I made a super “visual” explanation of the problem, in my recent video:

How to Disable “Power-loss Recovery” in your printer?

On most printers you won’t have an easy menu option to enable or disable this feature on the User Interface / LCD / Touchscreen.

To make it easy, I prepared 2 GCODE files: one to enable and another one to disable Power-loss Recovery:

To use them, you just need to:

1. Dowload the Zip file (contains a ‘settings’ folder with the 2 Gcode files inside)
2. Save them to the SD Card you regularly use to print your sliced files
3. “Print” the file you want on your 3D Printer as if it was a model. The only difference is that it will finish instantly.

The files I prepared will save your choice to the EEPROM of your printer. You can turn it off – next time you turn-on your printer, the change will still be valid. You can enable or disable as many times as you want (you can change your mind a few thousand times before the EEPROM gives up).

To better organise my printer’s SD Card, I created a folder called “Settings” to put my 2 files inside. Keep the name of this folder short, 8 characters. Some printers won’t print files from folders with long names. I initially named my folder as ‘GCODE Settings’, but my Neptune 3 (in its factory firmware) couldn’t list the files inside. So, ‘Settings’ it was.

Support my work making a small donation:

• Paypal Me: https://paypal.me/GeekDetour
• Buy me a Coffee: https://buymeacoff.ee/GeekDetour

I really appreciate it!

Test your printer with my High-Poly model:

For a quick test, slice the model using Vase-Mode (Spiralize Outter Contour, in Cura) and 50mm/s for speed. If you have no blobs, great! Now try printing with 80mm/s or 100mm/s.

Aren’t you curious to see if your printer can print it without Blobs, from an SDCard, having “Power-loss Recover” enabled?

Here is the STL:

What is on the GCode files:

Power-Loss Recovery Disable.gcode

;
;  Disable Power-loss Recovery
;  by Everson Siqueira
;  https://www.youtube.com/GeekDetour
;  https://youtu.be/ZM1MYbsC5Aw
;
M501;    Load Saved Settings from EEPROM
M413 S0; Disable power-loss recovery
M500;    Save Settings on EEPROM
M117 Power-loss Recovery DISABLED
M118 Power-loss Recovery DISABLED
G4 P1000 S1; 1 second pause to read

Power-Loss Recovery Enable.gcode

;
;  Enable Power-loss Recovery
;  by Everson Siqueira
;  https://www.youtube.com/GeekDetour
;  https://youtu.be/ZM1MYbsC5Aw
;
M501;    Load Settings from EEPROM
M413 S1; Enable power-loss recovery
M500;    Save Settings on EEPROM
M117 Power-loss Recovery ENABLED
M118 Power-loss Recovery ENABLED
G4 P1000 S1; 1 second pause to read

If you are used to typing GCODE commands like M503, M501 and M500 on Pronterface, you can read more about it here: M413 – Power-loss Recovery on Marlin.

Is SSD worth it on an old computer? Yes! SSD prices are dropping and the migration/installation is very easy. The “Data Migration Program” that came with my Samsung EVO did the cloning perfectly – it was a drop-in replacement and, boom, it was all fast like never before.

Please, forgive me if it sounds too incredible. But it is true: you change 1 (one) component and suddenly everything is snappy fast (unless all you do is CPU data crunching).

Since 2009, I started using a Macbook as my main work computer. It came with a traditional hard-disk and I used it that way during 4 years. Then I changed its HDD for an SSD… what a difference! In 2013 those 500GB were expensive – but the productivity gain was brutal. It was my working tool, so it was worth the price.

Besides the Mac, we always had a PC around at home. We use it sporadically… so, we never considered buying an SSD for it – until now.

Check it out on Amazon:

Here you have my affiliate link*. The Samsung 850 EVO line is offered in 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. I bought the 500GB one. Once at Amazon, you have easy buttons to change the capacity and compare the prices:

• Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD 

* Whatever product you buy, soon after clicking my link, you are helping me a big deal. Thank you for your support!

On both occasions I bough SSDs from Samsung after reading lots of reviews and some performance/endurance/energy-efficiency tests. There are other SSD brands who demand even more energy than an mechanical hdd, which on a laptop is a deal breaker to me. Right now Samsung offers a very good relation between price/capacity/performance/endurance and consumption (battery time).

This content was NOT sponsored. I just like Samsung TVs and SSDs

It is a cheap way to record Apple TV gameplay videos for YouTube or to make video app-previews and tutorials. The video quality is quite good!

Does recording from the USB degrade the video quality / experience you have on the TV? Yes, it degrades. And the captured video is not a full representation of the frame-rate you have on the TV if you were not recording at all. Thats why I intend to buy the Elgato in the future.

Any good USB-C cable of your choice would do. All Apple TV images that appear in this video were captured using a generic USB-C ta USB-A cable, on my iMac 2013, using QuickTime.

I thought this USB-C cable method would only work on modern computers with USB 3.0 ports… But no! Surprise, surprise! I could record using my 6-year-old MacBook white as well – it has only USB 2.0 ports… But, even though that notebook was upgraded to an SSD drive, it is an old system and the resulting video had much more dropped frames. On the iMac, the captured video was much better.

Learn more

• How to use QuickTime Player:
  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201066

Quick and easy, step-by-step, troubleshooting guide:

The new Apple TV is a hit! And the AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring got much more stable and faster on the 4th generation device! Even so, problems can still happen, specially with AirPlay. It can be some weirdness on your router, or the iPhone itself… streaming video/screen of the iPhone to the Apple TV involve a lot of technologies.

But don’t worry. Just watch the video and do all the following 9 steps to fix AirPlay problems:

1. Turn OFF the Cable Modem, Router and Wifi
2. On the Apple TV, close all running apps
3. Restart the Apple TV
4. On the iPhone and/or iPad, close all the running apps
5. Restart the iPhone and iPad
6. Turn ON your Cable Modem, Router and Wifi
7. Enable Bluetooth on iPhone and iPad
8. Be sure all devices are using the same Network
9. Keep your devices updated

Putting all devices in the same network and enabling Bluetooth makes AirPlay much easier to work. It is also possible to do “Peer-to-peer AirPlay” from an iPhone or iPad who is NOT connected on the same network, which is useful mostly at offices and schools.

AirPlay Support links

Apple has some very nice and detailed support content about AirPlay troubleshooting:

• Get help with AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204291
• Use AirPlay to wirelessly stream content from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (contains some information about peer-to-peer AirPlay):
  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204289

I hope it helped you!

Traveling with this 10400mAh USB battery pack, you won’t need to stop for an outlet!

I bought it 10 months ago, for a family trip here in Spain, and it saved the day many times! We had four iPhones with us and we used them all the time for photos, videos and GPS. We never stopped, we charged them in our pockets, on the go.

If you still don’t have a portable USB battery pack to keep your iPhone charged on your trips, this is a good one.

Check it out on Amazon:

• 10400mAh Power Bank by TP-Link; TL-PB10400 

Buying any product from my links, you are helping me a big deal! Thank you for your support!

The battery of my iPhone 5 suddenly expanded…

Not fixing your iPhone’s swelling battery can be very disastrous: the battery can expand so much at the point of cracking / breaking the screen/display glass!

In the case of expanding / swelling batteries, take it seriously: even if there is no “official” program for it, take your device for an inspection at an Apple Store. Lithium-Ion batteries store a big deal of chemical energy and can generate flammable gases.

After I published my video, a few friends contacted me privately saying they also had the expanding battery problem and Apple replaced their phones.

My old iPhone 5’s battery was terrible

Our only complaint about that first iPhone 5 was the battery: shorter than my previous iPhone, the 4S, and very often it shut down around 20% battery indication. Apple announced an “iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program” – but its serial number was not it the list… I inherited this iPhone from my wife, when we bought her the iPhone 6 Plus – she got immediately delighted with the 6 plus’ huge battery life.

I got used to my inherited iPhone 5’s short battery life – battery aside, it was a very good phone: fast, slim, beautiful, great camera (for photos)… I was happy with it.

When that iPhone 5 got 2 years and 6 months, I started noticing a weird color movement when I touched the sides of the screen, like when you push a notebook LCD’s screen. In only one week, it got much more visible – and then I realized: the screen was being pushed up from behind. On the laterals, the front glass was almost 2mm up from its original position in the aluminum bezel. The battery was expanding – that’s dangerous, poses risk of fire or even explosion.

Apple replaced my old iPhone 5 with a new one. The Genius Bar experience was superb. At the “Puerta del Sol” store in the center of Madrid, the ‘Geniuses’ were very kind and knowledgeable – they assisted me on upgrading the replacement phone’s iOS to the newest version so I could restore my iCloud Backup. You cannot restore a backup made on iOS 8.3 on a phone with iOS 8.1, for example. But you can restore older iOS backups (lets say 8.3) on a newer iOS, such as 8.4.

My ‘new’ iPhone 5’s battery is EXCELLENT! All the short life and premature shutdowns are gone. I am finally ending my day with plenty of juice left

Apple’s Exchange and Repair Extension Programs

http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

Programs like this are great for consumers. No production line is perfect. It is very brave of any company to put it open which devices/batch/serials are known for presenting problems – and even offer new devices in exchange. Very recently, Apple determined that a small percentage of iPhone 6 Plus could have cameras with problems to focus: iSight Camera Replacement Program for iPhone 6 Plus. My wife’s 6 Plus is eligible, so we are taking it there too (I still don’t know if they replace the camera or if it is a full replacement).

We wanted to buy them for pickup at a store, at the very first day. It was not that simple.

On 2015, June 26, Apple started selling its watch on a second batch of countries, including Spain, where I live. I woke up very early, at 7:01 I was ready to fill the forms as fast as I could to make a reservation and pick my 42mm blue Watch Sport at the “Puerta del Sol” store in Madrid. The system told me I would be able to pick it up at 9:30 (yey!). Unfortunately I was stopped by an SMS code that never came back… Two hours later I gave up and ordered online – it might be delivered someday on July.

My wife was much smarter: she went directly for online purchase since the first minute. Her 38mm space gray Watch Sport arrived today, June 30 – and she was very kind to let me carefully “unbox” it.

There are lots of unboxings already on YouTube – many of them just hurry up to crack-open the package and start showing the Watch. I’ll do something different: just a careful unboxing focused on the “opening experience”.

I loved the details of the packaging, the plastics, the materials, the charger… Everything is so beautiful. Ok, I am a total fan-boy… but I was really amazed by the details. To me, this is the most refined, most detailed, fine crafted Apple product to this moment. Opening this box was delightful.

I am now editing the video… I’ll post it as fast as I can! Don’t miss it:

Subscribe to my YouTube “You Have an iPad” channel!

See you very soon!

There are lots of places this wireless speaker is great: on the bicycle (for safety reasons you shouldn’t bike in the city using earbuds), in a bathtub, as a shower speaker, in a swimming pool, on the beach, camping, traveling / backpacking / hiking… It is not only water-resistant, it is IPX7 Waterproof (I explain what is it in the video) – so, water is not a problem. Watch my unboxing and full review of the BOOM Swimmer:

Check it out on Amazon:

• BOMM Swimmer – waterproof bluetooth speaker 
• Sony Walkman NWZW273S – waterproof MP3 player 

Buying from these links, you are helping me a big deal! Thank you for your support!

My impressions

I honestly don’t know why there are so few articles about the BOOM Swimmer. The reviews I found were very positive and even enthusiastic – and I totally agree. While I was testing and preparing the video, I had loads of fun playing with the Swimmer – before handing it over to my wife definitely.

The only critic I have is about the position of the “+” and “–” buttons: they should switch places. Holding + for 3 seconds jumps to playback to the next song, so, it would make more sense if this plus were at the ‘right’ of the play button (and the minus at the left). It is the only complaint I have.

Another surprise was about Bluetooth performance under water. I knew that bluetooth radio frequency ranged at the microwave level, so I imagined no bluetooth devices wouldn’t really communicate well underwater – but I was really amazed that only a few inches would be enough to interrupt the signal. Thats the reason there are no “bluetooth swimming earbuds”.

Bottom line: I like it a lot. Recently I listened to several Bluetooth Speakers in stores – and of course you can find lots of options with deeper and louder sound, but they are much heavier, bigger and cost a LOT more. The Boom Swimmer has nothing to do with “sound-systems”/stereo/living-room… But it is perfect for what I’ve shown in the video.

How this video was produced

Voice entirely recorded with the Blue Yeti USB Condenser Microphone (watch my review) on Cardioid Pattern. Sound recording, editing and post-processing all in Audacity, including equalization, noise reduction, normalization and audio compression.

Video recorded mostly on Canon 600D at 24 frames per second. Final “60fps look” is naturally achieved in accelerated sequences using custom/fast-speed fps, and artificially by interpolation on normal speed takes.

Outdoors bicycle sequence was recorded on an iPhone 4S using the “Filmic Pro” app. The park is the “Parque del Retiro” in Madrid, Spain. Since 2014, Madrid offers a public bicycle renting service – BiciMAD – with 123 stations scattered on the center of the city.

Featured songs provided by YouTube Audio Library, free music; listed by appearance order in the video:

“Opening Night”, Jason Farnham
“Blues Blast”, John Deley
“Play Song”, John Deley and the 41 Players
“Dixie Outlandish”, John Deley and the 41 Players
“Non Piu Andrai”, Ron Meixsell
“Horses to Water”, Topher Mohr and Alex Elena
“Led Foot”, Ethan Meixsell
“Loophole Fragment”, Silent Partner
“World Map”, Jason Farnham

The video was written, performed and produced by Everson Siqueira.

Backstage photos:

[gss columns=”2″ link=”file” ids=”116,106,117,118″]

Even if you don’t use “Apple Watch” app, Tips, Stocks or Newsstand, there is no way to remove them (without jailbreak*). But you can hide them easily creating a folder with all the Apple Apps you don’t use that often – and move the group icon to a new home-screen at the back of your iPhone.

And if you have too many apps in the iPhone or iPad, the “Spotlight Search” is a super useful and quick shortcut, by just typing the first letters of any app. Watch this super short tutorial and see how easy it is:

This video will guide you to make better recordings with good sound quality.

Connecting the Blue Yeti to an iPhone or iPad is possible; but not as simple as it is to connect the Yeti directly in a computer’s USB. To use the Yeti microphone with an iOS device you need an Apple’s USB Camera Adapter (or the 30-pin “Camera Connection Kit”) and a powered USB Hub, and you are ready to record sound with Garageband or any other App. But I recommend you to check the microphones Blue has made specifically for iOS.

New “Radius II” shockmount suspension from Blue:
The old Radius falling problem is fixed! Blue rebranded it as “Radius II“. The new model comes with a different thumb-screw mechanism with teeth (cog). Now it stays put just perfect
http://www.bluemic.com/radius2/

Check them on Amazon:

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Buying any product from these links, you are helping me a big deal! Thank you for your support!

Getting the best sound with Yeti recordings

To improve the sound quality of your recording with the Yeti, be sure to:

• use the cardioid pattern for voice-overs
• keep the gain knob to the minimum (I never use it over 40%)
• use a pop-filter (the nylon ones are cheaper and hold plosive-wind better than the metallic ones)
• speak really close to the microphone
• use custom equalization to enhance the sound of your voice
• you might need to apply some noise reduction
• you might need to apply some sound compression

If your natural voice is captured close to the microphone, you can use less gain and you will have less background noise.

My voice in this video was entirely recorded with the Blue Yeti USB Condenser Microphone on Cardioid Pattern. Sound recording, editing and post-processing all in Audacity. Custom Equalization was applied to remove very low frequencies and increase high frequencies (for better speech comprehension).

The best equalization is different for every person/voice. As a starting point, C-Threep has a great Audacity Equalization tutorial: https://youtu.be/t1fS97ut93c

Since my ‘recording room’ is not properly sound isolated (wooden building, you can hear neighbors walking upstairs… cars, trucks and motorcycles are frequently heard), I also apply noise reduction.

Audio compression is minimum, but, yes, also applied (by audio compression I mean increasing overall volume and reduce volume for the loudest parts, to achieve more uniform audio level – nothing to do with file size).

Professional Microphones for iOS from Blue:

http://www.bluemic.com/iOS_devices/
Spark Digital: http://www.bluemic.com/spark_digital/
Mikey Digital: http://www.bluemic.com/mikey_digital/

Special Thanks/Credits

“C-Threep”
amazing and hilarious Radius shockmount review
https://youtu.be/c1D_quSjfcc
awesome tutorial on equalization with Audacity
https://youtu.be/t1fS97ut93c

“Syrtah”
sound effect: 8mm projector
https://www.freesound.org/people/Syrtah/sounds/241886/
http://videofüralle.de

Jorick Bronius (“jorickhoofd”)
sound effect: breaking glass
https://www.freesound.org/people/jorickhoofd/sounds/179234/
http://jorickbronius.wordpress.com

“Archeos”
sound effect: woman scream
https://www.freesound.org/people/Archeos/sounds/261419/

Jason Farnham
closing song: “Opening Night”
YouTube Audio Library, free music