Category Archives: Tinkering

Using a harddrive as the make disk for an RPi

Posted on April 23, 2015 by robertwilkie

Nice write up (second link) on how to setup a Raspberry Pi to boot from a harddrive instead of the SD card. http://lifehacker.com/quickly-set-up-an-external-hard-drive-on-a-raspberry-pi-1699452534 https://learn.adafruit.com/external-drive-as-raspberry-pi-root/overview

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Umbrella Windpower

Posted on April 22, 2015 by robertwilkie

I was cleaning out some notes and found this, forgot all about it.  The author uses umbrellas to power several devices (music box, bubble maker, etc) via wind.  Pretty creative build. http://www.niklasroy.com/articles/133/umbrellaphone-umbrellabubble

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Different ways of USB storage for Android

Posted on April 22, 2015 by robertwilkie

I ran into a problem with android with accessing it via USB.  Didn’t understand why til I read this article.  It used to look like a thumb drive, now its a MTP, or Media Transfer Protocol.  Which makes sense so … Continue reading →

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How to add serial terminal view to Eclipse

Posted on April 21, 2015 by robertwilkie

Why?  Well if you are working with Eclipse and arduinos….. http://mcuoneclipse.com/2015/04/20/serial-terminal-view-in-eclipse-luna/

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Nice go-cart build with an electric drill for the motor

Posted on April 21, 2015 by robertwilkie

This is a pretty clever build.  I like the steering setup (frizzbee with the rope pulls).  It looks like the author used harbor freight wheels too. http://makezine.com/2015/04/17/electric-drill-provides-power-kid-friendly-go-kart/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=%24{feed}&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+%24{makezineonline}+%28%24{MAKE}%29&utm_content=%24{GoogleReader}

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Other ways to write code for Arduino

Posted on April 21, 2015 by robertwilkie

Interesting article that goes over other tools to write code for arduino’s mostly visual based.  Me…I’ll stick to C. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/programming-languages-can-use-arduino/

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A nice simple 3D printed cabinet for RPi for arcade games

Posted on April 20, 2015 by robertwilkie

Nice build for a portable arcade with an Raspberry Pi.  All the designs are on Thigiverse, look for “the arcade cabinet”. http://www.3ders.org/articles/20150416-create-a-3d-printed-arcade-cabinet-using-a-raspberry-pi.html

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Copy a key in minutes

Posted on April 20, 2015 by robertwilkie

Good write-up for future spies (just remember to wipe the soot off the original key when done.  I read this and thought that you could use an old giftcard as the “spare” in addition to a soda can, etc. http://www.instructables.com/id/Copy-a-Key-in-Minutes/

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Convert your RPi to mine bitcoins

Posted on April 20, 2015 by robertwilkie

Good write-up on how to setup your Raspberry Pi to mine for bitcoins.  But….is it worth it?  The CPU cycles the RPi has are pretty low so you would need a bunch of these to even come close to the  … Continue reading →

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3D print RC car tracks for your car

Posted on April 17, 2015 by robertwilkie

Cool build.  The author designed the tracks to fit on RC cars instead of tires.  looks like they work pretty good.  The only down side, it sounds like printing out the track can take a very long time. http://www.instructables.com/id/RC-car-tracks-in-110-scale/

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