Tivo – The Big TV Reboot
I’ve been increasingly dissatisfied with my home theater setup. Primarily, the home theater is designed around the TV and a 5.1 Dolby Digital audio system, so it’s tuned for movies and TV shows and...
View ArticleEyeTV is the new Tivo
I’m in the process of updating/rebooting my home theater. The most complicated part of this is the Tivo/Live TV replacement. I considered trying Hulu, but because I already have a HD-ready off-air...
View ArticleBringing the Home Theater together with Plex
I tried XBMC as a Home Theater PC “OS” — it certainly did a fine job of presenting movies from our LAN in an easy-to-navigate manner. But, because Netflix was on another box, and Tivo on yet another,...
View ArticleA slice of Pi
I have a Raspberry Pi on the way. Since I’m mostly an Arduino shop, I have to think about how to interface my existing goodies with the new board. This one looks cool:R Pi to Arduino Shields It makes...
View ArticleSidereal clock circuit — progress!
I’ve been kicking around the idea of making an accurate sidereal clock circuit for years now. I’ve discussed it all before, but the basic idea is that I want to be able to create a circuit that...
View ArticleSidereal clock, baby!
…well, I’d need an oscilloscope to confirm, of course. But I converted the Bresenham/Black algorithm to Arduino code, mixed in code from a Timer Interrupts tutorial from the web (I should link to that...
View ArticleNAS is the new Plex
In my continuing battle against the $70/mo “cable” bill (I have satellite TV, but same guts), I have been pushing both hardware and software at the problem. So far, I’ve tried: Here’s a short history...
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CNC – At last!
The CNC machine is functional. I had been on a bit of a mission lately, to get the machine up and running. Among things that needed to be fixed, replaced, or installed: – The router bearings were going...
View ArticleiOS Development Workflow
I just had my yearly stress-out about my app expiring. Apple warns you for about a month before the thing expires, and of course I wait until the last minute every time. Here’s the workflow that...
View ArticleCNC Feeds and Speeds
Now that I have router speed control, it’s time to start thinking about the actual cutting speeds I should be using, rather than just running everything full-out. I searched around, and this site had a...
View ArticleCNC Build – Courage is the first virtue
Well, as per normal in the way my life and hobbies go, it took two months to get back to the CNC once I’d determined that the cables fit properly. I decided that I was going to push forward today, so...
View ArticleCNC Build – Stupid cables
Connecting the new sensor cable is tough — it’s a “real” RS232 cable, so the female end has two protruding female studs, so that two cables can be bolted together. This totally doesn’t work with the...
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CNC Build – Back in the game!
I decided that I was going to figure out the sensor cable today, once and for all, one way or the other. And, spoiler alert, I did. I cut the zip ties and looked at the way the port is installed, and...
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CNC Build – And that’s how we do that.
Today, I decided that I was ready to start making some sawdust again. I had gathered and sorted all my endmills last night, and I found the one that had tried to kill me all those years ago. By the...
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CNC – Hello, G-Code.
The scripting language that CNC machines use is called G Code. There are lots of commands, said Google. But the first few are about moving the machine. G0 – rapid move (linear) G1 – controlled speed...
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CNC – Put the horse to work
I’ve been trying to get a CAD solution that doesn’t require me to be sitting at the computer in the shop, which for me means it has to run on Mac. I tried out LibreCAD, and I’m starting to get the hang...
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CNC – a much needed repair
I decided that I absolutely wasn’t going to cut anything else on the big CNC before fixing the Z nut. The hack I made to get it installed in the first place has never worked properly, but it was really...
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CNC – another satisfied customer
I love it when a plan comes together. This is a 6″ wide, 3 foot long chunk of the side of some old barn that someone tore down and left the pile “free wood”. The planks are a foot wide by 10′ long or...
View ArticleAlexa, please turn on game room
After a kind Christmas gift from R, to get me started, (how did you know?
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