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Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

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Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#41

Post by ansible »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #30

I love how he has a link to "what is it for?" but never answers the question. As far as I can tell this is the technoblogger equivalent of end-of-society prepping? In the event of something so catastrophic happening that the internet stops functioning for an extended period of time, you're not going to be hauling this enormous brick around with you. It's absurd. In an end-of-society situation you're likely on foot, m…

> ... bluetooth keyboard, and a smartphone with an external storage memory device. ...

I'd replace this with an old Chromebook with regular Linux installed (very cheap, ~ $20 USD), and a 1TB micro-SD card. All solid-state (no hard drive), and good battery life.

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#43

Post by gaudystead »

justinlloyd wrote: post #29

I love functional prop projects like this and reading through the build log. How far are you going for the rugged vs prop aesthetic? Have you considered alternative form factor screens? Have you considered something else than an RPi that could work with a GPT/LLM such as an NVidia Jetson (yes, I know, expensive) or a separate compute module? Do you store just things like Wikipedia or a bunch of PDFs such as "Where th…

I haven't maintained it like I told myself I would, but regarding an offline repository of useful data, I made a school project a while back that aimed to fill that very niche. It was composed entirely of open source, public domain, and creative commons software, documentation (including survival guides and whatnot), and blueprints (eg buildings, greenhouses, farm equipment, tools, etc) for somebody with no internet connection, and it all fit on 16GB. Originally I distributed it under the Other -> Other category of PirateBay mostly for kicks because it was all free to share and I enjoy the distributed nature of torrents.

I've been tempted to go back and do it better, but then a career and life hit me.

It can be found at signalbundle.com for anyone interested, though I warn you that it's pretty long in the tooth at this point, and I eventually opted to host it on Google Drive for availability reasons, but it's still there if anyone's curious and/or has feedback. :)

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#44

Post by jraph »

ctxc wrote: post #27
andrewaylett wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, but on the other hand this is what the author made and they seem quite happy with it. You're more than welcome to make something else if you don't like what they've done!

They start with "I think..." and it isn't very negative, just an opinion. Why the defensive tone? :)

Yep, I interpreted their message as friendly feedback, not a request or negative criticism. The author is free to take this feedback and act upon it the way they see fit (which can be doing nothing).

It's somewhat how a Show HN post works, you should expect such feedback and might even be coming for it. Especially when it's not your first one, you know a bit better what to expect.

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#45

Post by tomatohs »

haswell wrote: post #26
serf wrote: post #18

I think that the inside should match the motif that the outsides set. what I mean by that : the outside sets a tone of professional heavy-duty post-apocalyptic computing, yet the insides are filled with fragile wire connects, fragile routes, multiple boards and new (read: unproven) non-redundant technologies. I would expect something that exudes that aesthetic to be wired like a NASA project [0], use radiation harden…

The reason NASA invests so much in hardened components and redundancy is that their hardware has to continue functioning in an environment where humans cannot intervene. The availability of commodity hardware is one of the reasons projects like the Recovery Kit can exist. Redundancy and durability can be measured in multiple ways, and I suspect it's cheaper to keep on hand a stack of backup components that can easily…

I made a mini Arduino-powered smart home that was used for demos at tradeshows [1]. It had to be shipped first to San Fran, then it went to Vegas for CES and a few more places.

I had the same thought at first, "I should really solder these wires."

But then I realized that wires coming loose was inevitable given the hell this project was going to endure being handled by airlines, rolled across different terrain, and poked and proded by trade show attendees.

So I opted to use color coded jumper cables and include extra. In the manual, I included a simple wiring diagram to show how to hook everything up. No solder needed.

In the hands of a consumer, yes, everything should be soldered because there's a higher force needed to break the connection, but repair is also harder. Consumers typically do not repair, so the trade off leans toward solder. I suspect this is the perspective that inspires this comment.

In the hands of a hacker looking for durability, it's actually better for things to be replaceable. Because the hacker can repair, the advantage gained by soldering isn't worth the the friction added repair.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWcm1S_wAz0

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#46

Post by ThinkBeat »

I have discovered over time that I hate screws. No not really the concept, but there are far too fucking models.

I started collecting screws to put together for my "workshop" were I repair whatever family, friends, enemies want me to look at. I am not great at it, not even good, but I am who they bring things to, and over time I have learned a bit of skills. (Also I fail, sometimes I break stuff and sometimes I hide in my bag and take to a pro without telling anyone.)

Back to screws. I often need one. but there are entirely too many different sizes and shapes. I have spent decent time sourcing various standardized sizes from far and near. Stil I have project where I need two screws and I dont have the right one. I also keep any screw that I come across. If something is broken I harvest the once that are easikly available.

That ends up in a cubbord with lots of different tiny shelves. BUT looking through them so see if one of them is right is again time consuming.

What does this have to do with anything?

Well the design went from 1 type of screws to multiple sizes. (All of well knownm standarized types thank you)

I think it wise to design projects around as few different ones as possible. The previous model managed with one. Clearly somehow V2 could have as well.

Is there I pray an app I have not seen, where I can take a photo of a screw and the app will tell me the exact specifications of it, its name, and where to order them?

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#47

Post by eep_social »

ThinkBeat wrote: post #46

I have discovered over time that I hate screws. No not really the concept, but there are far too fucking models. I started collecting screws to put together for my "workshop" were I repair whatever family, friends, enemies want me to look at. I am not great at it, not even good, but I am who they bring things to, and over time I have learned a bit of skills. (Also I fail, sometimes I break stuff and sometimes I hide…

McMaster Carr is a good place to order from but you do need to know what you need by size, thread, etc

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#48

Post by jader201 »

__jonas wrote: post #37
masfuerte wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be a bug. If the comment is about to become visible the code that chooses whether to show it at all might think the delay has expired but the code that renders it might still think it should be delayed. Especially if the rendering happens first.

Just a guess: Maybe the person who saw it as [delayed] is using a third party HN reader app and the HN website itself filters out delayed comments while returning it via the API as the [delayed] string and expecting clients to do the filtering?

This would explain the OP being annoyed to the point of asking for a ban on it.

I’ve also never seen it in the many users of (mostly many times daily) visiting HN.

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#49

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

Havoc wrote: post #42

> I wanted a rugged computer enclosure for my Raspberry Pi, Is this intended towards like a prepper type scenario? Or what is the envisioned use case of a rugged pi? Or just cool factor?

It's pretty but not really ruggedized. It's not designed for water/moisture, dust or other environmental resistance, extended temperature range, impact or vibration resistance (I doubt it would survive as checked-in luggage on a flight, for example), longevity, etc. All you get is whatever protection that the Pelican case gives you. It's better than nothing but a prepper would probably be better off with an intentionally ruggedized computer.

Re: Show HN: 5 Years Ago I made the Recovery Kit, I just made the RK2

#50

Post by vizzier »

ThinkBeat wrote: post #46

I have discovered over time that I hate screws. No not really the concept, but there are far too fucking models. I started collecting screws to put together for my "workshop" were I repair whatever family, friends, enemies want me to look at. I am not great at it, not even good, but I am who they bring things to, and over time I have learned a bit of skills. (Also I fail, sometimes I break stuff and sometimes I hide…

I feel this. As an amateur 3d printed project enjoyer in Canada, getting ahold of M* screws is a real pain, even though I prefer their specifications greatly over the weird imperial sizes.
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