DIY tools

[BretS]

As mentioned, Will has a tool page. The links also help him maintain this forum. It’s worth supporting when you buy:

Tools

Do not buy cheap tools. You will thank yourself for years, and building a system will be MUCH EASIER. ( I make a commission for purchases made through the links below)

www.mobile-solarpower.com

I try to look here first when shopping for a solar tool.

Yes, I ordered several things from his list in order to give back to the forum.

 

[Just John]

I'm pretty good about buying quality tools for jobs that require precision, or that I will do frequently. The only thing I'm on the fence about is the large cables - those tools would only be used for this install, so I may end up with premade cables.

If only a limited amount of cables needed, shop around and find the best price for a quality cable. I've used this company before with excellent results (a ham friend recommended them). FYI, they are not the cheapest.

Custom DC Power Cables | Powerwerx

Design your own custom cable. We build & ship it to you. Specify your connectors, length, gauge and other options. Calculate the price in real time as you design, then add it to your cart.

powerwerx.com

 

[Just John]

Yes, I ordered several things from his list in order to give back to the forum.

Same here. Not like it costs me any extra!

 

[Deleted member 23531]

That is Will's page...

Yes, that's why I said it's hypocritical. I guess it depends if the no-affiliate-links rule is:

1) in order for Will to collect all the money from being the only one allowed to share affiliate links
or
2) in order to have a community where we share information without consideration for who has skin in the game financially

I could see the decision being made either way. Ex: maybe (1) pays for the server costs of this forum. Maybe (2) is better for the forum's content.

 

[Just John]

Yes, that's why I said it's hypocritical. I guess it depends if the no-affiliate-links rule is:

1) in order for Will to collect all the money from being the only one allowed to share affiliate links
or
2) in order to have a community where we share information without consideration for who has skin in the game financially

I could see the decision being made either way. Ex: maybe (1) pays for the server costs of this forum. Maybe (2) is better for the forum's content.

My understanding is that Will lets you link to his tools page, but won't let you copy his affiliate links and post them.

Will has a separate site with his affiliate links, and it seems pretty fair to me.
It's certainly one of the best arrangements I've seen, does away with a lot of spam posts.

 

[RickP]

Seems a bit hypocritical to be promoting his affiliate links when this forum prohibits affiliate links. I think you should remove that.

Seems more hypocritical to be on a page paid for by a man, and then question how he makes sure he’s getting enough return to pay for the page you’re enjoying for free.

Perhaps that’s just me.

I’ll be leaving it.

 

[Deleted member 23531]

No point arguing, we're all expressing our opinion, @RickP. I don't feel obligated to pay to watch free YouTube videos either, because I know some things aren't funded directly (or at all). I made my point above (case 1 or 2) in the subsequent post. It isn't clear to me whether the rule is to give Will a monopoly on advertising or to maintain a certain standard for content.

 

[RickP]

No point arguing, we're all expressing our opinion, @RickP. I don't feel obligated to pay to watch free YouTube videos either, because I know some things aren't funded directly (or at all). I made my point above (case 1 or 2) in the subsequent post. It isn't clear to me whether the rule is to give Will a monopoly on advertising or to maintain a certain standard for content.

If I recall, I think he explained that in the post about posting them. There’s nothing to argue over, either way. I’ve been on forums where I didn’t agree with the rules, so I asked the owner directly (not publicly) why. He answered, we disagreed on the reason, and I elected to leave. I didn’t disparage him publicly, nor question his character. My suggestion is that you consider doing them same. It’s for the best, in my experience.

 

[Deleted member 23531]

Get over it, Rick. I'm not disparaging anyone or questioning anyone's character. I think you're adding a certain rude tone to what I've typed which is not there in any of my actual words. I kindly ask you to re-read it: I literally said:

I could see the decision being made either way.

 

[RickP]

Get over it, Rick. I'm not disparaging anyone or questioning anyone's character. I think you're adding a certain rude tone to what I've typed which is not there in any of my actual words. I kindly ask you to re-read it: I literally said:

Nothing to get over. You started your comment with “Seems hypocritical to me...”. Insinuating our host is, or is being, hypocritical is unwelcome at any table, so I called you on it. If that’s not what you meant, just say so. I’m not Will’s bodyguard, I’m just someone who appreciates the help he’s made available in this community. I hope you will consider that.

 

[Deleted member 23531]

I think you've loaded up hypocritical with a bunch of connotations. Yes, it absolutely is hypocritical to give yourself an exception to a rule that applies to everyone else; that's sort of the definition of the word. No, that doesn't mean I feel a certain way about Will (or you, for that matter), it's just a fact of the situation.

 

[RickP]

I think you've loaded up hypocritical with a bunch of connotations. Yes, it absolutely is hypocritical to give yourself an exception to a rule that applies to everyone else; that's sort of the definition of the word. No, that doesn't mean I feel a certain way about Will (or you, for that matter), it's just a fact of the situation.

Ok, I guess we’re just not going to see eye to eye. Are you allowed to do things with your car that you don’t allow other people who borrow your car to do? That doesn’t make you hypocritical, it makes you the owner and person who paid the cost to decide what you and they are permitted. That’s not hypocrisy, it’s ownership.

Seriously, I’m not trying to be difficult, and I’d bet you’re probably not either. Let’s just drop it and move on. Nothing to go to war over.


PS- My apologies to the OP and others reading this thread. Unintended derail... as you were ?

 

[Deleted member 23531]

Ok, I guess we won't see eye to eye. Let's apply your argument to the "big guys": are you saying it's fundamentally fair for Amazon to poach sales data from marketplace sellers, then use that to develop identical competitive products and undercut them? By your definition, that's not a bad thing, it's "ownership": they own the marketplace, they can do what they want, right? Those Amazon sales pay the server fees, right?

I'm sure you will find many reasons to convince yourself why this doesn't compare; and of course you would be right. It's an analogy that applies in concept (perhaps even just tenuously) but not in scale. Basically: asymmetric access by owning the platform / marketplace, even though the value of that platform is derived from the contributors with the diminished access.

 

[RickP]

Ok, I guess we won't see eye to eye. Let's apply your argument to the "big guys": are you saying it's fundamentally fair for Amazon to poach sales data from marketplace sellers, then use that to develop identical competitive products and undercut them? By your definition, that's not a bad thing, it's "ownership": they own the marketplace, they can do what they want, right? Those Amazon sales pay the server fees, right?

I'm sure you will find many reasons to convince yourself why this doesn't compare; and of course you would be right. It's an analogy that applies in concept (perhaps even just tenuously) but not in scale.

Your option is to not sell on Amazon. This is not a difficult concept.

 

[Deleted member 23531]

Your option is to not sell on Amazon. This is not a difficult concept.

I get that; I guess to sum it up we just differ on where we stand on the "capitalism vs ethics" spectrum.

 

[Cal]

It's great to have a meter that measures down to 1 mV. I don't believe that Fluke with 6000 counts has that resolution.

I think the UT61E+ with 22000 counts is a fairly good meter at $73.50.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...earchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

[reg]

are you saying it's fundamentally fair for Amazon to poach sales data from marketplace sellers, then use that to develop identical competitive products and undercut them?

I'm just happy that I was able to get next-day delivery of a Knipex insulated wrench last week. I do wish that Hazet would get its Amazon US act together so that I can get its wrenches in under a week. It's faster to order them from Amazon Germany.

I'm not too concerned that Amazon is going to emerge as a Knipex/Hazet competitor

 

[Deleted member 23531]

Lol, @reg, I also love Amazon's fulfillment; it's incredible they can get so many different things delivered so quickly. And thanks for defusing things with some levity; what a long battle just to suggest we follow the stated "no affiliate links" rule a bit more broadly than you all had assumed.

I think it was quite interesting to hear what you all (and by that I mean @RickP) think; it's very much a current event that there are such differing viewpoints on this social stuff. I find it very similar to Brexit-regret (ex: "we'll do what we want! ---> wait, I didn't think it would affect **my** fishery!"), or big-tech debates in the US (ex: "businesses can do what they want! --> wait, that doesn't mean you can moderate **my** content!").

It's very much a "not my problem" attitude until it is your problem. Like, I'm sure you wouldn't like it if you were an Amazon seller that was a victim of this sort of stuff; surely you could read about it in the news and empathize with those small marketplace sellers. I guess you just don't care though, or just don't have the energy to worry about it all the time. I know I don't a lot of the time.

 

[RickP]

I get that; I guess to sum it up we just differ on...

We disagree. It’s not the world ending thing it’s made to be. Life goes on. ?