I’m considering buying a robot vacuum cleaner, but I’m not a fan of the idea that it would scan my apartment and send data to the cloud.

I came across the Valetudo project, and it looks promising. It doesn’t replace the firmware - just replaces the cloud connection with local automation systems instead. Has anyone here used it? Or are you using something else for local control? I’d love to hear your experience 🙂

  • solder one destroy a PCB yourself

    FTFY.

    In my hands, a soldering iron is not a finely tuned instrument, it’s a hand grenade. The US government classifies me with a soldering iron as a WMD. Physicists are trying to determine commercial applications for my ability to instantly coat a PCB in a layer of solder with a single drop. The ATF added a special rule requiring a background check for me to purchase a soldering iron.

    I can paint eyelashes on D&D miniatures, but I bear some ancient curse when it comes to solder. In all seriousness, I’ve literally destroyed hundreds of dollars of equipment attempting the most simple soldering task; it’s cheaper for me to find someone competent selling already soldered solutions than to ruin them myself. I no longer try.

    • isolatedscotch@discuss.tchncs.de
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      4 days ago

      Damn, made me chuckle

      Anyways, going by

      , i have had multiple people (2, which is not a lot but it’s weird it happened more then once) say that they couldnt solder just to discover that they were using their soldering iron wrong.

      When you press the solder against the iron’s tip, it should get wicked by the tip, and remain there until you press it on some wire/component leads.

      If the solder beads up and slips away from the iron, or beads up and forms a blob at the end of the solder wire, it’s oxidised and you probably need to get a new tip. It needs to be shiny and metallic.

      The tip needs to be regularely cleaned while soldering by brushing it on a wet sponge, and never let the iron cool down without some solder on the tip to prevent oxidation.

      also, FLUX FLUX FLUX