DIY computers and electronics

DIY: Personal Disaster Recovery Backup Server part 1

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:38:00 +0000

DIY: Personal Disaster Recovery Backup Server
Part 1

Chances are that you found this DIY post from Google. You were searching for terms like "I just formatted my Hard Drive" or ''My Hard Drive crashed'' and you probably need your files and pictures back ASAP! You can hear that voice telling you "I told you so..."

Well, now is the time to build your own Personal Disaster Recovery Backup Server so you will always have a backup of your personal files.

Yes, you can use online services, most of them cost, and there are a few that are free with plenty of storage. But the biggest drawback is your computer needs to be connected to the internet, which is hard to do if you don't have an Operating System on it.

First, we will go over 2 types of data loss

Type 1: You deleted some files on accident or on purpose, not realizing what you were deleting.
Here, you are able to boot to your OS and use Online recovery services or some of the following suggestions:
- Check the Recycle Bin
- Use System Restore (doesn't recover data files, just system files)
- Run a "File recovery program" see below

Type 2: Failed Hard Drive - you can’t boot to your Operating System
Here, the computer fails when it boots, and either can’t find the Hard Drive or can’t read from it.
Simple steps to try in this scenario:
- Take out the Hard Drive and put it in another computer, as a "second" Hard Drive
- Put the Hard Drive in an external usb/firewire case and try in another computer
- There are a lot of tools on Hirens Boot CD that could be helpful

Quick story about a failing Hard Drive

I had a friend take his computer to Geek Squad, because his computer didn’t boot, and he had a lot of family pictures that he didn’t burn on CD. They told him that his hard drive failed because the platters could not get up to speed and he needed to buy a new one. He told me about it and I asked for the hard drive and plugged it in my computer, and all his files were still there. Something happened to Windows where it just wouldn't boot to the desktop. Nothing was wrong with the hard drive at all.

Part 1

I have not needed a file recovery program in a long time, but I did find that I needed one last month when I was "cleaning" up my hard drive. I was selecting multiple folders at a time and hitting Shift-Delete, which skips the recycle bin and deletes them right then.
Unknowingly, a couple of business project files had been deleted and I was not the only person that needed them.

After a little research, I came across a program called Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software which had the feature that I was looking for and many more.
One of the features it has is to recover deleted files after recycle bin has been emptied, or use of Shift+Delete. That's exactly what I needed and was able to recover my files.

After installing it, it took about 7min to scan my hard drive and recover the files I needed. It also found some accidentally deleted family pictures - and recovered them also.

Here's a list of Key features

File System supported: FAT and NTFS
Windows Support: Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000
File Types: More than 300 types are recognized along with the option to add new ones
Photo Recovery: Recovery for almost all camera file formats
File Preview: Great for sorting through deleted images
Options to Recover: Can be saved as compressed file or to a FTP server
File Filter: Search quicker using masks and filters

Below are some very helpful screen cast of the product in action

Recover files quickly and easily

Recover deleted partitions

Preview delete Photos before restoring them

Save a recovery scan for later restoration

Coming Up in Part 2

I will show you how to build a home backup/recovery server from an old computer. After all, you know you are getting a new one for the holidays :)

(who knows how many "old" computers you have laying around)

Possibilities are Endless

- A Stand-alone server always ready to be used no matter what time of day.
- If your hard drive crashes, replace it and have all your information back on the new drive in less than an hour.
-Peace of mind knowing that your information is safe and accessible anytime
-Doing all of this yourself and saving big $$$

Make sure to leave you suggestions and comments below

Free Remote Access Software Setup and Review

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:04:00 +0000

How-To Setup Remote Access software for connecting to any computer across the internet when your on a budget.

This is my experience using different software products and what I found out about each of them.

Products included in this article:
(Click the logo for a quick jump to the information)

LogMeIn [link]

RealVNC [link]

GoToAccess [link]

I do a lot of remote access troubleshooting for clients, and so I wanted to share what I have learned about various remote access software programs that I have used and some quick tips on each.

I have a few things that I look for in remote access software, which include, but not limited to: price, ease of setup, required customer interaction, file transfers, firewall setup, router setup, speed, and others. I will be focusing on Free versions in this post.

Let me show you how to install and setup each program and I will also give a bit of commentary on each.

LogMeIn

There are different versions available on their website, some with 30-day a trial, but I will be focusing on the Free version.

To install:

goto LogMeIn website
create an account using your email and password
sign in your account
click Add Computer
select product (FREE)
download the software and install
after running the setup wizard your good to go

What i like about LogMeIn is that you can have multiple computers added into your account, so you can keep track of them all an never have to worry about remembering IP address.
You are able to organize all of your computers by putting them in different groups. for example: you can have groups for you parents, relatives, friends and enemies.
Also, and probably my favorite feature is that its runs as a "Hosted Service" meaning you (or your client) don't have to mess with any router/firewall settings.

That's about the limit of the free version, so what if you need to transfer a file, well thats when you rely on an Instant Message program, like Yahoo/MS Messenger, Google Talk or AIM. Sign on IM on both computers and transfer files through IM.

RealVNC

RealVNC is the fastest and uses the least amount of memory of the three reviewed programs, but it is a little harder to setup, especially if you're not computer savy. The downside is that you have to modify firewall settings to allow connection and forward ports if your behind a router. But once its setup, it is very simple to connect and control.

To install

download the software from their website
run the setup program
after installation is complete, configure a password
configure firewall programs to Allow VNC access to internet
configure Router to Forward the port 5900 to the computer's local ip address (most cases 192.168.1.xxx)
after the server (remote pc) is up and running, all you need to do is connect from your local computer.

Now VNC can be setup to run as a service (always on) but you will still need to know the IP address of the remote computer to access it. Unless your client likes looking up his own IP address every time you want to connect, you need to setup a no-ip.org /dyndns.com service. These services provide an easy-to-remember constantly-updated IP address. So instead of remembering an IP address like 64.233.169.147, all you have to remember is www.google.com

One thing I noticed is that when you are controlling a Vista machine, you will get kicked off every time the UAC box pops up on the remote machine and you cannot reconnect until the client closes the UAC box or disables it altogether.

As with LogMeIn, these free versions do not allow file transfers, so you have to rely on IM or a website where you can host your own files.

GoToAssist Express

GoToAssist Express is new for me, and, at the time of this post, it is in a public beta stage, meaning that it is a FREE download and install. I stumbled across this program via [youtube] Chris Pirillo gives a fine video review on it.

To Install

sign up for the beta program here
download and install the program
once you get it running it will open a new session with a key associated with it
instruct you client to go to the website and input your session key
thats it. Your connected!

Clients install
(Java is needed on clients computer)

go to the link
enter name and support key
software is download and installed
asked to share your screen
thats it

Unattended setup
After you connect to the clients computer, you can setup an unattended session, meaning you can connect whenever you want. You have to initiate the setup, but the client needs to be present to confirm the action taken.
After it is setup, there is a dialog box that asks for connection confirmation, that has an auto-accept timer. So there is no need for the client to be there.

Here's what I like with this program: Simple setup, minimal client knowledge needed to install, and you can get a detailed diagnostic report from the remote computer.
Best of all, this Free version allows file transfers!

There is a FREE training Webinar that will teach you how to use GoToAssist Express to your best advantage.

Video HERE (requires media player 9)

This post was written to cover Free versions of versions for remote access. There are many more options that were not covered, like Windows built-in Remote Desktop, and different flavors of VNC. Also, all the PAID services were not talked about because this is a DIY blog.

Please leave comments that will help readers make informed decisions about FREE products, and dont leave comments like "LogMeIN sucks!" rather "LogMeIn does not work on a PSP, but VNC does"

Any comments that have to do with software not covered in this post, should be specific and may be moved to the post itself.

Fix that LCD Flat Panel Monitor

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:38:00 +0000

HOW-TO:
Fix a faulty LCD Monitor Power Supply

Problem: You have a LCD monitor that either does not turn on or turns on and off randomly. There might even be a high pitch squeal when it is on.

Solution: Replace the power supply of the monitor.

Options:
1) get a new monitor (cost: too much)
2) get a new power supply (cost: too much, that is, if you can even find one)
3) FIX IT YOURSELF (cost: FREE)

I will show you how easy it is to fix it with the scrap parts you already have.

Amazon.com Widgets

I received a FREE lcd monitor (remember the cost) that would turn on but after 15 minutes or so would turn back off and would not turn on unless it was unplugged then plugged back in. After opening it up, I noticed there was a bad capacitor on the power supply. So I dug through all my spare components to find an identical (rated) capacitor.
When I got it changed out and powered back on, it still had a high pitch squeal and random power problems. So I just replaced the whole power supply.
The power supply of the monitor had 6 connections. 3 ground, 2 12volt and 1 5volt. I have several old computer power supplies, so I used one of them (cost: Free)
All I had to do was strip it down to what I needed.
Next I mounted the PS on the back of the monitor. Using the existing mounting points (for wall mount) Make some custom connections (cost: Free), so the monitor can easily be taking apart.

Connected it all together and fired it up.

Now I have a working LCD Flat Panel Monitor for a total cost of $0

HOW-TO: Unlimited Free MP3s (legally)

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Blackberry Scroll Wheel 'Clicker' and 'Back' Button Fix

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:05:00 +0000

BLACKBERRY SCROLL WHEEL CLICKER BUTTON FIX
Click here for the 'Back' button fix

If you ever had to replace your Blackberry, chances are that the buttons on the side didn't work anymore. That scroll wheel wouldn't click, and it was such an inconvenience to hit the enter key all the time. If you were lucky, you could push it down just right and it would work. But after a while nothing would work anymore and you were stuck with a hundred dollar repair charge or a new phone.

Well now you can keep your old trusty phone and repair that bum button yourself.

This how-to should work for any phone that has buttons that don't 'click' anymore, because I am going to show you how to fix the button, no matter what phone you have.

DISCLAIMER: Taking apart your phone will void your warranty. This is a how-to guide. I cannot be held responsible if you damage your phone. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

The hard part is trying to figure out how to disassemble your phone. Each phone is different so have GOOGLE be your guide when you take it apart.

Once you have opened it up all the way to the circuit board then you are ready to go

In the upper right of this picture you can see the wheel and directly to the left of the wheel is the 'back' button.
The next pictures will show why the button doesn't 'click' anymore

The first photo shows the accumulated lint that sometimes hinder the correct functionality of the wheel.
The second one show that the little 'clicker disk' has a crack in it.
The last one shows the crack in detail.

Next you need to find another 'clicker' button. Those can be found on any old phone that has buttons on the side of the phone. The dial pad number buttons are too big to use. It should be easy enough to find an old phone that can be used for parts nowadays.

The next pictures are of the button you should be looking for.

Now that you found the replacement, let take out the old one.

The best tools I found to use are a tiny jewelers flat screwdriver and a pair of long nose needle nose pliers.

Pictures always help

Locate the 'orange' area. This is a plastic cover for the button. Use the screwdriver to carefully pry up a section of the 'orange' plastic, just enough to grab it with the pliers. Pull it out with a slight upward motion.

The goal is to grab the plastic and the 'clicker' button will stick to it and it will all come out as one piece.

Here are the two 'clickers' side by side

The next thing to do is to put the new 'clicker' back into the wheel housing, then put the plastic on top of it. Give it a couple of clicks to seat it into it's spot and then reassemble the phone.

Now you will have your wheel clicker back and you can work on that high score in BrickBreaker.

Blackberry 'Back' Button Fix

The 'Back' button is fixed in the same way as the scroll wheel button. The only difference is the actual 'clicker' that goes in there.

Here is a picture of the 'Back' button.

You need to take a razor blade and trim back that black 'melted' plastic that holds the cover on.

After you get it trimmed back. then use the razor blade to pry off the cover. Try not to bend the cover because you need to use it again.

On the inside you can see the square 'clicker'. Take it out and replace it with the new one.

These buttons are harder to find. You either need to use another blackberry for parts or any Push-To-Talk button.

The hard part of this repair is getting the white plastic to balance straight up.

Notice the two metal tabs that stick up, you use those tabs to hold the metal cover back in.
Just bent them down a little so the hold the cover. Don't bend them too hard because the button will not work.

Pictures of the tabs to bend.

Once you get the tabs bent in place you can reassemble the phone.

Save some money, fix your own blackberrys!!!

DIY Wireless Network Printer

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 01:09:00 +0000

With everything going wireless, it's a logical choice to have a wireless printer. They can range from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand, depending on what kind of printer you choose.

But you don't want to invest in a new printer when the one you have works perfectly. Well I found a solution! And it is very inexpensive!

The key to this setup was the router. Fonera makes a very small wireless B/G router which makes it easy to install anywhere. You can find them on ebay for less then $20

The original firmware would not do for my project so I installed DD-WRT. and I would like to thank all those who answered my questions and helped me at www.dd-wrt.com

So now I will show you the construction on my wireless network printer adapter.

Step 1

Gather all the parts together

You will need a printer, a network adapter for the printer, a wireless router, wire, LEDs, solder, and plenty of time.

Printer: I think any printer will work, as long as there is room inside it to fit the router. I was given the LaserJet 5 and found out that it had network capabilities. I searched Ebay and found a network card, untested, for $7. A most definite BARGAIN! For all those with printers that attach with usb, they make usb-to-network adapters, I believe they will work too.
Router: I chose the FONERA wireless router based on three things: 1) it's size, 2) customization with DD-WRT, and 3) the Price. I was able to pick up a couple of these for free.

Router Software: DD-WRT is software that is installed inside the router and opens up the potential that many routers contain.

NOTE: As far as the exact setup for your router and printer, you will find the most help in the forums. At the end of this post, I will put screen shots of my current setup. Hopefully that will help.

Misc Parts: I used many different parts from various computer/electrical components. All of the parts have been laying throughout the house collecting dust. I don't have a parts list, so just follow the basic layout and you can find out what works best for you.

Step 2

Find space for your router

There are two was to locate some extra room inside your printer. One way is to just take it apart. You're going to be taking it apart anyway so why not start there. Unless, of coarse, you still need a functional printer at this time. And the second way to find some open space is to use Google. There are many sites that carry "service manuals" for your printer. A "service manual" is the manual that the repair technicians use to fix the printers. it gives detailed instructions that go beyond printing-a-test-page. For example: we will be covering how to power the router later and the "service manual" will give information on the power supply and the wires inside the printer.
I found a perfect spot to mount my router. It is located towards the front of the printer, and has plenty of space.

Step 3:

Make your mounting bracket

The simplest bracket mounting system I found was to use one of those computer expansion port covers. It's the piece of metal that most people remove from their computer when they add a video card, network card, sound card or other pci/agp card into their computer. Just drill 2 holes and add some spacers (I used motherboard stand-offs) The result has a nice clean look.
Cut a little slot in the metal and slide your bracket in. Then mark the cutout area.

Next I used a blank CD to make another mounting for the quick connect and the antenna connection. (blurry, sorry)
To bend the plastic, just heat it up with a hot air gun or blow torch. Then drill the hole for the antenna connector.

Step 4:

Wire the adapter

This is the part where you can use whatever you have.
I pulled a jumper block off an old parallel/serial pc card and used that as a quick connection block. Using my dremel, I carefully drilled a series of holes in the CD bracket and soldered the jumper block to it.
I need 2 connection for each LED: Power, LAN (cat5), and WLAN (wireless). and 4 connection for the reset switch. I intended also to have the antenna connected also but decided on a different method for that.

The goal here is to have access to the lights and reset switch when the router is installed in the printer.
Wiring for the LEDs
Wiring for the reset switch
All wired

Step 5:

Find some power

The Fonera runs off 5v and according the the Laserjet 5 service manual it also produces a 5v source. Now I'm not an electrician, but using my multimeter, I was comfortable using the power from the printer.
Blue wire: Ground, Brown wire: 5v, Red wire: 24v.
Remove the needed wires from the connector so you can solder to them
(no picture: The wire I used was pulled off the computers internal speaker. One end soldered directly to the power supply wires and the other end has the the connector for the block pictured below)
Another custom jumper block soldered to the router.

Step 6:

Some Assembly required

At this point you should have your router mountable and wired up. Now comes the fun part.
Adding lights. Standard LEDs will work fine.

Here's a little tip: To get the "Glowing" effect, just use some fine sand paper and lightly sand the LEDs

finding a location to mount the lights and switch, and still trying to make it look nice, might be a challenge. So find a spot that looks good and can be accessed easily.
Once you find a spot, dill the holes and mount them

a little hot glue to hold it in

a little more wiring

cleaned up

a little pre-Assembly testing

Step 7:

Final Assembly and testing

In this picture you can see the router mounted in place. Also you can see the antenna installed and the connector that leads to the lights and the reset switch.

one note about the antenna:
I wanted to mount the antenna on the outside of the printer to get a better signal (i get a decent signal now) but I did not have a long enough cable. I had 2 failed attempts at making my own cable, not only that, but i got worse signal then with no antenna connected at all. So if you have a long antenna cable then it is recommended to mount it on the outside of the printer.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Final Thoughts:

After you have completed this project, you will have a less clustered mess of wires. Also, using DD-WRT, you have the option of making your printer a Hot-Spot for your wireless network.
DD-WRT on the Fonera is still in its infancy, so there are a lot of options that have yet to be perfected.

My Wireless Setup:

The following screen shots are of my current dd-wrt settings.

192.168.1.2 (fonera plugged into the Buffalo)

administration-management

administration-keep.alive

security-firewall

setup-advanced.routing

setup-basic.setup

status-lan

status-wireless

sys-info

wireless-basic.settings

wireless-wireless.security

---------------------------------------------------------

192.168.1.3 (fonera plugged into the printer)

administration-management

security-firewall

setup-advanced.routing

setup-basic.setup

status-lan

status-wireless

sys-info

wireless-basic.settings

wireless-wireless.security

If you have any questions or need something explained in more detail, just let me know

As Always, Have Fun

Acer Webcam Screensaver

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 02:00:00 +0000

With everyone upgrading their acer laptop to clean out all the "bloat"ware, and maybe a little fine tuning of the drivers, they seem to 'lose' the acer screensaver that uses the webcam.

after much searching and testing i have finally found the screensaver and the files needed to for it to run.

here is the filelist needed to have it run correctly:
(all the files and folders are located in c:\windows\)

Acer.ini
Acer.scr
\Acer\FsMpegDll.dll
\Acer\FlashSaver.dat
\Acer\acer_saver.swf
\Acer\Blank.swf

as you can tell, this screensaver is flash based. so all those flash programmers out there can tear it apart and customize your own webcam-enabled screensaver.

i have tested these files on my desktop computer running xp and it works. a little flash security box pops up when it accesses my webcam for the first time. then it runs just like on the laptop.

just install to the c:\windows\ folder and run it. you could also edit the acer.ini file to specify another location for the program

: acer.ini :

[Settings]
AppPath=C:\WINDOWS\Acer\

some other settings for the flash

: FlashSaver.dat :

[Options]
MovieSize=2
Quality=2
Sequence=0
BgColor=16777215
MouseMove=0
MouseClick=1
KeyPress=1
ShowCursor=0
AutoPlay=1
MovieBgSound=0
RandomSound=0
MuteSound=1
[Path]
AppPath=C:\WINDOWS\acer\
[Movies]
C:\WINDOWS\acer\acer_saver.swf=

i have posted the mentioned files here (updated 1/26/06)
acer.screensaver.rar

for those who dont have a restore cd/dvd

let me know if/how to customize the .swf to use it as an active webcam screen saver.

email me if the link is dead.

Hope this helps

Phone USB Cable from Car Charger

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:40:00 +0000

So you dont want to cut up your phone....( if you do... )

well if your phone came with a car charger or even a desktop charger you could be in luck.

this method is fairly straightforward so ill keep it simple

first take apart the part that connects to the phone

NOTE: look at the pins! if there are less then three pins get another charger.

the charging circuit requires minimum 2 wires connected, dont count the wires, count the pins that the wires are attached to (see picture)
in this picture you can see the original red and black wires plus the wires i attached

next find the pinout for your charger and solder the wires from the usb cable to the connector

smash everything inside the connector and screw it back together

there. you now have a way to connect the phone to your computer via usb without cutting up the phone.

what you can do now is only limited by the phone you use

the bitpim software is very versatile

create your own ring tones
copy photos/wallpaper to and from your computer
backup your address book
use you phone as a modem
backup your calendar
etc

have fun exploring the possibilities of your phone

Add a USB port to your Cell Phone

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:10:00 +0000

First i want to say, i am not responsible for any damage to your phone, expressed or implied, simply because this is a diy tutorial. USE THIS TUTORIAL AT YOUR OWN RISK!

That being said, let's get on with it.

I want to thank pinouts.ru for having a vast amount of information regarding pinouts for many items. hopefully you will be able to find the information you need.
I also want to thank bitpim.org for having the software needed to access my phone. With it you can transfer your phone book, pictures, and even custom made ring tones, along with other stuff.

I did this hack for two reasons, first, i didnt want to buy a usb cable for my phone. call me "cheap" but i did not see a reason to spend $30-$50 on a cable that i wouldnt use that often. second, theres no reason for me to spend $15/month for internet access on my phone, when i am only spending $10/mo for service. but still i wanted the freedom to take pictures with the phone and still be able to get the pictures off of it.

What you will need:

a camera phone ( I used a Samsung A620/VGA1000)
a mini usb connector (pulled from a dummy Blackberry)
80-pin ide cable(or other small wires)
solder, soldering iron
a little tape for insulation
dremel or something to cut the phone shell
magnifying glass or some way to make your soldering easier
a lot of patience, massive amounts

i had an old "dummy" Blackberry, you know, the "for display only" kind. so i took it apart and found many useful electronic items in it.

de-soldered the usb jack to use in my phone

then take a 80-pin ide cable, or whatever small wire you use for such projects, and strip the ends
carefully solder the wires to the jack. on mine i wanted to use the red wire as my the #1 pin for easier wiring, but when i double checked it, i wired it backwards, so now my red wire is the #4 wire.
once you get your usb cable ready we move to the fun part

you need to disassemble your phone and find a location to put the usb port. i think if you have an older phone it should be simple to find a spot. mine was in place of the carrying strap, which i really didnt need.

slowly cut out the space you need to install the usb port. take your time, especially if its the only phone you have. i was lucky that i had a second, non-working A620 i could try it on. just in case it didnt work i would still have a working phone.

heres a picture showing before and after the modification of the shell.

this is the fitting stage. keep trying to get the usb jack to fit. trim a little here and there, bend the tabs on the usb jack, just do what you have to to get it to fit. but keep in mind you want this phone functional when your finished. dont just get the usb jack to fit, you need to do a mock assemble, a "dry run", and put the phone back together to make sure everything still goes back together.

now as far a the phone goes, realize that everything is tiny, and to work on it you need tiny things. i had to modify my soldering tip (just used a wheel grinder on it) to work on this project.

this is why i ground it down. (those three connectors in the foreground connect to the battery pack), pretty tiny, eh

sorry about the pictures, its difficult to snap a clear shot while holding a magnifying lens.

it took me about an hour and a half to solder 4 wires. 1 1/2 hours! the reason is that i took my time. and this is what i found out that will help you out on yours:

put enough solder on the wire just to change its color. copper to silver. if you have a "blob", no matter what size, its too much. do this to all the wires before you start, because its a real pain trying to do it when some of the wires are already soldered

when you are finished connecting the wires, apply a little tape to help hold it in place and it help with insulation also. as you go to assemble everything take your time, you got this far, dont break something because youre rushing to get it back together.

i took this picture to show that it still functions. hope yours comes out just as nice or better

do more research:

find out all the information you can on your phone to see if its possible to do this
gather pinout information, schematic, diagrams or look for someone else that done it on your style phone
i found out that i needed a certain winXP driver for my phone to be recognized, do the same for yours
its always nice to have a backup, ask friends, family, coworkers if they have any non-working or unused phones that you can practice on before attempting modification on yours
as always -have fun!-

Click here to see how to get the same benefits without cutting up your phone

DIY Infrared Security Camera

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 19:08:00 +0000

i guess this is where i tell you that you can make your own IR security camera cheaper then you can buy one, that might be true if you can create your own wireless camera, but not me. but if you do it this way it is a lot more fun and time consuming.

initially i just wanted to take a webcam and make it infrared, but in the process of disassembly i destroyed the lens. in my search for a replacement lens, the idea grew to use a camcorder so that i could use the zoom feature. i played around with the idea and this is what it turned out to be.

as you look over my project, i'm sure you say things like "Why did he do this.." and "He could have done that instead..." or even "What was he thinking??" well, i just used what i had and did it in the time frame set aside for it. i am always open for comments and suggestions. at the end i will list ideas that i would have like to have done or things i would have changed so that you could have the opportunity to make yours better.

the reason i call it a security camera is because it really cant be used for much else.

so here we go

materials:

webcam
camcorder - working or not, you'll just use the lens assembly
infrared LEDs, or IR illuminator board kit
computer power supply case, or any other type project box
power supply, i used a 12v (from printer) and a 6v (from cell phone charger)
misc switches
wire, solder, rubberband
nuts, bolts, scrap metal (for making/mounting brackets)
hot glue, blank cds (the clear plastic ones)
IR filter- make out of 35mm negatives, find the black part at the beginning of the strip
patience

all the pictures can be found here

now we need to disassemble the webcam:

this is fairly straightforward, just find the screws and remove them. remove the lens assembly. (if you want to use just the webcam then you need to disassemble the lens so you can take out the IR filter. sometimes it looks like a tiny red/blue square, but sometimes it is "painted" on the lens, if thats the case just scrape off. )

next you need to take apart the camcorder:

since camcorders vary by model use your own judgment on how to disassemble it. the most basic advice is to take your time. if the camcorder works, i suggest taking a lot of pictures so if in the end you decide to put it back together, it will be much simpler to do. just start removing screws and eventually itll come apart to the point that you need.

remember that all you need out of the camcorder is the lens assembly and the motors. a majority of camcorders have an auto focus feature, and if you are capable, save this feature for your project.

the blue lens is the IR filter that blocks the IR light.

ok, now that the easy part is over you need to figure out how to put the pieces together.

assembly:

first thing to do is get the webcam connected to the lens assembly. this took a lot of trial/error tests on my part. the good news was the fact that my webcam fit excatly in the lens assembly, just like they were made for each other. you might have to create your own "couplings" to get yours to work. the bad news is that the optical sensor (the thing that catches the light on the webcam) will be a set distance from the lens assembly. since i didnt measure anything i had to adjust it by hand until it focused correctly. that took some time. as you can tell by the pictures, once i had the correct distance i just used a rubberband to mount it to the lens.

the IR filter is placed between the lens assembly and the webcam.

i did not plan where anything went to begin with. i just created as i went. i got a lot of metal filings everywhere as i cut the box, so use caution when cutting.

the first thing i mounted was the lens. i placed it so that the lens would "see" through the opening where the power supply fan went. not perfect, but it was mounted.

next i rigged my power supplies. -you can use whatever power you want- i used a 12volt from a printer to power the IR board, and a 6volt from cell phone charger to power the zoom/focus motors and the shutter.

open up the power supplys. the quickest way i found was to use my dremel and the disk cutting attachment. take care not to cut too deep, you might cut something you dont want to. after i managed to get the boards free from their shells, i wired them together.

i got a plastic cd and cut a square out of it so i could use it for a "insulator" between the two power supplies. after everything was lined up, it all got "glued" together with hot glue (also a good insulator).

next mount the "shell" of the power supply in the box to hold your new combo power in place.

next i build my IR illuminator board. which i bought online: bgmicro.com (LED 1007) it took me about 30 min to finish.

i then created a bracket so i could mount the IR to my case.

i used the camcorder switches and some other of the same type switch from an old programmable coffee maker to control the zoom/focus motors.

i essentially created two 2 pole 2 throw switches. it would have been better just to buy them, but its diy. initially i was going to create my own "breadboard" out of a cd, but then i found a real one to use. as you can see the construction of the switches is pretty simple, after wiring just glob more hot glue on it. (note: there is no short-circuit protection on this circuit, so use caution)

the wires connected to the motors were too small for me to use, so i "fixed" the connector. i pulled some right angle jumper pins off a computer cd player (the master/slave/CS pins) and connected those to the existing connector, then, with the very versatile hot glue, put them together. now i could use the computer type connectors to get them to work, (you know, HDD light/Reset sw/speaker etc...)

mount the switches and power connectors to the box and wire everything up. i put a master power switch, a 12v on/off power switch for IR light, and focus near/far and zoom in/out switches. the shutter opens automatically when the power is on.

if everything went well you will have a nice zoomable IR security camera!!

Now the list of "would-of/should-of/could-of":

mount lens for pan/tilt capabilities
power supply options: car adaptor, batteries, powered by usb (for portability)
everything controlled via usb/software -zoom/pan/tilt/focus/shutter/ir filter, etc
make it wireless - covert a router or something to control it over internet
make it comparable to the D-LINK 6620G

a lot of possibilities. maybe ive pointed you in the right direction

more pictures are located here

as always, have fun

here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure

note: i already know they are not quality pictures, making comments on the subject would be redundantly redundant :)
--the quality of the picture depends on the quality of the webcam you use.

--first picture is taken using another ir camera (camera lets ALL light in, thats why its in color)

--next, base picture of coffee mug taken with same camera (5ft distance)

--third picture taken with project camera same distance away

--forth picture at max zoom (6x)

--last picture is taken max zoom at 20ft distance

bonus picture:

Acer 5672WLMI -- Clean Install XP

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:49:00 +0000

** UPDATE **
Here is a VERY useful link with a lot of how-to's about the 5672wlmi (Currently redoing mine again)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=77995
** UPDATE **

I finally purchaced a new notebook: Acer Aspire 5672WLMI

I thought I would give it a little review, and show the steps to give it a clean istall of Windows XP.

Overall I give this a 9 out of 10 rating. I am very pleased with it and it works great for the applications I need it for.

The acer website: http://global.acer.com/products/notebook/as5670.htm

I purchased mine from http://www.newegg.com because they have the best price at this time.

Mine came with XP Home, 100GB hard drive, 1GB ram, Wireless, Bluetooth, and ATI Mobility Raderon x1400

The main drawback I have about this laptop is the hard drive space. They advertize 100GB, but in reality you get 37GB to use.

There are 3 partitions on the drive, C: D: and a hidden "system restore" partition. The D: drive is supposed to be used as a backup drive for your data and system settings. The hidden partition is used for a System Restore of the factory settings, because it does NOT come with a restore cd/dvd.
-When you first turn on the laptop and after the initial Windows XP setup you get prompted to create a restore cd/dvd, but you need to have your own disk(s). It takes 4 cds or 1 dvd.
The system restore CD's/DVD you create are not bootable, you have to have the operating software installed and the Acer eRecovery Management software installed also. Then you can restore your computer. I did not use the recovery on the hard drive, so I am not sure if it would allow you to boot and recover from it.

Here is some CPU-Z information on the computer:
So now that you had a look at this laptop, I am going to show you the steps to do a Clean Install Of XP Pro.

The reason anyone would want to do a clean install is if they like their computers the way they want, you know have-it-your-way. But mostly if you dont use, or want all the pre-installed Acer software. Most of it I did not use. In my research before buying this laptop, I did find a site the reviews notebooks and they have a long thread about pro's and con's of this laptop.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=37507
On page 12, there is a guide, that I followed, on doing a clean install.

First, just in case I wanted to revert back to factory settings, I did a disk image backup of the hard drive. A disk image backup is a backup of the hard drive itself, all the partitions, hidden or not. Its bootable, so you can restore it whenever you want and have it back to factory settings. There are a lot of software options for doing this, Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image, but the one I used is called Paragon Drive-Backup. Simple and quick.
It shows the partitions of the hard drive and you can burn it to dvds. Mine took 3.

This is an excerpt from page 12 of the notbook review site. This is just a baseline of what to do.

Pre-install: --D/L'ed all of the drivers onto D:\temp and extracted them. It took about an hour for me to grab every single one of the drivers.

Panam Site: http://www.acerpanam.com

European Site: http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_5670.html

--Formated the HD to NTFS using the windows cd. This was a big deal for me, FAT32 is great and fast for smaller sized HD's, but with a 50gig partition full of music and video, NTFS is the king. I did a clean format of C: with the SLOW format of NTFS (its executes chkdsk which is decent for finding and HD weaknesses)
Install Process:

--Installed windows xp pro onto C:
--Enabled IR
--Installed the following drivers:
1. Intel Chipset
2. ATI VGA Driver
3. Intel wireless (I got this from the Acer European site)
4. Conexant Audio drivers
5. Conexant Modem drivers
6. Broadcom 5789E LAN drivers
7. Bluetooth drivers (I got this from the Acer PanAm site)
8. CCD Drivers (webcam)
9. FIR (Fast IR, the CIR is for the remote which we don't have )
10. Touchpad drivers
11. 6in1 Card Reader
12. Acer ePower mgmt (VERY IMPORTANT, this puppy is much better than the default windows power mgmt).
13. Acer Launch manager (For the quick launch buttons in the top right hand corners and media buttons on the left side)
--Installed the following OPTIONAL software
1. Acer Empowering Framework (necessary for everything below)
2. Acer ePresentation (easy to use tool for setting up on projectors)
3. Acer GridVista (multi-screen utility)
4. Acer eSettings

Post-install: --Firefox FTW! You will lose the *nifty * acer screensaver that uses the webcam.

(if you want to keep the acer screensaver, I think you can just save the .scr file from the Windows folder)

As far as my install process, I went into the BIOS and disabled the D2D recovery option and I have no use for the IR at this time so I left it disabled.

Rebooted and started the install process.
I deleted the partitions to create one big one and formated it NTFS.

It took a while to format but after that it was just a matter of installing drivers and any software that you want.

I hope this has been a help to you, once again if there is a question you have email me at Computerguru365 (at) gmail (dot) com.

DIY RCA Switch Box UPDATED

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 22:58:00 +0000

Procrastination has its price. As I finally decided to put up my projects online, I notice that there are others like myself, who like to save some money, and have their projects up and running. So, if I come across others that are the same as mine (or at least the same idea) I will post to their pages also.

The DIY RCA Switch Box is not a new idea, (LifeHacker), just a little difficult to do. What you need to accomplish such a task is patients and time. You can always go and buy one, but if you need a certain configuration that might be expensive.

For mine, I needed 4 inputs to 1 output, and I didn't feel like spending more then $10.

I found an old parallel printer A/B switch box, which was not being used (USB printers now), so I took it apart.
The first thing was that it was an A/B switch box and I needed an A/B/C/D switch box, well I got lucky. The key is in the switch itself. (more on that in a bit)

When you take it apart it might seem just a little overwhelming with all the wires, but in fact, it is really simple.

You can either unsolder all the wires off or just cut them at the end NOT connected to switch.
I would recommend unsoldering off the switch end for easier testing of switch.

Now for the fun part:
Carefully take the switch apart. Now this part is hard to explain, the switches I had were A/B switches, but inside I flipped over the "how-many-positions" plastic piece and got what I wanted.

Now after we get the switch to the number of positions we need, its time for the task of figuring out how to set it up.

Because each application and switch are going to be different then mine, I will show how I did mine, and you can use that as a guide for yours.

All you have to do is get your trusty multi-tester with an ohm or continuity checker on it and start figuring your wiring diagram.

Here's a scan of mine. The color codes are for the switch positions. on the 4th position, I was only able to get mono because I broke one of the mini-contact points inside the switch.
I don't know if you will be able to make heads or tails over my schematics, but maybe they'll help someone.

After you get the switch figured out, all you do is mount the connectors and solder the wires to them. I used the old A/B switch box as the new one, but I had to cover those huge holes where the parallel ports were. I used expansion card place holders. You know, those metal brackets you put in to cover the hole that's left from removing that unused modem out of your computer.

That worked out well. Now my box is finished, except for the labeling on the front. I can connect my DVD, PS1, Camcorder, and for the mono jack, I got my computer plugged into that one. (s-video to composite cable).

I hope you can find this a help. Because you are in control of the wiring, you can make your own S-Video switch box, or DVI switch box, etc.

Just have fun

-=** UPDATE **=-

I have realized that my diagram is not easily interpreted, so I'll try to explain it.

First take a look at the picture of the actual switch. You will notice a lot of metal tabs sticking out. Those are the contact point to solder to. Now look at the diagram. You will notice that it is color coded. Those colors represent which contacts have continuity when in the corresponding switch position. There are three contacts per position. One for input and Two for output (A/B).
--For Example: Pins 4,5,6 have Blue and Green. ---Pin 4 connects with Pin 5 in switch position 1 --- Pin 6 connects with Pin 5 in switch position 2-- So you can have video-in on Pin 5 and video-out on pin 4 and 6.
The Yellow position didn't have any continuity to other pins, so I had to use another "disk". The switch I took apart was made up of several "disks". Yours might be different, so you'll just have to get out that trusty multi-meter to test the continuity of your disks.

If you have ANY questions, or I did not explain well enough, just send me and email at computerguru365 (at) gmail (dot) com. I will update as needed.

What to do with your unused flatbed scanner

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 17:21:00 +0000

You got yourself a brand new all-in-one scanner, printer, fax, copier machine, so what are you going to do with your old flatbed scanner. Well I will show you a couple of things you might just be brave enough to try, all with no or little cost, depending what you have lying around the house.

First we'll strip that scanner of the usefull things.

Taking the light out of the scanner and using it in your computer.

I'll start off by sayng that when I undertook this project I did not find anything online, but as I aquired another scanner to take step-by-step pictures for this how-to, I came across THIS link, which is simmilar to my project. I did take it one step futher. I also used the mirrors that were in there too. It quadrupled the light output.

I used silicone caulking to glue the mirrors together. To mount the light tube, I took the rubber mounting "shock absorbers" out of a old CD player. I wrapped the DC-AC tranformer with a piece of ide 40-pin cable and hot glue.

I added a rocker switch from a burned out power strip, and mounted inside my computer with some cable ties.

The Finished Product.

note: I have not noticed any temperature
increase with this light in my computer.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Here's a link that shows what to do with the scanner after it has been stripped clean of useful parts: Scanner computer case mod

I have not done this, but you could always just use the glass out of the scanner to mod your current case and put a nice window in it.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

And finally the original idea for the use of the scanner light was for a ghetto flashlight, made entirely of materials I had around the house.

The Ghetto Flashlight

Items needed:

1 scanner light (optional mirror attachment)
external modem case (or other project box)
9 v battery
switch
wires
1 old paint roller
hot glue

All you need to do is mount the electronics inside the modem case, hot glue the scanner light to a paint roller that has been cut in half lenghtwise. Then hot glue the roller to the modem case.

The reason to use hot glue is that it does not conduct electricity, and it can come off cleanly. Mainly because I knew that this wasnt going to be permanent.

As you can see using the mirrors makes it look like you have 4 bulbs instead of just one. The picture below shows the flashlight on.

Please feel free to post your ideas for unused computer components. Even if they are just ideas, and have not yet been completed.

DIY Blackberry USB repair

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:46:00 +0000

So you got a little rough with your Backberry and ripped out the USB port, what are you going to do? Some of us are in such a hurry, we forget to unplug the charging cable from our mobile device when we snatch it up to go somewhere. I will show you how to fix-it-yourself so you can spend your money on other things. This repair is for a Blackberry 7100t, and can be used for any mobile device.

First, you will need to find a replacement part. I had an old digital camera that I wasnt using. It had the perfect replacement USB port that I needed.

Next we need to take apart the Blackberry. There are 4 screws: 2 at bottom under battery and 2 at top under speaker cover. Both are hex head but I just used a little flat head screwdriver.

Next we need to remove the 4 screws that are holding the black speaker/battery housing.

Here is the Blackberry opened up, and the arrow is pointing to where we need to put the new USB port.

Now we get to take apart our victim, the camera. Because there are many possibilities of where you get a replacement USB port, you wont need to follow the next step. You can just use it for reference.

Here is the location of the USB port inside the camera. Because I dont have a de-soldering iron, I just used my soldering iron and a can of compressed air to blow the melted solder away. NOTICE: I dont recommend using that tecnique on something you want to keep, because it blows the solder all over the place possibly shorting your valued electronics.

This is a close-up picture of the old USB port. Notice that there are some pins missing.

This is the new USB port. I had to bend the
mounting tabs to fit where the old port went.

Location of where the USB port goes.

This is my wonderful job of soldering. I basicly used the solder that was left on the PCB (green part) and just heated the pins with my soldering iron. The mounting tabs (the big blobs of solder) was a bit of overkill, but i didnt want it to pull out again.

Now put the Blackberry back together in reverse order of taking it apart.

FINISHED! And it works.

I hope this helps someone fix their own USB ports on whatever products they have like mp3 players, phones, psp, ipods, etc.

Welcome to the DIY Computers and Electronics Blog

noreply@blogger.com (computerguru365) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:25:00 +0000

This blog will be for posting and discussing computer/electronics do-it-yourself ideas and projects. For all those who enjoy building and modifiying electronics rather then buying the upgrade. Here you can post your projects and get feedback and help from others who like to do what you do - Build-it-yourself!

I have a few projects that I have completed and others that I am curently working on. I will post them to get feedback and help when I get stuck with a problem.

For now, I will open up feedback from anyone, so you dont have to be a member or submit a link to make a comment. In the future I will request others to post their projects so that others can help and comment on them.

If you are working on or have completed a project, but dont know how to post them, just take some pictures of it and email them to me at computerguru365 ( at ) gmail (dot) com.