Updated: Samsung remote for win XP

Ifinished this project today. Made a hole in the pc case for the cable to exit. sorted all the cable connections, made it look at bit better ( and safer ). I put the components on a vero board, so it was more compact ( was always part of the plan ). The initial “birds nest” layout was just a “proof of concept” to see if it would work on my machine

 

So here is what it looks like. I added an old 10m svhs cable, in between the components and the connecter. And i put the reciever in a small plastic case, for now. Had to make an opening, and the finish isnt that nice. I need a piece of tinted plexiglas, to make it look good, and make a bigger opening. But the angle of reception is actually pretty damn good. Better than for my samsung  dvd reciever….

 

Here’s pics:

 

 

 

As for controls, i am using uIce software ( opensource ). Here, i “learned” different buttons on my remote, for actions like:

 

Arrow keys up, down, left and rigt. Mouse movement up, down…. Right left and double click, tab, application cycling and closing… there’s no end to the possibilties

 

So now i just lay on my couch, browing for the different show i want to watch on my pc, via my 32″ LCD tv

 

 

Samsung remote for win XP

 

I read on HackADay that u cud make a usb-ir input device, that cud register the input from an ordinary remote, for a tv/hif device.

 

I then found, a guide to making a an ir receiver, for use via serial pin-9 ( COM ) port. Much simpler and cheaper, not even a micro controller needed

 

Then i realised, after buing the parts, that i didn’t have a com port on the back of my pc, but that i did have an internal connector ( phew !).

 

Here is the deal:

Capacitor, resistor, diode, ir modulator, voltage regulator…. ( the diagram is wrong, by the way, for these component, and the capacitor is missing… Had to read allot of data sheets to do it with what components i cud get! ) 

Found this cable, that i never used. Its not the right one for the COMA connector, but tuned it “upside down”, and connected it “to the side” of the pins, and it would do the job

This is my make-shift soldering platform. A piece of wood, with some rubber bands..  :D

Here it is, danling outside my pc case… testing to see if it works at all….

Connected inside….

After installing WinLirc, and seeing the COM1 port was workin’, in tried sending some signals with my trusty samsung remote….

Wuhuu! we get signal!!!!! Ie, its working!!!

 

Then i found a nice application, “UIce”, that could register the remte, and assign events to the keystrokes all in one. Then i assigned the “up”, “down”, “right”, “left” and “ok” buttons to the corrosponsing mouse events, on the pc…. now i can move around my cursor with my samsung remote…

 

 

I will make a nice mount for the reciever one of the next days  

Biped walking Robot

I have been wanting to get an arduino dev. board for some time now, to start experimenting with making small robots. As i watched the Robert Full segment, on how engineers get inspired by nature ( on TED ), i started thinking differently about the mechanics of a walking robot. I have a few “innovative” ideas on crawling robots, but now also a concept for bipedal waling. All i can say as of right now, its not using actuarors, like (almost) all others i have seen so far. The only one i remember not useing acuators, is the rHex, wich i have seen also walking bipedal

 

I will make som quick n’ dirty sketches, and an animation in solid works one of these days, and post it. Then i will get to prototyping. Ill share it all here

Update:

Here’s the animation, so u get the general idea of the concept. I think i will try to make the pin about wich the slider moves adjustable, so i can “tune” the step “length”. Both in vertical direction, but also in the lateral direction. This way i can also adjust the angle of attack, so that the slider rod is not perpendicular, when at rest.

 

 

 

Only one thing i just realized: How to stand still, with both legs paralell to each other? Might be a problem for a biped, but probaly not that big a deal for eg. a hexapod. Maybe a clutch is the ansver, or a clever way to drive the wheel, so that if power is lost, it will “fall back” to “neutral”, and stand.

 

- I did realize just now, that the wheel is totally unnecessary, and a small rod would do just fine. It will be, in the next sketch.

Oil submerged pc

Pr. request from Mr. Nuno Job i will post the link to the video of me and a few startled friends, doing a project on submerging an old pc, in common engine oil.

A relaxing evening on Team Speak…

So i made this new video, it took me about 1-1½ hour to make, after playing a fun match VS DEK. We got our asses kicked, probably because they werent “medium” to our mixed skill, they had a few realy good players, there amoung baloo and migthy mouse, but watch out for them in the vid, i do get them down a few times ^^

here the high quality video is, about 90 megs: http://rapidshare.com/files/145689714/a_relaxing_evening_on_ts.wmv.html

 

Here is youtube, but it doesnt do it justice :/

I put it on megavideo instead, it pwned utube concerning quality, ftw! here it is:

 

Defenition of: “Waranty Void”

I have a samsung ht-x30 stereo, have had it for app. 1/2 year now. Great stereo, cost me 2000,- DKK ( 268 EUR ). It was the cheapest i could get, that supported digital TOS link input, so i cud run true 5.1 channel surround out of my HDA Xplosion sound card, and make my home stereo complete. 4 satellites, 1 center, 1 sub. 800 watt rms. Fits nicely with my 32″ samsung M87 LCD TV

Point being, that it stopped working recently. Getting “protection” warning on display, and then it turns off, after 20 min. playing. Turning it on again, it would go out after 5 min. Damn!

So i did the whole “forum” thing, and tried different inputs and so on, moving it, maybe it was overheating, but no…. even an additional fan did nothing…. Updated firmware…. nothing helped…..

And since i couldn’t remember where i bought it, and find the order email, or find the money withdrawel on my bank account, i was boned…. And today i wrote samsung support, telling them about my trouble…

But as i was looking at the stereo, i just wanted to fix it myself, just to see if i could. Would be much cooler than having to bother with shipping it out asf…

Here i took off the lid…

And i took of a cover that directs airflow over some components, and would you look at that….

2 capacitors were totally burned out!!!

So i took out this board, and had a look at it…

And i quickly went down to my local electronics hardware dealer, and got me 4x 470 nF / 100v capacitors, and some tin and fluss thread….

Broke away the chared remains of the burned down capacitors, and brushed most of the chemical mayhem off the board…

Cleaned out the holes…

Put in the new capacitors…

And put my soldering skillz to the test! I have never done ANY real soldering, just a bit of messing up some stuff. Not even really at school… only very briefly… but i did quite well i think

Good as new???? Only time would tell….

… turned the thing on… and to my surprise, it didnt actually blow up! Then i put in the optical input, and speaker cords, and it played like it should. And at the seccond im writing this, it has been playing for 1hr and 10 min.