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Adding a Bluetooth Thermal Label Printer to Microsoft Windows 11
Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:48:53 +0000

I figured it out!

here's what I did, I went to youtbe and found a video by Ram Kumar [How to Install Bluetooth Mobile Printer, 2 inch Mobile Printer to Windows System by Bluetooth]

on windows 10, open up control panel. (not settings > printers)
click hardware and sound > devices and printers

click add a printer, turn on your cheap printer.

it might show up as mpt II or PT-280_1E33 or PT-280_1E34, click it and hit next

then it'll want a passcode.
it should be 0000 or 1234, if you got a manual, check it if its not one of those
hit next and the window closes

back in devices and printers, find the newly added printer, whatever name it showed up as.
right click and go to properties
find the services tab

it might lag or load for a bit
these cheap bluetooth printers seem to use COM ports. if you see COM 5, you're doing ok, if you see COM 3 you may have messed up? not sure
keep that window open

now for drivers
your printer might be branded, but the truth is that these come from a so-called 'sticker factory' where a company mass produces these and will put your companie's logo on there for a fee, so you'll see every chinese company logo variant on sites like aliexpress, wish, walmart, and other cheap sites

the real makers seem to be f2c technonogy .com
go there and find their driver page

the one pictured is
CX583
F2C

once you install the driver setup, a window will popup, READ THE AGREEMENT
then once you can select an operating system hit windows 10, if you're using that

under select printer dropdown, get the POS 58 series printer option (POS means point of sale, but peice of $#!& works too)

click begin setup

don't click anything else!

you might be able to get away with unselecting 'set as default printer' but if you've been at this for hours.... just don't mess with anything

if a printer popup with the titles POS - 58, click ok to close it , and finish on the driver setup

now, you should have the properties tab for the [whatever name it was here] printer still open, if you closed it, reopen it

keeping it open, open the POS-58 properties page and click 'ports'
look for COM5 , check the box and click apply and ok

now reopen the pos-58 properties and click test page

it will do NOTHING for a moment
look for a light or a blue light on your printer
it should start printing

if not, you might need to remove all these printers, and start over... I sure had to a few times.

you'll have a windows test page, but if you want to try something else, turn off the printer and press both the power and feed tape button (might be mode or select) press both and it'll turn on and print a diagnogstics page

and viola, it might have worked

TIPS
you're probably gonna get frustrated. set aside time to do this, it won't be as quick as you expect.

in some parts I might have said 'properties' but meant 'printer properties' . sorry about that. check both.

you can configure some settings by Printer properties > device settings, but the diagnogstic paper mentions other settings..... please let me know if you figure out how to change them.

good luck! it took me a bit to find this. I hope this doesn't get deleted because this woulda helped me when I was frustrated looking for how to set these d#@*( things up

remember me.
gerry

Category: Computer: Windows

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Hart 20V Power Tools Battery Interface
Wed, 25 Sep 2024 22:43:27 +0000

The most effective workaround seems to be using the circuitry from an old Hart battery and connecting the 20 volts from a new battery to that circuitry.

I haven't tried it myself, but has anyone given it a try?

Category: Home

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How to Use the Hart 20V Battery on Milwaukee 18V Tool?
Wed, 25 Sep 2024 22:35:58 +0000

Dan,

That would be pretty easy. Refer to the "Milwaukee M18 Power Tools Battery Interface" article.

Category: Tool

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How to Determine the Frequency Band of a Heltec V3 LoRa Board?
Wed, 25 Sep 2024 15:47:22 +0000

If you look at the bottom of this board, you'll see two resistors--LF and HF--mount points located above the Heltec Automation Brand (see photo below).

For 915 MHz, a 0-ohm resistor will be installed in the HF position. HF probably stands for high frequency.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Meshtastic Pitfall #2 - Losing Configuration When Battery Runs Out
Tue, 24 Sep 2024 18:34:24 +0000

I learned this pass weekend that running the battery on the Meshtastic radio all the way down is not a good thing. Because when I did, my Meshtastic radio completely lost its configuration. And I had to reconfigure it in the Android app. I don't know if this is a problem with the Meshtastic firmware or the Heltec V3 LoRa board. So the lesson learned is to make sure to shut down before running out of battery completely.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Text Message Communication at EDC with Meshtastic
Tue, 17 Sep 2024 01:48:42 +0000

If you don't want to build one yourself, you can buy a completed one--LILYGO T-Echo--off Amazon:

LILYGO T-Echo Meshtastic LoRa SX1262 Wireless Module 915MHz TTGO Development Board NRF52840 GPS RTC NFC for Arduino

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Light Up EDC Las Vegas 2025 on the MeshMap!
Mon, 16 Sep 2024 23:48:15 +0000

My girlfriend and I are going to EDC LV 2025. We are each taking a Meshtastic radio with us. So we can text each other and track each other even without carrier service.

Currently, I see five Meshtastic nodes around the Las Vegas area. None at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

What would it take to get our nodes on the MeshMap? Is anyone else down to light up EDC on the MeshMap?

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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How Much Does a Meshtastic Radio Weigh?
Mon, 16 Sep 2024 22:01:42 +0000

A friend asked me how much it weighs. So here it is: 2.57 oz. Includes: CyberNet Case, Heltec V3 board, 1200 mAh battery, antenna. Pretty simple and cost-effective (~$50) offgrid text messaging device with a directional distance compass display.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Meshtastic Pitfall #1 - Broadcasting You Location to the Entire Mesh Network
Sat, 14 Sep 2024 04:32:19 +0000

After playing with Meshtastic for a few days, I learned my first critical mistake. I broadcasted my GPS location to the entire mesh network. The way Meshtastic is designed, it will automatically send your device location to the world, unless you take steps to prevent that from happening. There is two ways that Meshtastic can get your device location: 1) via GPS; 2) via paired SmartPhone.

I am using the Heltec V3, which doesn't have onboard GPS. If you get a GPS for your board, make sure not to connect the GPS physically to the board until you have finished configuring Meshtastic on that board, which I will explain soon.

If you have a board that comes with GPS, and your intention is not to broadcast your location, then you should go set-up Meshtastic at a public location, so you can disable the GPS. Because, by default, Meshtastic will sense the GPS and automatically broadcast its position right off the bat.

Now, I don't intent to put a GPS on the Heltec V3. Instead, I intend to use it with the GPS on my phone.

But I didn't realize that as soon as I enable "Provide phone location to mesh", it would provide the sensitive information publicly to everyone. I thought it would give me a chance to set up who the information would go to. Turns out I had to set it up all the private channels before enabling that option.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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What is LORA MODE 1?
Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:33:09 +0000

On a brand new Heltec V3, after powing it on, it will eventually go into LORA MODE 1. Then if you let it sit, the LED will turn bright white. And if you hold the user PRG button down for around 5 seconds, it will go into "LORA MODE 1". What is this mode? And what can we do with it?

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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What is LORA MODE 0?
Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:24:37 +0000

When I power on a brand new Heltec V3 board, after initializing, it goes into "LORA MODE 0" as shown in the pic below. What it this mode? I can't seem to find anything regarding it on the Internet.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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First Day on the Meshtastic Mesh Network
Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:00:17 +0000

I just got my Meshtastic radio put together and working; see a photo of my build in the Meshtastic Client Power Consumption thread. And I already see a number of nodes across Los Angeles in the Android app. I'm so excited.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Meshtastic Client Power Consumption
Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:54:57 +0000

Just successfully put together my Meshtastic client using Heltec V3 with 1200 mAh. Fits perfectly in the CyberNet Case for Heltec V3 and 1200 mAh Battery - LoRa Meshtastic Radio Device by EveryThang3D. Attached below is the power consumption as measured with diymore USB C Power Meter.

Picture a bit hard to read. It basically show 5v 0.66 amp current draw, which translates to 3.3 watts.

Category: Computer: Internet of Things

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Bauer 20V Power Tools Battery Interface
Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:08:47 +0000

TH is the thermistor pin (thermistor is a diode that changes resistance with temperature) used to sense the battery's temperature, its room temperature resistance is around 10k ohms.
ID is an identification pin so the charger knows how fast it can push amps into the battery without hurting it, and likewise for a tool to know how many amps it can pull from the battery. A 2 Ahr battery may only safely provide 20 amps of draw whereas a 12 Ahr pack with 21700 cells can potentially provide over 100 amps though the battery's and tool's electrical contacts won't handle that much current.

Category: Home

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Tips on Keeping Your Home Cool During the Summer
Mon, 19 Aug 2024 03:07:19 +0000

Fantastic article on electrical systems! Understanding the intricacies of wiring and safety is so important. Your tips on maintenance and upgrades are incredibly helpful. It's amazing how a well-managed electrical system can improve efficiency and safety in a home. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights!

Category: Home

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