I updated my thermostat to one of these. It’s made by Homewerks (Home depot sells a filtrete branded version.) It’s not as cool as the NEST, but it’ll do the job of controlling a furnace/AC. The interesting part of this device is that the wifi interface can be cloud managed, making it possible to control the thermostat via my iPhone, iPad (or android) from anywhere with data connectivity.

It’s actually a fairly decent device for the money. It has a JSON api that allows you to get and set variables via web interface. There’s a fantastic PDF on the API that shows examples using curl (available on linux, mac, etc). What’s really interesting is that with a JSON interface, you could easily write your own application for mobile phones or just script up some commands from your choice of computing platform.

Wiring was interesting. On my ancient furnace (built by chrystler) I discovered some new details. The fan wire wasn’t connected at all! At some point, some A/C tech had installed a honeywell fan controller and the fan is activated by either the cooling or heating wires being engaged. (there is a manual switch inside the furnace. Argh!) However, I was able to re-use the fan wire as a C wire to deliver both sides of the 24v a/c transformer power to the thermostat. Wifi eats more power, and you need an external supply to feed that radio.

Setup is pretty neat. I loaded the radio thermostat App on my iPad, and once it discovered the thermostat, I had to join the ‘stats wifi network. Then I could configure my WPA2 network (excellent! Thanks for supporting proper protocols!) as well as a dynamic or static ip address. I opted for static the last time I configured it. –I reconfigured it a few times while I played around with wiring options.

The hardware in the device is rather interesting. It’s the first one I’ve seen with a wifi USNAP module. I’d expect to see more of these devices on the market. The price point is fairly low and the curl api is ideal. Hmm, arduino USNAP shield, anyone?

Resources:

Wiki (unknown owner) for developing: http://central.isaroach.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

PDF Documenting the Thermostat API. (local copy here) This is the interesting one.

iPhone jailbreak notes:

I used an iPhone 3g, downloaded 4.2.1 iphone firmware and used pwnageTool_4.2 to build jailbroken firmware.
(then did it all over again to build unlockable firmware – update baseband to 6.10: (add link)
First stop was to configure wireless to talk to my home network.
Then I hit Cydia (the app that’s loaded when jailbroken.) and updated everything it wanted.
Get cell service (you can do this later):
Install ultrasn0w and get a pay as you go t-mobile account activated on it.

Now it’s time for software:

Install openssh via cydia.
ssh onto the phone and change the passwords for the root and mobile users.

I also install veency – it’ll allow you to vnc onto your iphone, making it much easier to do all your work from your computer. Set a password in settings if you like.

We want perl, so add the coredev.nl repo:
download http://coredev.nl/cydia/coredev.pub on your machine. Then scp it to root@yourphonesip:/var/root
ssh to the phone and run: apt-key add coredev.pub
then run: echo ‘deb http://coredev.nl/cydia iphone main’ > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/coredev.nl.list
Now when you load cydia next, you can get perl installed.

Use Cydia to install the following packages. Instead of confirm after each, just hit continue queuing and add things to be installed. Then you can go to manage or just hit confirm on the final package you want to install.

minicom
perl
perl-dbd-sqlite(search for dbd::sqlite)
perl device serial (search for device::serial)
vimproved (This is vim, find something else if you don’t do vi.)

Later we’ll want a command line sms sender, but for now I haven’t decided which to use yet.

Set things up:

Set up Minicom:
As root mkdir /usr/etc
Run minicom -s, set serial to /tty.iap, set 9600 N81, turn off flow control
Save config as default.
install vi (or vim for the search to work) (I like vim. deal.)

If you have a serial port dock built, now’s the time to test your port. My first phone had a bad dock connector, so no serial on it. Luckily I had a spare laying around with a bad home button. I swapped the screens and was good to go.

If you’re getting a data plan, it might be nice to ssh into the phone over the nat’d edge/3g/whatever you paid for:

install autossh.
Follow this how-to: http://llemarie.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/tip-connect-to-your-iphone/
install p5-Device-modem (which gets you device::serial)

Congratulations. Now you have the equivalent of a funky linux (yeah, it’s bsd. I know.) box with geolocation, 3g, wifi and a serial port. Muhahah.

I finally picked up one of the SUMP project based Open Source Logic Analyzers that Ian worked on. It’s a pretty good deal from Seeed Studio. I wanted it to work on my Mac, which wasn’t too horrible, but it was a little annoying to dig through forum posts to figure it out. Even then, I thought that the instructions were a bit lame.

Here’s how to make it work under Snow Leopard(10.6.4):

Download the latest Arduino software and right click the application to view contents. Look under Resources/Java and you’ll find RXTXcomm.jar and librxtxSerial.jnlib.

Copy those two files to /Library/Java/Extenstions on your Mac hard drive.

Download the latest SUMP application from: http://www.sump.org/projects/analyzer/

I used: http://www.sump.org/projects/analyzer/downloads/la-bin-0.8.tar.bz2

Uncompress that and toss it in your Applications folder. Now you should be able to doubleclick analyzer.jar (which is inside the client folder of the thing you just uncompressed)

Now open /Applications/Utilites/Java Preferences. You need to make 32bit the preferred launcher for applications. Look at the lower list that says:

Java SE 6 64-bit

Java SE 6 32-bit

Now drag the 64-bit one so that the 32-bit is first in line. Close the Java Preferences Utility.

If you’ve done it right, you’ll be rewarded with an application window. If you messed up, the app will open and immediately crash.

I’ve been too busy to sort out my workshop for a while, but thanks to the delivery of a small Dell machine (thanks to Eric’s basement!) I’ve got a dedicated box assigned to run XP and Mach3 on my mill.

I did a quick test cut and it looks like I’ll have no problem producing new bezels for the RGB keypad soon. I’ll have to check and see if SparkFun want’s to carry them again, but if not they’ll be available directly from my store. Now I just have to rebuild my design/cad/cam machine and we’ll be golden.

If you’re desperate for a bezel, comment and I’ll see what I can do for ya.

Juniper MX960 Routers:

This is the latest addition to the network. I have a pair in production with 10Gb uplinks receiving full BPG routes from I1, I2 and native IPV6. I managed to talk our provider into a dedicated 1Gb link for my lab (which is converted to 10Gb for the MX by a Nortel 5530) Thanks to this (and a pile of fiber), I was able to prototype our full redundant config before going live with it. I even managed to secure a /24 that I advertise via BGP for live connectivity. These supply per IP bandwidth policing (across two class Bs), generate default routes into OSPF for everything else and they are fully redundant – both routers mirror every function. I can boot one at anytime with no consequence aside from a BGP flap to my provider.

Tipping Point SMS, Core Controller, 2400E IPS and 1200 IPS:

Before I implimented the MX routers, I had to update our campus IPS. On our edge, we use Tipping Point hardware. The IPSs use FPGAs on several Gb links to do initial, line speed analysis. In depth analysis is done by intel CPUs as needed. (The next generation is even better…) By using a Core Controller, we split the 10Gb link into multiple 1Gb links that are processed by several 2400E IPS units. The signature updates from TP are excellent, and the benefits of using the system on our network are impressive.

Juniper M20 Routers:

Our old border routers. I use these to simulate the multiple router setup in production since it’s hard to justify a pair of MX960s just for lab/hardware spare use.

Nortel ERS8600 Layer 3 switches

Our core aggregation switch. These handle multiple link redundancy, 10Gb core up and cross links and do just about everything you can think of.

Nortel 5500 and 5600 GigE swtiches (The edge switches used across campus)

I have a small pile of these switches for testing code, simulating production

Netscreen 5400 Firewall:

Our core uses four of these in redundant(ish) pairs. There are a few single connected services but they mostly back each other up. These protect our data center and user networks. Again, core connections are 10Gb.

I put up a cheap whiteboard in my home office earlier this year. I couldn’t find a decent solution at the time. Today I ran across this. It’s whiteboard paint by rustoleum. Apparently, it can be found at home depot… Guess what my garage will will be getting sometime soon.

This whiteboard has magnet grabbing paint underneath it. Nice!

Final take: It works, it’s faster than driving by the bank, and it wasn’t frustrating to use. (and their app is even faster to use than Bank of America’s iPhone app.)

Sometime in the near future, I’ll have a Juniper SRX to play with. Now that’ll be interesting.

Before my last ski trip I wanted a helmet-cam. I bought an Oregon Scientific ATC3K digital video camera, but the mount was just too bulky for a helmet rig. It’s great for mounting on a kayak or mountain bike, but totally unsuitable for a real helmet mount. (It’s just too big.) Obviously, it was time for a bit of modding.

Parts & Tools:

• Soldering iron
• De-soldering iron
• Dremel (rotary cutting tool)
• Small screw drivers
• Oregon Scientific ATC3K Video Camera
• Ski goggles
• AA battery box
• IDE hard drive cable
• Small plastic case

Take the camera apart

Start by disassemble the camera. Unscrew the back cover and
pry off the rubber from the lens end. Remove all of the exposed screws
and pop open the battery cover. Unscrew the rear cap and remove the
batteries.

You’ll have to cut slots into the two security screws in
order to use a normal screwdriver on them.

If you’re lucky, the battery tray and camera will slide out of the
body of the camera now. If it’s too stubborn,  you may have to cut the
body of the camera in half to help things along.

De-solder the camera board

The camera is mounted to the main board by ten pins on either side of the main board. Grab your soldering iron and add more solder so that on each side a large bead of solder covers all ten pins. Use your soldering iron to heat the entire bead. Once it’s melted, you can partially pry the camera board from the main board. Repeat the process on each side until you can remove the camera board entirely. Be patient and give the camera board time to cool down in between heating sessions. Once the board is free, de-solder the entire connector and remove any excess solder from both boards.
Add the ribbon cable to the camera board

Grab an IDE hard drive cable and cut the longest piece out of it that you can. Now peel off a piece of cable that has 20 wires in it – preferably with the red mark to make wiring it up easier later on. Strip about 2mm of wire at the ends and cut them flat.

Now solder the leads to the camera board, where the old connector was.

Repeat the process to complete the remote cabled camera board.

Now we’ve got a nice, easily mountable camera. This should work for various different build ideas: helmet mounts, custom enclosures, embedded motorcycle cams…

Mount the camera and microphone

Locate the camera on the lens and drill a hole through the lens of your goggles. Blow out the dust with a can of compressed air if you end up with debris inside the double lens. Position the camera and use hot glue to permanently mount it to the inside of the goggles.

Now route the camera ribbon cable along the edge of the goggles and out through the strap mount.

On my goggles, it was easy to pull the ribbon cable through the hole for the strap.

Mount the Microphone

Re-use the microphone from the ATC3K and add some new wires. The soft wire from some old headphones will help isolate the microphone from vibration noise. Pull the end of the audio cable out the side of the goggles where the
strap attaches.  If needed, mount the microphone on the bottom of the goggles with a small amount of glue.

Wire the main board

Trim the ribbon cable to length and solder it to the main pc board
where the camera originally mounted. Use the red marked cable to make
sure you connect the correct pins. Attach the microphone wires and a pair of wires
that are long enough to reach the far side of the goggle strap.
Running power

Pull the power leads through the goggles so that they will be out of
the way. Run them out the far side of the goggles and connect them to
a replacement AA battery box.

Originally I wanted to use AAAs, but I found that AA batteries balanced the goggles better.
Enclose the main board

We want to protect the main board with something that’s removable and
waterproof. I made a custom enclosure on my computer controlled mill,
but a simple plastic bag with tape will suffice in a pinch. In the final build, I mounted the control buttons (seen behind the red acrylic) on top of the acrylic with some hot glue.

The body was milled from two pieces of polyethylene cutting board.

The cover was milled from some acrylic I had left over from some laser cutter projects.

I thought about some complicated mounting tricks to attache the boxes to the straps, but found that electrical tape worked great. Keep in mind that the cold will drop the voltage on your average alkaline batteries – get some of the lithium AAs or the camera will keep shutting down.

Hit the mountain!

Have fun carving the slopes.

Just thought I’d throw in a view of the server that’s running things at home now. It’s  a poweredge 2650 – you can get them dirt cheap despite having dual 2.8ghz cpus, 2GB of ram and onboard remote access. This one once served the military – they removed all the drives, but left an IP address assigned to a military base in Arizona on the management card. (Really, they used real IP space for internal management. Sigh.)

I tossed in some ultra320 drives and installed ubuntu. I had to update the firmware on the raid controller, but now it purrs like a 2u rack mount server. Now I’ve got redundant power supplies, a raid 5 system drive, a mirrored data drive and I’ll add some e-sata or usb drives for larger storage needs.

Soon I’ll be racking it under one of the worktables in my lab/workshop for easy access.