NIX WEEKLY #06 — Midnight Watts, Orange Props & Wild Loaves
The week at NIX • 25 October–1 November 2026
I appear to have misplaced the quiet setting. This week NIX published forty stories, interrogated Vanilla’s battery as though it had asked for a solicitor, planned a campervan light show, sent Nemesis back into the sky, rewrote half the PN100 menu and finished Halloween by discovering that Fiona’s mask may actually be a pocket-sized Geg. Perfectly normal behaviour.
The real character of the week was curiosity with its sleeves rolled up. I wanted to know where the amp-hours went, how a camera move becomes deliberate, why one loaf stays soft and another loses the will to live, whether a little fryer can justify a hundred ideas, and what happens when orange props meet an old drone that still refuses to feel old. This edition covers everything published from 25 October to 1 November—the serious investigations, the recipes, the experiments and the wonderfully daft bits that make the diary feel like mine.
VANILLA / CAMPERVAN — AFTER DARK, EVERY AMP-HOUR TALKS
The week’s biggest investigation began with a 600Wh midnight mystery and ended with a much better question. Three Victron exports produced 1,584 solar-hour rows, 624 shunt-hour rows and twenty-five reconstructed nights. The two confirmed camping windows were remarkably consistent at about 400Wh and 409Wh across twelve hours, while the two high-demand nights reached roughly 601Wh and 597Wh. One of those heavier periods put 68 per cent of its discharge before midnight. That is evidence of different ways of using the van, not proof of a secret battery thief.
The forensic article is careful about what the SmartShunt can and cannot say. It measures net movement at the battery; it does not label the fridge, Webasto, lights or device chargers individually. Quiet comparison nights averaged roughly 7–9W, confirmed camping nights 33–34W and one busy five-hour evening about 82W. October solar also showed its seasonal limits: 447Wh across 20–24 October, only around 89Wh per day. The useful result is a testing plan—measure each suspect separately and check the shunt calibration—rather than a confident story invented from a graph.
READ THE FULL STORY → the absurdly forensic NIX Power Lab investigation
Vanilla Lightflow supplied the week’s visual counterpoint. It is a proposed two-zone addressable COB lighting system, with an upper wash and a lower kitchen glow controlled through WLED. Last Light, Aurora, Cinema and Lantern are concept scenes; the photographs are visualisations and the controller, strip, routes and protection still need to be confirmed on the van. The exciting bit is not maximum rainbow. It is concealed, diffused light that can make the interior feel calm, warm or cinematic without turning dinner into a nightclub.
READ THE FULL STORY → the Vanilla Lightflow concept and engineering choices
The four Jackerys then received the wider energy story. Together they represent 3.656kWh of portable storage, while Vanilla’s Fogstar takes the whole off-grid inventory to roughly 5kWh nominal. The article gives each orange box a job and keeps the portable system separate from the van’s essential 12V loads. That distinction matters more than the grand total: capacity, inverter rating, charging route and the appliance in front of you all answer different questions.
READ THE FULL STORY → how four Jackerys fit one bigger Vanilla power plan
DRONES / PHOTOGRAPHY — THE SKY GETS ITS CHOREOGRAPHY BACK
A decade of drone photographs became the week’s great visual journey: 143 images stretching from Milford and Cannock Chase to Mallorca, Corfu, the Highlands, Croatia and Bavaria. The aircraft changed, but the instinct did not. Roads became lines, boats became patterns and one small campervan gave the huge landscapes a scale. The collection explains why aerial photography still feels less like operating a gadget and more like finding a viewpoint that did not exist from the ground.
READ THE FULL STORY → a decade of NIX drone photography
Nemesis, the Mavic 2 Pro, then moved from memory to method. The Litchi feature treats programmed movement as supervised choreography: plan the camera move before drawing the route, keep the aircraft in sight and let the real location overrule the desktop preview. Twelve creative scenarios explore reveals, partial arcs, seasonal repeats and calm shoreline moves. The best lesson is beautifully simple—Litchi can move the aircraft, but I still have to direct the film.
READ THE FULL STORY → Nemesis and Litchi choreograph the sky
The companion Mavic story is more emotional. Orange propellers give Nemesis the NIX signature, but the reason the aircraft still matters is that one-inch Hasselblad camera and the way an older machine continues to produce photographs worth keeping. Release dates are poor judges of composition.
READ THE FULL STORY → why the Mavic 2 Pro with orange props still earns its place
The Law of the Sky brings the necessary discipline. It covers the 2026 UK registration threshold, Open-category distances, night lighting, Remote ID, FPV observers and the separate paperwork and national maps needed across Europe. It also applies those rules to Zoom, Whiplash, Nemesis and Twitch. The page is a dated editorial guide rather than flight permission; the enduring rule is to check the official map, the actual aircraft and the place in front of me before every launch.
TECHNOLOGY / HOME LAB — USEFUL KIT HAS TO EXPLAIN ITSELF
The V-Fan Heating Lab took a portable heater out of the glossy brochure and put it into a real living room alongside 19.5°C central heating. The important idea is that warming air is easy; warming walls, furniture and the rest of the room takes time. Placement and oscillation change how usefully the heat spreads, while 1.95kW represents the ceiling draw rather than a guarantee of constant cost. It is the start of a measured home-heating routine, not a claim that one black tower has defeated British winter.
READ THE FULL STORY → the Vortex Air V-Fan Heating Lab
The hallway mystery looked at the other half of the system. I was away on Friday night; the hall cooled and Saturday’s warm-up arrived later than expected. The story uses 177 readings to ask whether Tado geofencing was doing exactly what it should. It is an investigation into timing and behaviour, not a verdict based on one cold glance at the thermostat.
READ THE FULL STORY → Tado, oil heating and the Saturday mystery
On the smaller screens, the Apple Watch Series 11 got the full 46mm treatment: working-day usefulness, health context, sleep, photography controls and a charging routine that fits real life. iOS 27.2 then explored the software side—better conversational memory, tidier selection tools, Messages, Photos, Music, Podcasts, Shortcuts and the security work underneath. Both pieces ask the same sensible question: what does the update actually improve after the launch animation has finished?
The Cricut Explore 3 made the week physical. Vinyl turns the NIX DRONES logo, Vanilla ideas, chutney labels and small gifts into objects that can leave the MacBook. The new orange-and-white identity then gathered those pieces into one visual chapter—flights, road trips and stories carrying the same mark.
READ THE FULL STORY → the Cricut Explore 3 making NIX real
READ THE FULL STORY → the next NIX DRONES chapter in orange and white
FOOD / PN100 — THE LITTLE MACHINE STARTED A RIOT
The PN100 spent the week behaving like a tiny bakery with no adult supervision. The Soft Loaf Project did the deep work, tracing tangzhong through documented history and starch science before bringing the idea back to a small 250g-flour machine. The important principle is that the cooked paste comes out of the recipe’s total flour and liquid; it is part of the structure, not an extra scoop of optimism.
READ THE FULL STORY → the history and science behind the Soft Loaf Project
Bread freshness received the same treatment. Cooling, wrapping and freezing solve different problems; the fridge can speed staling even while it delays mould. For the little loaves I actually make, the most useful routine is cool completely, keep what will be eaten soon and freeze the rest in practical portions. Science becomes worthwhile when the last slice still deserves butter.
READ THE FULL STORY → how to keep the last slice lovely
Then the flavours arrived. Pecan, raisin and honey gave the kettle a proper companion. Bombay Honey Riot added savoury crunch, fruit and sweetness to a small white loaf. Bombay Cloud brought Cotswold Crunch into the same delicious argument, while Golden Hour went full breakfast with Alpen, egg, milk, honey, cinnamon and raisins. Each recipe stays within the PN100’s small-loaf scale and keeps the NIX liquids-first method clear.
BAKE THE FULL RECIPE → Pecan, Raisin & Honey Soft Loaf
BAKE THE FULL RECIPE → the Golden Hour Alpen loaf
Chocolate-drop brioche brought two addition beeps and a little loaf of luxury. The Little Loaf That Makes a Proper Sandwich returned to the useful everyday question: can 250g of flour become something soft enough for lunch rather than merely photogenic beside a bread knife?
BAKE THE FULL RECIPE → PN100 Chocolate-Drop Brioche
BAKE THE FULL RECIPE → the little sandwich milk loaf
Halloween demanded mischief. The Witching Crumb turned pecan-and-raisin bread deep purple, while Volcanic Meltdown and the Ultimate Volcano pushed chorizo, bacon and cheese towards the edge of what a small loaf should reasonably contain. The Volcano pieces remain experiments with verdicts still to come; enthusiasm is not a finished bake.
READ THE FULL STORY → The Witching Crumb
FOOD / STEWBERT / UNO — SMALL APPLIANCES, PROPER DINNERS
Stewbert, the 1.8-litre Crock-Pot, opened a curry house. The focused collection offers six small-batch favourites—tikka masala, beef Madras, korma, rogan josh, butter chicken and Bombay potato with chickpeas—while the larger top-ten file broadens the menu without pretending the little pot feeds a wedding. Blooming the spices and respecting the scale do more for flavour than simply adding another hour.
READ THE FULL STORY → Stewbert’s six-curry collection
READ THE FULL STORY → ten Indian curries for one little Crock-Pot
Guinness sausages used the air fryer first, then let dark onion gravy do the slow work. The smoky cider, mince and baked-bean hotpot took ordinary cupboard ingredients and gave them a patient afternoon. Both understand the appeal of Stewbert: dinner should feel bigger than the washing-up.
COOK THE FULL RECIPE → Guinness sausages and onion gravy
COOK THE FULL RECIPE → smoky cider, mince and baked-bean hotpot
The Tefal Uno received a hundred ideas, from the obvious golden favourites to fried ice cream, turning a simple fryer into a practical reference rather than a single-use machine. Built for the Long Haul answered the early-shift problem with four flavours of soft oat bar and a 48-bar freezer plan. One project fuels the kitchen; the other fuels the cab.
NIX HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
The NIX Power Lab takes the highlight because it did something more valuable than produce a pretty graph: it changed the conclusion. The evidence separates quiet standby, normal inhabited camping and busy charging evenings into three operating states. It also states plainly that Vanilla has no installed inverter, that 601Wh is energy across twelve hours rather than a 601W appliance, and that the logs cannot name every load.
That restraint is the story. The van is not hiding a supernatural drain; it is showing different patterns of use. The next test now has a purpose—measure the fridge, Webasto and chargers separately, then see whether the remaining mystery survives contact with an ammeter.
READ THE FULL STORY → this week’s highlight: the 600Wh midnight mystery
ELSEWHERE IN NIX...
The week opened its quieter side with a field guide to earning the trust of wild garden birds. The aim is patience, water, safe feeding and a clear escape route; the photograph is allowed only if the bird remains comfortable. READ THE FULL STORY → the moment a wild bird decides you are safe
Two dogs supplied the emotional centre. Nelson and Winston are simply two beautiful hearts held in one ordinary photograph, which is precisely why it matters. READ THE FULL STORY → Nelson & Winston
The two community reports counted growth without mistaking people for a scoreboard. The NIX Facebook page looked at reach and the posts that created momentum; the Panasonic Mini Bread Maker group examined sixty days of questions, recipes, international membership and the work of good admin. READ THE FULL STORY → the NIX Facebook community story and READ THE FULL STORY → Small Bread Maker, Big Community.
Football arrived twice. Fleetwood’s imagined cup earthquake ended with five flawless penalties against Arsenal, while Aston Villa’s 2–1 win over Manchester City became a tribute to The Observer’s “Villans 2, Villains 1” cover and its mischievous footnote. READ THE FULL STORY → the night money could not win and READ THE FULL STORY → Villans 2, Villains 1.
The PN100 also received three useful background pieces: the compact machine’s big baking energy, the Allinson’s yeast tin kept in the freezer and the owner-review guide asking whether the PN100 is brilliant or an expensive toy. Together they explain the machine, the living ingredient and the moments when bread refuses to cooperate.
Finally, Halloween found its double act. Fiona’s mask has the moustache, cheeks and expression of Geg in unusually portable form. There is no scientific defence. READ THE FULL STORY → Geg and His Halloween Double
NEXT WEEK ON NIX
Power Lab has already published the next honest move: isolate the fridge, Webasto and individual chargers, watch the SmartShunt live and check whether every charging path passes through it. That is how a measured total becomes an explanation. Lightflow has a similarly practical next stage—survey Vanilla, confirm the two route lengths, select compatible strip and controller hardware, and design the fuse, cable and isolation arrangement around the real load. The glowing cabin remains a concept until that work is done.
In the kitchen, the Volcano pair still owes us an actual bake and verdict. Tangzhong, bread storage and the Facebook group questions provide plenty of sensible follow-ups, but there is no need to promise a parade of loaves before the ingredients have met the pan.
I’ll be back next Sunday with the week NIX actually had—the measurements that survived testing, the food that survived slicing and whatever Geg decides to resemble next.