Wuxia World

Sewing Machines & Planned Obsolescence

I've got these two sewing machines, made about 100 years apart. An old treadle machine from around 1920-1930, that I pulled out of the trash on a rainy day, and a new Brother sewing machine from around 2020.

I've always known planned obsolescence was a thing, but I never knew just how insidious it was till I started looking at these two side by side.

I wasn't feeling hopeful at first that I'd actually be able to fix the old one, I found it in the trash at 2 am in a thunderstorm. It was rusty, dusty, soggy, squeaky, missing parts, and 100 years old.

How do you even find specialized parts 100 years later? Well, easily, it turns out. The manufacturers at the time didn't just make parts backwards compatible to be consistent across the years, but also interchangeable across brands! Imagine that today, being able to grab a part from an old iPhone to fix your Android.

Anyway, 6 months into having them both, I can confidently say that my busted up trash machine is far better than my new one, or any consumer-grade sewing machine on the market.

Old Machine Guts

The old machine? Can sew through a pile of leather thicker than my fingers like it's nothing. (it's actually terrifying and I treat it like a power tool - I'll never sew drunk on that thing because I'm genuinely afraid it'd sew through a finger!) At high speeds, it's well balanced and doesn't shake. The parts are all metal, attached by standard flathead screws, designed to be simple and strong, and easily reachable behind large access doors. The tools I need to work on it? A screwdriver and oil. Lost my screwdriver? That's OK, a knife works too.

New Machine Guts

The new machine's skipping stitches now that the plastic parts are starting to wear out. It's always throwing software errors, and it damn near shakes itself apart at top speed. Look at it's innards - I could barely fit a boriscope camera that's about as thick as spaghetti in there let alone my fingers. Very little is attached with standard screws.

And it's infuriating. I'm an engineer - there's no damn reason to make high-wear parts out of plastic. Or put them in places they can't be reached to replace. There's no reason to make your mechanism so unbalanced it's reaching the point of failure before reaching it's own design speed. (Oh yeah there is, it's corporate greed)

100 years, and your standard home sewing machine has gone from a beast of a machine that can be pulled out of the literal waterlogged trash and repaired - to a machine that eats itself if you sew anything but delicate fast-fashion fabrics that are also designed to fall apart in a few years.

Looking for something modern built to the standard that was set 100 years ago? I'd be looking at industrial machines that are going for thousands of dollars... Used on craigslist. I don't even want to know what they'd cost new.

We have the technology and knowledge to manufacture "old" sewing machines still. Hell, even better, sewing machines with the mechanical design quality of the old ones, but with more modern features. It would be so easy - at a technical level to start building things well again. Hell, it's easier to fabricate something sturdy than engineer something to fail at just the right time. (I have half a mind to see if any of my meche friends with machine shops want to help me fabricate an actually good modern machine lol)

We need to push for right-to-repair laws, and legislation against planned obsolescence. Because it's honestly shocking how corporate greed has downright sabotaged good design. They're selling us utter shit, and expecting us to come back for more every financial quarter? I'm over it.

The surprisingly complex world going on inside a vacuum tube. Great explanation of how they work:

How to use a bullet journal, student’s edition

I’ve been using a bujo for a year now, and as a high school student, I was struggling to incorporate my bujo into my studies, aka organising my homework and stuff. Before starting a bullet journal I was using a day to day diary where I wrote down all my homework and exams. As I switched to the bujo, I was so happy to have this productivity-boosting tool, yet I couldn’t figure out how I could write down my school-related dates and assignments on my bujo, since it is not designed for long-term planning. So here are the tips I figured out through time (and a lot of studyblr scrolling hehe) on how to use a bujo as a student! Enjoy ^^

1. Have a Semester/trimester/year overview of your school/uni year

This is so far the best tip for long-term planning in your studies. With an overview of your school/uni weeks, it is very easy to jot down exam dates, deadlines, conferences and stuff. 

It’s very useful when you are given, at the beginning of your school year, the planning of exams. You can easily jot down the dates and subjects of each exam in this calendar.

You can also add vacations, public holidays and weekends. I also like to highlight the days already gone so that at the end of the school year, I’ll feel the joy of highlighting the last day of school ^^

2. Weekly spreads and assignments columns

This is essential if you want to incorporate your bullet journal with study planning. 

It consists of having one column of your page, the weekly assignments overview, dedicated to only writing homework, assignments and upcoming tests. The other part of your weekly spread consists of your usual daily logs. Here are some of my weekly spreads as an example (shoutout to @studypunked for the inspo)

As you can see in the pics, the left column is used solely for writing down my homework and tests.

I also like to add some decorations and pictures to give a bit of life to those weekly spreads.

I also added a month overview and a sleep log each week, but this is personal: you can become creative about how you want your weekly spreads to be.

I usually pre-do these weekly spreads for school weeks after a vacation so that if the teachers give an assignment due in a week or two, I already have the homework column of the due week prepared in advance. When I don’t have school (aka during vacations), I don’t make a weekly spread. I just do my dailies linearly.

3. Useful collections for school

I also like to have some pages of my bullet journal dedicated to other elements related to school:

Homework to do during the holidays:

My grade averages:

A spread dedicated to the list of things I had to do for UK uni application and school during last summer:

And so on… you can get creative and it also depends on your needs for school. 

So here it is! This setup worked really well for my senior year and I will definitely continue to use it for university. 

I hope this post was useful :)

Antenas, vale a pena estudar elas.

Best Partner for Wireless Modules: A Comprehensive Antenna Selection Guide

n the field of wireless communication, antenna selection is crucial. It not only affects the coverage range and transmission quality of signals but also directly relates to the overall performance of the system. Among various wireless modules, finding the right antenna can maximize their potential, ensuring stable and efficient data transmission.

When designing wireless transceiver devices for RF systems, antenna design and selection are essential components. A high-quality antenna system can ensure optimal communication distances. Typically, the size of antennas of the same type is proportional to the wavelength of the RF signal; as signal strength increases, the number of required antennas also grows.

Antennae can be categorized as internal or external based on their installation location. Internal antennas are installed within the device, while external antennas are mounted outside.

In situations where space is limited or there are multiple frequency bands, antenna design becomes more complex. External antennas are usually standard products, allowing users to simply select the required frequency band without needing additional tuning, making them convenient and easy to use.

What are the main types of antennas?

External Antennas: These antennas can be classified into omnidirectional antennas and directional antennas based on the radiation pattern.

Internal Antennas: These antennas refer  to antennas that can be placed inside devices.

Omnidirectional Antennas: These antennas radiate signals uniformly in the horizontal plane, making them suitable for applications that require 360-degree coverage, such as home Wi-Fi routers and mobile devices.

Directional Antennas: These antennas have a high emission and reception strength in one or more specific directions, while the strength is minimal or zero in others. Directional antennas are primarily used to enhance signal strength and improve interference resistance.

PCB Antennas: These antennas are directly printed on the circuit board and are suitable for devices with limited space, commonly used in small wireless modules and IoT devices.

FPC Antennas: FPC antennas are flexible printed circuit antennas that are lightweight, efficient, and easy to integrate.

Concealed Antennas: Designed for aesthetic purposes, concealed antennas can be hidden within devices or disguised as other objects, making them suitable for applications where appearance is important without compromising signal quality.

Antenna Selection Guide

When selecting the appropriate antenna for a communication module, it's essential to first determine whether to use an internal or external antenna based on the module's structure.

External Antennas: These antennas offer high gain, are less affected by the environment, and can save development time, but they may take up space and impact the product's aesthetics.

Internal Antennas: These have relatively high gain and are installed within the device, maintaining a clean and appealing exterior.

 Sucker  Antennas: These provide high gain and are easy to install and secure.

Copper Rod  Sucker  Antennas: Made from large-diameter pure copper radiators, these are highly efficient with a wide bandwidth.

Rubber Rod Antennas: Offer moderate gain at a low cost.

Fiberglass Antennas: Suitable for harsh environments and ideal for long-distance signal

External Directional Antennas

Typically used in environments with long communication distances, small signal coverage areas, and high target density.

Panel Antennas have high efficiency, are compact, and easy to install, while considering the impact of gain and radiation area Yagi Antennas offer very high gain, are slightly larger, and have strong directionality, making them suitable for long-distance signal transmission; however, attention must be paid to the antenna's orientation during use

Internal Antenna Selection

Most internal antennas are affected by environmental factors and may require custom design or impedance matching

Spring Antennas are cost-effective but have low gain and narrow bandwidth, often requiring tuning for good matching when installed Ceramic Patch Antennas occupy minimal space and perform well, but have a narrow bandwidth

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Eu amo muito isso ❤.

Será que temos isso aqui no Brasil também ?

🙏

Boa. Essa realmente foi inteligente.

Linux and open-source rules: 2019’s five biggest stories show why https://ift.tt/36bFnYr

Isso é tão verdade.

As a studyblr community can we stop pretending that we never

procrastinate

turn things in late

copy homework

cheat

get stressed

memorize information simply to pass a test

hate a subject/topic

dislike school

don’t do homework if we know it won’t be checked

don’t read the textbook

skip on making notes

don’t pay attention in class

get bad grades

skip schoolwork to hangout with friends

put school second

find ways around doing the homework

look for answers online         

because you know what? we do. we’re not perfect, we mess up, we make mistakes. but that doesn’t make us any less of a person. you’re allowed to be imperfect.