Author Archives: John Hagensieker

Sculpfun S9 Upgrade Kit 33 Watt Review

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Sculpfun S9 Upgrade Kit (33 Watt) Review

Sculpfun S9 Upgrade

Sculpfun 33 Watt Laser

The great folks at Sculpfun recently sent me their S9 Laser which I did several reviews of.  Also, they very kindly sent me their 33 watt Sculpfun S9 Upgrade Kit which upgrades the kit from approximately 5.5 watts to a FULL 33 WATTS OF POWER to review.

Diode laser modules are roughly 5.5 watts and to obtain higher wattages, multiple diodes are combined into one beam.  In the case of a 33 watt module that means there are 6 individual blue diode laser modules.

There is one important point that I would like to make before I begin this review.  Let’s get to it, shall we?

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Bible Technology

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Bible Technology

There has been a story in the news the last week or two that caught my attention.   And that story is the civil unrest in Sudan.  I had one of those literal “Oh My God” moments that I’d like to share with you.   And because the title of this website contains the words “Tech Blog” I’ll focus on some aspects of Bible Technology.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a Hebrew prophet who wrote the Book Of Ezekiel.   He was taken to Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.   In Ezekiel 38 there is a war referred to as the Gog Magog War.   As a Christian this conflict has fascinated me because quite frankly you can literally see the pieces falling into place.   And this civil unrest in Sudan fills in one of those pieces.  It is what inspired me to write this at 1AM in the morning.   That in itself is weird.  I felt kind of compelled to write this in the middle of the night.
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Mokerlink Review 2.5G Managed Switch

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Mokerlink Review Of 2.5G L2 Managed Switch

Mokerlink Review

Mokerlink L2 Managed

When upgrading your home or small business network you will quickly discover that 2.5G switches are not cheap.   Today I do a Mokerlink Review of their 8 port, managed 2.5G switch.

I ordered the switch from Amazon at a cost of $175.  While that might be inexpensive for a 2.5G switch it isn’t inexpensive for a network switch.  It will definitely make you question whether upgrading your network to 2.5G is worth it.   I understand that a 2.5G switch is going to be more expensive than a 1G switch but there is a huge chasm in pricing between the two.

First Impression

The first thing I noticed wasn’t about the actual switch.  As soon as I buy something I head to the internet to download the manuals for it.  When I went to the Mokerlink website their https certificate was expired and my browser was telling me it might not be safe.   The next day I tried and the website was down.  This morning, I finally was able to get to their website and download the manuals.

So my first impression is not a good one.  Someone is not minding the store at Mokerlink and keeping track of their web host.   Heck, at John’s Tech blog and my other web site I get a ton of emails from my host months in advance of an expiration of a domain name or a certificate.
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Raspberry Pi Shortage

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Raspberry Pi Shortage

Let’s talk about the Raspberry Pi shortage.  Pi’s of just about any variant have been close to impossible to get since Covid entered our lives.   Particularly difficult to get are the Raspberry Pi 4 of any memory configuration or the Compute Module 4 (CM4).

I particularly like the CM4 for the fact that an SSD can be added to it and that it can have a Real Time Clock (RTC) depending on the Carrier Board you use.

Raspberry Pi Shortage

Server Rack Full O’ Pi’s

A few weeks ago I scoured through all my parts piles and disassembled all my old projects and found a ton of Raspberry Pi 3’s.  To my utter surprise I found I owned SIX Raspberry Pi 4’s.  But they were mostly 1GB and 2GB models.

I also had FOUR CM4’s.  Sadly most of the CM4 Carrier Boards you see out there are either lacking in functionality or are simply vaporware.  The official Raspberry Pi IO Board is almost the only real choice.

You would think this is an adequate number of Pi 4’s and CM4’s for me, but it isn’t.  I’d have a couple of Pi’s in every room, doing various jobs if I could get my hands on more.
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Uniden BCD436HP Speaker Repair

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Uniden BCD436HP Speaker Repair

Uniden BCD436HP

BCD436HP

I bought a Uniden BCD436HP scanner in July 2022.  I keep it in my wood shop shed and I leave it on.  It is tucked in the corner and is largely forgotten about.   So much so that it took me a while to notice that I hadn’t heard it recently.

Sure enough I see it grabbing calls with no audio output.

And then just to make sure it works I plugged a set of headphones in and the audio output was fine.

A google search turns up quite a few speaker failures for this model. So I hit the Uniden Support site and see that they have a form to fill out and then you are directed to ship the item to Uniden for repair.
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Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch Installation

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Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch Installation

Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch

Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch Kit

The Sculpfun S9 is a great laser and is available at a fantastic price point.  Any time the price is low on something you can bet a bell or a whistle was left out to keep the final cost down.  One way to cut corners on a laser is to offer them without limit switches.  Without switches, the laser will not automatically return to the home position (X0, Y0). Positioning is accomplished manually.  Fortunately there is a Sculpfun S9 Limit Switch kit available for purchase.

There is nothing wrong with a laser that does not have limit switches.  In fact, some people prefer lasers that don’t have limit switches.   A lot of the time, I am one of those people.

Equally safe to say that there are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t own a laser that didn’t have limit switches.  Anyway, with the S9, at least you have the option.

Cost

The cost of the kit is $27.99 and is all inclusive.  The kit works for both the S9 and the S10 models.  There are differences in the installation procedures but the kit contains all the stuff you need to install on either model.   That probably means you’ll have some stuff left over in your kit when you are done with the mod.
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WiFi Connection Issues

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WiFi Connection Issues Fix

I’ve always been the neighborhood geek and I have done this simple wifi connection setting for so many people.  Let me set the scenario up for you.  I’ll get a call or see a post that says “My internet provider is crap.  My WiFi disconnects all the time.  Don’t get _____________ for your internet provider.  We hate them.”

Your Wifi Router

Most people think when you connect to your home wifi you’re connecting to 1 choice.  In reality there are 2 choices usually.

  • 2.4 GHz wifi network
  • 5 GHz wifi network

2.4 GHz is usually the most common connection made and it has the best range.  It consists of 11 channels in the US.  Each one of those 11 channels is selectable or most routers are set to obtain the channel automatically.

5 GHz is not utilized as much as a lot of people just don’t know about it.  Of the two wifi’s, 5GHz provides a faster connection albeit over a shorter range.  It consists of 24 channels.  Whenever possible you should try to utilize your 5 GHz connection.

The rabbit hole goes a little deeper than just the number of available channels but for now, this is all we really need to know.
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NIIMBOT B3S Review

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NIIMBOT B3S Review

NIIMBOT B3S

NIIMBOT B3S

The fine folks at NIIMBOT contacted me recently and asked me to review the B21 Label Maker.  Following that review they indicated that I could choose another label maker to review.  I chose the NIIMBOT B3S.

I fell in love with the B21 and so did my wife.  It is the most intuitive and stylish label maker I’ve gotten my hands on, maybe ever.

I have a similar enjoyment of the NIIMBOT B3S but make no mistake, they are 2 different animals entirely.

And I had to get past a couple of hurdles before I got the B3S to where I was effortlessly cranking out labels.
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A Week With The Sculpfun S9 Laser

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Sculpfun S9 – A Deeper Dive

Sculpfun gave me a Sculpfun S9 for review and I posted my initial impressions about a week ago.  After a week of some testing and more usage I can provide a more authoritative opinion on the laser.  In a nutshell I find that the S9 is far above average for the price point that it resides in.   In my opinion this would make an excellent entry level laser for someone.  Or even better, it would make an excellent back up machine for a home business or side hustle.

I read a lot of laser forums.  Everyday I  read posts like this.   “The laser has broken and I have orders to fulfill”.  You’d be able to fulfill them if you owned a backup machine.
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NIIMBOT B21 Review

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NIIMBOT B21 Review

NIIMBOT B21

NIMBOT B21 Label Printer

It’s no secret that I love label makers.  I own a LOT of label makers and I have blogged about them extensively.  Every household needs a label maker.  I’ll expand that to say that every household needs a couple of label makers for various tasks.   NIIMBOT contacted me and asked me to pick any printer in their line up, and they would send it to me to review.

I glanced through their printers and my eyes instantly locked on to the NIIMBOT B21 Thermal Label Maker.  If I had to describe my first impression in one word, that word would be “FUN”.

So many of my label makers are industrial looking and huge.  The B21 is small, sleek, and retro looking.  They promptly sent me one with some extra labels and I’m going to put it through its paces to see how it fares.

Even though NIIMBOT provided me a label maker absolutely no pressure was applied to me to provide a positive review.  If it is positive it will be because I think it is positive.  I’ll tell you exactly what I think here.
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