I saw a spectrum analyzer ( VHS Equipment Review: HP8591A 9khz - 1.8Ghz Spectrum Analyser, Keep for VHS ). It’s one of those tools I always wish I had (or even access to).

It had a thin layer of sawdust over the screen, I vacuumed and brushed it in the workshop.

Turned it on, seems to work. I had a 900 MHz ISM device nearby (LoRa Meshtastic) and was able to trigger blips on the spectrum. Not qualified to test it more thoroughly than that.

Once I get wiki edit access, I can document it, as requested in the original topic.

Tonight I used the printer a bunch ( HP LaserJet Pro 400 - Vancouver Hack Space ). It said “low on black toner”.

Should I get some new toner for it?

Once I get wiki edit access, I intend to improve the documentation for the printer.

There is a pre-event my colleague (who is local to Vancouver) is doing to promote FOSSY, happening next Sunday (March 22). Here are the details:

https://events.sfconservancy.org/1ukbcQFkKAEr0OrZ7PDgq

He’ll be doing a short talk but mainly it’s a chance to meet with other people who plan to attend, and talk about different ways to promote.

Registration is not open yet for the main conference, but more info will be posted on the site soon: 2026.fossy.ca

((Unrelatedly, I also help run a hackerspace in my hometown - Knoxville, TN (knoxmakers.org) and I am really excited to visit you while I’m in the area.))

Some people were able to repair the unit using the instructions on this forum thread. If you’re comfortable with surface-mount soldering you may want to give it a try.

As for the machines in the front room, I plan to be working on them over the next 10 or so days and will have them removed before March 25th. Please let me know if this helps address some of the concerns and gives a clearer picture of the path forward.

As an alternative - i do have a friend who has some dry storage in Langely where these can probably be stored for about 125 bucks a month for a storage space approximately 10x10 feet in size.

Also what’s the overall goal here? Get them back and running then what?

Those juice packing machines take up quite a bit of room.

Would you mind posting a poll to see if people are okay with them being in the space?

Hey VHS!

Sooo you may be wondering what those two rather crazy looking industrial machines in the front office/room are… They are industrial juice packing machines from Korea out of a manufacturing plant in Delta that went bankrupt and was sending 3-year-old barely used machines to SCRAP.

I managed to save them from being crushed and have taken the project on to resurrect them over the next little bit.

You will find them tucked away in the front office as best I could manage — I’ve tried to keep them out of the flow of things, so hopefully they’re not in anyone’s way. If they are, give me a shout and I’m happy to try and shuffle them around/find a solution. The large one in the main room will be stripped for parts to free up space as quickly as possible.

So what’s the deal?

These machines are a work in progress. I’m actively tearing into them, diagnosing what’s going on, ordering parts and figuring out what it’ll take to get them running again — they are being worked on, I promise. The large machine in the main room will likely be stripped for parts in the next couple days and the shell sent to scrap as it’s taking up too much space.

If you are a robotics or automation engineer/specialist

I suspect getting these fully automated and running smoothly is going to require some robotics or automation know-how. If you’re an engineer — or just someone who’s got experience elbow-deep in a machine — I’d genuinely love to pick your brain or even come to an arrangement to have you help me with getting them going again.

TL;DR

• Two juice machines are in the space, placed out of the way (if an issue pls DM)

• Looking for anyone with robotics/automation experience to potentially collaborate

• Come say hi if you’re curious

Drop a comment, send me a message, or just come find me at the space.

— Chris

Bit more info on the machines:

• Built in Korea in 2022

• +800 juice packs per hour

• From Delta factory that went bankrupt

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUyyC3bNmX4

• https://kyungseo12.cafe24.com/shop3/product/detail.html?product_no=1092&cate_no=82&display_group=1

  
  

Check here for the latest show.

My Funny Valentine

From the absurd to the sweet to the poignant to the maniacal…
Valentine’s Day is almost here, and with the physical and political temperature of the world right now, it seems like the best and highest purpose for this shoebox with a holesaw and a dream is a rom-com spectacular. But let it get a little weird.

With the news of Canadian comedy legend Catherine O’Hara’s passing on the day we finally clawed this show together, it seemed like a natural fit for a tribute. We have three pieces of her work in this show, grouped together.

We have a few clips from films produced by Danville, Quebec’s own Mack Sennett. Builder of the first fully enclosed film stage in 1912 (known as the Fun Factory). He quickly became known as the ‘King of Comedy’ after producing slapstick classics like the Keystone Cops. His style was one of manic chaos where the story made way for spectacle. Seems perfect for a rainy night. Incidentally if you have a library card a bunch of his films are available on Kanopy, and often are a great way to experience just how very far we have actually come with racial sensitivity over the last 100 years.

We are pleased to also present the charmingly weird short film Portraits of Tracy by local filmmaker Aurélien Rosset

• Some feelings can only be expressed through mass synchronised dance movements. It’s 2001’s The Happiness of the Katakuris. [2:24]

• Featuring silent film legend Snub Pollard as “Man Gene Kelly hands his umbrella to”, we feel that this love-struck dance number from 1952’s Singin in the Rain is best viewed whilst standing outdoors in an atmospheric river. [4:46]

• *rerun alert* Love is not always easy, especially when you are an international super criminal with feelings towards an operative of a secret clandestine military organization of highschool girls tasked with hunting you down, its Angela Robinson’s 2004 film D.E.B.S. [2:26]

• A year before dancing the Filibuster for the US Senate, James Stewart learned to dance the Big Apple with his sweetie in 1938’s You Can’t Take It with You. [2:15]

• Some very classical Vaudeville chaos featuring a bawdy parody of the magic flute from 1984’s Amadeus. Now that’s entertainment, and a pretty successful family date night [3:00].

• *rerun alert* Some amazing costumes and great atmosphere in this labyrinth scene from Sally Potter 1992’ film, Orlando. [2:47]

• Some rather acrobatic swingers in the 1933 Mack Sennett production Don’t Play Bridge with Your Wife. [2:16]

• *rerun alert* We cheer for loving who you love in the 1999 conversion camp comedy But I’m a Cheerleader by Jamie Babbit. [2:10]

• The charming Portraits of Tracy by local filmmaker Aurélien Rosset is a fantastical take that blurs the line between romance and art appreciation. [3:00]

• Mustachioed Ben Turpin parlayed his accident-derived crossed-eyes into a successful career in Vaudeville and film, he even had a large insurance policy from Lloyds payable if his eyes uncrossed. Here he stares down a double barrel of shotgun weddings in the 1927 Mack Sennett production The Pride of Pikeville. [3:39]

• If mustaches are your thing, look no further, these ones are worth a million. It’s the 1924 Mack Sennett produced Galloping Bungalows. [2:41]

• *rerun alert* Back by popular request, the dream sequence from Pierre Etaix’s 1969 film Le Grand Amour, where even if your dreams and your love are free, it’s still a good idea to comply with all relevant local traffic ordinances. [4:46]

• Keeping it as French as possible with the blue arrows scene from 2001’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.

• May you find somebody who looks at you the way Joe Pesci looks at Marissa Tomei in this scene from 1992’s My Cousin Vinny [4:51]

• Some underwater romance featuring Australian Vaudevillian Billy Bevan’s mustache in the 1926 Mack Sennett production A Sea Dog’s Tale. [2:04]

• Next we go to Buster Keaton’s 1924 film The Navigator featuring a damp deckhand with a soggy deck. [2:32]

• Here is a date loaded with red flags from 1993’s Groundhog Day. [3:48]

• Mme. Suzanne’s recipe for true love: “Take two regulars, mix them together and let them stew. It never fails.” Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain [2:18] extended cut after 9 pm.

• *rerun alert* Here is a double date in a bougie restaurant with a fantastic cameo from 2019’s Always Be My Maybe directed by Nahnatchka Khan. [3:28]

• The Taxidermist sketch from the 1977 season of SCTV features Catherine O’Hara and John Candy at their unhinged prime. [4:22]

• *rerun alert* We feel that this scene is best understood as an O’Hara - Belafonte duet, with some strong supporting performances. 1988’s Beetlejuice. [2:45]

• Others have observed that one of the stand-out qualities that O’Hara brought to her performances was a sincere sweetness, and we think her voice performance of Sally’s Song in 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a lovely example. [1:57]

It’s a black toque with the words “Have a killer day” on the brim - If anyone manages to find it, could you put it in my bin?

You may remember me from such adventures as fixing the circle of death. Now it’s fixing error 6. Read on to see how I fixed my roomba with some shiny garbage.

The Problem:

My current temporary home has carpet that makes my Roomba panic and think it’s falling off a cliff. The Roomba has cliff sensors that are made to stop it falling down the stairs. These cliff sensors are an infrared emitter-receiver pair on the bottom of the roomba. There are 4 pairs.

The sensors regularly send out an IR signal and expect the floor surface to reflect that signal back. If the Roomba is at the edge of a cliff (I e. a stair) there is no light received back and it stops and gives the error message 6. This saves it from certain death or so it thinks. This setup works great unless your floor is too dark to reflect back those IR signals. When that happens the Roomba won’t work at all. Frustrating right?

In my case the dark patches on my carpet are to dark to reflect a signal back.

The Fix:

The fix was to trick the Roomba with shiny reflective foil tape. Shiny tape over the cliff sensors easily reflect back the IR and keeps the Roomba happy and sailing along no matter what colour carpet it is cleaning. Now if only we could all stick shiny tape over our eyes life would be good.

I had zero foil tape on hand but I did have the adhesive flap cut off an old insulated double-sided foil bubble wrap envelope. I cut it up, stuck the adhesive side on the sensors, and my Roomba is happy again. This will work as a temporary fix.

This fix took 5 minutes and now I don’t have to vacuum my place by hand. Hooray!

Offline Map Tiles for BC + Washington — z6 to z12

PNG XYZ tiles covering the Lower Mainland BC and Northern Washington region, rendered from OpenStreetMap data using Planetiler + TileServer GL. Standard XYZ directory structure (tiles/{z}/{x}/{y}.png).

• Zoom levels: 6–12

• Tile count: 2,183 tiles

• Total size: ~34 MB

• Format: PNG, Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

• Tested on: LilyGo T-Deck Plus running MeshCore

I’m still working out zoom level display issues on the T-Deck Plus — only 5 of 7 levels are currently rendering. You’ll also need an unlock key to see the higher zoom levels.

Geographic Coverage Description

This polygon extract covers southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington State.

It includes:

• All of Vancouver Island, from the west coast near Cape Scott to the southern tip near Victoria

• The Lower Mainland (Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta)

• The Sea-to-Sky corridor, including Squamish and Pemberton

• Inland British Columbia eastward to Revelstoke

• Western Washington south to Olympia

The western boundary extends offshore into the Pacific Ocean by approximately 8–12 km to preserve coastline continuity and ferry routes while minimizing unnecessary open-ocean data.

Let me know if you want a copy of the tile files. Just need to be dropped onto your microSD card

Thanks for offering your help with the PCB using KiCAD.

Has anyone done an annealing setup here at vhs?

Thanks!

I know we shouldn’t be posting keys publicly but figured it ok for a quick test. We can regenerate the key and decide how to distribute the key later

I generated some map tiles for the Lower Mainland and northern Washington so the node map looks cool. Unfortunately you need to pay for an unlock code to zoom any closer than what’s shown in the photo. Seems like a few other T-Deck features are locked.

Next up is trying out MeshOS.

Is anyone able to message me at MAJICJ001 it the Public Room? Does VHS have a Room server?

Hey man. Do your hacker space contacts need any old projectors or slide viewers for projects? I’m helping out at langley memorial hospital thrift shop and I’m sitting on some lovely old Belle and Howell super8 projectors as well as a metric f ton of slide viewers and projectors. Because it’s a charity org I can’t donate them but I would see to it that these change hands for a VERY low price as they are taking up a ton of space.

3 out of 4 of those are basically new old stock, one was still in the original box. Lamps and motors work.

cwehrhan:

something wrong but I’ve picked up nodes and repeaters in Seattle but not in Van lol

Yea, I had the same thing happen. One of the first repeaters was a 7 hop node in Seattle. I’m not sure why. Just keep it running for a while and i’ll find the close ones too.

Idk if I’m doing something wrong but I’ve picked up nodes and repeaters in Seattle but not in Van lol

Click here for the latest show.

STUPID CO ANNOUNCES WEEKLONG THEATRICAL RELEASE OF SHORT FILM “FRENCH LESSONS”**

We’re excited to welcome these two delightful films from Stupid Co to our little big screen, and we very much look forward to collaborating with Off-Viff later this year.

THE FESTIVAL-LAUDED SATIRE OPENS THE EAST VAN VODVILLE CINEMA ON JANUARY 20TH AND KICKS OFF A PARTNERSHIP TO SUPPORT MORE SHORT FILM EXHIBITION AS PART OF OCTOBER’S OFF-VIFF 2026 FESTIVAL

STUPID CO, the artistic label from filmmaker/distributor duo Anna Maguire & Kyle Greenberg have announced their second co-directed short film, French Lessons (2025) will open theatrically in Vancouver at the East Van Vodville Cinema for a weeklong *qualifying run starting January 20, 2026 following a 2025 festival campaign with the likes of New/Next, The Downtown Festival, SXSW Sydney, OFF-VIFF and more.

The hybrid-documentary short follows Greenberg who fittingly plays a film distributor, secretly meeting with real-life director Arran Shearing (co-director of King Baby and co-founder of OFF-VIFF) to practice French ahead of going to the Cannes Film Festival. A satirical take on the industry vs. artistry divide, the weeklong theatrical announcement advances Stupid Co’s commitment to non-traditional releasing, with Greenberg & Maguire saying in a joint statement:

“As we work to circumvent the archaic pitfalls and/or gatekeepers of the independent film landscape and combat the perceived limitations of short films in the marketplace, this weeklong run of French Lessons and partnership with the EV Vodville Cinema is an exciting step forward to find another new and rare physical pathway for short exhibition. By finding a new physical space to exhibit our short for a week in Vancouver, we feel more than ‘qualified’ to ask for your consideration! Looking further ahead, we can’t wait to expand upon our festival OFF-VIFF, by working with EV Vodville to provide another key satellite location for short exhibition as well!”

​​Screening with French Lessons at the East Van Vodville Cinema will be Stupid Co’s first short, Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded (2024), a selection of the inaugural OFF-VIFF in addition to festivals such as Fantasia, SXSW Sydney, Chattanooga and more. On April 20th last year, Stupid Co released Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded as a “never-ending loop” on their own website hiyouarecurrentlybeingrecorded.com. Now, audiences who are not in Vancouver can also find another way to watch French Lessons online, as part of Stupid Co’s live-streamed loop (with French Lessons playing after Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded only at): hiyouarecurrentlylearningfrench.com

To submit a short film to OFF-VIFF 2026, visit FilmFreeway, but be aware… OFF-VIFF only accepts up to 50 short film and 25 feature submissions so time is of the essence! https://filmfreeway.com/OFF-VIFF

*The weeklong theatrical run of French Lessons is not actually a qualifying Academy run, nor is EV Vodville considered a real theater, nor is Vancouver considered a qualifying theatrical market as it pertains to the Academy, despite much of Hollywood shooting their studio films in Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver (and Academy winners or nominees such as Juno, Titanic, Five Easy Pieces, The Accused, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, First Blood, Godzilla (2014) and many more shot fully or partially in the city). French Lessons was not submitted to any awards by Stupid Co nor did it win any awards at a ‘Qualifying’ festival in order to ‘Qualify’ for any awards!

The worm would replace the gear currently On the motor shaft, and the worm wheel would be what drives the actual train tires. We can use 3D Modeling software to do a custom prototype specifically for your project, and then 3D print the parts.

* I have a lot of experience using KiCAD to create printed circuit boards. You will have to figure out what your ideal circuit board dimensions are for the train, Throw your 555 timer circuit into a schematic, And hope you can route your PCB with (likely) Surface mount parts.

? I was Curious as to the means you expect to control the motor speed with… Just a small variable resistor or potentiometer, Somewhere on the train at the back… a dial you can just roll or turn… Could a wireless, Off-the-shelf microcontroller somehow fit in there so The motor speed could be remote controlled…

Overall, what you’re trying to accomplish is technically sophisticated and challenging. In theory, it’s a simple enough project, but in practice, there’s going to be some high precision 3D printed parts and at least one custom PCB that will have to be made from scratch for this project to be successful.

Volunteers needed:

Referee (1)

duties: clearly signifies start and stop of the 3 minute battles. Bots can pin each other but only for 10 second count down. If a bot is not moving at all, 10 second count down for Knock Out. Need to be at event February 13^th 6:15pm to end of battles. Consult with Taralee any questions.

Fire Safety Crew (1 or 2)

Works with Taralee in event of a lipo battery fire to: Clear area of people, blast bot with CO fire extinguisher, shovel bot into sand bucket, take to back alley and cover with more sand. Need to do a walk through with Taralee prior to event, and make sure equipment is at hand. Needs to be at event February 13^th 6:15pm to end of battles.

Judges (1 needed, 3 ideal)

Can not be a driver. Judges need to watch every moment of the battles and fill out a clip board form for each bot. Also will note time of KO if applicable. Bots are judged by Destruction, Aggression, and Control. For more info see clipboard. After brackets, the battle royal is a battle of survival bots but one finalist must be decided on functionality. Need to be at event February 13^th 6:15pm to end of battles.

Announcer (1 or 2)

on mic in room and on stream. Duties include getting crowd engaged and excited, explains VCR, given point form script for introduction, Cheesy intros of Bots, such as “Birthday Cake of Dooooooooom” etc, notes starts and stops of battles, Knock Outs, Pin Countdowns, battle banter and humour. Sense of humour and knowledge about bots a plus! Need to be at event February 13^th 6:15pm to end of battles.

Security (1)

We can do open hours and put a sign out to advertise the event but we need really someone to direct people to sign liability waiver when the enter. Direct people to donation box (used for League improvements only). Making sure no one is stealing things or being dangerous while the rest of us are terrifically distracted. If someone needs ejecting, ask for back up. Need to be at event February 13^th 6:15pm to end of battles.

Message here or DM me and I will write you down and maybe get your phone number. For streaming set up and fire prototype walk through, I will be there Friday from the morning on.

I thought I’d write it up here in case anybody else is interested in building one of these kits.

Ordering was easy, and shipping was very fast. However, shipping from the USA is not cheap, and there was extra import duty charged by UPS. Note that the import duty doesn’t show up in the tracking information sent by Palm Beach Bots, and tapping the “tracking” link in the email takes you to the Palm Beach Bots website. You need to click an additional time from there and/or go to the UPS website to see that duty is owed.

In addition to the kit, they emailed me the 3D printer files, and a link to an instructional video about the charger.

The build time is listed as 30-60 minutes, but it definitely took me longer than that (plus a trip to the hardware store).

The kit comes with plug-and-play connectors. They do suggest that solder connections hold up better in combat. If you want to do that, you’ll need to clip the connectors off and strip the wires, and it will extend the build time. (I chose not to.)

If you get the Flysky FS-I4X/FSA3 Transmitter, you will need 4 AA batteries for it.

Build Notes:

The kit comes with printed instructions, and a QR code that links to

https://palmbeachbots.com/pages/super-scooper-plastic-ant-build-along

In general I think the instructions are fairly good, but one or two steps were hard for me to tell exactly what went where in either the printed picture or the video. Also they assume you know some basic stuff, so this isn’t for complete beginners.

The kit comes with tiny hex keys. You will need a Phillips head screwdriver. A precision flathead is used in the video to remove a pin from a JST connector. You will also need pliers and/or a small wrench. Also, there’s one point in the video where they suggest applying loctite on a screw, and you will probably want a couple of zipties and/or some tape.

There are many tiny screws - I suggest using a magnetic dish to keep track of them.

First step: charge the battery. There’s an 8 minute video about this charger.

Step 3 “servo” tells you to plug things into the receiver, but is a little unclear about which wires go where. Skip ahead to Step 5 and it explains the connections to the receiver in more detail.

Neither the video or the written instructions is very clear about the wires going into the lever clamps.
The red wires are:

• 1 from the charge jack that you attached to the chassis
• 1 from the connector that attaches to the ESC
• 1 from the servo

The black wires are:

• 1 from the charge jack
• 1 from the connector that attaches to the ESC

The 2 black and 2 red wires on the other side of the ESC are for the motors

I had a bad moment when I turned everything on and the servo didn’t move… I unplugged everything and replugged it and it worked after that.

Servo mounts: Screw the screws into the holes on the short side of the mount ONLY A LITTLE, then slide the screws into the gaps on the plastic tabs (screw head on one side of the plastic tab, mount on the other), then tighten them down.

Mounting the servo to the chassis was really tricky - I didn’t notice that my screws weren’t screwed into the mount on one side until after I started hooking up the motors. It took a little while to fix it.

The instructions suggest tying down the wires before installing the motors. I couldn’t find zipties in the kit, but also it’s hard to arrange everything in the chassis to leave room for the motors, so I suggest doing the motors first to make sure you have space.

Be careful attaching the wires to the motors, it’s easy to bend/break the tabs.

Step 7: “the holes in the scoop are undersized for a tight fit” ← understatement of the year. I couldn’t get the screw to go in at all until I reamed the hole out a little with a bigger screw. When I did start forcing it in, I got a discoloration in the plastic which made me think the plastic was going to crack.

I strongly suggest you test the motors and servo before attaching the lid. I had some loose wires that the servo was pulling on, so I ended up using electrical tape to make the wires and the receiver more secure.

I also tried the lid + lifter on the bot, and ended up pushing some more things around (and applying more tape) to make sure the lifter can move freely. It still doesn’t quite close completely

I had trouble with the included hex key on the screw for the lifter arm, for some reason. Luckily my household is equipped with precision hex keys which did work

It got a little awkward trying to hold the bot while attaching the lid and the wheels, since it had things sticking out of all sides.

I used a small wrench for the screws that hold the lid on, which use lock nuts.

It’s alive! https://photos.app.goo.gl/1AmZai3639EBaMbb7

The motor is tiny it’s from a rc mini matchbox car. I want to take the motor and the 3.7v battery and put it into an IKEA train. It will need to be slowed down a lot but also keep the toque. Eventually I wanted to put it on tracks and have it drive and around and up a Christmas tree while pulling some carages.

There are two issues. One the existing speed control PCB Is too big for the cavity of the IKEA train (which I 3D printed). The IKEA Train cavity is 22mm x 58mm. And the other issue is the motors spin way too fast.

I am doing the best I can learning about electronics by myself with a breadboard and a 555 timer, because I think I might have to make something custom to fit the cavity.