Technology and Stuff

Tivo Adds New Services

2005-12-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

Has anyone received the new Tivo update yet? Apparently Tivo has added a few new services to it's series2 DVRs. The new services are mostly brought through Yahoo and include:

Yahoo! Photos - View photos that you have uploaded to your Yahoo! account.
Yahoo! Weather - View the current weather and forcast for your region.
Yahoo! Traffic - View current traffic status in your area.
Live365 Radio Network - Listen to internet radio.
Fandango - View movie showtimes or buy movie tickets online.
Podcasts - Download podcasts from various talk shows.

You can read more about these new features and see some screenshots on Tivo's Website.

Cantenna Test Results

2005-12-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are the results from the second cantenna test. I used a couple of different types of cantennas and also used either the standard antennas, antennas with reflectors, one cantenna, or two cantennas with the access point.

Remember, every 3 dBm increase yields double the power!

Distance between AP and Laptop: 1,632 ft.

Type	Signal - dBm	Sig/Noise - dBm
Nalley Chili Can w/ reflect	-66	34
Nalley w/ regular antennas	-68	32
Hunt's SS – reg. antennas	-70	30
Nalley w/ one can	-73	27
Nalley w/ two cans	-75	25
Linksys WUSB11 Natural	-79	21

Prison Break Off-Air Until March

2005-11-25T21:41:00.000-08:00

This is pretty bitter-sweet, my favorite show of all time, PrisonBreak has gone off the air until March. I guess this is better than the rumor that was going around. It was rumored that the show was going off the air until May to make room for the upcoming season of 24. 24 is a really good show, but I think I'd rather watch PrisonBreak.

$100 Laptop Refuses Mac OSX

2005-11-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

So has everyone now heard about the $100 laptop project? A non-profit organization is making laptops that cost just $100 in order to put computers in the hands of low income children around the world.

Well, a stupid decision on their part.....Steve Jobs offered to give Mac OS X to them for free to install on all of the laptops, but they refused! Can you believe that? They chose to go with RedHat Linux instead. I guess that must be because Linux is sooooo user friendly, it must be the choice for kids! Especially kids that probably have rarely if ever used a computer before!

Sounds like a political decision to me. RedHat must be a huge sponsor.

Cantenna / Reflector Range Test Results Coming Soon

2005-11-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Give me a week, and I'll get up some more in depth results....I did some preliminary testing as shown below, however it was only from 500 feet away. I am going to do some tests from about three times that distance with different configurations.

Cantenna Parts Price List

2005-11-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

I have recieved a request to post the total price list for building your own catenna, so here it is:

These are approximate figures after paying for shipping:

Can: $2-$3, or free - you're going to eat the food anyways...
N-Connector: $5
Pigtail: $12-$15
Copper wire: ? I took some extra housing wire and pulled the copper wiress out. (12 gauge wire).

If you don't have solder and a soldering iron: $20
If you don't have a wireless adapter with an external antenna jack: $40+

Grand Total: About $25

How to Build a Cantenna - Results

2005-11-13T22:01:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the preliminary results of the catenna:

Distance between AP and Laptop: 550ft.

Linksys WUSB11 Natural: -82dBm
Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce Can: -77dBm
Nalley Chili Can: -73dBm

Tivo connection quality went from 60% to 92%.

Power doubles for every 3dBm increase!

How to Build a Cantenna

2005-11-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am now posting pictures and instructions that I used to build my cantenna. As always, if you injure yourself or damage your equipment, or get in to any kind of trouble, I cannot be held responsible. Do at your own risk!

Things you'll need:

A wireless adapter with an external antenna port

An N-femail connector
2 inch, 12-gauge copper wire
4 #6, short screws
One can

A drill, or a nail and hammer with some patience.
Solder and a soldering iron.

Step 1: Get a wireless card that has an external antenna connector. These are surprisingly hard to find. Check out E-bay, there are several Orinoco, IBM Wavelan, or Buffalo PCMCIA cards that will do the trick.

For the brave, you can also modify several existing cards or USB devices to create an external antenna connector. This is what I chose to do. I have a Linksys WUSB11 wireless USB network adapter. If you pop it apart by removing the screw under the top left rubber foot (voiding your warranty of course), there is an MMCX connecter that is used to connect the existing antenna. (on versions 2.5 and above, previous versions you will have to buy a connector and solder it in yourself.) Just disconnect the antenna from the connector, and you have a nice port you can use for your cantenna.

Step 2: Get a can. Don't bother with different cans, enough people have tried these things, if you want to know how to build a cantenna, then do it right. Use a can the size of a Nalley Chile or Nalley Beef Stew can. (About 3.9 inches in diameter).

Step 3: Buy an "N Connector". You can buy these all over the place online, or in some electronics stores. I just bought mine on E-bay. Get one with the mounting holes so you can mount it to your cantenna.

Step 4: Buy a "pigtail" that you will use to connect your wireless card to your cantenna. Remember that different adapters have different types of connectors. One side needs to be an N-mail connector and the other end needs to be whatever you need to match your card. Just do a Google search for connector information for your card if you are unsure what type to get.

Step 5: Drill the holes for the connector. The distance from the back of the can must be as close to 1.78 inches as possible.

Step 6: Solder the copper wire into the N connector. Then cut the wire so that the length of the copper wire and the holder on the N connecter is as close to 1.21 inches as possible. The portion that sticks into the can altogether should be 1.21 inches.

Step 7: Insert the connector into the hole, and put the screws in. The screws should barely enter into the inside of the can. If your screws are too long, get some shorter ones or use some washers on the outside of the can to shorten them up.

Step 8: If you want to weather proof your cantenna for outdoor use, you can paint the outside and put a plastic lid over the cover. Make sure this lid will not block the radio waves that pass through it! I read somewhere that you can test whether it will block the waves by putting the lid in the microwave with a glass of water next to it. When you run the microwave, the water should get warm, but the plastic lid next to it should not. If it does, then do not use the lid. I used a lid from a La Choy Chow Mein Noodles can.

That's it! You have just learned How to Build a Cantenna Now just connect your wireless adapter to your cantenna with your pigtail and test it out. Use a program like NetStumbler to test your increased signal strength. Remember that the power of the antenna is doubled for every 3 dBm increase. (Notice that it will show the signal like this: -77. Therefore the higher the number (the less negative) the number gets, the better the performance.

Just remember that the measurements need to be as close to exact as possible. At 2.4Ghz, small variations make a big difference.

Cantenna Links:

How To Build A Tin Can Waveguide WiFi Antenna The most popular and very informative cantenna building site. Go here to use the calculator if you would like to use different sized cans.
Spreadsheet that has different sized cans and their calculations along with the optimum can size calculations.
FreeAntennas.com has great information on making reflectors for your AP. Easy to and cheap (practically free) to make and provide increased signal strength.

Check These Babies Out!

2005-11-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Check these things out! They are called reflectors. I found a template for them on freeantennas.com

Surprisingly, they work great!

Not to mention they are virtually free. I just followed the template and cut a cereal box into the pieces I needed then glued aluminum foil to the pieces, then assembled them. Surprisingly enough, they really do work really well, give it a try!

Funny Halloween Story

2005-10-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

My sister went to a church Halloween party the other day dressed as a cow. Funny enough, she looked down and saw a three year old girl sucking on one of her utters! It turns out, the girl's mom admitted that maybe she had breast fed her a little too long. Just had to share that with you!

Cantenna Project

2005-10-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am beginning my quest to extend the range of my wireless network. I have been browsing the internet looking for various reflector and cantenna/antenna ideas. Currently, I am planning on hooking up two homemade cantennas to the two antenna ports on my Linksys router.

I would also like to hook one up to my laptop and see how far I can go before loosing my connection. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a cheap wireless adapter for my laptop that has an external antenna port.

Anyways, I'll post pictures and news along the way with a "how to build a cantenna" guide. If anyone has any suggestions about what kind of antennas to build or links to good plans, please let me know.

And PLEASE let me know if you find a good laptop wireless adapter with an external antenna port! Thanks!

Prisonbreak rocks!

2005-10-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

So I started watching this new show called PrisonBreak. I just wanted to let everyone know what an awesome show this is. It's about a guy (Lincoln Burrows) who is framed for murdering the vice president's brother. He is sent to prison and is convicted and sentanced to die.

His brother (Michael Scofield), knowing that his brother Lincoln has been framed takes matters into his own hands. Since he is actually a structural engineer who helped build the prison, he creates an escape plan and has the map of the prison tatooed in an encoded form all over his body. He then goes to a bank and acts as though his is robbing it in hopes that he will be sent to the same prison as Lincoln. Well, as luck would have it, he gets sent to the same prison. The show continues as Michael follows his escape plans (and lucks out every week) to free his brother from prison.

This is a must watch show, I highly recommend it.

Automatic Blog Posts Are VERY Annoying

2005-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

I recently started this blog back in September due to a request by one of my professors. I was really interested to see what kind of comments would get posted in response to my posts. To my dismay, most of the posts I see are automated advertisements. Does anyone else find this rather annoying? Honestly, is anyone really insterested that "Anonymous said....Just thought I'd let you know about a site where you can make over $800 a month in extra income. Go to this site...."

I think internet marketing has hit an all time low. First it was the annoying banner ads (which Google thankfully resolved with their more tactful advertising campaigns), then it was the span, and now I can't even write my thoughts on my own blog without getting spammed responses.

Ok, so I just figured out that I could turn on word verification to stop the spam. But still, I shouldn't have to.

Backup Files to Video Camera?

2005-10-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting article the other day in my quest to find new ways to back up my data. This one is actually really intersting. It says that you can hook up your digital camcorder to your pc through your firewire port and backup 20GB of data to a single Mini-DV tape! Pretty neat huh? I haven't given it a try yet, but it sounds like a pretty interesting method. I just wonder if it is quick enough to transfer data back and forth to make it viable. If anyone is interested, you can find the article here.

FREE 40Hr Tivo

2005-09-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Found the link to this on Howard's Blog. Check it out, if you buy $100 worth of Dockers, you get a free 40hr Tivo with 3 months of free service!

Click Here For Details

Department of Defense - Homeland Security Threat Level - Outlook of Getting Your Project Done

2005-09-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Dave Peterson, a colleague from work, created his own version of the Department of Defense's Homeland Security Threat Level chart. So here it is, for all of you to post on your cubicle wall so your boss knows what to expect from you each day. Enjoy! (Make sure to cut out the arrow so you can change your level day to day.)

Tivo Mods

2005-09-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I just got a Tivo and have to say that I love it. I got a 40 hour (40GB) tivo for about $90 the other day at Circuit City. After reading a few websites about tivo mods, I figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to upgrade it with a 160GB hard disk that I had sitting around.

After several hours, I was successful. I now have a 178 hour Tivo and can record virtually anything I want. If anyone is interested, I used these tivo mod instructions to perform the upgrade. I am really enjoying my Tivo Experience

KatrinaHousing.org

2005-09-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

For any survivors of Hurricane Katrina looking for housing, check out KatrinaHousing.org

If you are willing to house survivors of the hurricane, post it here as well.

Bush blamed for Katrina aid failures

2005-09-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

President Bush has taken a little too much criticism as president. Although I don't agree with everything he has done, he definitely shouldn't be the one held accountable for the inadequacies of the Katrina relief effort.

Really, the mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana should have been on top of things, and should have been more prepared. The pointing fingers are getting rather annoying. Lets just get to it and help those who need help, and punish those taking this sad opportunity to indulge in crime.

Let the blogging begin!

2005-08-31T14:46:00.000-07:00