iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 24/10/2026

After exceeding the capacity of the original ER32 storage case I made. I printed a second one. I need about 9 more collets to complete the set, which there is space for (I'll need to print or more holder). There's also space for a couple of duplicates. Which is […] [Original post on social.v.st]

Two grey plastic 3d printed cases. The left one has two 8 ER32 holders in white and green. There's space for 3 more collets. The right box has a single 8 ER32 holder with 6 of the spaces full. The holder is positioned in the middle of the case. There's room for another holder.

Two grey 3d printed cases with green latches. The top or is labelled "ER32 >12mm" the bottom one is labelled "ER32 1-12mm".

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

I left this printing the other day when I went home. A simple soldering iron stand for my usb-c soldering iron. The design has a couple of voids in the bottom that are designed to be filled with 12mm ball bearings to provide mass. I don't have any ball bearings […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A 3d printed soldering iron stand in purple and black

A view of the underside of the base of the soldering iron stand showing two steel bars inserted into voids in the base.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Inspired by this morning's toot about gauges from @jon here's a picture of some dual gauge track. Do any of the fedi train nerds want to guess the gauges ?

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

Looks like I printed just the right size of ER32 collet storage. Until I realised I have 3 more arriving later this week. Oops.

A 3d printed grey box with 2 green and white gridfinity bin, each with 8 ER32 collets of various sizes.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Ran the slip casting workshop again today. Only had two people turn up instead of the expected 3, so there was one mold extra so I could cast one for myself. We also gave the slip twice as long in the mold which has made a massive difference.

A grey ceramic pumpkin fresh out of its slip casting mold on a small wooden board.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

I discovered this week my favourite linen skirt has a hole in the pocket. I finally say down this evening to try and sew it up. Only to realise it's a lot bigger than I thought. I think this needs a patch, rather than just sewing it up. Which means I now need to […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A close up of a piece of black linen fabric with a seem round the edge. On the right side there is a frayed hole with a finger just viable through it.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

I've spent the last few weeks making some plaster molds for slip casting clay. Today I ran a small workshop at the makerspace using the molds. Here's the first slip cast pumpkin out of the mold. Everyone seems to be enjoying the workshop, and the molds are […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A small clay sculpture of a pumpkin day on a piece of wood. In the background part of the plaster mold and some scraps of clay are visible.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Next up this set of polished axes which made me think of the fediverses very own expert in the subject. @mrundkvist 2/2

A series of polished stone age axes in a display case

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Often when walking round a museum I'll see something that will make me think of a friend. Here's today's "I saw this, and thought of you" fedi Edition. Starting with this pair of spear heads that made me think of @taf and delightful day spent info dumping at […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A pair of stone age spear heads against a dark background in a display case.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

I had a delightful afternoon at Landesmuseum fur Vorgeschicht in Halle. Excellent exhibits, really well curated to tell a story. The sort of thing I really like in a museum. They had exhibits on loan from all over Europe, including 3 from MAN in Madrid. Which had […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A museum display of bronze axes. Hundreds of axe heads are arranged in a series of concentric circles. In the center are some larger axes, a spear head, and some jewelry

A wall covered in thousands of stone axe heads. In the foreground a slightly out of focus bovine skeleton

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

For the curious. The OV chipkaart pole at Leer (Ostfriesland) station is next to the railings for the stairs down from the platform. Easy to swipe as you cross the platform for a connecting train. #CrossBorderRail

A photo of a blue arriva Stadler GTW train at Leer platform 2. Half the first coach, and the rest of the train is visible. On the right in the foreground is an OV chipkaart pole for checking in and out. Crowds of people can be seen mingling in the background.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

I don't really blame people for not realising this is the quiet coach. There's three indicators, one is this tiny symbol above the luggage rack that isn't visible from my seat. The same symbols are above the other door. The final indication is the orange light […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A photo of the top corner of an NS ICNG quiet coach. There's a 2 in a square, an icon of someone holding a finger to their mouth. And a box with "Treinstel 3226x" the symbols are above a luggage rack. The top corner of a door is visible on the right of the shot

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

Stopped off in my way to the station to take a quick photo of the sky. Leiden is a beautiful city.

A view down a canal. Most of the buildings and foreground is in silhouette. The sky is looking beautiful with sunset beginning to illuminate the wispy clouds in yellows.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

This is where I was sat watching the world go big earlier. Some of you may even recognise it from a @notjustbikes video. It was lovely to just enjoy the warm sun of an autumn day. Shame about the cars, yank tanks, and wank panzers on the road behind me. Which at […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A view of a cycle lane surrounded by planted areas. A red cycle lane goes through the shot from middle right to bottom left. A couple of cyclists on black city bikes are riding towards the left of shot. Either side of the cycle path an area has been planted with a mixture of low shrubs, flower plants and relatively young trees. The planted area is surrounded by a low concrete wall, on the right of shot an advertising blackboard is sat in the concrete wall. In this distance various brick buildings of a typical dutch architectural style are visible.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 05/09/2026

It may be caturday, but due to NSs poor capacity planning, I have a puppy curled up on my hind paw.

A white poodle type dog curled up on my foot on the train.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2026

Job Snider put up this slide and apologised, then confessed they created it themselves without AI. Which got a round of applause. Slides don't need to be perfect to convey information. More hand made slides like these please. #NLNOG

A photo of a stage at a conference. The top of the stage declares NLNOG Day 2026. The main slide shows a simple black and white drawing. On the left a man is stood behind a podium.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

For the best part of 15 years. I've had a capcha on my phone alarm. This is because I seem very good at turning alarms off in my sleep. Because I can still hit snooze. I will often just keep hitting snooze long after I got up. This often results in the alarm […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A screen shot of a maths puzzle. At the top of says 3/3 simple math.

Below that is a sum: 6x8+4-12, then there are four answers provided. 90, 40, 78, 84

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2026

I saw the number of love locks on this bridge and thought of @alice . That's a lot of love locks... Enough to keep a lock picker happy for a little while...

A photo out the window of a German train. In the foreground two railway tracks go left to right with graffiti on the edge of the track beam. Beyond the tracks is a wire fence covered in thousands of love locks. Beyond the fence people walk by. In the distance are a couple of tall buildings

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

Yesterday I posted a picture of a hole in the side of a train and asked what it was for. Here's the answer. It's to put flags in. Such as this red flag. Red flags are important signals, they mean that a live firing exercise is in progress and it's not safe to […] [Original post on social.v.st]

Photo of the front of a TGV Inoui train with a red flag sticking out the side.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 17/08/2026

This is a photo of Pheasant island. And I honestly have no idea what country it's in. It swaps every 6 months between Spain and France. We asked the french border police we saw, and they didn't know. Anyway? Anyone know which country this is ?

A photo of Pheasant island. An island in a river. It's covered in trees, and surrounded by a rocky bank. In the far distance is Spain, which has some white apartment buildings with red roofs. On the left is France, which is bushy.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 17/08/2026

Ok then train nerds. Photo trivia quiz time. What is this hole for in the side of a TGV Duplex train ? Please use a CW for your answer to not spoil things for others.

A graffiti covered side of a white train. In the centre of shot is a rectangular panel with a rounded rectangular cut out. Bottom right is another rectangular panel

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

Stood on the platform at Madrid, @MagicLike says "Duck!" Behind me. So I duck down. Then an Avlo S112 Renfe starts sliding in on the track next to the platform...

The front of a purple train that looks like it's been slapped with a stick to give it a sort of duck bill shape. Giving the train class the nickname "ducks"

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

One of the twitter accounts I miss was called "RateMyBuffers" where basically people sent them a picture of buffers, and the account owner would rate them. So in the absence of a single account, we'll have to crowd source the rating. How do you Rate My Buffers?

A set of buffers in a Spanish station comprising big hydraulic cylinders with silver rams and black bodies. In the background a pair of Renfe EMUs sit quietly. A member of railway staff in hivis is walking by.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

Come to France they said. See our beautiful cities they said. The cities: (For the geoguessers among you. Where did I take this photo from ?)

A photo looking down a street. The buildings are in a poor state of repair, the walls dirty, the rendering falling off in places. In the distance at the far end of the street are a couple of large dumpsters. The whole image gives off an air of neglect.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 05/08/2026

Given the excitement about the new feassibility study about cross channel night trains, I've finally sat down and made a helpful flow chart for understanding if a railway project is likely to actually happen. Feel free to use it as a first line check of if a […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A flow chart about a new railway project. Top left is a box that says "a new railway project is announced" an arrow leads to a diamond box, inside the box it says "Does it involve SNCF?" to the right an arrow labelled "no" leads to a box that says "Could happen with enough funding" below the diamond box an arrow labeled "yes" leads to a box that inside reads "very unlikely to happen"

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 19/07/2026

I spent a few days on the island of Terschelling. The island has a very good bus network (tho could do with higher frequency). All the buses are electric. Which makes so much sense on an island. With electric buses there's no need to keep bringing in tankers of […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A yellow Qbuzz branded bus. The front shows route 2 and a destination of "west ham zee Paal b". A man is getting on the bus with two shopping bags. Some people are getting out the back door of the bus.

A pantograph has been raised from the top of the bus and connected to a charging mechanism on an overhead gantry.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 18/07/2026

Does anyone know how I might work out what species of ground nesting bee is most likely living in this hole ? Hole is about 10mm or so across, and I took the photo on one of the Dutch Wadden Islands.

A photo of the outside of a nest belonging to a ground nesting bee. Sand has been piled round a small hole. Some of the same is fresher than others. Brown grass is visible around the sand with a few blades of green grass visible.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026

Once the selfish arseholes got off, I could fold up the seats and move my bike to a slightly better position. Taking a bike on a train is a constant battle with arseholes who want to sit in such a way to block bikes. It's really infuriating. Especially in this […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A bike covered in bike packing luggage. Most of it is black, but the bag on the front left fork is very red. The bike is leaning against the side of a train, fold up seats have been folded up behind my.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026

The seat this idiot is insisting on sitting in folds up to make space for bikes. When I got on he had a friend sat on hit right, who after refusing to move, did move after I shoved my bike into the space anyway, and then used the belts to fix it in place. There's […] [Original post on social.v.st]

An older white man in a striped shirt and shorts. He has a receding hairline and glasses. He is sat on a seat facing away from the camera. To his right is the dark shape of a bike covered in bikepacking luggage.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026

Yesterday NS did a big thing about people putting luggage on seats. Today I am on one of the old ICM trains. Built for long distance intercity traffic. It has overhead shelves, but they aren't exactly big. And that's it. This case belongs to an old man. He can't […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A large blue hard plastic suitcase between seats on an NS ICM train.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 11/07/2026

I've done a few posts about bad railway solar, so time for a photo of good railway solar. This bike parking shelter has a load of solar panels on the roof, that have short cable runs, are easy to clean, easy to do maintenance on, and generate a good proportion of […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A photo of the bike storage at a DB station. On the left is a wooden shelter with solar panels on the roof. A big coniferous tree is next to it. In the centre of shot is a bike shelter, on the right is a red brick station building. In the background is a high metal tower for overhead power.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 11/07/2026

And todays gadget solar is this bench spotted outside Halle (Saale) Hbf. Whilst not quite as bonkers an idea as solar between the tracks (see previous rant). The extra ruggedisation required for the panels to make them suitable for sitting on seems an expensive […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A bench with three solar panels embedded in the top surface. On the end is the text "solar power bank"

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 11/07/2026

It's day 2 of our 3 day game of hide and seek in Germany. Today @moof and I are trying to find @darkphoenix who left an hour or so ago and has ~3 hours to get to their hiding zone. For now we are having a leisurely breakfast before the pursuit begins at 1030. #JetlagTheGame

A photo of Halle (Saale) Hbf station. A creamy coloured brick structure with a modern glass thing attached to the front

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026

It's almost 1000, and the start of day 1 of our three day game of hide and seek across Germany. @moof is the hider and has 3 hours to get to a station from Hannover. At 1000 @darkphoenix and I will set off in pursuit. If you want to follow the game, I suggest […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A photo of Hannover Hbf. A yellow brick building with three large arched windows in the main part. A DHL delivery truck is parked in front. A statue of a man on a horse is next to the DHL truck. People are mingling.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026

I spotted this in my hotel room in Hannover. And I have many, many questions. Starting, perhaps with a simple one. What. The. Fuck?!?

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 09/07/2026

Last summer I asked on fedi for suggestions of a suitable pouch to hold all my electronics when travelling. I ended up with this one, which annoyingly I can't remember where I got it from, but it has been absolutely fantastic. Big enough to hold all the awkward […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A black pouch laying on a white cloth of some kind. The pouch is open, on the left a black block is falling out with 3 usb-c ports and a usb-a port. On the right some black cables with red ends are visible. They have usb-c connectors.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 09/07/2026

With all the delays, my journey to the start point of this weekend's game of #JetlagTheGame has once again been diverted... Through the #SnackZone

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 09/07/2026

On my train to Hannover ready to start tomorrows game of #@JetlagTheGame. You might think the best route to Hannover from Amsterdam is the direct ICE. But they was fully booked cos DB/NS don't understand demand. So instead I'm taking a detour through.... #TheSnackZone

A deutschebahn french breakfast. On the left a bowl containing a croissant, a seed covered bread roll, and a white roll. On the right a plate with portions of jam, butter, and honey. Behind which is a mug of tea.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 28/06/2026

There's meeting strangers off the internet, and then there's @fluffcthulhu ...

A green plush cthulhu with a rainbow bow for and a name badge.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026

This train carriage is reserved for armless people to talk...

A sticker on a train window showing two armless figures facing each other with a speech bubble above them. In the background 3 railway barracks and some grass are out of focus.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 22/06/2026

When I say step ladder to get into the train, I'm not joking. Imagine trying to get on this train if you're anything other than able bodied. Consider you're also doing this in full sun in 34+°C temps.

The access steps to a Portuguese railways 0350 class DMU on the Entroncamento to Badajoz service. There are three yellow steps, they start a good 300mm off the platform surface. A dark doorway is beyond the steps. White side panels of the train frame the door.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 22/06/2026

I tooted earlier about the trains between Portugal and Spain. These are the single car DMUs that operate the twice daily services between Badajoz and Entroncamento. They were built before 1959, when the manufacturer went out of business. They don't have any […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A pair of Portuguese type 0350 single car DMUs in green and white livery parked in a pair of bay platforms at Entroncamento station.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 14/06/2026

I'm generally against many attempts at technical "innovations" in restaurants (qr code ordering etc...), but this I'm really liking. Every table has one of these glowing cylinder things. If you want a waitress, you invert it and the colour turns red. It avoids […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A cylinder on a table. The top and bottom of the cylinder is stainless steel. The middle is opaque plastic glowing green. Various table detritus is in the background out of focus.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 05/06/2026

ahah! found it. The photo Anthony Head was kind enough to let me take of him when he sat down next to me at the Cabin Pressure recoding. He was such a really nice guy.

A photo of Anthony Steward Head, turned to face the camera with his thumb up. The background is mostly blurry except for a green fire exit sign.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 21/05/2026

It's new bike day!!!! A friend has given me this ligfiets/recumbent bike. I need to do some work to fix it, but nothing too complicated. Then I need to work out how to ride it. #NewBikeDay

A red recumbent bike. The seat is black and solid. The chain rings have come off and the chain is slack. The bike is pictured against a backdrop of a door laying on its side. There's a metal dustbin bottom right.

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 19/05/2026

Was having a discussion with some friends about how we need to shift air travel traffic to rail. One of them then shared this graph. Which entirely derailed the conversation by how utterly disingenuous it is. My first reaction was: <Maths teacher> Label your […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A picture of a graph titled "aviation is EU's fastest growing source of emissions". Below that it reads "aviation emissions have risen by more than 30% since 2005 - the start of the ETS - while emissions have declined"

The graph title is "change in greenhouse gas emissions by sector MyCO2e) (2005=100)"

The y axis goes from 0 to 1, with a line at 0.5. the X goes across from 2005-2025

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Quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek.v.st.ap.brid.gy · 12/05/2026

I tooted the other day about a quick and easy way to estimate if the marketing on a particular solar panel is plausible or not, as a sanity check before buying a panel. I got lots of replies, mostly positive. Some tho question why you might need to check. Well I […] [Original post on social.v.st]

A small solar panel laying on a wood workbench. A 300mm steel rule lays alongside the long side of the panel. Two small black clips are attached to the bottom two corners.

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