4 ms·

> have cellular connectivity Then you'll get local shops that sell the machines painted in 2-3 layers of faraday paint (or apply some sort of cage, or solder o

> have cellular connectivity Then you'll get local shops that sell the machines painted in 2-3 layers of faraday paint (or apply some sort of cage, or solder out the antenna, etc). Or perhaps just like in the old console hardmod days everyone will know someone that can "mod" your dryer so it stops being dumb and just dries your clothes.

llampx 6y ago
Nice thought, but highly unlikely.
- krageon 6y ago
  It probably depends strongly on how annoying the connection is. For most people irritation is a much stronger motivator than principles.
posixplz 6y ago
FYI, RF paints are poor signal attenuators, even when applied in multiple coats. There’s no RF paint product that can stop commercial cell communication across usable spectrum.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  Yet build a house with foil backed foam insulation from Home Depot and you'll have no mobile signal indoors... So frustrating!
KozmoNau7 6y ago
The devices will then refuse to function of they are unable to contact the mothership. I would just snip off the antenna or remove the SIM, but if I can think of that, so can the manufacturers.
- BayAreaEscapee 6y ago
  In the future SIMs are probably going to be some kind of signed data blob instead of a physical card. But I guess breaking off antennas will always be a thing if you have the skill set to identify it.
  - KozmoNau7 6y ago
    Luckily we only need one person with the right skill set to identify the antenna or other offending component to be removed and document it online, with pictures and instructions :-)
    - Scoundreller 6y ago
      Attach a string between here and here. Attach another string between here and here. Drill a hole where they intersect.
  - Ayesh 6y ago
    You mean esims that already exist? My sim "card" today is just an email already.
klyrs 6y ago
Sounds extremely boutique. There would almost certainly be a cat and mouse game where licensed retailers refuse to sell to these local shops, which would drive prices through the roof
mindslight 6y ago
There is very little going on in any appliance that couldn't be run by a mechanical timer of yore. If there's ever a popular movement to remove the surveillance antifeatures from modern appliances (and I sure hope there will be!), it'll be as simple as popping in a different control board. BTW does anybody know of any pointers to community projects that are making hardware for this type of thing? I've got it on my long term todo list to create a replacement board for a washer with a "bad control board", but wouldn't want to waste the effort if there are already projects doing this.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  A generic washer control board sounds like something there would be a market for today. I could imagine a little microcontroller and say 10 relays that can control the pump, motor, valves, etc. Then you sell it together with instructions which specify how to program in which output does which function. You could sell it to people who want to "IoT" their machines for cheap, to people who have a dead control board, and people who want to customize their appliances (eg. I need a custom wash cycle for washing extra dirty clothes).
  - mindslight 6y ago
    Yeah, exactly. It's so apparent to me that I figure something like this has to exist, if I dug into it. I don't know if you'd even 10 relays. Most appliances have been cost-reduced into like two motors, a heater, and one or two actuators. Perhaps newer models with steam cleaning etc have reversed that trend. Control side, I'm thinking of an AVR + ESP32. The AVR for reliably controlling the motors with the sensors, eg if the water is full, turn the water off. True safety stuff like overheat switches obviously stays inline though. One of the more complex details is newer appliances have moved to brushless motors for efficiency. A three phase motor driver is straightforward, but figuring out what design parameters will be reasonably generic to serve the most appliances is some research. The least generic parts seem to be fitting in with the existing user-input buttons, and managing the complexity of programming many different models for non-engineer users. The kind of people that are comfortable taking apart appliances generally have less patience for programming computers.

llampx 6y ago

Nice thought, but highly unlikely.

krageon 6y ago
It probably depends strongly on how annoying the connection is. For most people irritation is a much stronger motivator than principles.

posixplz 6y ago

FYI, RF paints are poor signal attenuators, even when applied in multiple coats. There’s no RF paint product that can stop commercial cell communication across usable spectrum.

londons_explore 6y ago
Yet build a house with foil backed foam insulation from Home Depot and you'll have no mobile signal indoors... So frustrating!

KozmoNau7 6y ago

The devices will then refuse to function of they are unable to contact the mothership. I would just snip off the antenna or remove the SIM, but if I can think of that, so can the manufacturers.

BayAreaEscapee 6y ago
In the future SIMs are probably going to be some kind of signed data blob instead of a physical card. But I guess breaking off antennas will always be a thing if you have the skill set to identify it.
- KozmoNau7 6y ago
  Luckily we only need one person with the right skill set to identify the antenna or other offending component to be removed and document it online, with pictures and instructions :-)
  - Scoundreller 6y ago
    Attach a string between here and here. Attach another string between here and here. Drill a hole where they intersect.
- Ayesh 6y ago
  You mean esims that already exist? My sim "card" today is just an email already.

klyrs 6y ago

Sounds extremely boutique. There would almost certainly be a cat and mouse game where licensed retailers refuse to sell to these local shops, which would drive prices through the roof

mindslight 6y ago

There is very little going on in any appliance that couldn't be run by a mechanical timer of yore. If there's ever a popular movement to remove the surveillance antifeatures from modern appliances (and I sure hope there will be!), it'll be as simple as popping in a different control board. BTW does anybody know of any pointers to community projects that are making hardware for this type of thing? I've got it on my long term todo list to create a replacement board for a washer with a "bad control board", but wouldn't want to waste the effort if there are already projects doing this.

londons_explore 6y ago
A generic washer control board sounds like something there would be a market for today. I could imagine a little microcontroller and say 10 relays that can control the pump, motor, valves, etc. Then you sell it together with instructions which specify how to program in which output does which function. You could sell it to people who want to "IoT" their machines for cheap, to people who have a dead control board, and people who want to customize their appliances (eg. I need a custom wash cycle for washing extra dirty clothes).
- mindslight 6y ago
  Yeah, exactly. It's so apparent to me that I figure something like this has to exist, if I dug into it. I don't know if you'd even 10 relays. Most appliances have been cost-reduced into like two motors, a heater, and one or two actuators. Perhaps newer models with steam cleaning etc have reversed that trend. Control side, I'm thinking of an AVR + ESP32. The AVR for reliably controlling the motors with the sensors, eg if the water is full, turn the water off. True safety stuff like overheat switches obviously stays inline though. One of the more complex details is newer appliances have moved to brushless motors for efficiency. A three phase motor driver is straightforward, but figuring out what design parameters will be reasonably generic to serve the most appliances is some research. The least generic parts seem to be fitting in with the existing user-input buttons, and managing the complexity of programming many different models for non-engineer users. The kind of people that are comfortable taking apart appliances generally have less patience for programming computers.