There's been a pretty constant thread running through many of our videos in 2026 — namely, that in a world of enshittification and politically-motivated pullback from EVs by major automakers, we as owners need to take back control of our vehicles, their data, and our energy.
So today, as the team starts a well-earned July 4th week off, we're sharing some of the fun projects Nikki has planned — from adding OVMS to her wife's Chevrolet Bolt to kick OnStar to the curb, through to continuing to CNC parts for her Vectrix VX-1, some RFID cloning (for a very good cause), and a whole lot more.
👉 Watch on YouTube — or if you'd prefer (we would), PeerTube.
⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:
0:00 Introduction
0:26 Taking a week off — what's been happening at TE
1:04 Skye knows what time it is
1:35 June has been rough — health, insurance, family loss
2:29 Coming soon: Cyrusher Kommoda 3.0 e-bike review
3:33 This week: Vectrix VX-1 — soldering and our new gear
7:52 The moo tool and how it's helped
9:18 The 3D probe is calibrated and ready to help
10:43 OVMS SWCAN adapter boards are here!
11:19 What is OVMS? Kicking OnStar to the curb
13:33 Populating the board with very small components
14:41 F-150 Lightning BCM connectors for fog lights
15:20 Proxmark 3 Lite and cloning Bambu filament RFID tags
16:36 We're all taking a break
17:27 Listening to a body with LQTS
18:17 Right-to-repair, independence, and why OVMS matters
19:50 No TEN this week — and why
20:32 Thanks, and goodbye!
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Links and things used:
Cyrusher Kommoda 3.0 e-bike: https://www.cyrusher.com/products/kommoda-ebike
OVMS (Open Vehicle Monitoring System): https://www.openvehicles.com
OVMS SWCAN adapter board gerbers (GitHub): https://github.com/kssmll/ovms-swcan-board
Hakko FX-971: https://hakkousa.com/fx-971-soldering-station.html
Hakko FM-204 desoldering station (the "moo tool"): https://hakkousa.com/products/desoldering/desoldering-stations/fm-204-self-contained-desolder-soldering-station-with-fm-2024-desolder-tool-fm-2027-soldering-iron.html
Kester lead-free solder: https://www.kester.com/products/category/solder-wire
Adafruit SMD component book (0805): https://www.adafruit.com/product/441
PCBWay: https://www.pcbway.com
DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com
Proxmark 3 (RDV4 — US distributor): https://hackerwarehouse.com/product/proxmark3-rdv4-kit/
🎙️ Credits:
Music: via Artlist.io
Host: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Color: Vi Horton
Art & Animation : Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield