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Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

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Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#231
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love stories about smiting wasps

Fun fact: in most of Germany this would have been a crime with a penalty of up to tens of thousands in EUR depending on the exact species.

This is not true.

"in the last 5 years in NordRhein-Westfalen only once was someone fined 45 euros for destroying a wasps nest" https://correctiv.org/faktencheck/2018/07/24/nein-wer-eine-e...

The fines for thousands of euros are the maximum possible fines, which massively differs to how fines are handed out in practice.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Li chemistry produces much higher voltages and so would require step down circuitry to function as a direct replacement for AA/AAA. If you are talking about form factor, then there are a lot of similar size or smaller cells available.

I'm talking about having rechargeable AA/AAAs with higher power density, possibly using the same chemistry as in phones, laptops, drones, etc., so the industry could cut down on the amount of variation in sizes and connector types (which could possibly make the batteries somewhat cheaper thanks to less variation in manufacturing - though I suppose the price driver is still the chemistry). What's the minimum voltage w…

They sell double-AA sized rechargeable batteries for XBox controllers. https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/accessories/batteries-chargers/pl...

This specific battery is unlikely to work for other devices because the controller has an extra connector, presumably to detect it and control charging (which happens over a USB cable). You'd at least need an XBox controller to charge it.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#233
post #215

Since Apple started making phones out of freekin glass, I have only bought rugged phones. One problem I had with my Cat was that the compass did not work properly (inaccurate and erratic). This made using Google maps almost impossible. I had the same problem with my rugged Doogeee. My rugged Nokia is a lot better, but is woefully under powered. In my efforts to find the perfect rugged phone, I honestly feeling like I…

Just get a good protective case for the phone of your choice.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#234

The lack of a replacable battery is infuriating because it's planned obselescence of a FLIR device. I got one of the first CAT s60 phones when they came out and tolerated all the android spyware on it because I really liked having a properly ruggedized phone. Got about 4 years out of it. The flir camera I would say I used most often at night for finding my dogs poop to pick up on neighbours lawns in the dark, but I u…

> The lack of a replacable battery is infuriating because it's planned obselescence of a FLIR device.

I thought the move away from easily removable cases and batteries was more for waterproofing reasons?

Plus, I'm guessing the battery can be replaced, just not by the average user. I'm sure you could get it replaced if you're willing to pay a repair fee.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#236
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An iPhone 14 Pro has a 3,200mAh battery. The Energiser rechargeable AAA I happen to have here is 800mAh. So exactly four standard rechargeable AAAs. Not bad really. Edit: As explained below, this is incorrect, as I didn't take voltage into account.

"mAh" is a useless measurement that should be banned from marketing to the public, period. It does not actually represent the energy stored in the batteries, and it can easily mislead people. I also get annoyed that no one uses Ah, when "thousands of thousandths" is a really annoying way to communicate. 3200mAh -> 3.2Ah. Why do no manufacturers understand this? And why don't manufacturers just use a proper unit that…

I think the mAh stays more or less constant no matter how fast you discharge the battery, but as current increases, the voltage drops so the total watt-hours is lower.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, it's yellowjackets (vespinae, minus the hornets) that are rather annoying. They are attracted to sugar and meat, and sting rather aggressively, which makes outdoor barbecues unpleasant (to put it mildly); paper-wasps (Polistinae) are indeed rather easy to live alongside, but they look quite similar so inherit the bad-rap that yellowjackets have.

The Central European wasp is a yellowjacket, Vespula germanica. It is very attracted to sweets and foods especially in the autumn. However, it does not usually sting unless there's a reason, such as you're trying to sit on it. I myself have had zero stings of any bee or wasp in my life so I prefer to gently coax them away from my plate. Some people are absolutely terrified about them though so "just let them be" rare…

> so I prefer to gently coax them away from my plate

I’ve found wasps extremely persistent and confident in ways most insects never are.

It’s one thing to gentle swat them but when they come back for 5-10min straight it's understandable why people don't like them.

I also got bit on the mouth as a child when I drank a can of coke that had a wasp inside so I'm not exactly unbiased.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#238
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some induction tops have similar functionality - measuring the temperature of the pan and keeping at that temperature. It's not as precise as a probe, of course, but it's extremely convenient and useful.

Do you have experience with such a hob? I'd like to get one, but have found little info except marketing from manufacturers. I would assume those would be mostly useful for frying/searing meat, vegetables, and eggs with little oil. As soon as you have more liquid in the pot you won't be able to control the temperature by measuring the temp at the bottom. Do they work well with different pans?

Yes, I'm wondering how well these temperature measurements work with metallic surfaces that are almost fully reflective.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"mAh" is a useless measurement that should be banned from marketing to the public, period. It does not actually represent the energy stored in the batteries, and it can easily mislead people. I also get annoyed that no one uses Ah, when "thousands of thousandths" is a really annoying way to communicate. 3200mAh -> 3.2Ah. Why do no manufacturers understand this? And why don't manufacturers just use a proper unit that…

mAh is perfectly fine for a first-order comparison of two competing batteries, because those two batteries will only compete for a specific workload if they have the same voltage. If I need a phone with a large battery, and all phones are 3.8 volts (yes, I do mean 3.7-4.2) then comparing mAh is useful, (assuming background battery usage of the two devices is similar, which actually isn't often true, but that's a diff…

> mAh is perfectly fine for a first-order comparison of two competing batteries

And yet it’s still dumb, because the actual energy density would let you make the exact same comparison anyway, and it would allow for easier comparison with other battery types or contexts.

> If I need a phone with a large battery, and all phones are 3.8 volts (yes, I do mean 3.7-4.2) then comparing mAh is useful

It’s not, there’s a >10% difference between the top and the bottom of the range.

Just give actual energy values, it’s strictly more useful.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any way you could picture it fitting on the back of a smartphone? Because some people definitely have [1] [1] https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/ay/d1ay0...

Very cool, sign me up for one of those when they hit Kickstarter! It's pretty big and clunky, but still the smallest one I've seen. Edit: already on sale at https://www.amazon.com/CloudMinds-Raman-Spectrometer/dp/B081... . $24,980.00. Maybe I'll hold back a bit on this one...

Give it three years max and it will be on the back of the new iphone
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