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RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates 2

me_Cris — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:38:31 GMT

Keep going!

NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates 2

arvindsa — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:16:07 GMT

In continuation to my NorthPole Navigator project here - [mention:5c6771b53a784f5286cb2d8cdfac1296:d6391dab552042d895a66e62d1c6394e] wherein i wanted to redo the Christmas tree spiral with rectangular cross section as opposed to circular on here are the updates.

The 3D Printing failure rate was quite high, so i had to diagnose why, it turned out that I had changed the nozzle recently but i was not able to tighten the nozzle fully due to some clogged filament inside the threads, This created a gap through which filament would ooze out, and then fall as a droplet on the Print, It owuld cool down and bond with the support or wherever fell on, and when the nozzle hit the blob, it would rip off the support or in one case, disengage the print from the bed itself. In both case, it would start doing spaghetti. So fixed it and here we have. THis weekend i will be cleaning the print and redoing the star.

NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

arvindsa — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 06:36:57 GMT

So, After submission of my Project ( [mention:5c6771b53a784f5286cb2d8cdfac1296:d6391dab552042d895a66e62d1c6394e] ) and the deadline here are some of the updates that happened:

I got the Fedex Parcel with my PCB today

Why did i post this "Excuse"? Well it's not an excuse. It's about making others informed of a possible risk in their development process. I chose PCBWay because they had the best tolerances when making the PCB in white soldermask. That high tolerance is needed because of the small size and the QFN Parts. And i needed white solder-mask for best reflection. The light from LEDs hit the diffuser sheet and only some of them is transmitted through the diffuser the rest is bounced back into the PCB. Having any other color than white on PCB solder-mask will absorb some of the light before reflecting back into the diffuser. That's why you'll notice most of the high power LEDs having white soldermask. Plus PCBWay is quite affordable for the white solder-mask and in my past experiences FedeX almost delivered within a week of shipping. But this time customs was not that forgiving. Thankfully as every engineer should have, I had a plan B.

Will post a new project with the PCB assembled and Tested

RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

arvindsa — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:31:34 GMT

Would have found some of mine if I had been able to work with the pcb.

RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

robogary — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:50:57 GMT

The dumb self inflicted mistakes tho are usually the funniest to share.

RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

arvindsa — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:47:11 GMT

oh yeah, i love that part of challenges.

RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

robogary — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:23:12 GMT

Updates appreciated, looks very nice. Engineers embrace challenge, celebrate victory, and empathize with Murphys Law setbacks.

RE: NorthPole Navigator - Post Deadline updates

JoRatcliffe — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:06:34 GMT

Nice project update, I'm glad the PCB arrived.

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

arvindsa — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 08:34:48 GMT

ya, thank you so much for the assistance. Fedex just released the shipment today. so it will be another 5 days before it reaches me.

Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

JoRatcliffe — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:04:46 GMT

Hi all, in the spirit of the e14 Community 2025 Holidays competition kicking off, I thought I would start up a discussion thread.

This is your space for sharing project ideas, discussing any challenges or successes that come up while building your projects, and also any general Holidays plans or conversation [emoticon:d15b322d4bf44bd8bb4e31214cb51073]️[emoticon:ee043d9a4f374af2828657a7c09d2701]️[emoticon:7d1c30a529784d14beaf7b38c0b9ab88]

You are also very welcome to DM me with any questions on competition details and so on [emoticon:c4563cd7d5574777a71c318021cbbcc8]

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

JoRatcliffe — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:06:08 GMT

Wishing everyone a good weekend as we enter the last few days of our Holidays competition ahead of the submission deadline at midnight UK time on Sunday 11th January. Looking forward to doing a round-up of everyone's submitted projects and announcing the winner next week!

Just a quick reminder that it is still absolutely worth sharing a write-up on your project even if things did not turn out quite as you intended or the project is not fully functioning in some way. Projects do not necessarily need to be fully finished and polished to qualify for a prize. Plus, other community members might have the solution or some advice for any challenges you encountered.

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

JoRatcliffe — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:50:45 GMT

We discussed this via DMs but just to respond publicly on this I am glad you have found a solution/workaround of sorts for your project :)

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

arvindsa — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:07:41 GMT

Hey, any chance the date can be extended by couple of days? my parcel is stuck with customs cos PCBWay missed filing some customs document :( JoRatcliffe

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

JoRatcliffe — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 09:46:20 GMT

Sounds exciting, looking forward to the reveal!

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

colporteur — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 22:04:19 GMT

I first visited this site while I was still employed. The site was on a different platform. A number of members lived through the migration. I speculate during the migration my account got left on a bench at a bus stop. There were a few days I could not join. I had to send an email to a member I had communicated with, asking them to contact the administrator to restore my access. At first I thought maybe my humour got me kicked off the bus.

After retiring I had the time to invest more. I visit more than I would like to admit. It is great community with some very smart people with few elites. The really smart people understand smart and are not out to prove it. Rarely will someone chastise a person for their post. If they do, it doesn't take long before someone reigns them in. I like that. I don't start here, I've RTFM and still don't understand that is why I'm asking.

i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

chloro — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 07:00:16 GMT

i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

chloro — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 04:31:04 GMT

Thank you for such a warm and witty welcome! I really enjoyed your humor — turning bugs into “gremlins” and troubleshooting into “bread crumbs” made the advice both fun and memorable. It’s great to see such a friendly way of guiding newcomers through the quirks of the site. I’ll be sure to keep my bag of bread handy and watch out for those gremlins! Thanks again for the thoughtful tips and the laughter. 🙂

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

colporteur — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 18:19:08 GMT

Your profile point count flags you as a newbie. For that I extend a Welcome!

Please don't let experiences like this discourage you. When the site was developed the software product came with a box of gremlins. The quantity and anomalies that the gremlins produce, are as varied as the virus and symptoms for the common cold.

Be assured, when the gremlin creates mayhem, a developer usually puts it under their code microscope and classifies it. If these gremlins cause you consternation then you need to carry a bag of bread like Hansel and Gretel. Leave a trail of bread crumbs when you are doing something so you can detail the path you followed home to the developers. With those bread crumbs explanations and resolutions might be forth coming.

Bread crumbs can include but are not limited to screen shots or links.

Speaking of gremlins, the "time warp gremlin" is one you need to be aware of. That is what I call it. Most newbies will encounter it. Look at the time stamp on posts before deciding to respond. It is not unusual for posts from five years ago to appear looking fresh. You may respond to discover later it is stale. Another gremlin is what I call the "I'm leaving Gremlin". When someone decides to delete all their posts from the past, mayhem is created. If you participated in the post you will get notified. I hope and pray senior members don't leave. It takes weeks for the rash this gremlin create to disappear.

Good luck on foraging for content. It happens to all of us. Someone will make a post of disappearing content, it is a badge of membership.

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

chloro — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 18:10:31 GMT

sorry sir I am new on this platform my intention was not to spam

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

chloro — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 18:09:12 GMT

yes sir now i can see it thank you !

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

beacon_dave — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 18:03:59 GMT

It's already there

RE: i am unable to see my project in draft i saved it as draft where ccan i find it

kmikemoo — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 18:01:34 GMT

chloro Some of the pages on the Community are manually created and maintained. I believe this is a defensive move to limit abusive spam. Give the programmers time. ☺

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

robogary — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:37:11 GMT

Giving up a few hours sleep is a small price to pay for submitting a rewarding E14 project :-)

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

robogary — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:35:18 GMT

I came up with a simple project idea.......that turned into significantly more work than expected :-) and toss in a bit of procrastination and daily distractions......not done yet, but slowly getting there.

The mickup will be ready to share and entertain the E14 community in time.

RE: Merry Microchips! — 2025 Holidays Competition Discussion Thread

balajivan1995 — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 13:46:52 GMT

Few of us in my company are in a project support from Christmas till the end of Jan 10. Sadly, this means I won't be able to participate in this contest.