Five on a (jazz) jam session.

Ok, stolen, too. Some kind of a geek dad joke. Sorry for that, but I had to laugh.

Stolen. I did leave a like.

It is of course fun to try out something new. I was asking meta AI for a double diode array and received these answers. None of them is correct. 1N4148 is a single diode. BAT54 is a single schottky diode. BAV99 does not have a common cathode and it is not an array.

Yesterday, I was using meta ai for the first time. Actually an interesting experience. I was asking for a circuit for programming the ESP8684-mini module. It is the successor of the ESP32-Wroom. It said something about IO0 (that‘s for ESP32). In reality, it is IO9.

The moon and the sun, today. That Dwarf 3 telescope is fun.

One more music instrument in the house. My son got himself a hand pan.

Sound on🙂 youtube.com/shorts/jmWGk...