I recently acquired an old electro-cautery unit. Think it is from 1910s or 1920s. Has a big old multi tapped torodial transformer running to a couple of connectors/poles. It is by F. Geiger of Philadelphia. Wood case is labeled 110V. 60 CY. and 4V. 100A. Seriously old school cool and a little horrifying.

Insulation on power cord was brittle as was insulation from secondary to pole. Both have been replaced. I used crimp connections on the primary wires (didn't measure gauge but it's on the order of 20 AWG). I was in a hurry to test and will eventually solder it properly. I added a switch to the new power cord.

It works with output voltage varying from 0.1V to 4V. It gets a woodburning tip glowing orange at setting 4 (2 volts or so). Should make a great woodburner and be useful if I ever need to interrogate someone.

There isn't really a way to ground it and the screw on the control knob is electrically connected to the secondary. I have a gfci adapter that I could plug it into. Basically, if the transformer shorts, 110V could be exposed on the face.

There are two holes on the face plate, the power cord is running through the largest and the other is empty. It may have had a foot pedal.

I want to add a RGB indicator light for voltage level using the small hole. It's a little tricky to tell when the tap is lined up and you're getting voltage. A green - yellow -red fade and maybe white for NC. I have a spare Arduino Nano clone, but am not sure what circuit to rectify the AC with for the ADC. Maybe an Op amp follower? Power supply would be a 110-5v usb charger board. I would prefer to avoid a dual rail supply or higher than 5v.

Thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

Trying to get a better understanding on the whole tankie thing, found this study that seems unbiased. It looks at their online behavior. I would appreciate others review of the study, even if just bullshit or facts.

Jeebus these people are exhausting, they also spray so much disinformation. They remind me of MAGAts.

I don't yet have a feel for the dynamics like I do with MAGAts. How much of it is organized with handlers and such vs. organic true believers?

Been getting slow loads and timeouts all morning. Figure it will probably resolve on its own. Didn't see any reports. Running Jerboa 0.0.77-gplay.

My son is about ready for his first printer. His school is running Cetus MK3 printers, he has a class using them, and his teacher has recommended this printer. He also has an educational seat of Fusion 360.

I'm proficient with Mastercam and hand written/modified G-code. I can help him with CAD no problem. Alignment, assembly, adjustment, and backlash are second nature for me. Have a little better than layman's understanding of printers. (Lusted over the Markforged printer that could do continuous carbon fiber.)

Eventually, will be building my own shop and hope my son might work with me. Hope to include printing, especially in metal.

I've seen some of the flap about Bambu and them closing up the software tool chain. I would like to avoid that sort of thing, for now, openness is better.

Top of my budget is around $500, with $200 probably being better.

Usable prints for tooling/spacers/repairs would be a bonus as would being able to print UV resistant plastic.

My goal for him is to get gud at modelling and get a feel for computer controlled movement. Another goal, harder to describe, is him finding the joy in mechanical tinkering and producing an idea made physical.

Thank you much! What do?

Any of y'all got a tracker that is following which portions of Project 2025 have actually been enacted? Something like the chump lawsuit tracking? Not finding anything with a search.

Does anyone know about Syrian Latakia tobacco?

It's a major component in English and Balkan style pipe tobacco. It has been replaced by the inferior Cyprian Latakia tobacco.

I have added a wifi repeater to the outside of my home so that my wife can watch her critter cams. It is a POE device that runs all the way back to my router.

Would like to install this surge protector but I'm getting conflicting information on grounding it. My installation is to the side of my house, not a metal pole.

Lowest effort options first, I can:

A. Place the protector inside near where the CAT5 enters the basement. Ground to a junction box that I installed that is grounded to the house panel and rod.

B. Ground internally to a water pipe or externally to the outdoor spigot.

C. Drive a ground rod where the cable exits the house and ground to it.

D. Repeat C and also bond to to the pre-existing home ground rod. (Least preferable option, rods would be on opposite corners of house.)

They hate each other so much.

Just looking up some DIY medical procedures and then the unwanted AI goes off the rails.

Found this broken piece in the creek bank. Southwest Pennsylvania. Farmhouse was built in 1922. Coalmining country.

Would have been about 18" in diameter. There is a rough coating in the glaze on the inside and outside of the bowl section. Abrasive enough that I figure it served a mechanical purpose. There are three grooves on the rim that aren't symmetrical to each other.

There might be a makers mark in the center of the glaze inside but I can't make it out. There is also a light blue/green stain on the bottom that might be a mark.

Any ideas?

Celeb_pics appears to be some bot posting from whoischic.com. Cluttters up /all.