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TwoTails

About Media posting, solar power, and video games..

I try to ask on xtwatter & bluesky but hardly anyone answers -_-
So have to post some misc things here I guess, occasionally.

Solar;
I'd ask if people have experience with augmenting power with some solar power (cheaply)?

I mean, given the climate issues, having a few panels that can help drive cooling for summers would be nice, and/or even for common appliances in the spring & fall.
Would be nice if there were inexpensive items like some power handling device to handle that.
(That I'm not aware of).
Such should be common, I'd just build one out of power-inverter & UPS like circuits with some Lead-gel batteries, but that's a bit involved.
(use battery & solar if input is good, else supplement with main line, feed to pseudo-sine output, etc)


Media Posting;
I would like to post more varied stuff to social media sites, but I'd probably need to use separate accounts for more media based postings (art, animations, wips, furry & game related stuff, etc)
But how do people do that?! (login/logouts are a pain in the ass as-is)
Aware of like different browsers, but not many even want to install to XP or Win7.. FireFox & chrome barely. (could've sworn FireFox allowed separate instances, wtf happened?).
Seems people don't like reading about current events and me crying for help almost daily :(
Would be some animated postings, some things that cant be posted to these furry sites since contains less-furry related or utilizes existing media (altered old-school game stuff for example).


Current;
After many a storms delays(seriously tired of) and difficulty getting some of the few needed parts, doing final rebuild of the old art-station PC now.
I think the OS & main project files finally loaded, need to triple check the hardware.
Still many backups to sort & recover but should be sufficient for now.
I still really REALLY need some help on remaining energy bills & items, like this formerly new PC is still lacking a few things preventing me from using the screen graphics-tablet..


Misc;
Asking into the void =/...
Is/was there ever a Mario Kart game that has pretty much all the major tracks (ever used) in it?
I'm only familiar with ones up to the 2005 DS one (emu though).
My modest gripe was they all had too few tracks in each game I knew (16~32, should be like 64 or more, really).
More just a wonder though, I'm never going to be able to afford consoles, even used ones are atrocious in price (still waiting to even SEE - for the first time - an affordable 3DS ;_;).
Not sure if I remember but people supposedly hated the Wii one, and not yet sure if this machine can even handle the WiiU one, or if that was crap too?
Been too miserable & busy to even bother trying them -_-


Viewed: 73 times
Added: 2 months, 2 weeks ago
 
Weiss
2 months, 2 weeks ago
For mass uploads to different sites you might want to look into Postybirb, I've seen a lot of artists use that to upload to many different sites at the same time and even schedule uploads. They have a site where you can learn about all it's features and see if it's right for you or not. Regarding Mario Kart, I'd say Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the Booster Course Pass on Switch is your best bet. It has almost 100 tracks(96 I think is the current total with the booster pass) so that should be pretty much every major track
TwoTails
2 months, 2 weeks ago
I am unsure how such a thing would be able to log in & out without interfering with normal browsing.

Noted, but I'm about 95% sure I'll never play or get my hands on a Switch, still haven't even seen a 3DS in person yet.
Maybe emulation someday, I mean surprisingly this PC could handle the WiiU emu at up to 60fps, but too many graphics glitches due to not having a dedicated graphics card.
Weiss
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Switch Emulation is pretty good right now. The problem is, you know, actually finding an emulator since Nintendo is taking them all down one by one. New ones pop up everyday but they don't last long. You can alwasy try ot find a cheap used Switch and hack it
TwoTails
2 months, 2 weeks ago
I haven't checked prices on (used) Switches, but practically everything else I looked up goes for near the full price of new units >_<
I miss the days where I could get working consoles for about $30.
Thought of attempting to fix cheaper broken consoles as maybe an option but still too much a risk.
soggymaster
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Regarding your solar topics, I have a number of resources on Youtube that I can recommend you look into.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZO1BO_wWbsfDrWfOzccQD... - John Daniel - he has a homestead in Texas.  He professionally installs solar and wind, frequently featuring his daughter Kiera.  They focus mainly on storage and utilization rather than production.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmb2QRAjdnkse21CtxAQ-c... - City Prepping - while there is solar content here, it's mainly focused on disaster preparedness.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ9e0JHba7ApNz_-HL-p_6... - GREENPOWERSCIENCE - their channel has lots of solar content that isn't constrained to photovoltaic power.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMfCkN1juSa49DJFYltOT... - jehugarcia - his channel focuses mainly on batteries.  He deals primarily in selling second hand batteries, but demonstrates applications for them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMiTb1EJ5nhn_NbUyNu003... - homesteadonomics - their channel is mainly about homesteading in the Arizona desert.  A lot of their projects are solar adjacent, like water storage, rainwater capture, irrigation, workshop stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq6YaxJHA-t4bYBHHvaoZ8... - Kelly's Country Life - their channel has a lot to do with homesteading in northern Florida, but they have a lot of fabrication content, including a lot of recent solar stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVsNMiYQkqwIq_gd0rTJF9... - HOBOTECH - his channel has a lot of portable power station content that might just be what you're looking for.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj6RxIAQq8kmJme-5dnN0... - Will Prowse - his channel is quite heavy on solar content that is well suited for whole home backup and/or power grid free.  Has a fantastic forum community.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpDl4WPpgvvOeZFpw4ewyc... - Engineer775 - Professionally installs solar.
TwoTails
2 months, 2 weeks ago
I was kinda hoping for a quick answer on like some unit that can handle supplementing home power with solar to reduce bills.
I mean this looks like might be some good additional info, thanks, but I'll have to check those some other day..I haven't used YouTube much in years since it's been a pain for me to use since about 2018 (HD videos wont load/play & often lack low bandwidth options, searches often dont work right, settings keep getting ignored, ads sneak through, etc).
soggymaster
2 months, 2 weeks ago
I can at least give you some direction, but I don't know of any specific products that would fit the bill for you.

You're looking for a portable power station with an inline interactive UPS (uninterruptable power supply) that can prioritize solar input over grid input.  This might be a unicorn... something you may need to create.   It might be something you can create with an online double conversion UPS, but these units tend to be very expensive.
TwoTails
2 months, 2 weeks ago
I've built a power inverter from scratch - well nearly scratch, basically copied the circuit in an older but reliable model before they moved onto microprocessor(MPU) types(that seem to have a tendency to self-destruct).
Old is specifically a 1721 PWM IC & ~10 gauge hi-freq inductor 1:5, 555 timer chip & latch to generate the roughly 2/3 wave cycles, bridge of mosfets, and optional comparators to monitor power levels.
Using a heavy iron transformer would be better but it's getting difficult to find those things these days.
I have one salvaged from the first UPS that failed years ago (the MPU issue), but that's only enough to drive about 400 watts, probably just short of running an AC or large fridge, though the power inverter can run a mini-fridge/freezer.

So is looking like I'd have to build one since my budget would be like a whopping $30.
But can maybe add to it over time.
EricAdler
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Haven't gotten into home solat myself, but a coworker put solar on his roof a few years ago, and for the past ... 4-6 months, perhaps longer, he's been on the phone with the company that installed them. Appearantly they never generated enough to 'pay for themselves' in reduced electric bills, and they need to be removed so a new roof can be put on the building. I've only heard one side of the conversation, but the solar company and the company they are subcontracting to handle the removal for the new roof (They were going to charge a lot to 'just remove' them, so it sounds like my co-worker is going to wait until they are down for the roof repair and say, "You know what, just don't put them back up.") are playing a game of 'pass the buck'/'lose the work order.' He's been on the phone with one or both at least once a week trying to track down a date for the work to start, only to get a "we haven't gotten that work order/It's not showing up in our files" runnaround.

Another thing to look at, especially if your roof is still new enough to be under warranty, is that installing solar panels (which require penetration through the roof for mounting) will void the roof warranty. (and if your roof is past warranty, you're likely looking at needing a new roof in the next 5-10 years anyway. Roof warranties tend to last a good fraction of the roof's expected life.)
TwoTails
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Fully aware they cannot cover all household energy, the biggest problem would be with heating air & water - that takes kilowatts/hour.
I'm talking supplemental & emergency power source.
I would not install them on a roof, I dunno why people do that.
Probably on a tool shed or along the porch overhang.

There's no way I can afford a full set of panels anyway.
I'm talking like 4 medium-small panels *maybe*, which could shave off about 50KW/month off the bill.
In a worst-case that can keep some minimal appliances on without electric service.
A secondary reason is the possibility of power companies going under, the Texas power grid has been an example of this, the rest could follow someday.
EricAdler
2 months, 2 weeks ago
In the city, roof installation is considered the "best (bad) choice, since that reduces the shade from neighboring structures, and roof mounting doesn't take up back yard space. It's also a cheaper installation for the contractor, since the concrete foundations aren't required.

So the salesmen act as if roof mounting is the only option and even CONSIDERING another method is stupid and wrong.
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