think. create. complete.

1TB Hard Drives: Simple external, NAS, & NAS w/RAID

2009-11-16T00:03:00.003-05:00

There are many options, brands, and features available in the external hard drive arena. I have narrowed the list based on price, quality, and personal experience with these brands. I highly recommend a NAS with at least 2 drives for the simple convenience of always on access and the redundancy of saving your data to 2 drives.

For simple external HD:

For network solutions with RAID (backs up your data on 2 drives):

D-Link 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DNS-323 + 2 1TB Western Digital Green HDs (combo deal) = ~$318
Buffalo Technology LinkStation Pro Duo 2-Bay 2 TB (2 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage LS-W2.0TGL/R1 (2 1TB hard drives) = ~$279

For network solutions with one drive:

Here are some things you'll need to know:

NAS = Network attached storage (router -> connects to HD -> accessible from all computers on network)
RAID 1 = Backup data across 2 drives so if one fails, the other has an exact copy
Gigabit Ethernet = faster transfer rates over compatible networks (get it so your future proof)
16MB Cache = faster access to data: there are lots of drives with 32MB for a good price too
OEM HD = no cables included (which is not needed for a NAS)
7200 RPM = standard speed for desktop HDs but is more power hungry for external drives
USB vs Firewire = all my drives are USB since firewire ports are not as common

Go with the NAS so you can set it up, access your files on your network from any computer, and have the peace of mind that it's backed up on 2 drives.

Easy to use digital camera for the 2009 Holiday Season

2009-11-10T00:02:00.008-05:00

The Fujifilm Finepix J38 is a camera that defines simplicity: minimal buttons, large screen, a battery life indicator, and face detection. The camera is ready to take pictures as soon as the lens extends which is great for grabbing those spontaneous moments where every second counts.

This camera is great for anyone who wants a camera for just over $100 dollars with quality pictures of a higher priced camera. Grab the Fujifilm Finepix J38 12MP Digital Camera with a 2.7 inch LCD and snap pictures effortlessly!

Buy it on: Amazon or Newegg

HTPC: Micro-ATX build to watch HULU & Boxee via HDMI

2009-11-02T23:56:00.036-05:00

There are many choices available in the HTPC market for a low power, high throughput, and small footprint machine to watch MKV/Divx/H264/etc., or to stream Netflix. Unfortunately the web is full of posts that say streaming full screen HD HULU has many processors struggling. Adobe claims to have been working on better version of Flash to handle streaming of HD content but will it live up to the demands of HTPC users? Well I am not going to wait around since there is already cheap hardware out there that can handle streaming video today.

I've tried to "build a HTPC using spare parts" which usually leaves me with a system that is not quite adequate and I have finally caved. Its time to do it right by getting newer hardware. My friend Keith and I have set out to find a low cost machine that is low power, highly capable, and wife friendly. We've committed to finding a HTPC that meets our needs and we wanted to share our findings.

Option 1: Micro-ATX

	GIGABYTE GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
	AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
	hec Black 7KJ9 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case w/270W Power Supply

revision3 + MCE + µTorrent = good times

2006-12-30T01:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a guide on how to use µTorrent (microTorrent) to automatically download Revision3 shows for playback on a Media Center Edition (MCE) machine.

Parts List:
- Download the latest version of µTorrent.
- For customized folder icons, a graphic editor Gimp or Gimpshop.

Think:
So I tried MythTV, BeyondTV, MCE, & SageTV. They all have their own advantages. I settled on MCE simply because it's been running the longest without failure (believe it or not). Other bittorrent clients will also work, µTorrent has been running smoothly for me.

Now, here's how I download content that I like ...

Create:
A. Locate the RSS feed of a rev3 show:

Goto Revision3.com -> click on "Diggnation"
Locate the "Torrents Feeds" on the right
Right click on your format of choice

Note: For MCE bliss choose "WMV Large".

Select "Copy link location" from right click menu

B. Add a RSS feed to µTorrent:

Choose the "RSS Downloader" or Ctrl-R or the RSS feed icon.
Under the feeds tab -> "Add" a new feed
Paste the full link into text box:

C. Build a filter:

Select the "Favorites" tab in the RSS Downloader window.
Click "Add" -> enter title "digg"
"Filter:" -> digg*

Note: Rev3 torrents begin with the show name, so when u add other feeds, use the show name in the filter i.e. indigital*, ctrl*, notmtv* etc.

"Save in:" -> Create and set a folder on your second hard drive: "Z:\Video Podcasts\diggnation".

Note: I found it's best to DL bittorrent files to a separate physical drive so it doesn't mess with fragmenting your recorded TV and allows smooth playback.

"Feed:" -> select the "diggnation" feed
"Give download highest priority:" -> this will allow you to download it as soon as it's added.
"Minimal interval:" -> 12 hours (timing is open to debate, see µTorrent site for details)

Repeat for additional rev3 shows and others, i.e. Leo's "Call For Help" RSS feed.
Depending on your machines performance, throttle your upload & download speed so it doesn't interfere with live TV recording: Options -> Preferences -> Connection -> Bandwidth Limiting.

D. MCE setup

To visually enhance the setup a little more, you can customize the folder icons.
Download any picture, edit it if you wish, & save it in the shows folder as "folder.jpg".

Note: A quick google search led me to Jeffrey Klassen digg water drop pictures

The folder image will be updated shortly after adding the new "folder.jpg" image.

E: Output video:

Connect the TV to GeForce 6200LE via S-Video
Connect the monitor via DVI
Use the NVIDIA TV Wizard & set mode to "Dualview"
Access the desktop and µTorrent on first display 1024x768 (monitor)
Move & maximize the MCE interface screen on second display 800x600 (TV)
-Or- view the shows on your Xbox media center extender.

Complete:
Let µTorrent run in the background, download all your shows, & seed files for others. Watch the latest full screen video podcast shows from the native MCE interface, no plug-ins required.

Enjoy! nickc316 at gmail

DIY: Pioneer Aux Input

2005-04-30T17:04:00.000-04:00

Parts list:
- 1/8" Stereo Panel-Mount Jack (Catalog #: 274-248)
- 1 ft. Stereo Patch Cable (Catalog #: 42-2497)
- Hookup Wire 22 AWG (Catalog #: 278-1221)
- Electrical Tape
- Pioneer in dash radio with CD-Changer Controls (mine is a DEH-P9300)
- Pioneer IP-Bus cable from CD-Changer (CD-IP150, CD-IP151E, or CD-IP28)

Project at a glance: creative muvo mp3 player -> stereo patch cable -> audio jack -> Pioneer CD changer IP-Bus -> DIY Pioneer Aux Input

Think: Over the past couple of years I have upgraded my Pioneer Car CD changer to meet my needs. I went from a 6CD to a 12CD and now I have a portable MP3 player I want to connect. Pioneer offers an auxiliary adapter (CDRB-10) for ~$40 or an iPod adapter (CD-IB100) for ~$130. The auxiliary adapter appears to be a simple input-to-RCA-out, so I decided to make an aux adapter myself for ~$6. A quick tally of the cost of the parts listed is ~$12 bucks but you'll have plenty of wire for your future projects and an extra stereo jack. :)

Create: The first task was to figure out how to get the input from the MP3 player into the head unit. The solution is simple, most Pioneer decks have an option to turn on the AUX input and it so happens that mine is one of them.

To enable the AUX input complete the following:
1) Power down the unit (hold the source button)
2) Press and hold the #1 (or in my case hold first soft key next to the back key)
3) Select AUX, and then use the up arrow to turn it "ON"
4) Press the source key until you see "AUX"

Once the deck is set to the AUX input it is expecting raw audio from a device attached to the IP-Bus. Now the trick is to see which pins on the bus are for audio. After many trial and error attempts, I have locked down the following setup for audio inputs on the IP-Bus:

Figure 1. IP-Bus pin input. (I chose the least invasive method of connecting with the IP-Bus.)

Now to connect the 1/8" audio jack to the IP-Bus, we need to solder the 22 AWG hookup wire to the legs of the jack. The (-) leads share one leg and the (+) leads have their own separate legs as shown here:

Figure 2. 1/8” (3.5mm) Audio jack wired up.

Inserting the wire into the IP-Bus and bending it over the edge will create the angles at the end of the wire. This will provide a flat surface for us to tape the wires in place. You could go extreme and split open the IP-Bus and fish out the wires or go for the classic tape and zip-tie route I took.

Complete: Once we have the audio jack wired up the next step is to place the wire leads from Figure 2 into the IP-Bus as in Figure 1 and give it a test run:

Figure 3. Connect MP3 player using the audio patch cable to the audio jack.

Success, the audio is playing! Now I took a little extra time and labeled the input from "AUX" to "MAKE:DIY". Complete the following to adjust the title: Function -> TTLin -> ABC -> Up and down arrows to enter your personal title -> ABC key to toggle upper and lower case -> right arrow all the way one past the last entry -> Back soft key -> done.

Figure 4. Apply the tape, zip-ties and tuck everything away so it is nice and neat.

Optional: If the sound is low at the max volume of the MP3 player then the AUX sound level can be adjusted using the SLA (source level adjustment). While in AUX mode complete the following to adjust the SLA: AUDIO -> NEXT -> NEXT -> Press SLA -> Press up or down to adjust the source volume -> done.

This DIY idea can be applied to other stereos with CD changer inputs with the proper wiring diagrams. Please post any similar projects in the comments for all the to see. The official Pioneer auxiliary input might have some advantages because of its "gold" connectors and possibly some internal circuitry, so consider this option if you want the absolute best sound with this configuration.

Enjoy the DIY: Pioneer Aux Input!

nickc316 at gmail.com

Tunecast update

2005-04-23T23:24:00.000-04:00

Think: I posted that I was not happy with the range from the Belkin RF transmitter so I decided to used John Riney's comment and added some wire to the internal antenna of the Belkin Tunecast II from the link: tunecast antenna mod.

Create: The instructions are clear and well documented at the link above so i won't rewrite them here. Just really be careful with the battery leads b/c they are very fragile as i had to repair them 2x's :)

Found the blue wire labeled "ANT", snipped it, soldered it, and taped it up.

Closed it back up and pulled the wire easily out the other side.

Complete: I didn't get the full range i was looking for, only added ~1' of wire, but after placing the modified tunecast next to the podcast shower radio I have no more random pops and fadeouts! Thanks John!

nickc316 at gmail.com

DIY: podcast shower radio

2005-04-21T00:03:00.000-04:00

Part list:
- Sony ICF-S79V (or any battery powered shower radio)
- Creative Muvo TX FM (or any player willing to take some steam)
- Stereo-to-stereo audio coupler (~$2 bucks at the shack, 274-1555)
- Audio patch cable (stereo to help out the FM transmitter)
- Belkin Tune Cast II FM Transmitter with auto-off
- Energizer Ni-MH rechargeables and charger

Project at a glance: creative muvo mp3 player -> stereo wire -> RF transmitter -> RF input of 87.7FM -> Sony shower radio

Think: I acquired a Sony ICF-S79V shower radio to listen to current events because I was falling behind now that podcasts were filling my radio time. After a few morning of bouncing back and forth between presets station during commercials i was frustrated b/c that was the beauty of podcasts, no commercials. (mr curry please help establish a standard for shows so we can scrape the commercials if we so choose to.) So back to my thoughts, how do I get podcasts to work with my shower radio?

Create: Simple solution (and probably clear by now). What is the only way to get input into this device, RF! I had a Belkin RF transmitter that worked poorly in my car but had everything I needed for this project. I was hoping to setup the RF outside the shower but I literally have to wrap the little antenna around the transmitter. I stopped over at radioshack to get an Audio-Coupler and pulled a stereo to stereo-stereo connector from an older PC speaker system. The next challenge was power! The best solution (and i am still impressed) was good 'ol Energizer Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries and the energizer charger from buy.com. I did some research on what all the specs meant and they came up as the best for price. All this for 10~15 minutes of audio freedom. I think its worth it!

Complete: This setup has been working for me for the last 4 or 5 weeks. I have a routine were i charge the 3 C batteries (+1 C battery in storage b/c you have to buy and charge them in pairs, how convenient) every 2 weeks. One issue I have had was when removing the batteries and charging it overnight I loose the presets and time on the radio. I am going to invest in standby C (regular) batteries so i can the time in the device. The RF transmitter needs to charge its 2 AAA batteries whenever it dies, haven't figured out its pattern yet. My creative muvo has 1 AAA labeled #1 and when the #2 battery is dead they both go into the charger. Sounds really silly but it works like a charm. Now to figure out if the steam will affect my devices ... time will tell.

I stayed away from “plug in the outlet” components here for my safety. I do NOT recommend using A/C electricity for anything in this project ... be safe! Also when dealing with water, i am willing to sacrafice any parts used in this project so please understand what you are doing ... enjoy!

Thank you joanna for the sony radio [christmas], and the mp3 player & fm tuner [valentines].

nickc316 at gmail.com

intro

2005-03-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

hey. its easter sunday and i have decided to create a blog where i can post my creations and projects. Does anyone remeber constructs and the little blue pieces?