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nickmcc

257 karma · joined February 17, 2022

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nickmcc··on Show HN: Sarala – An open-source WYSIWYG Markdown editor
Wrong tool comparison. This seems more like a vibecoded clone of Typora.
nickmcc··on Show HN: Open-Source eInk Bike Computer
Very cool! I made something similar recently with my Xteink X4 ereader - difference being it served as a UI for sensors connected to my phone. Getting the ESP32 to communicate directly to ANT sensors is pretty wild!
nickmcc··on The Mighty Big Array of Finn Jensen LA8YB
This antenna array is used for EME. For those not familiar with that acronym, it means using the moon as a radio reflector to send signals back to earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%E2%80%93Moon%E2%80%93Ear...
nickmcc··on World's biggest RC A380 [video]
Fun fact: He builds these with / for the actor Tyler Perry, whom has a hanger and RC airstrip at his home.
nickmcc··on Show HN: I turned algae into a bio-altimeter and put it on a weather balloon
As an alternative to Lora, check out https://github.com/projecthorus/wenet
nickmcc··on Weather Model based on ADS-B
I think you could also infer storm tracks based on pilot deviations they often make following their on-board radar.
nickmcc··on NASA Whoosh Rocket
For the latest in multi-stage high pressure, high altitude water powered rockets, this group is paving the way: https://youtu.be/xm-tGJxepUw?si=uGA--H1kPgBCVREd
nickmcc··on Show HN: I built a CLI to automate depth tracking on underwater videos
I wonder if you develop an ML model that uses brightness and color reduction cues in the video in order to estimate depth in lieu of a dive computer. I suspect cameras auto-exposure or underwater modes may nullify this.
nickmcc··on We Built the Saturn V (2017)
> At more than $100 million each (equivalent to $750 million today), they departed Earth, then fell in pieces into the ocean.

Could you imagine the unit cost today, if we kept building Saturn V in an iteratively improving process? Even as an expendable rocket, the efficiencies from mass production and weight savings from miniaturizing avionics would have produced a very capable, affordable machine.

nickmcc··on We Built the Saturn V (2017)
An individual F1 engine outperforms an individual Raptor 2/3.
nickmcc··on MIT largest open-source car design dataset, incl aerodynamics, to speed design
Check out: https://ecalc.ch/wingdesigner.htm
nickmcc··on I built an ROV to solve missing person cases
The team at CPSdrone (3D printed submersibles) made a very similar project to hunt for and identify a sunken plane: https://youtu.be/QnBfJzApJMg?si=vFGqMrqZOgFXMAoV

They also used an ArduRover powered catamaran and the same brand Sonar, but made a smaller deployable ROV.

nickmcc··on Stoke Space: 100% reusable rockets
Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) has an overview and interview with Stoke from about a year ago: https://youtu.be/EY8nbSwjtEY?si=-kNtNUFpgiisgsUh
nickmcc··on Footage of World's First Drone Dogfight
Yearly at FliteFest, an RC airplane festival put on by FliteTest, we hold a dogfight/combat with hundreds of airplanes. The only difference is no munitions (excluding pesky LiPo fires)

https://youtu.be/_NFBpoD6jcw?si=YwPuus0qeq8xgj4I

nickmcc··on Japan's first-ever soft lunar landing with SLIM spacecraft [video]
Has anyone confirmed if LEV1 and LEV2 can continue to operate and communicate to earth independently from SLIM, if the SLIM batteries fail?
nickmcc··on WhisperSpeech – An open source text-to-speech system built by inverting Whisper
I was looking at video on training a custom voice with Piper, following a tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_we_jma220, and noticed how the datasets required metadata of the text for the source audio files. This training method by Collabora seems to automate that process and only requires an audio file for training.
nickmcc··on Toy Theater – Educational Games for Kids
I stumbled across this surprisingly delightful source of games and educational tools while trying to explain analog clocks to my son. I'm impressed by the simplicity of the design and lack of login or advertising.

On the tech side, looks like the creator uses Javascript to create HTML5 canvas elements with: https://createjs.com/easeljs

nickmcc··on WebSDR – Internet-connected Software-Defined Radios
I use https://github.com/jketterl/openwebrx with RTL-SDR sticks
nickmcc··on Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft
Daniel, from RCTESTFLIGHT on YouTube, has a series of videos where he experiments with solar airplanes, which wad really interesting to watch from the standpoint of a RC and electronics hobbyist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXvxJNOIXBsM83XxVG7tDUmql...

nickmcc··on Apple’s failure to build a key part for its new iPhones
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/inside-apple-s-spectacu...
nickmcc··on Titanic tourist submersible goes missing with search under way
“I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel,” said Captain Edward Smith, commander of the Titanic.
nickmcc··on Sam Bankman-Fried’s fall cuts off big source of funds for US Democrats
https://archive.ph/klRPC
nickmcc··on Ploopy open source thumb trackball
Very similar experience here. I found I’d also prefer scrolling with my ring finger than thumb. I still need to make the DPI adjustment in firmware
nickmcc··on Walmart Announces Same-Day Drone Delivery in Six States
Here’s a relevant article about a recent report from the FAA regarding Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations, one of the key regulatory hurdles to drone delivery: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/faa-publishes-uas-b...

The actual document (24.6 MB PDF is available from here: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committe...

nickmcc··on Learning modern Linux: A handbook for the cloud native practitioner
One very in-depth book I have is: The Linux Programming Interface: A Linux and UNIX System Programming Handbook
nickmcc··on iCloud+ custom email domains should be better
I’ve switched from my Gmail domain to CloudFlare + iCloud. Initially, I set MX records and the txt record to iCloud for verification, and then added the CloudFlare MX records at a higher priority. So far, the setup seems to be working well.