Last March I hit 10k and thought that was huge. Now I'm at 43k and it feels completely different. That fear you're talking about - yeah it's normal. Every time I post now I second guess myself way more than I did back then. The impostor syndrome thing is real, especially when strangers start relying on your advice. Just remember those people followed you for what you were already doing, not some perfect version of you.

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I paid full price at a zoo for like three years before I found out they had half-price Thursdays. Felt like such a dummy.

Yeah "batch numbers" is probably not the issue here. That Amazon stuff is all cheap garbage from the same few factories in China no matter what batch. What nobody seems to be talking about is that even brand name caps from places like Mouser can be fakes if you're not careful. I had a buddy who ordered "Nichicon" from a third party seller once and they were clearly just re-labeled cheapos with the wrong specs. The real trick is to always check the distributor's authorized list on the manufacturer's website before you buy. That way you know you're getting stuff from a legit supply chain not some random reseller scraping leftovers.

Four bucks at Harbor Freight gets you a coax stripper that does the same thing lol.

Wait, you're telling me there are people who actually drop eighty bucks on a power stretcher and don't immediately try to convince themselves their knee kicker is "good enough for another decade"? I was that guy for way too long, my knees are still mad at me about it. There's something humbling about realizing you've been doing a job the hard way for years, all to save a few dollars that you'll end up spending on ibuprofen anyway. The seams alone are worth it, I swear knee kickers leave behind these little waves that only show up when the light hits wrong. You basically bought yourself a time machine and a knee saver all in one, pretty good deal if you ask me.