TrueNAS

TrueNAS seems to do a lot of what I'm looking for in a NAS appliance.  Core is the FreeBSD-based version, which would have better networking.  However, Scale has better software support since it's Linux-based.

Installation of TrueNAS isn't too bad.  It's the setup that's a challenge!  Mainly, getting Windows to recognize the SMB setup has been an exercise in frustration.

Otherwise, one issue is the dead space on the "boot pool" (forum post)--while the pool can be expanded, not sure what to use it for.  Containers, perhaps?

The other thing is, perhaps for reliability I should mirror two 1TB drives (flash...) and have a partition on those drives as a separate vdev (forum post).  It's a bit overwhelming to understand how to set up a good configuration.

Also, Youtuber "Raid Owl" has some videos on setting up NAS appliances.

Aluminum Extrusions

In poking around at 3D printers, I've become more interested in the utility of extruded aluminum for building stuff.  Some two decades ago, I'd rescued some from the scrap tub at work, and although I never used it for anything, it was sure fascinating for some reason.

There's a site 80/20 that sells components.  Their catalog is massive!

Maker Pipe

Turns out there's an outfit making fittings for EMT conduit for limited structural applications: Maker Pipe.  I found it while searching for the stereolithography model for the Maker Faire robot, which I'd searched for as "makerfaire pip model"....

Bonding/Grounding CSST

Structure Tech (home inspectors up in the 'Cities) post interesting info on Facebook, but they also have interesting articles.  The inspector for my place mentioned something about CSST bonding, which I need to review again.  In any case, ST posted a howto on bonding CSST.

Precious Metals Clay

So I've got this Mitsubishi PMC3 kit from 15 years ago that I'd bought for KMP/T since she did jewelry at one point.  Before I could get it to her, she moved to Kansai, which I rarely go to, and since the package is fragile, didn't want to mail it.  Now as an assistant prof with two kids, she doesn't have time to mess.  It occurred to me to give the kit to JFJ's daughter, but 1) the instructions are in Japanese, and 2) the fuel disks are hard to come by in the U.S.  There's another "hot pot" kit that uses a clay pot filled with some sort of liquid fuel, but I can't find that for sale.  Things always get more complicated than I otherwise think they should be.

Mitsubishi has a page on the PMC series, but conspicuously don't mention any of the kits that they used to produce!  At least there's some English instructions on the page.  The Japanese page links to several other pages, including to a neat fan page, 「ギンダラケ倶楽部」.  Another site, silver-clay.com, has a number of the PMC materials for sale, as does Amazon.  It seems to be about 3x the cost of the base metal, at least for silver.  The only place I found online that sells the fuel tabs is "Best from Japan", which ships from Japan and doesn't have the item in stock.  Shipping is of course either SAL, with a huge lead time, or EMS, with a huge price tag.

Form 1 Forums

Once SD Tactical got their hand slapped by the ATF for selling solvent traps, their forum was gutted.  Someone else started a forum for Form 1 builds, which appears to have a lot of good info.  Well, I have stamps for at least three Form 1 cans that I haven't built yet....

One useful thread is the list of solvent trap manufacturers.  Another thread posted a link to B-tube-sized cones (not drilled).

HomeGenie

Well, I've had a motion sensor sitting around for at least a year, unused because I couldn't get it to work with HomeGenie.  Turns out I was just overlooking a comment in the settings to associate the device with group 1, as noted in an archived forum post.  (Yeah, I could use SmartThings instead of a roll-my-own system, but I figure it'll be harder for people to futz with an oddball config.  Plus, the homebrew system isn't open to the Net: I have to connect via VPN in order to get access, unlike SmartThings.)

Then there's linking the switch to the sensor with the built-in "Smart Lights" program.  That was disabled so I enabled it an it shut off the lights once, but the sensor appeared to have gone to sleep.  Getting closer, but not quite there yet.

Oh yeah, since the Pepper1 database of Z-Wave devices used by HomeGenie was shut down, as noted in the new forum, there's an alternate location to query.  I'll have to download the newer version of HomeGenie to see if they've picked up this newer site; otherwise, one can add one's own devices to a local archive.

One blog post I read when I was setting up my automation compared HomeSeer, HomeGenie, and Domoticz.  The author preferred Domoticz, but I don't like the idea of having a separate library for Z-Wave.

Freestanding Decks

This article was useful regarding bracing, which they call “Y bracing”.  I didn’t end up using the “V bracing” for my shed foundation because the plywood subfloor should function similarly—different from usual decking.

Milling a TNACo 80% Receiver

Just in case, here are some instructions, along with a 2-part video series on how to do it [1, 2].

Expedient Homemade Firearms

Now that Paladin Press is defunct, I'm finding books they used to publish that are now out of print.  I have to wonder how one gets started in the publishing business...and if one could license some of Paladin Press's old texts.

One of the publications was by Philip Luty, Expedient Homemade Firearms.  It sounds like a practical text to have in addition to the more modern version by Cody Wilson.  Unfortunately, a well-used copy is over $100 on Amazon.  Unfortunately, Mr. Luty passed away in 2011, so unless his estate has someone looking to sell the rights to the book, it will likely remain out of print.

HomeGenie

I'm running HomeGenie, an Italian home automation system, to control my Z-Wave devices.  Well, it's very configurable, but not the easiest to actually configure as a result.

Last weekend I wanted to update to the latest version, but the automatic update was broken, so I manually pulled down the package and installed it.  That killed my setup so I had to regenerate it.  It turned out I had backed up my old setup, which I didn't find until after I'd re-created my setup and backed it up again (of course).  The new version included some additional demo code, which took me a while to figure out how to disable.  There are a few things still running that I don't want to be.

I also had to figure out how to turn on power logging.  What I need to know now is how to export logged data!

One page I found talks about how to set up a program to send a photo from a webcam when a sensor is triggered.  It came up when I was searching for an example of using a motion sensor to turn on a light, which is what I have in mind for the utility room.  Still looking....

Another Dated Link Dump

The terrible thing is, often times I never go back to review the link dump....

• How to Build a Worm Tower
• Retractable PVC Hoop House
• How not to get caught in a mass-surveillance world
• 10 corporations control almost everything you buy
• Lifestyle garage screens
• Ocumetics Bionic Lens
• Building a Tin Can WiFi Waveguide Antenna
• Why Young Men Go to War
• FedBizOpps
• Vanity Fair interview with Ed Snowden

I just have too many tabs open....

AR308

In looking to SBR an AR-style 7.62 rifle, I needed to find 1) a DPMS-compatible rifle, and 2) one that was in stock.  That's been a challenge.  I almost picked up an Aero lower; fortunately I didn't because it was AR-10 style rather than DPMS.

One article I found comments on compatibility.

There's a spreadsheet that details some of the variants; however, it doesn't differentiate between DPMS gen 1 and 2, and the Aero Precision M5 is compatible with DPMS gen 1.

Brownells has a bunch of AR308 parts, of course.

Topical Black Rifle Stuff

A link dump, of sorts.

• San Tan Tactical's STT-15 lower receiver: I need this ambi receiver for my 2nd SBR.
• The Maxim Defense CQB stock looks like a good alternative to the MVB ARC stock, being 4 oz lighter, but 1/2" longer.
• Tennessee Arms Company has hybrid polymer lowers for cheap; featured in Firearms News along with the KAK Industry .358 Win barrel.  Also has 80% polymer lowers.
• Veriforce Tactical has M-Lok handguards, some in pistol size that cost under $100.  Sounds like a good deal for a car gun.
• The GunTec USA M-Lok handguards look almost identical, but were advertised in Firearms News.
• Thordsen Customs has a CAA stock saddle basically mounted on the buffer tube.  I think I prefer the KAK Industry Shockwave Blade, but this is kinda a cool look.
• And of course there's the Shockwave Blade: Not as bulky as the Sig brace, still counts as a pistol, but in a SHTF scenario, could be shouldered (illegally).  The .358 Win barrels pointed to by Firearms News are pretty cool.  Might have to build myself an AR-10-style rifle.

So many items, so little time.

Updated PiFM

One of the guys on Slack #radio at work tried PiFM on his RPi2 and found that it didn't work.  Apparently the project's been abandoned.  He found an updated project, rpitx, that does work.  His interest was using it as a foxhunt transmitter, which is also pretty cool.

DIY Foxhunt Hardware

Using an RTL-SDR and four switched antennas to direction-find: link and paper.

DIY Heat Treating

I came across this post on heat treating that looks quite useful.  It's reproduced here in case the page goes down:

First, know your steel. If you bought commercially available tool steel you should know precisely what it is. But if you are using something found, scavenged or of otherwise uncertain provenance you may have problems hardening it. The steel used in any given blade is not an easy thing to determine. A metallurgical lab charges a fair amount to test for alloy and there is no home test kit that I know of ("Look, Honey, it turned blue!") And there is some risk in quenching, say, an oil hardening steel in water. It could fracture at worst or warp like crazy at least. The old-timers "sparked" steels to tell what was in them. The sparks generated from a grinder will burn with different visual characteristics depending on the alloying elements. (Like the different colorants in fireworks.) So you can grind a corner, observe the sparks, then grind a known steel and try to compare the little spark-flares for shape, brightness, complexity, etc. and attempt a match.

Mostly we're talking oil vs. water hardening steels. The air hardening ones are the Cr-V and stuff that us Galoots don't use too much and that weren't used in old tools at all. It is safer to quench an unknown, perhaps water-hardening steel in oil than vice versa. The water-hardening steel may not harden in the oil and if that is the case, you can try again in water. I don't mean to muddy the water with all this but, hey, if it were easy, everybody'd be doing it.

The first step is to get the metal to its critical temperature, which with good old O-1 (the oil hardening stuff) is 1450° - 1500°F. Got a good pyrometer? No problem. During the crystal transormation from ferrite to austenite steel ceases to be magnetic at that temp. This phenomenon is called the "Curie Point" after the discoverer, Pierre. So one can simply heat the metal till the magnet is no longer attracted to it then quench in oil. I like to use peanut oil because the flash point is very high which minimizes the risk of fire (the risk is still there, though; be prepared: use long tongs to handle the work to keep your hand out of the way, wear gloves and keep the fire extinguisher handy) and it smells nice(r) when it smokes. How to get the blade to the Curie point is probably the biggest problem for the DIYer. When the metal is glowing red, the carbon behaves as if it's in a liquid and can therefore migrate around as it pleases. This is necessary for the hardening to occur but near the surface of the metal those unfaithful little carbon atoms would just as soon run off with any available oxygen-sluts it runs into (oxygen is soooo seductive) and they're lost then forever. We hate that. We attempt to prevent this by: heating the metal in an inert (oxygen free atmosphere) and/or limit the time at red-heat (in air) to as little as possible. A torch makes both of those very difficult. It's very hard to heat something as large as a Norris-type blade evenly with a small torch-generated spot of heat. A forge fire is better because of its uniformity and it can be starved for air a bit to decrease the oxygen in its immediate vicinity. A small lab-type test oven works quite well. (Also used for ceramic glaze tests.) Toss in a charcoal briquette to scavenge some of the oxygen.

Update: There are coatings that prevent oxidation and carbon loss at www.rosemill.com that promise to make home heat treating a more successful endeavor.

When it's hit critical temp, remove it from the heat and quickly dunk it into a sufficient quantity of room temperature oil. Swish it around a bit until it's cooled throughout to below 150°F. It should now be very hard and too brittle to use. (If you attempt to file it, the file should skid on the blade.)

Two ways to temper to a useable hardness/toughness: by colors or by temperature. If you have a very accurate oven in the kitchen, just heat it to 325°F and you're done. An accurate deep-fryer will do the same but use a good thermometer to double check on the oven or deep fryer's thermostat. Without accurate temperature control, you'll have to use the surface oxide colors to know when enough is enough. First, clean some part of the blade (probably the flat area back from the bevel) till it's bright metal again. When heated, that spot will change colors (you've seen the rainbow of colors on any overheated steel) starting with a very faint yellow (called light straw). Since we like our blades Good-n-Hard(tm), stop there (remove from the heat, quench if necessary to stop any further increase.) Any color beyond the faintest straw is too much. (The blade will still work, it just won't hold the edge you want.) Be overly cautious with tempering. You can always re-temper a too-hard blade, but if you go too far and soften it too much, you have to re-harden it all over again. So if a blade seems too hard, just toss it back in the oven and go a little higher. The oven/deep fryer method is preferred, however because you can leave the part at tempering temperature long enough for true tempering to occur. The torch method, using the surface colors, may leave some of the transformation undone.

You're done. If the blade looks awful, you can sandblast or grind it pretty but it should work well regardless. Before honing, be sure to grind back the bevel a bit . That thin section probably took more than its fair share of carbon burn-out abuse and you need to get to the good stuff. (it could take as much as .025" to get through the de-carbed layer.) Same for the back. Doing a good job on the back is at least if not more important than the work on the bevel. A little extra elbow grease will remove the de-carbed layer and get to good metal. Don't forget: the back IS the Cutting Edge. Think about it. If the back hasn't been honed deeply enough, the blade will never work well.

Good luck!

-- Ron

Can Knowledge

Mobile link dump.

I had been concerned about having "extra" suppressor parts, like mounts and endcaps.  Here's an example of apparently acceptable use in the industry.  There's a post on Reddit NFA regarding a SilencerCo Octane 45 that has an available 9mm endcap, apparently only available at SilencerShop.  (The description says "replacement," so perhaps that's how they get away with it.)  The interesting thing on the Reddit post was hole dimensions of the baffles: they seemed fairly loose at 0.493-0.495" for each of the eight, and 0.509" at the endcap.

Another post on Form 1 builds is from SilencerTalk.  It linked to an apparently famous thread dating back to 2008 regarding one user sub-sonic's build of a freeze plug can.  This must've been the prelude to the whole solvent trap suppressor craze....

The original thing that drove me to question mounts was mention of YHM Wraith cans, which apparently had the flash suppressor be the back of the can, yada yada yada.  Apparently it's a non-issue normally.

I came across another site that definitely treads the edge of legality, because it isn't until halfway down the page that it mentions one needs an NFA stamp to do this legally.  Unconstitutional or not, if one gets caught with an oil filter can and no stamp, one's gun rights are gone.

OBD-II

These links have been open in my browser for months.  Time to dump them!

ELM327 support in Linux
Viewing OBD-II codes on an RPi

Being able to adjust engine parameters would be amusing, although my understanding is that they're proprietary.

Form 1 Suppressor Stuff

I'd mentioned SD Tactical previously.  They make a "B tube" size "solvent trap" in titanium, suitable for conversion to a sound suppressor when in possession of an approved Form 1.

The SDTA forums have some information on builds.

J&S Tactical makes jigs for forming the B-tube freeze plugs; however, those tools cost more than the tube!

Another board dedicated to Form 1 cans has a list of freeze plug dimensions and part numbers, as well as valve spring retainers (VSR) that are apparently often used for a blast baffle.  Another post has weights of the B size tubes and end caps.

Other solvent trap makers include Apogee and Diversified Machine (who only takes orders via email).

There was mention of "reflex" suppressors on the boards.  One description I found had a picture but it still wasn't clear exactly how it differs from non-reflex.  Another one clarified it as basically jamming the barrel up in the can.  And another showed an adapter for a reflex-type design.

One concern of mine was multiple mounts.  One solution:

You need another use for the adapter, if you're worried about possession of suppressor parts. 

For me, I built a set of three cans, with three different lengths and calibers. The thread pitch and length for all adapters is identical. So, I will always have three complete cans, but any of them could be mounted on 1/2-28, 5/8-24 or a YHM mount. 

If you had a piece of tube that didn't suppress sound, like the MAAD brake I linked, it could "hold" a mount and an end cap, so that each piece is always in use.

I like that better than the set screw solution.

There's also JM Performance Fittings, which sells "storage cups" that fit in flashlight bodies.  They make a B-tube model, but unfortunately it's only aluminum.