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I'm interested in the ability to make hardware and apply the desired software to it, whether it be home code or open-source. Does any one have resources that they themselves have used to obtain this skill? I will be posting my progress in this thread even if there are no replies.

Hi, I recently seen the PacketSquirrel and just thought this is cool hardware. But, this is still in a formfactor that's still attention-drawing, especially if it hangs from a wall-outlet. I thought about the size of a generic USB-stick or the first Chromecast-Stick... something that got a Battery (or USB-powered, using a Powerbank) a RJ45-plug to connect directly to ethernet-ports and a USB-port or SD-slot to dump data while still having it's own Bluetooth or Wifi-adapter to allow wireless access from within range. Best I found yet was a stripped down USB-Ethernet-adapter soldered to a Pi Zero. Couldn't figure out how to solve the MAC-change and buttonclick though.

I found out that if you make simple chains out of soda tabs its the perfect material to make a super bendable antenna that is super easy to store and when it done you can hook some non metal clips to the end to attach it too what ever you want. Now heres the best part if you don't got a soldering tool but hot glue this actually still works really well. Step 1. Strip some 50 ohm to 75 ohm coax cable and separate the shielding from the main cable and then when you done doing that put the cable off to the side and work on the chain. Step 2. Get soda tabs a lot of them and cut the ends of the tabs so that you can bend them apart and hook them together for best results use 5 tabs per-chain although you might get away with 4 per-chain if you need help making the soda tab chain just google it although I will eventually make a video on it and all the steps to put this together. Step 3. After you built 2 chains preferably about 20 to 21 inchs long so that you can use this later to pick up weather satellites cause that will be the right frequency of length just solder them too the the shielding of the coax and the main cable although if you can't solder hot glue will work just be sure to lay it on thick and cover at least the first soda tab chain. As a bonus add heat shrink to make it all blend to the cable. I was having issues posting the images of the one I made but if you make one too feel free to reply and send a picture. :D Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

I work for an insurance company that's trying to keep adjusters from falling off of buildings by looking at the feasibility of using drones to map roof claims. As a proof of concept, my boss bought a $1500 DJI Phantom 4 Pro. He's asked me to look into building drones as a feasible way to keep costs down. I've been researching it, but I keep coming against conflicting data. I was looking at using the following list as a preliminary build, and kept seeing people who have a similar build saying that everything works great and that it flies beautifully. But when I run the math (using a SWAG for the mass of some of the items), it's a bumblebee. It's too heavy to fly, it will only fly for maybe 6-8 minutes, etc. I'll grant that I'm looking at doing some things that probably haven't really been done as much in home builds of aerial photography drones, but I need to beat a Phantom 4 in price and ability if possible, which is no mean feat. My Preliminary Parts List (All Multiples for Redundancy): Flight System 1x S550 F550 Upgrade Hexacopter Fuselage Frame Kit PCB w/Carbon Fiber Landing Gear 3x Crazepony 4pcs Emax Mt2213 935kv Brushless Motor with Orignal 1045 Propller for DJI F450 F550 Quad Hex Octo Copter 2CW 2CCW 3x Makerfire 4pcs BLHeli_S 30A ESC OPTO Electronic Speed Controller 3-6S Brushless for FPV Multicopter Quadcopter 2x APM2.8 ArduPilot Flight Controller+6M GPS+915Mhz Telemetry+ Power Module RC150 6x MB1010 LV-MaxSonar-EZ1 Range Finder (I'm not sure about this one. For the way that we want to use it, it really needs a collision detection system, and I've found posts of ymmv results with ultrasonic sonar. I'm open to suggestions as long as it's not too crazily expensive.) 3x Venom 20C 3S 5400mAh 11.1V LiPo Battery for DJI Flame Wheel F550 RC Hexacopter (This is one that I saw suggested for the size and typical weight of the materials used. Payload 1x Quanum FY Mini 3D PROS 3 Axis Gimbal - GoPro Hero4 Session Compatible 1x GoPro HERO Session And here's my basic guesstimate on weight: Frame: 550g Motors: 330g ESCs: 46g Flight Controller/Avionics: ~120g (Can't find exact weights for all components included in the flight controller package) Battery: 450g Gimbal: 167g Sensors (NOT INCLUDING MOUNTING HARDWARE): 42g (Figure mounting hardware will be plastic, and probably pretty light.) GoPro Session: 74g Estimated GTOW: 1611g or just about 3.5 lbs. Any and all help is appreciated. If there's something I'm missing, feel free to let me know.

So I FINALLY had time to finish my little solar project. Should have been done weeks ago, but I didn't have time to get to it, space or the tools needed. Had a friend help me build it in his shop after I bought all the parts. He basically took everything I bought and ideas I had, and then implemented the build for me so all credit to him for the labor..lol (Thanks Phil!). Plus, I don't have a shop or tools, so there is also that but it's finished and working! http://i.imgur.com/W14ZZNq.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Bp9xSa9.jpg Basically, it's a deep cycle battery in an ammo can hooked to a solar panel on a home made stand with feet that fold up and the ammo can fits in the center of the panel frame for storage under a seat or wherever you can fit it when transporting. Not heavy and small form factor overall. Contents: 1 large 50 Cal Ammo can (Plastic) - http://www.mtmcase-gard.com/products/shooting/50-cal-ammo-can.php (Purchased for $15 from friends Army Navy store - http://www.racersarmynavy.com/ ) 1 12-18v AGM Deep-cycle battery - http://bit.ly/1CM1XzF (Think I paid less than $40, not including shipping) 1 2watt solar panel - http://bit.ly/1DGgBhd (amorphous so gathers power from facing pretty much any direction even on cloudy days) 1 8amp charge controller - http://bit.ly/1JJwR1J 1 400watt 12v DC to 120v/60hz AC Converter with 2 full size 120v wall outlets and one 5v USB outlet, On/Off switch. - http://bit.ly/1IbR8fe (about $30 depending on store) 1 KJV Bible ($9.00, walmart) 1 Rechargable LED Night light/detachable flashlight (> $9 Walmart) misc nuts, bolts, washers, velcro, and some packing foam to secure contents while traveling, everything sites nice and snug. All said and done, spent right around $160~ or so, and that includes a $20 rice cooker/veggie steamer I bought to go along with the setup. My friend had the wood and other stuff to help with the build so lumber was free, screws, misc stuff. Build time probably could of taken about an hour, but my friend went overkill on how he put it all together which is uber clean and solid, counter sunk screws and angled joints on solar frame. Wish I had video taped and time lapsed it for documentation. Not a lot to all of it, but super cool to see it all come together now that it is finished. Completely water tight, power outlet on outside detaches from industrial strength velcro strips and can be moved inside, while charge controller is velcro'd to the inside to keep dry. Solar panel feeds into the box to charge controller, which goes to the battery to maintain charge; leads come out to the power converter which can be easily removed and stored inside when needed(Just remember to unhook power properly and discharge converter and not short anything since this is an always hot box once finished and the converter holds a small charge even after unhooked from the battery). Simple stuff but really portable and for low power needs, should be plenty for what it is going to be used for. Not something you would run a gaming rig more than 5 minutes on, but charging cell phones during power outages, radios, small led lights, small cooker and few small chargeable items, it will serve it's purpose which is to go to a homeless vet near where I work who lives in the woods behind a bank.

Hi. I have some trouble I would like some help on. I have an app called "TV OFF" and its an app that uses your ir blaster to send tv-b-gone codes. However this app also has projectors and the tv-b-gone doesn't so I was wondering if somebody could help me extract the ir codes from the app. I then plan to put them in the tv-b-gone v1.2 firmware and reprogram my chip. The zip file is the app. Extract it and you will get all the source files. Thanks guys TV OFF v1.2.7.zip