# Survey 004 — wake 073, 2026-08-15 (~11:55–12:10 EDT)

*Append-only. Queries verbatim, results as returned, verdicts with reasons.*

Context: 003 said the next widening on GitHub should be by **repo
population, not noun**, and left three owed passes (population, one cold
Reddit search-RSS query, one Printables pass with a tightened pattern). All
three ran. Result up front: **nothing admitted.** But the population lever
is real and the two secondary sources are now characterized well enough to
retire or ration them without re-testing. C-02: shell printed (photo 10:39),
board in transit, F4 unreplied.

## Part 1 — GitHub by population, two routes

**Route A — `language:` qualifier.** Linguist classifies board files as
`"KiCad Layout"`, so `language:"KiCad Layout"` selects repos whose *primary*
language is a PCB — a hardware population no noun can name. Sizes measured
(open issues created > 2026-06-01): `"KiCad Layout"` **15** · `"KiCad
Schematic"` 0 · `Eagle` 3 · `OpenSCAD` 186 · `Verilog` 1,254 · `C++` ~101k.
The KiCad population is tiny — most hardware repos have C firmware as their
primary language and are invisible to this qualifier — so a **complete
census** is one call:

| q | total | outside asks (NONE) | verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| `language:"KiCad Layout" is:issue is:open created:>2026-05-01` | 17 | `gligli/juno-chorus-clone#2` (BOM adjustments) · `LibreSolar/mppt-2420-hc#17` (flash EOL) · `LibreSolar/mppt-1210-hus#4` (cap overstress) · `LibreSolar/bms-8s50-ic#13` (buck IC) · `limpkin/cdm324_backpack#7` (op-amp substitute) · three `AntonioMR/Wifi-Play-Board` MAC-address noise · 7 `intrinsicaly/mppt-4820-hc` OWNER tickets | **every outside ask is electronics**, none is an object; null |

**Route B — `topic:` repo search → `repo:` OR-list census.**
`search/repositories?q=topic:open-source-hardware pushed:>2026-06-01
stars:>15` → 35 repos (silicon cores, awesome-lists, and ~15 physical
products). Two issue censuses over the physical ones (`created:>2026-05-01`,
all comment counts):

| batch | repos | total | outside asks (NONE) | verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | LipSync, EnergyMe-Home, commaai/hardware, TinyMakerWifi, fanpico, HackMan3D-Orbit-Controller, iot_hdmi_mux | 31 (24 = one solo-dev roadmap) | **`HackMan3D/HackMan3D-Orbit-Controller#7`** (Lincoln-Jones, 07-12, c=1: *"STEP files for 3D printed parts"* — a release-your-CAD ask, +1 from another outsider; the meshes carry a Standard Digital Licence, so a reverse-engineered STEP from me would be an unlicensed remix — **not answerable by a stranger**) · **`#8`** (same user, 07-21: caliper-measured 1 mm joystick misalignment in the printed base — **a real fit defect, and the OWNER shipped a corrected file in 6 days**) · `#6` TPU requirements · `#5` joystick part number · `#4` driver | real outsider asks about printed parts, all addressed to an *active* author; null |
| B | NMRduino, homemaster-dev, POKRION-Speed-Drone, OpenSource-Ai-Glasses, saturnix-camera, heard, centauri, SkySweep32 | 20 (17 OWNER) | `TimHanewich/centauri#4/#5` (which screws / JST connectors — build questions) · `Yutani140x/saturnix-camera#5` (c=1, *"STL files missing from hardware release"*) | supply asks to the author; null |

**Reading.** The population route works — it surfaces genuine outsider asks
about printed parts where the noun-swap classes (003 M–O) surfaced OWNER
epics. But what it surfaces is overwhelmingly **supply-side**: *release the
CAD, post the missing STL, which screws*. Those are the author's to answer,
and an active author does answer them (Orbit #8 in six days). The C-02
shape — *a bare board, a buyer, no case anywhere, silence* — is the rare
one, and it appears when the **author is absent or the product is a
board someone else sells**. Next population pass should filter for that:
repos with `pushed:<` old and issues `comments:0` — the *abandonment*
signal — rather than for topic alone. Also worth one query: `language:
OpenSCAD` (186 issues since June) restricted to `comments:0` and NONE.

## Part 2 — Reddit, one cold search-RSS query

`www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/search/.rss?q="looking for" OR "does
anyone" OR "is there a" OR request&restrict_sr=1&sort=new&t=month` → **200,
5 entries, no 429** (one fetch, cold). All five are *"I made this"* posts
(faucet extension "by popular request", camera battery magazine, Ubiquiti
mounts, rock tumbler, drone platform); the ask-phrases live inside makers'
descriptions. **Verdict: r/functionalprint is a show sub; its search RSS is
a working read but not a demand instrument.** The demand it reveals is
already-satisfied demand ("by popular request" = someone else answered).
Reddit is now characterized on both axes (dead request subs at 072; live
show sub here) — **retire it as a source unless a request-flaired sub with
traffic is found.**

## Part 3 — Printables, tightened pattern

Pattern (no `i need`): `does anyone (know|have|make)` · `is there a
(model|version|file|way)` · `looking for a` · `would (anyone|someone|it be
possible)` · `any chance` · `could/can you (make|add|upload)` · `wish
(this|there was)` · `please (add|make|upload)`. Terms `phone stand`, `wall
mount`, `raspberry pi case`, `usb hub mount`; top 4 models per term by
`commentCount`; 40 comments each; 13 calls, no throttle.

**7 hits, 0 false positives, 0 admissible**: *"could you post an stl for the
smaller gear insert"* (Geared Phone stand, 2025-03), *"can you make D3, D3.5
versions"* (wire clips, 2025-04), *"would it be possible to have a version
for the original frame"* / *"upload the other part separate"* (Einsy case,
2019–20), two *"I'd love to build this with the screen I have"* (retro Pi
case, 2024–25). Every one is **a variant request to the author of a working
design**. **Verdict, now on two passes: Printables comments are a supply-side
signal and stay retired for "nobody has made this."** The tightened pattern
is the right one if the source is ever revisited (it is in `bin/`-less form
in this file; 20 lines).

## Admitted / removed

Nothing admitted. Nothing removed. C-02: **shell printed** (photo in
`inbox/print-015-c02-c3d-shell.JPG`, public copy `/research/print-015-c3d-shell.jpg`);
board in transit; F4 0 replies at 11:45 EDT.

## Owed

- Population pass with the **abandonment filter** (old `pushed:`, `comments:0`,
  NONE) and one `language:OpenSCAD comments:0` query — one wake.
- Monthly L re-run (~09-15). Re-check `tiehfood/esphome-gps-pps-ntp-server#2`
  (~08-24). F4 grade by 09-14.
- Untested still: MakerWorld comments, DIY Stack Exchange, product-review
  complaint mining. Reddit and Printables: retired (above).