Jun 28, 2013

Sex For Flight

MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipino workers are seeking government protection after they accused a Philippine labor officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia of molesting them.


Aside from the abuse, they also accused some embassy officials of selling free tickets to other distressed OFWs.

The 3 alleged victims of the "sex-for-flight" scheme accused Riyadh assistant labor attaché Antonio Villafuerte of molesting and attempting to prostitute them.

Speaking on ANC's Headstart, "Angel", who sought help from the Philippine embassy after she escaped from an employer who raped her, said Villafuerte further demeaned her.

"Tinanong niya ako diretsahan saan daw ako tinira nung employer ko, sa harap ba daw po o sa likod. Masarap ba daw ho," she said. "Unexpected ho talaga dahil mataas siyang tao."

Angel also narrated how Villafuerte offered her to have sex with Middle Eastern men in exchange for a return ticket to the Philippines.

"Tumanggi po ako kasi hindi naman porke't katulong kami hindi naman kami basta-basta papayag sa ganung trabaho. Naapakan na nga po kami, lalo pa kaming aapakan," she said.

"Michelle", who used to work for the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh, said she even heard Villafuerte's casual remarks to Angel over a phone conversation on loudspeaker.

Michelle said she was also molested by Villafuerte inside his office.


"Sinabi niya 'O, sana sinubo mo na lang.' Nadampian niya po ng konti yung labi ko pero sabi ko huwag po. Mext move niya hinawakan maselang bahagi ng dibdib, minash po niya," she said. "Mamaya, tinataas na yung abaya ko. Doon na ako nagpumiglas."

"Analisa", who also sought help from the POLO office after escaping ill treatment from her employer in Riyadh, said Villafuerte also made sexual advances on her.

"Mukhang mabait siya hindi mo akalain na gago," she said. "Sinabihan niya nahipuan ka ba ng employer mo, nung sinabi ko hindi, sabi nya gusto mo ba ako na muna ang humipo dyan."

They allege that plane tickets intended by government for the repatriation of distressed OFWs were supposed to be free but were being dangled by embassy officials for undocumented OFWs desperate to go home.

Analiza said one OFW was forced to pay 2,400 riyals or P50,000 for her ticket home.

The three have submitted their sworn statements to the Labor Department and are seeking protection for themselves and their families.

They also appeal to other victims to come forward.

The Labor Department, meanwhile, has recalled Villafuerte amid ongoing investigations by government. source

iPhone Concrete Charger


Wireless induction chargers don't need to look like space-aged objects circa 1984 — as evidenced by the Concrete Charger ($TBA). This piece of modern art won't look out of place in your apartment thanks to a minimalist aesthetic that doesn't draw too much attention to itself. Two induction chargers (based on the Qi standard that accommodates a range of devices) let you charge a tablet and phone at the same time, while a soft cork top won't scratch or chip your tech. Available in July.

Mextures Apps for iPhone


There are plenty of iOS camera apps out there — an App Store search yields over 12,000 results. While most of these are just a refactoring of the same tired ideas, Mextures ($1) does things differently. Like a lot of camera apps, it includes a library of original textures, including gradients, grunge, light filters, and film scans (70 in total). Unlike other camera apps, it allows you to combine different textures on separate layers, using blending and opacity to create an original style. Once you're happy with your combination, you can save it as a formula to reuse as much as you like.

Streaming Media with DLNA

These days we all have lots of devices in our home that are connected to the internet. From a connected smart TV to a Console, and from mobile phones like Android and iOS based devices to a simple hi-fi set, they are all connected.


Although many manufacturers tried to make their devices compatible so you could for example stream a youtube video from your phone to the TV, it still can be a pain to get every device talking with each other without having to worry about what format something is in.

DLNA

For this, Sony and a lot of other manufacturers created DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance). The DLNA is a non-profit collaborative trade organization established by Sony in June 2003, that is responsible for defining interoperability guidelines to enable sharing of digital media between consumer devices such as computers, printers, cameras, cell phones, and other multimedia devices. These guidelines are built upon existing public standards, but the guidelines themselves are private (available for a fee). DLNA uses Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) for media management, discovery and control. UPnP defines the types of device that DLNA supports (“server”, “renderer”, “controller”) and the mechanisms for accessing media over a network. The DLNA guidelines then apply a layer of restrictions over the types of media file format, encodings and resolutions that a device must support.

DLNA members have stated that the common goal of using standards-based technology is to make it easier for consumers to use and share their digital photos, music and videos. As of January 2011, over 9,000 different devices have obtained “DLNA Certified” status, indicated by a logo on their packaging and confirming their interoperability with other devices. It is estimated that more than 440 million DLNA-certified devices, from digital cameras to game consoles and TVs, have been installed in users’ homes.

So how does it work?

The biggest problem with all of this is that a lot of the connected devices these days do not support every single file format that you want to play. For example a Sony Bravia TV will play MPEG files but it will not directly play MKV (x264) movies. There are multiple solutions however to make this work. The thing we are going to talk about today is a DLNA mediaserver.

DLNA Mediaservers

Over the last couple of months I have been testing a lot of these so-called DLNA mediaservers and each one of them has their pros and cons but, I could finally make a top 3 for you all where I can ensure you it just works. Right now there are over 30 different DLNA servers available for all platforms. Problem is however that some do not transcode on the fly, which you definitely want if the device you are going to play to does not support a specific file format, for example MKV. Down below the top 3 DLNA Mediaservers that will actually make sure that whatever file you throw at them, will be auto transcoded on the fly so all your devices can play whatever you have stored.

The List

1) Plex Media Server (Free)

Plex (also known as “Plexapp”, “Plex Media Center”, or “PMC”) is a partially open-source freeware media player and server with a 10-foot user interface, which is available for multiple platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux and NAS devices. Its source code was initially forked from XBMC Media Center on May 21, 2008; this fork is used today as a front end media player for Plex’s back end server component.

Plex’s front end media player, Plex Media Center, allows the user to manage and playback video, photos, music, and podcasts from a local or remote computer running Plex Media Server. In addition, the integrated Plex Online service provides the user with a growing list of community-driven plugins for online content including Hulu, Netflix, and CNN video.

The cool thing about Plex is that you start by building up your media library on centralized server or pc. This media library can then be accessed by any Plex enabled device or DLNA over your LAN.

Plex works with apps that you install on the iPhone, Android, LG TV’s and many other devices. Since the beginning of 2012 the Plex team has integrated DLNA support in their server version which allows you to play all files in your library directly to any DLNA device in your home.

Plex Media Server seamlessly connects your Plex clients with all of your local and online media. The combination of centralized library management, streaming of online content, and powerful transcoding functionality provides an unrivaled level of flexibility and ease of use. Plex Media Server runs on your Mac, PC, or compatible NAS device and serves your media to all of your Plex clients and DLNA devices.

With Plex Channels, you bring online media to all your Plex clients, from over one hundred popular sites. New channels are developed continually, so there’s always something to watch. Want to watch YouTube videos on your TV? You can do it through Plex.

Now onto the pros and cons:

Pros:
  • Amazing looking GUI that just works
  • Works across many devices both apps and DLNA
  • Ability to install plugins/channels for extra functionality
  • Ability to resume videos on another device
  • One central location for all your media
Cons:
  • Right now DLNA is in beta stage and not all devices are supported yet
  • With a huge library especially on Music files, it can take while to scan through everything
  • No support yet for transcoding in subtitles to all devices (only some supported devices that can play subtitles itself)

HANA and DLNA home networking comparison and coexistence

Developing a home network is not simple. To be broadly accepted by consumers, manufacturers and service providers, it must operate over existing wiring, protect the high value content being exchanged and connect a wide range of devices and services. The real challenge is to make it simple for home owners to install and use.

The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) are both working on home networking solutions that can distribute video entertainment. Both recognize that simplicity is the number one goal. However, the definition of 'simple' in the PC world is not the same as it is for watching a TV.


HANA & DLNA: The differences

DLNA approaches home networking from a PC perspective. Though a PC is not required, the DLNA network was created to solve many of the issues a PC deals with. Those issues have roots in the vast array of devices that come not only from different manufacturers and service providers, but also from different industries, each with their own way of doing things. Connecting to these devices requires a set of protocols and device drivers that constantly change with each new generation of devices, processors and operating systems.

Television is a very well defined and unified platform. Cable, satellite and online content providers, as well as CE manufacturers, all come from different industries. However, the rules are already well defined and rarely change.

The second difference comes from the ways in which PCs and TVs move data between devices. The PC has traditionally received a file from some source such as the Internet, CD or DVD, and then either used the file itself or moved it to a printer, MP3 player, or other devices to use. The TV operates in a world of real-time streaming. Whether it's over-the-air broadcast, cable, satellite, DVD or PVR, the TV receives an uninterrupted, real time stream of bits. Any interruption in the stream means an interruption in the viewing or listening experience.

Another difference is in security. We are all aware of PCs' security problems including viruses and hackers. Operating systems and other programs are constantly updated to plug security holes. The potential for a hacked system to allow content theft or illegal copies to be made is a major concern for content owners who zealously protect their products.

Protecting content in a PC environment is extremely difficult and often carries with it many restrictions on usage. The end result has been for most hardware and content providers to use proprietary solutions that only work on their platform, such as Apple TV, TiVo, and NetFlix. On closed systems such as TVs, DVD players, or set top boxes, protecting content is far easier than in a PC environment.

Finally, in a world of software and firmware updates, consumers are never certain that two devices can work together. Even if they are compatible, issues may arise, due to the ever-changing software and device configurations.

By contrast, the TV viewing population can be relatively certain that if something does not work, it's not an incompatibility or missing software issue, but a question of correctly connecting and controlling the devices.

With TV having less complex problems, HANA has been able to focus its efforts on creating a standardized solution with one network connection (FireWire -- the industry name for IEEE 1394), one remote control and one consistent User Interface. (See Why HANA, Why Now for additional information.)

Thus it is the starting point -- PC versus TV -- that defines the problems that HANA and DLNA attempt to solve, and that creates the difference in their definition of 'simple'.

Get a Smarter TV with Netgear NeoTV Streaming Player

If you are not ready to spend big on a Smart TV or you want to extend the features on your existing Smart TV, then these latest releases from Netgear could be the answer. The company has release three new Netgear streaming players (NeoTV, NeoTV Pro and NeoTV MAX) that give you access to some of the best on-demand and subscription services.

NeoTV(NTV300)

The Netgear NeoTV range can upgrade your standard TV to a Smart TV. Also, if your existing Smart TV is limited in features you can attach a NeoTV to get the additional services or features. With NeoTV you can access thousands of movies, TV shows or songs from Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Best Buy, You Tube, Phapsody, Pandora and many others and stream them to your TV at full 1080p HD and listen in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.


NeoTV Pro(300S)

You can connect any other players to our home network using Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet. They all have their own remote that offers one-touch Quick start buttons, but if you want you can download Netgear’s free remote app from Google Player for Android devices and Apple Store for Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod. The app turns your Smartphone and tablet into a simple touch screen remote control of the NeoTV Streaming Players.


NeoTV MAX(NTV300SL)

As added bonus Netgear has added Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) technology to the NeoTV Pro (NTV300S), making it the first streaming player to have it. With Intel WiDi you can wireless display anything on your laptop to your TV in full HD (1080p) video resolution and 5.1 Dolby Digital Sorround Sound. NeoTV Pro can also able to connect to older TVs that don’t have a HDMI port.


The premium model of the range, the NeoTV MAX (NTV300SL) offers more advance features, according to Netgear takes it beyond those of most Smart TVs. In addition to features offer by NeoTV (NTV300) and NeoTV Pro, The NeoTV MAX allows you to access and play media files from an external hard drive, via USB or DLNA media server. The NeoTV also comes with a premium remote control with simple navigation buttons on one side and full QWERTY keyboard on the other, so you can easily type in the tiles of videos, songs or movies you are searching for. To top it off with NeoTV MAX you can stream full 3D movies from Vudu to 3D enable TVs.

What will it cost you, they are available at Amazon.com: NeoTV(NTV300) is priced at $49.99; NeoTV Pro(NTV300S) is for $59.99 and NeoTV MAX(NTV300SL) is $69.99.


NeoTV™ Streaming Player (NTV300)

NeoTV™ PRO Streaming Player (NTV300S)

NeoTV™ MAX Streaming Player (NTV300SL)

In the Box

NeoTV player

Remote control

Two (2) AAA batteries

Power adapter

Quick start guide
Networking

802.11n 150 Mbps WiFi (b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support

10/100 Base-T Ethernet

On Screen WPS support for ease of setup
Video Outputs

480p (HDMI), 720p (HDMI), 1080p (HDMI)
Video Modes

up to 1080p high definition (HD)

16:9 anamorphic

4:3 standard
Audio Output

Digital over HDMI (5.1 surround sound pass-through and stereo)
Remote Control

Ergonomic NeoTV infrared remote control
Power Consumption

Less than 2W (typical) when streaming HD video

In the Box

NeoTV player

Remote control

Two (2) AAA batteries

Power adapter

Quick start guide
Networking

802.11n 300 Mbps WiFi (b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support

10/100 Base-T Ethernet

On Screen WPS support for ease of setup
Video Outputs

480i (composite video)

480p (HDMI), 720p (HDMI), 1080p (HDMI)
Video Modes

up to 1080p high definition (HD)

16:9 anamorphic

4:3 standard
Audio Output

Analog stereo (mini-jack to left/right/composite video RCA)

Digital over HDMI (5.1 surround sound pass-through and stereo)
Remote Control

Ergonomic NeoTV infrared remote control
Power Consumption

Less than 2W (typical) when streaming HD video

In the Box

NeoTV player

Remote control

Two (2) AAA batteries

Power adapter

Quick start guide
Networking

802.11n 300 Mbps WiFi (b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support

10/100 Base-T Ethernet

On Screen WPS support for ease of setup
Video Outputs

480i (composite video)

480p (HDMI), 720p (HDMI), 1080p (HDMI)
Video Modes

up to 1080p high definition (HD)

16:9 anamorphic

4:3 standard
Audio Output

Analog stereo (mini-jack to left/right/composite video RCA)

Digital over HDMI (5.1 surround sound pass-through and stereo)
Remote Control

QWERTY keyboard NeoTV infrared remote control
Power Consumption

Less than 2W (typical) when streaming HD video

Alcatel-Lucent Offers New 7705 Service Aggregation Routers For Utilities

Utility companies planning to upgrade their communication network to support the next generation of smart grid infrastructure are being offered a new range of Service Aggregation Routers (SARs) from Alcatel-Lucent. The company has recently announced a new range of routers designed for the part of the grid that distributes power to the energy supplier's residential or business customers, also known as the Distribution and Field Area Network (FAN).


Alcatel-Lucent said, IP/MPLS (Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol Label Switching) solutions has only been deployed in the transmission and sub-transmission layers of the power grid. To change this they have created a new range of 7705 Service Aggregation Routers (SARs) for the FAN and extend the benefit of IP/MPLS.

The use of IP/MPLS mean that a single, reliable and secure network can remove the need for utilities to maintain multiple application-specific networks. It also offers service consistency and management, across a utility's entire communications network, making it smart from end-to-end. IP/MPLS provides support for teleprotection, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) monitoring and control systems, network distribution automation, advanced smart grid metering, and substation automation, across the entire smart grid.

About Alcatel-Lucent's 7705 Service Aggregation Router portfolio:

Alcatel-Lucent's 7705 Service Aggregation Router portfolio has been extended to include the 7705 SAR-H and 7705-W variants. The 7705 SAR-H has been designed to meet the strict utility substation IEEE 1613 and IEC 61850-3 specifications and incorporate a 'stateful firewall' together with many other built-in security features such as 'Network Address Translation' (NAT) that effectively address cyber security concerns without the need for a separate firewall. Together with its 7750 Service Router (SR) and network management capabilities provided by the 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM) and Service Portal Express for Utilities, Alcatel-Lucent is able to provide energy companies and other industries with a single reliable, secure, end-to-end IP/MPLS communications network.

Via alcatel-lucent

How-To recover Bricked CD-R King CW-5354U

The CD-R King CW-5354U is a made in china wireless router shipped and flashed with Opensource Tomato firmware  aka CW-5354U from Cath-Tech repainted as CD-R King found in the Philippines.  The CW-5354U can be purchased for as low as 1,580Php at any CD-R King outlet nationwide, this cheap device is equip with Broadcom chipset BCM5354U with 240MHz MIPS32 System-On-Integrated-Circuit (SoIC), 32MB of DDR RAM and 16MB of flash memory.


If flashed with the right Tomato firmware it can serves as Dual WAN both USB and WAN port will behave as Load Balancing, either way LAN port1 also can be interchangeable as WAN2 if desired.

Systoms of Brick router for CW-5354u (also can use to upgrade firmware) Customer's Claim:
The router’s LED all on but only one LAN port is connected
The router’s LED all off or only power light on but LAN port is connected
Can’t find default gateway and IP automatically (ex: in status of local connection, can’t get IP, “limited connectivity”)
Enter 192.168.1.1 can’t go to router setup web page.
(Note: These indications claimed by customer, found to be as user's fault. Customer failed to reset/upgrade firmware!!)

This simple tutorial is on How-To bring your CW-5354U to life once it is bricked by unsuccessful flashing, likewise corrupted uploaded firmware will result similar way or those who wrongfully flashed with unconfirmed working stable version.

First download the CW-5354U Tomato firmware tomato-1.27_CW-5354U.trx here

1. After being downloaded the firmware put or copy it to your drive C:\ directory if the location is different file folder.

2. Manually set your computer’s LAN connection IP Address in range to 192.168.1.x for example 192.168.1.33 and set the Default Gateway 192.168.1.1
  • To set up, click Start and select Control Panel
  • Click “Network and Internet Connections” icon.
  • Click the “Network Connections” icon.
  • Right-click on the “Local Area Connection” icon and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
  • Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in “This connection uses the following items list” and click Properties button.
  • Thick to Use the following IP address.
  • In the IP address field, type “192.168.1.33”
  • In the Subnet mask field, type “255.255.255.0”
  • In the Default Gateway field, type “192.168.1.1” and click “OK” button.
3. Go to Windows Start menu or click windows start logo (START>RUN>cmd)
- Change directory to C:\ (cd c:\)
- Type in command, “tftp –i 192.168.1.1 put tomato-1.27_CW-5354U.trx”

NOTE: DO NOT PRESS Enter Key YET.

Before press Enter key, you must:
  • Unplug the power cable.
  • Press and hold the reset button first, then plug the power cable back in at the same time.
  • When WAN port led light goes On , release reset button, then press Enter key on command prompt window.
4. The LAN port LED light should be blinking, below command line will show up.

5. This means the firmware has been transfer successfully and waits at least 3 minutes before access back into the web management page.

Note: change your IP settings to DHCP before you open the router interface.

6. After 3 minutes, open Internet browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Google Chrome, etc. and log back in to 192.168.1.1, you will notice that the the firmware has been updated. (See upper right side of the web page).

How-To Samba Filesharing on CDRKing CW5354U wireless router


Features
  • USB & NAS (Network Attached Storage)
  • BT Downloader (Transmission): Ultra-fast and Convenient Downloads with the Revolutionary Download Master(24/7 Without PC)
  • All-in-one Printer Server: Wirelessly and simultaneously share printing functions for multiple users
  • FTP Servers: Files sharing over Internet or Local Area Network
  • Advanced Powerful QoS
  • Complies with IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g standard for 2.4GHz Wireless LAN
  • Integrated 10/100 Mbps LAN Switch with Auto-MDI/MDI-X Support
  • Supports UPnP
  • Built-in firewall supporting IP address filtering, Port filtering, URL filtering, MAC address filtering
  • Supports 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 wireless security
  • Obtain WAN IP by PPPoE/DCHP/static IP
  • Provides DCHP Server
  • Supports virtual server, port forwarding and DMZ (demilitarized zone)
  • Supports DDNS (Dynamic DNS)
  • Provides MAC Access control
  • Supports System Status (port connectivity) and remote log for network management
  • WAN Interface supports DCHP client capability
  • CLI access (Busy Box) Via TELNET or SSH
  • Style (Changeable GUI)
  • DNS Forwarder (using Dnsmasq)
  • Netfilter/iptables with customizable settings, IPP2P and 17-filter
  • Wake-on-LAN
  • Client Bandwidth Control via QoS classed
  • Bandwidth graphing/statistics
  • Wireless modes: Access point, Wireless client station. Wireless Ethernet, Wireless Distribution, system (WDS), Simultaneous AP and WDS
  • Dynamic DNS service
  • JFFS2
  • CIFS client
  • Wireless LAN Radio power of adjustment, antenna selection, and 14 wireless channels
  • Advanced port forwarding, redirection, and triggering with UPnP and NAT-PMP
  • Advanced user access restrictions
  • Minimal reboots
  • Wireless survey
  • Open source supported
Specifications:
  • Chip: BCM5354 (MIPS 240MHz)
  • RAM: 32MB DDR Flash Memory: 16MB
  • Network Media: 10BASE-T: UTP Cat. 3 or up, 100BASE-TX: UTP Cat.5 or up
  • Antenna Type: 1 Omni Antenna (2dB)
  • Wireless Frequency Range: 2.412GHz-2.4835GHz
  • Wireless Signal Rates (With automatic fallback)
  • 802.11b (11Mbps, 9Mbps, 6Mbps, 5 Mbps, 2Mbps, 1Mbps)
  • 80211g (54Mbps, 48 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 11 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 6 Mbps
  • Wireless Transmit Output Power: 125 Mbps OFDM: 15dBM +/- 2dBm; 11Mbps CCK: 16dBm-18dBm Modulation:
  • 11g: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
  • 54Mbps/48Mbps: QAM-64
  • 36Mbps/24Mbps: QAM-16
  • 18Mbps/12Mbps: QPSK
  • 9Mbps/6Mbps: BPSL
  • 11b: Direct Sequence Spectrum (DSSS)
  • 11Mbps/5.5Mbps: CCK
  • 2Mbps: DQPSK
  • 1Mbps: DBPSK
  • Number of Selectable Channels: USA, Canada (FCC): 11 channels (2.412GHz-2.462GHz), Europe (CE): 13 channels (2.412GHz-2.472GHz), Japan: 14 channels (2.412GHz-2.4835GHz)
  • Modulation Technique:
  • 802.11b: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (PBCC, CCK, DQPSK, DBPSK)
  • 802.11g: Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
  • Security: Hardware-Based Encryption/Decryption Using 64-, 128-bit Wired-Equivalent, Privacy (WEP) keys, WPA and WPA2 are also supported
  • Range indoors: Up to 100 meters; Outdoors: Up to 300 meters
  • User Interface: Management interface based on web browser
  • Interface Speed: WAN 10/100Mbps, LAN: 10/100Mbps, USB 2.0 Port x 1
  • Power: 12V DC, 1A
  • Temperature: 0°C to 50°C (operating), -20°C to 70°C (storage)
  • Humidity: 5% to 90% non-condensing (operating), 5% to 90% non-condensing (storage)
  • Certifications: FCC Part 15 Class B, CE Mark
Default IP Address: 192.168.11.1
Username: admin
Password: admin

Jun 27, 2013

Roku 2 XS Teardown

The Roku 2 is very simply constructed, with just 4 pieces to it. There’s the top and bottom case, the purple back plate, and the PC board. It’s assembled using 4 screws. All the interesting materials are on either side of the PC board.

Roku 2 XS Top Side

The Roku 2 has most (but not all) of the interesting components on the top side. Almost all the external world interface are here, and lots of memory.


The connectors are highlighted in red and blue. Going from bottom left to upper right, we can see the IR remote sensor, USB port, HDMI connector, A/V composite jack, Ethernet jack, and the power plug.

For the chip components on the main board, I’ve identified:
  • DRAM: One Samsung K4P2G324EC holding 256 MB of low power DDR2 RAM.
  • A/V DAC: An AKM AK4430ET for creating stereo audio on the composite A/V output. The earlier Roku used the AK4421.
  • Power Supply: Broadcom supplies the BCM59002 for generating various chip power supplies from the 5v power jack.
  • Ethernet / USB: The SMSC LAN9512 provides USB and 100 Mbit Ethernet. I suspect that this part is removed in the Roku 2 HD and XD versions.
  • NAND Flash: Hynix provides the HY27UF082G2B NAND Flash holding 256 Mbyte of storage.
This confirms some findings from Engadget’s article that revealed the Roku 2 box to the world. Specifically, 256 MB DRAM and 256 MB flash.

Roku 2 XS Underside

The bottom side of the board is pretty barren but holds a few curiosities.

For connectors on the bottom of the board, there’s a reset button on the back (a nice change over the Roku XDS which required a power cycle to clean it up flipping it upside down) and the MicroSD memory card slot. Also notable are the “chip” antennas for the WiFi and Bluetooth wireless communications. This change in antenna structure may be related to the rumors of reduced wireless range.


The big metal boxes are shielding around the wireless transmitter / receiver chips. The metal shielding helps with passing FCC requirements to not interfere with other wireless devices. The PC board has markers on it that name the metal boxes as WiFi and Bluetooth areas. Because of the size of the metal plate, I’m assuming that the main processor is paired with the WiFi transmitter in the metal box. Since I’m unwilling to do a destructive teardown on an XS unit to find out, it will have to stay a mystery for now.

What About the Roku 2 Main Processor?

The purported processor, a Broadcom made BCM2835, continues to be source of fascination on the web. Broadcom has not published materials on their website. Fortunately, a small company called Raspberry Pi has turned up and is also using the BCM2835. From their blog, they note that they’re using the BCM2835 with SMSC Ethernet / USB chip to make a simple Linux platform. They’ve identified their provisional specs (which I’m assuming the Broadcom processor meets) as:
  • 700MHz ARM11
  • 128MB or 256MB of SDRAM
  • OpenGL ES 2.0
  • 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
  • Composite and HDMI video output
  • USB 2.0
  • SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot
  • Optional integrated 2-port USB hub and 10/100 Ethernet controller
These specs sound like the Roku 2 box. Their language has provided hints that the BCM2835 is a successor to the Broadcom BCM2820 line, an ARM11 based application processor that included Broadcom’s VideoCore video decoding co-processor. The last Roku box used a MIPS architecture for the main processor. The shift from MIPS to ARM is an indication that Roku got something useful out of it, and I’m guessing it was cost. This change would require a major investment in methodology, software, and tool changes to move to the new platform. This also explains my complete miss on new features since I guessed wrong on the main processor and a lot of my predictions were based on the wrong processor.

Conclusions

Roku has put together a low-cost solution that provides some extra computation power for their next solutions. They’ve kept the component count down and have kept the features lean to minimize costs. The extra processing power, plenty of RAM, and OpenGL graphics should help enable the games that they’re touting for their new Roku 2 boxes.

Roku 2 series Snap review

Although the Roku 2 series media players are smaller and cost less than their predecessors, they’re jam-packed with multimedia apps, offer multiple A/V outputs along with microSD and USB expansion, and are significantly less power-thirsty.


Pros and cons…

Pros:
  • Over 300 content channels and growing, including all four top VOD sources: Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, and Hulu Plus.
  • Extremely easy to setup and use.
  • Rock-solid stability.
  • Low power consumption, fanless, and silent.
  • Extremely compact.
  • The presence of composite video lets this device support older TVs.
  • Top-end model includes “casual gaming” capabilities.
  • Top-end models have non-directional RF remote option.
Cons:
  • Lacks support for playing media from Windows (samba) and UPnP shares; the third-party apps tend to require proprietary servers (or in one case a webserver) to be installed on the PC or Mac side.
  • Roku’s 1D menu system can’t provide quick-and-easy access to more than a handful of the 300+ available channels; Netgear’s NeoTV approach, though still simple, works far better.
  • Lacks AirPlay rendering.
  • Lacks web browsing, whereby users could stream specific URLs or view web pages.

Netgear NeoTV NTV300 Snap Review

Netgear recently introduced the NeoTV NTV300, a compact, low power, highly integrated, streaming media player that’s quite similar to Roku’s latest devices. The product is clearly an attempt to capture a slice of the rapidly growing streaming media player market, currently dominated by Apple and Roku. While the device currently only has a third to half the number of content apps as Roku provides, it does implement a more user-friendly menu system and also undercuts Roku’s pricing.


Pros and cons…

Pros:
  • Over 160 content channels and more on the way; device provides one of the most complete sets of VOD movie and TV show services: Netflix, HuluPlus, Vudu, and YouTube, with only Amazon VOD absent.
  • Extremely easy to setup and use
  • The NTV300′s 2D menu system is better suited than Roku’s 1D UI for browsing a large library of channels and customizing the homescreen with favorite channels.
  • Rock-solid stability.
  • Low power operation with ultra-low power deep-sleep mode; fanless and silent.
  • Extremely compact.
  • Ethernet and 1080p are standard on all models, despite competing price-wise with Roku’s low-end models.
  • Top model plays media from USB files and DLNA network shares
  • Top two models offer Intel WiDi screen mirroring
  • Top model’s remote control includes QWERTY keys
Cons:
  • Really could use AirPlay streams rendering, this is an another area where Netgear could leapfrog Roku’s devices.
  • We wish the remote control used RF wireless, especially since the device’s IR remote seems more directionally sensitive than Roku’s.
  • Could use a web browser function, enabling users to stream from a specific URL or view a web page.

Jun 24, 2013

Fast and Easy TSOP48 SMD Removal using Chip Quik kit


This is the fast and easiest way on How-To removed the TSOP48 from surface mounted board without a headache by not using the SMD Hot Air that always burned my Huawei BM622 Spansion S29GL064 before re-flashing.

How-To DeSoldering TSOP48 without SMD Hot Air


This video is courtesy of YouTube and the uploader, a tutorial on How-To removed the TSOP48 by only using a Soldering Iron and without the help of SMD Hot Air. It is possible to lift the 48pins surface mounted chips from the board of your modem, router or even the Huawei Echolife BM622 Spansion S29GL064 likewise the ST M29W640 flash memory. Similarly it can also put back the IC to its original position without burning the inside of it to make it again useful.

By doing this techniques on should have a basic electronics skill or those who are very enthusiastic in micro circuits, likewise whose has this kind of hobbies.

Asus AMD Brazos fanless motherboards

Until recently if you wanted a low power chip solution for a netbook or nettop Intel and the Atom range was your only real choice. But then AMD caught up and released its new Fusion line, putting a CPU and GPU on a single chip. The result was an Atom competitor with some serious graphical horsepower on board. The other benefit was the very low power requirements for the chip.


Asus is taking full advantage of AMD’s E-Series (Zacate) platform and the accelerated processing unit (APU) which only requires 18 watts of power. What this has allowed for is a new line of smaller motherboards that are free of fans.

The Asus E35M1 motherboard series is now shipping, and comes in three editions:
  • E35M1-M
  • E35M1-M Pro
  • E35M1-I Deluxe
For the most part all three models are very similar offering the same dual core processor, FCH A50 Hudson M1 chipest, Radeon HD 6310 GPU, and support for up to 8GB of RAM. The differences seem to come from the connectivity options included on each board and the form factor.

The base E35M1-M board only hasUSB 2.0 ports, but somehow manages to fit 14 of them on the board. Moving to the Pro edition you get two USB 3.0 ports and 12 USB 2.0 ports. The Deluxe gives you four USB 3.0 ports and just 8 USB 2.0 ports.

The other big difference is the form factor. Both the E35M1-M and Pro editions are Micro-ATX boards. The Deluxe takes the platform even smaller and fits everything on a Mini-ITX board. In all cases the total power consumption of the board is a very respctable 36 watts. At the same time these boards are more than capable of powering a a HTPC on a large HD display.

Which board you choose depends on the case you want to use. For us, the Mini-ITX board looks ideal as it’s offering up the same silent Fusion hardware in the smallest form factor you can get. That gives you the option of a very small case to hide away, or even connect to the back of your monitor.

Full details of each motherboard in the range can be found on the AMD CPU on Board section of Asus’ website. In terms of pricing you can expect to pay around $130 for the M model, $150 for the Pro, and $200 for the Deluxe edition.

ECS H55H-I Mini ITX Motherboard Snap Review

The greatest benefit to all of the computer component miniaturization is that, over time, you can get increasing amounts of computing performance in smaller spaces. Thankfully motherboard manufacturers are now keeping up with the improvements.


The ECS H55H-I Mini ITX Motherboard allows you to cram your favorite Intel LGA 1156 CPU into some tight quarters and even sports video output for your graphics infused processor. Guru3D has the review:
The product comes from ECS and is tagged as H55H-I, despite what you might think or feel about Mini-ATX, this little motherboard has it, it’s packed and loaded with features. Pop on a Clarkdale based processor like the Core i3 or Core i5 series and you can use it’s HDMI, DVI of DSUB graphics connector. Audio ? No worries the embedded Realtek ACL 8982 eight channel audio codec will happily output to analog or coaxial or optical TOSLINK S/PDIF connectors, need USB ? Well, the rear panel has six of them, need SATA2 ? Here we spot four ports and one eSATA, dual channel memory ? Yep supported, up-to 1600 MHz and in the end if you do not want to use the embedded graphics from the processor, then you can even pop in a full x16 PCIe graphics card and make a wicked gaming rig out of this incredibly handy H55H-I motherboard.
Fully loaded and tiny, can’t ask for much more than that!

ASUS RT-N53 Ultra-Thin Wireless Router


http://www.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Routers/RTN53/ * FCC#MSQ-RTN53

CPU: 500 MHz MIPS32 74K core Broadcom BCM5358U
(a dual-stream 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11n router SoC solution)
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Wir...CM5358x-Family

Memory: 32MB DDR Winbond W9425G6JH
http://www.winbond.com.tw/NR/rdonlyr.../W9425G6JH.pdf

ASUS RT-N53
Type: wireless router

FCC ID: MSQ-RTN53
Industry Canada ID: 3568A-RTN53

CPU1: Broadcom BCM5358UB0
FLA1: 8 MB (Brand? Model?)
RAM1: 32 MB (Winbond W9425G6JH-5)

ETH chip1: Broadcom BCM5358UB0
Switch: Broadcom BCM5358UB0
LAN speed: 10/100
LAN ports: 4
WAN ports: 1

Wireless: 802.11 abgn
WI1 chip1: Broadcom BCM5358UB0
WI1 802.11 protocols: bgn
WI1 MIMO status: 2x2:2
WI1 antenna connector: U.FL
WI2 chip1: Broadcom BCM43236
WI2 802.11 protocols: an
WI2 MIMO status: 2x2:2
WI2 antenna connector: none

Power: 12 VDC, 1 A
Connector type: Barrel plug

Jun 18, 2013

Asus WL-520GU Specifications

I concluded that the Asus WL-520GU wireless router was the perfect choice for an embedded wireless platform, thanks to its builtin 802.11g WiFi, Linux support, and extremely low cost. (In fact, the price after rebate has dropped since my last post – now would probably be a good time to buy one if you’re thinking about hacking it into something eventually).


Here are the specs on this router, based on an inspection of the hardware and the stock firmware Linux kernel boot log.
  • CPU: Broadcom BCM5354KFBG SoC @ 200MHz (240MHz?)
  • Builtin 802.11g wireless transceiver
  • Builtin 10/100 ethernet switch
  • Core supports 2 serial ports, only 1 is available on the PCB (installed 4 pin header shown in photo above)
  • RAM: 16MB Samsung K4S281632I SRAM
  • Flash: 4MB MX 29LV320CB
  • One USB 1.1 port (USB 2.0 support is broken according to the folks at OpenWRT)
  • SiGe Semiconductor 2528L discrete RF Power Amplifier IC
  • One external TX/RX whip antenna (RPSMA), internal diversity RX antenna on PCB
  • Internal 3.3V DC-DC converter
  • PCB Dimensions: 4.0″ x 5.6″
  • Supply: 5V @ <2A
Here are some images of the PCB, click for a larger version.



Here’s a closeup of the Broadcom BCM5354 SoC – the brains of the router. It is surrounded by a 4MB MX flash chip above and a Samsung 4MB SRAM chip on the right.


Overall this is a great little router and an even better platform to build an embedded Linux system, provided you don’t need USB 2.0 support. If you do, look at the WL-500gP v2 instead, it has two working USB 2.0 ports (in addition to much more flash storage and RAM).

Jun 17, 2013

SmartBro Motorola Canopy Subscriber Module Hardreset

This tutorial for SmartBro Motorola Canopy Subscriber Module Hardreset is intended not only to those of my blog readers who requested it but also to those Netizens that needs help and having hard time on accessing their fixed wireless broadband antenna.


First of all if you are planning to hardreset your SmartBro Motorola Canopy Subscriber Module fixed wireless broadband antenna it must be on your desk otherwise you won't be able to do so since only Ethernet port is connected to your PC.

GPS Sync / Console port pin assignment
pin 1 - GPS sync
pin 2 - Serial Tx 9600
pin 3 - Serial Rx 9600
pin 4 - Default Jumper
pin 5 - Audio/GPS Power sync
pin 6 - Ground
To make more life easier on acquiring the Motorola Canopy override plug we will use a Register Jack (RJ) or Modular Connector such as 4P4C, 6P4C  or 6P6C (six-pin/position six-conductor).


As you have notice in this article I did NOT used the word/term RJ11, RJ12, RJ13, RJ14 (wikipedia) etc. so that my readers will not be confused with RJ45 which is usually used on Ethernet cable for networking and can not be used for this purposes otherwise if you are a Telco staff you have a good comprehension on technical stuff.


I highly suggest to used 6P6C modular connector/Register Jack for simplicity and a piece of 1ft. wire will do insert one end to Pin#4 and other end to Pin#6 then crimped it. I know buying 6P6C connector on electronic shop is very difficult to find for this stuff unless you are working on a Telco company.


The option is to used 4P4C connector this kind of Register Jack is often used at home, in your office, or anywhere as long as there is a telephone set you can find this modular connector with flat cable crimped together.  Once you have it cut the telephone cord into two (2) just use the half end, uninsulate the flat cable wire only Pin#3 you will need and ground it to the body of  6P6C female connector the GPS/Console port.


Another alternative to hard reset your Canopy is a piece of wire from your Cat5 Ethernet cable or a paper clip will do to over ride, jumper the Pin#4 and Pin#6 onto the female port as shown on the screenshot below or just point&stick Pin#6 to ground or to negative.


The above mention are just few technique and options on how-to fabricate or acquire the over ride plug for SmartBro Motorola Canopy SM fixed wireless broadband antenna. Once you have decide which to be used you can now power ON your Canopy and make sure you have configure your PC as static IP address in range to 169.254.1.1 because this will be your Canopy AP web graphical user interface default address on hardreset state.

Motorola Canopy SM (Subscriber Module) Documentation download pdf here

Hopefully once you open your favorite browser to http://169.254.1.1 you will be seeing the login page of your Canopy Subscriber Module, the username will be root with blank or no password at all. You may change your password now as you desired, change setting as you wish then save it. Remove the jumper/override plug then power cycle the module it will reboot now. That's all.

The F&P Smartdrive

What F&P is it?.

60, 80, 100 series stators, 56 or 48 magnets? Whats the differences?

If your new to F&P smartdrive's, you will hear people refer to the different types as 60's, 80's or 100's. No, these are not F&P model numbers, if you go into your local F&P agent and ask then for a 80 series stator, they will look at you with a blank face. "You want a what!"

They are the way the F&P windmill guys know the different types, and it refers to the diameter of the wire used in the windings. A 60 series has 0.6mm diameter copper wire, the 80 has 0.8mm copper, and the 100 has 1mm copper. I believe the terms originated from Michael at www.ecoinn.co.nz, but I could be wrong. Michael has used F&P motors for water wheels and wind mills for years now and has done some good research into F&P performance. His web site is worth a visit.

Now for some photos.

The 100 series, becoming rare, used in the early model F&P Smartdrive washing machines. Wire size approx 1mm diameter, 42 Poles.


This is the very common 80 series. Wire size approx 0.8mm diameter, 42 Poles.


And this is the 60 series, note the messy winding, but this has no effect on performance. This stator has been de-cogged, note the rounded ends of the poles. Wire size approx 0.6mm diameter, 42 Poles.


This is the new 36 pole stator used in the very latest F&P washing machines. Note the rounded poles. Wire size approx 0.6mm diameter, 36 Poles.


There are three magnet hub types. The early 100 series hub has individual magnets. Again, becoming rare. 56 magnets.


F&P later introduced the wider magnets, actually four magnets in one magnet block. I believe this was done to reduce the whining noise when the washing machine was in spin cycle. There are 14 magnet blocks, giving us a total of 56 magnets. You can see the area where the N and S poles meet by traces of rusty iron filings.


Below is th latest hub, and suits the 36 pole stator shown above. It has shorter magnet blocks, each with 3 magnets. All up there are 16 magnet blocks, giving us 48 magnets. The magnets are also arrow shaped to reduce cogging.


Below you can see the arrow shaped magnets with some iron filings on the magnet faces.

Induction Motor How it works

An induction or asynchronous motor is an AC motor in which current is induced in the rotor winding by the magnetic field of the stator winding, by electromagnetic induction. Therefore they do not require the sliding electric contacts, such as a commutator or slip rings, which are needed to transfer current to the rotor winding in other types of motor such as the universal motor. Rotor windings consist of short-circuited loops of conductors and are made in two types: the wound rotor and the squirrel-cage rotor.


Three-phase squirrel-cage induction motors are widely used in industrial drives because they are rugged, reliable and economical. Single-phase induction motors are used extensively for smaller loads, such as household appliances like fans. Although the simple induction motor is a fixed-speed device, they are increasingly being used with variable-frequency drive (VFD) systems, which allow the speed to be varied. VFDs offer especially important energy savings opportunities for existing and prospective induction motors in variable-torque centrifugal fan, pump and compressor load applications. Squirrel cage induction motors are very widely used in both fixed-speed and VFD applications.

Jun 16, 2013

Huawei Echolife BM622 Protection against FWD

The Huawei Echolife BM622 4G WiMAX Broadband wireless modem router is one of the Globe Telecom legacy CPE device which is prone to FWD aka "Firmware Destroyer" this can be exploited remotely via TR069 even other ports is disabled from WAN such as HTTP, Telnet and SSH are among common protocol by default are open used as backdoor not only by Admin ISP but also those who are malicious.


The result of this insecure CPE device from Huawei Technologies supplied to ISP such as Globe Telecom loss it profit significantly due to rampant gateway spoofing. Another issue have face by legit subscribers are the so-called "Blank WAN" and "Tulala". These two bad ideas are the works of those netizens who wanted to have an unlimited FREE internet connection disabling the innocent legit user and spoofed as a legit by uploading corrupted firmware. 

Similarly, because of frustration by Admin ISP of uncontrollable spoofing technique done by malicious netizens able to access FREE internet connection to their network because of poor and unsophisticated NOS, legit subscriber suffer also "Blank WAN" and "Tulala" due to undetermined legal CPE device of users.


Remember  the so-called Firmware Destroyer, Blank WAN and Tulala is also happening to legit user and not only to those who spoof. This tutorial and screenshot will help you prevent your Huawei Echolife BM622 4G WiMAX Broadband wireless modem router CPE device by being updated remotely by any malicious people.

First, navigate to Advanced menu under CWMP sub-menu you will see TR069 you must disable it and save it.


Second, still on Advanced menu navigate to ACL on the WAN side unchecked the HTTP, TELNET & SSH in order you will not be prone remotely via these ports (80, 23,22).


Then also navigate to Security sub-menu under Advanced menu, you must enable the URL Filter and chose Filter Mode to Black, input the IP address of TR069 ISP Server 10.4.1.158 so that you will not be reachable by any updates such as firmware and security issue.


Lastly, set the Security Level to High this is still under the Advanced menu,. Security sub-menu Firewall and then click Apply. That's all you are already done, this has been tested almost two(2) years from now on. There is an alternative on how-to protect your BM622 from the disaster mention above its a Hardware Protection a single or dual switch that will let your BM622 in write-protected state once the switches is ON, but its not safe to "Blank WAN" and for "Tulala" it will only save you from being "Firmware Destroyer" aka FWD.

Malaysia the Moderate Peacemaker

Malaysia's position at the heart of Southeast Asia has made it a connector of sorts to all the region's thriving economies. However, proximity also meant that rebel movements in neighboring states sought refuge in Malaysia. For instance, the Free Aceh Movement maintained a foothold in Acehnese immigrant communities in Kedah, just across the Strait of Malacca, and later established a leadership cell in Kuala Lumpur.

Likewise, in the 1960s when former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was persecuting the Moros of Mindanao, they found shelter and sympathy in neighboring Sabah. More recently, when the conflict in southern Thailand re-erupted in 2004, the shadowy insurgent movement found refuge by blending in with the people of the neighboring Malaysian state of Kelantan, who speak a virtually identical dialect and share a similarly proud royal heritage—their two sultanates having intermarried through the ages.

There is no question such situations are delicate for Kuala Lumpur. Kelantan, for instance, is governed by the Islamic Party PAS, and has a long history of opposition to the center, including a little known challenge in the courts that sought separation from the Malaysian Federation when it was formed in 1963.

It was hardly possible for Malaysian security agencies to ignore the presence of so many rebels in their midst. However, being mostly Muslim and Malay, it was politically impossible to ignore their plight.

At best, the Malaysian authorities managed the situation by ensuring that the rebels kept a low profile. At worst, they sometimes exploited the situation for domestic political gain, or to exert leverage on the neighbors when needed. The Malaysian Special Branch and External Intelligence Service has a long history of managing rebels in their midst that goes back to the Malayan Communist Party of the 1940s and '50s.

It's no wonder that none of its neighbors really trusted Malaysia for most of its history. This only started to change in the 1990s when Kuala Lumpur offered to facilitate peace talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Manila. A formal Malaysian facilitator was appointed and the talks gained credibility when they started to be held more openly and transparently.

In the final stages of the MILF's reconciliation with Manila, four states and four non-governmental organizations, including the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, supported an advisory panel called the International Contact Group. This gave the parties to the conflict more confidence in the process. A framework agreement to grant local autonomy under the Philippine constitution was signed in October last year and set the stage for a comprehensive solution to the conflict.

A similar outcome is hoped for in southern Thailand since Malaysia reached an agreement with Thailand to facilitate a dialogue process. In a confidential dialogue process facilitated by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue since 2006, the two sides could only agree that lasting peace in the Thai south depended on Malaysia buying into the solution. Bangkok has now boldly endorsed a role for Malaysia.

These achievements underscore the sea change in Malaysian foreign policy that has moved away from perpetually balancing border security with local political interests and also keeping the neighbors off-balance. Prime Minister Najib Razak has tried to frame this shift in conceptual terms, establishing a Global Movement of Moderates and signaling Malaysia's clear intention to pursue peaceful coexistence and conflict resolution as bedrock policies.

But there are lingering issues that will be hard to resolve. Last month, old wounds were dredged up when a small group of disgruntled Moros from Sulu invaded a coastal plantation on the east coast of Sabah to claim their ancestral land. The conflict is a relic of the colonial era when the Sultans of Sulu "leased" what used to be North Borneo to the British government for an annual sum of 5,300 Mexican gold pieces. When Malaysia was established in 1963 it seemed expedient for the Philippines to maintain this claim over Sabah, and the Malaysian government agreed to continue paying a token rent.

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, now in his 70s and ailing, felt that his request to be consulted on the MILF agreement went unheard. That's when a group of his followers "invaded" Sabah to remind Malaysia of his claim. Clashes with Malaysian security forces have left dozens dead and raised fears that the Moros, especially the Tausug from the Sulu archipelago, will oppose the recently concluded framework agreement and even send more raiding parties over to Sabah.

Malaysia is trying very hard to be a good neighbor and promote peace and stability in the region, laying aside old fears and suspicions. This deserves wider support in the region. But as the trouble in Sulu suggests, the ghosts of conflicts past continue to haunt the present.

Mr. Vatikiotis is the Asia regional director of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which has supported dialogue in the Philippines and Thailand.

Cheapest Solar Panels Online

Solar panels are a good alternative source of electricity and can save you significant amounts of money. The only problem comes with the cost of buying and installing them. The cheapest solar panels are the DIY solar panels which you can easily install all by yourself. These solar panels are actually quite affordable unlike the other types of solar panels which might force you to take a loan to buy and install them. You also don’t have to trouble yourself getting a technician to do it for you since it is quite easy to fix this type of solar panel.


The DIY solar panel kit is made up of a couple of solar cells, 6 Ampere charge controller, 2 – 12V batteries with a charge capacity of 92Ah and an 800 Watt 12V power inverter and a blocking diode. All these roughly cost a total of 45 dollars making one of the cheapest solar panels you will ever come across. Ensure that you get all these components from a trusted dealer to avoid any cases of malfunction. You will also need an extra 55 dollars to buy cables for wiring, hardware for mounting and any other miscellaneous expenses that may arise.

Installation is quite an easy inexpensive step. Start by making two shallow boxes out of wood. It has to be shallow to ensure that the sides don’t bock the solar panels from the sun. Fit two pegboard pieces where each of the two subpanels will be mounted. Solder the panels in series on each of the two sub-panels then connect the two halves in series. This will ensure that you make maximum voltage. Be careful not to break the cells as you solder them because they are very brittle. Preferably use low watt soldering iron.

With this setup complete, it’s time to test it out in the sun. You can opt to use one of the halves to know how much your solar panel produces. An 18 cell solar panel should produce roughly 9 volts. The next thing to do is connect the solar panels to your battery for charging. To prevent discharging of the battery at night or during cloudy conditions by the solar panel, fix a blocking diode at the middle of the wires. Having done this you have made yourself one of the cheapest solar panels. You will actually realize that making the DIY solar panels is quite easy though it needs some amount of labour.

You have the solution to all your power problems. A do it yourself solar panel answers the question on how to get the cheapest solar panels. You should make a point of calling an electrician to check the set up for you before you officially start using it. This system is able to provide power to run your 21 inch television for more than 20 hours, 12W bulbs for almost 80 hours, a desktop computer for 40 hours and a laptop for even longer hours. You can purchase powerful power inverter to handle larger appliances like the vacuum cleaner and microwaves. All these features at a low cost of less than 100 dollars.

How To Make A Solar Panel At Home

Chances are if you are looking for the answer to the question “How to make a solar panel at home” you are either a DIY enthusiast or perhaps someone looking to save some money by cutting their utility bills whilst doing their bit to help the environment.

Homemade solar panels are they a reality?

Building your own homemade solar panels is now a reality, for under a couple of hundred dollars you can assemble your own solar panels with readily available materials and its easier than you may think! You do need to be aware though, that you wont be able to power your whole households power needs on one panel alone, you will need to build several to even get close to this. But if you want to supplement your existing power source at home, create a portable panel or simply make one for a bit of fun then you wont be disappointed.

The main thing you need to do is ensure you get a good guide to follow, one that lays out all the materials and steps you need to take in a clear manner.

How to make a solar panel at home for under $200

The materials you will need to make a solar panel at home will cost you around $200 or less and are readily available from local hardware stores.

You will need some rudimentary tools such as hammer, screwdriver, drill, but you will also need some more specialized tools in particular clamps to help clamp the frames together and a glue gun, whilst not crucial is recommended.

The main items you will need to make a solar panel are :
  • A hotplate
  • Sheet metal shears
  • An Ammeter
  • Distilled water
  • Table salt
  • A Sheet of copper flashing
  • Power Drill
  • Peg Board
  • Ply Wood
  • Jigsaw or Ban saw
  • Soldering Iron
  • Electric Sander or sandpaper
  • A pair of alligator clip leads
  • Safety goggles
  • Gloves

Why build your own solar panels?

Most people want to know if building your own solar panels will help you to cut hundreds and in time even thousands of dollars from your utility bills as you start using your solar energy instead of traditional power grid supplied electricity? Well Depending on your usage and the number of panels you make you can indeed slash your power bills, but once again as mentioned before this would take a large number of panels. The amount of usable power you produce will depend entirely on the number of panels you build.

I feel the best way to approach building your own solar panels is to look at it as a fun project, then if you do master the art of building them and are enthusiastic enough you can go on and build more if your serious about replacing your existing power supply.

Another reason to learn how to make a solar panel at home is to help out mother nature by using a clean renewable energy in place of a polluting one.

Lastly, but by no means least, the project is a lot of fun, especially for a DIY enthusiast. Get your kids and family involved and turn the experience of building your own solar panel and educational one. You wont believe the difference in your kids our look on environmental issues and energy conservation after working on a project like this.


IF you think the task may be bit beyond your skills, then you can still assemble your own solar system by purchasing one in a diy solar power kit form, like the one shown below. These panels come in a range of output wattage’s, the larger ones will certainly make a dent in your power bills.


build your own solar panel

So if you are thinking of building you own homemade solar panel, don’t delay, one thing you need to do to ensure success is get one of the aforementioned “How to make a solar panel at home” guides.


Retrieve lost WiFi passwords with SterJo Wireless Passwords

We’re all for strong security, so don’t take this as a complaint, but why does it have to be so hard to retrieve wireless networking passwords on Windows? Surely there should be an easier way to locate and store these important bits of information?


SterJo Wireless Passwords is a free Windows utility which aims to do just that. You can download either an installable or portable version (which you can carry around on a USB stick), and from then on all you need to do is fire it up and bingo, your passwords will be instantly available to you. They’re displayed on screen, and can also be copied to a file for safe keeping or printing.

The software works by scanning your network and will automatically pick up all of your saved passwords as well, which is great if you regularly use a number of locations and networks (e.g. work, home, cafe etc) and have problems keeping track of the connections when you upgrade computers or use a different device. It’s simple, free and works and is a valuable tool to add to your tool box.

Jun 15, 2013

Wimax VIP Mac Address Generator: 00:21:07 (Seowonintech) Series




Mac Address
Command and MAC
Password
2008x2C6tVLzAWF8
 


With all due respect, I give credits to Jailbreak for the code.
Please post your speedtest on the comment box if you acquired VIP mac using this generator. I found 20 working VIP mac using this.