Google Pixel 5A screen flashing “colored snow” – Recovering the photos.

Pixel 5a phone showing the USB Preferences screenGoogle pixel 5a showing the "colored snow" pattern

My wife’s Google Pixel 5a phone suddenly developed a hardware fault that presents as a “colored snow” screen flashing over the entire phone display. While the “colored snow” pattern is on the screen, the phone does not respond to touch events.

However, when the colored snow pattern is NOT showing, the phone display goes back to showing what it should be showing, and it will accept touch events.

The difficulty is that the speed of flashing is very fast (on the order of 0.5 seconds) so it is difficult to read the screen and push buttons or UI areas effectively to do anything.

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Upgrading the firmware on a Meade LX-200 AutoStar II system

I recently purchased a used Meade LX-200 telescope, which uses an AutoStar II handbox.  Unlike the  Meade #497 AutoStar controller used on my ETX-125 telescope the LX-200 uses a 6 pin plug for the RS-232 port, and it’s located on the main box, not on the handbox. So if you have a Meade #505 cable (4 pin) it won’t fit correctly. I purchased a Meade #507 cable, which is electrically the same (a RS232 to USB connector) but has the proper 6 pin (larger) plug for the LX200 GPS RS-232 ports.
[Having this cable will also let me control the telescope via software on my computer if I want, so I think it was worth the $20.]


It already had the latest 4.2g (note the lowercase g) firmware from Mead installed (which is good, as Mead is now out of business).  However, I used the starpatch software along with the PatchLX42ggv22.spf and BuildLX4.2g.rom files from the very helpful StarGPS company to patch the 4.2g firmware with a few bug fixes, including the GPS date rollover fix.  [They are very generous in that the trial version of their software will patch all the bugs, although if you want to use it to add in support for a GPS receive to a telescope that doesn’t normally come with it like my LX-200 GPS does, then you have to buy the license key.]


This process took me a full hour of downloading time, because I set the speed to the lowest 9600 baud to give it the best chance of being successful on the first shot. (I ran into issues with my previous firmware upgrade of the #497 handset that was fixed by using 9600 bps.) When it was done, I had the  4.2G (note the uppercase G) firmware installed with patches.  This also enabled the “Smart Mount Technology” option from Meade, which is nice to have available, even if you don’t use it.

Cable(s) needed to connect a Sony A6300 to a DJI Ronin (4/3/2) stabilizing gimbal


I connected my DJI Ronin 4 to my Sony A6300 camera using a “generic” USB-C to micro-usb cable.  [This is equivalent to the DJI “Multi-Camera Control Cable (Micro-USB)” cable.]

The generic cable allowed the Ronin to start/stop video recording, and adjust the shutter speed and aperture (BUT NOT trigger the shutter to take photographs, such as in the auto-panoramic mode…)

To control the shutter, I had to use the specialized DJI Sony “Multi” cable (labeled for the Ronin 2, but it worked fine for the Ronin 4). This cable allows you to start/stop video recording, trigger the shutter to take a photo, but NOT control the shutter speed or Aperture. So depending on what is important to you, you may need to buy both cables to use a Sony A6300 with a DJI Ronin.

You can compare and contrast the differences between the two cables here:

https://www.dji.com/support/compatibility/rs-4-pro/a6300

If you are interested in knowing what cable you need for your specific camera, this page is very useful: https://www.dji.com/support/compatibility

 

 

DO NOT BUY: KNAGV4LD1H5009159

We just sold our 2017 Kia Optima Plug in Hybrid to Carvana in Orlando.

(VIN: KNAGV4LD1H5009159 )

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND AGAINST purchasing that vehicle specifically, and possibly all early model year Kia PHEV’s in general.

My wife takes it farther and now has an intense hatred of the entire Kia brand, especially Kia America corporate and refuses to buy ANY Kia of any type ever again.

Gen 1.5 (2013-2017) Leaf vs Gen 2 (2018+) – No major differences

I own a 2015 leaf, and drove a 2021 S Plus for a week. It’s basically like the first gen leaf but with more range (and a few fancy driver assistance features like adaptive cruse control). Oh yah, and rear USB power outlets….

Three minor things I felt that the 2015 leaf did better than the gen2 2021 leaf:

Driver sunshade did not have the “pull out” tab to extend the shade (and could have used it)

Not a fan of the new center console. Arm rest wasn’t as big, drinks are in a more annoying spot. I mean, it’s FINE….but I liked the 2015 model year better.

Gen 2 has an analog (dial) speedometer in the main cluster. I prefer the heads up digital speed gauge in the 2015. But to compensate, the cruse control tells you what speed it is set to digitally, and that’s basically what I use for all speed control anyways.

So, no major complaints about the 2nd gen plus model, I did really appreciate the adaptive cruse control (e-pedal was fine…not worth upgrading for…) loved the extra range. Dash has a lot more informational options (more than you really need, but whatever…)

ABQ Sunport Wifi doesn’t work with Ubuntu Linux – workaround

I have a Lenovo X1 laptop with Ubuntu 22.04 on it, and it will not connect correctly to the Albuquerque (ABQ) airport free WiFi.  I’ve tried lots of things to debug/diagnose this, and nothing got it to work successfully.

However, my android phone does connect successfully via Wifi, so I was able to turn on USB Tethering on the phone and access the wifi via a USB cable and my android phone.

Glowforge lid / hinge separation (2nd unit)

Back in January of 2020 I received a replacement glowforge ($500 repair & shipping cost) that they swapped for my orginal kickstarter model because I needed the laser tube replaced.  You might remember that with the original kickstarter model I also had issues with the front handle coming unglued from the glass lid, as well as the rear hinges coming unglued from the glass lid.

Unfortunately, the glass lid detaching (from the left rear hinge this time) issue has presented itself on this unit as well. Currently, only the left side has detached, but I’m worried that the whole joint will fail if I open/close the lid more.

With the lid closed, this presents as the left side rear being slightly raised, and the left front not going all the way down.

 

You can really see the gap most obviously when in the process of lifting the lid. (Look at the gap that is between the silver bar bolted to the left hand black hinge and the glass above it…now go compare that to the photo below where I have it supported by a clamp to see the difference.)

 

I’m afraid to open/close the lid as I’m sure every motion is weakening the rest of the joint, so for now I’m just leaving it open with a small clamp on it to try and make sure the rest of the glue joint doesn’t have pressure on it.

 

Here is a video I shot when opening the lid.