__________________ Motivation. If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots wil be doing soon.
This version, I took the QWERTY wide layout from the last version and coupled it with the QWERTY portrait layout, just in case you aren't a fan of FITALY.
If anybody has dereenigne the ripboardini.txt file enough that they have figured out how to make a key into a single-use, even though it has a shift value (like the + and * keys, I want them to remain those functions regardless of the shift position), let me know, and I will graft it in.
Yep! Cool, you answered your question before I even saw it. I use Total Commander to ease the connection and bookmarking, etc. It's a pretty good thing to travel with, any video coded at 320X240 size will stream fast enough that it won't stutter. I notice that HDTV vids tend to need some buffering, though. Of course, compression and bitrate have some serious impact on this.
Man, I really need to find a good place inside my car that I can mount this thing. Has to be outside the passenger compartment, and needs to be ventilated! Wow, it gets hot in my car here in FL.
Also, did you know that your WL-HDD is usable as a wireless Access Point? I hooked mine up to my DSL modem while troubleshooting the home network, and it does just a dandy job.
Also check out the post in this thread about the external battery pack. You will see the WL-HDD hooked up to my battery pack. I'm looking to add switching to the pack, which will increase the efficiency, and battery life. Imagine getting 3000 mAH out of a 2500 battery!
The case came from a laser/pen/stylus that I bought at RadioShack.
Charging socket from RadioShack. $2.59 for a 2-pack. I had it on hand already.
7805 +5VDC regulator was from RadioShack: $1.69
Plug from RadioShack, was taken from my USB hub/charger adaptation. $2.59 for a 2-pack.
6-AA battery holder from jameco grab bag. :-)
Batteries from Target. Ray-O-Vac 2500mAH-AA, $8.99 for a 4-pack. No sales tax, hurricane tax holiday! Extended cost for 6 batteries = $13.50.
Total cost: $17.78. Or you could consider it $20.00 for the parts that came from supply.
<SNIP>
Excellent stuff!
However, please be aware of two items when using analog voltage regulators:
1. Heat dissipation - Your dropping 8 volts across the regulator. If you're pulling 1A through it, it's dissipating 8 watts. That's quite a bit of heat and the regulator could go into thermal shutdown if it's not heatsinked well.
2. 780x regulators are famous for being unstable (ie: the output oscillates) if you're driving a load a few feet away. It is common practice to place a 1uF tanatalum capacitor at both the input and output of these regulators to prevent any instability. Just make sure you observer correct polarity on the cap.
1. I don't see how I'm dropping 8V across the regulator. Terminal voltage on a AA NiMH battery is 1.2V. Six of those adds up to 7.2V. Minus the 5V is 2.2V. Oh, and the 7805 is actually heat-sinked to the tin it's mounted in; screw plus heat-transfer compound.
2. Only 8 inches, not a few feet, so oscillation not likely, but not a bad idea there anyway.
Still, I like the idea of a switcher; it's much more efficient. I have an idea for one out of parts I have on hand, gonna test it soon.
1. I don't see how I'm dropping 8V across the regulator. Terminal voltage on a AA NiMH battery is 1.2V. Six of those adds up to 7.2V. Minus the 5V is 2.2V. Oh, and the 7805 is actually heat-sinked to the tin it's mounted in; screw plus heat-transfer compound.
2. Only 8 inches, not a few feet, so oscillation not likely, but not a bad idea there anyway.
Still, I like the idea of a switcher; it's much more efficient. I have an idea for one out of parts I have on hand, gonna test it soon.
.
My bad I mis-read your post this morning (didn't have my coffee yet) and assumed you were driving it from the car battery. Sorry 'bout that.
But yes, it's always a good idea to place the bypass caps on the 78xx regulators.
The scorpion bug was operated from the car battery, but it is double-heatsinked. I did, however, manage to burn it out, but that was because I was running hot with a flat 3300mAH battery. Torture test, and it didn't make it. I think I'll double the 7805's for a 12V analog reg next time. Hey, my heatsink has two screw-holes, they can share it, and that will place them both at about the same temperature, reducing the chance of thermal runaway.
The scorpion bug was operated from the car battery, but it is double-heatsinked. I did, however, manage to burn it out, but that was because I was running hot with a flat 3300mAH battery. Torture test, and it didn't make it. I think I'll double the 7805's for a 12V analog reg next time. Hey, my heatsink has two screw-holes, they can share it, and that will place them both at about the same temperature, reducing the chance of thermal runaway.
.
To my knowledge, you can't place 78xx regulators in parallel directly due to the output regulation design of the device. You'll need some current balancing resistors in series with each output. Have a look at the 7800 spec sheet: http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/LM/LM7805.pdf and the LM350 spec sheet: http://www.national.com/ds/LM/LM150.pdf
Yeah, I was thinking fractional ohm on the outputs. Might try it out with a pair of inductors. Gonna breadboard this first, of course. On the other hand, might just go switching and avoid updating the bug altogether.
If I ever get any free time!
Brand, spanking new, back from the dead. Anybody remember how I adapted the power regulator in an old cheapie ($5) USB hub to charge my Axim? Well, I removed one USB socket and made it sync now! Five wires, USB(+), USB(-), USB+5V, Reg. +5V, and GND. The USB +5V has a current limiter on it, so the current tops out at 500 mA, which is USB power spec, so I took the charging power directly from the regulator to charge my Ax.
Crap pictures for now, I'm afraid.
First, the setup running charge-only, playing a season-2 episode of "My name is Earl."
Next image, an end-on picture. You can see I used a Gomadic Axim X50 connector, and desoldered and removed the USB socket that I soldered into. Don't worry, that socket is going to a good home, it will be installed on my external battery so I can charge my GPS receiver while on the run.
Future upgrades to this Sync/Charge/Hub include: Moving the power input port to the back, where the cable comes out, so I can place it on my desk with two open USB ports in the front, and maybe shortening the cable and gluing the whole thing together for an Axim dock with USB hub.
How do I find the energy to do this sort of modding? I drink liquid Schwarz™. That glowing green liquid, often mistaken for Mountain Dew. Actually, they could be the same thing.
Cool, I didn't realize at first, but it looks like the power cord is coming out of the liquid Schwarz™.
***And May the schwartz be with yoooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuwuwbbuwubudjgbuubiba!***
__________________ Motivation. If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots wil be doing soon.
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!peY
I mis-read your post this morning (didn't have my coffee yet) and assumed you were driving it from the car battery. 
Sorry 'bout that.
