Old Cell Phones == treasure;

I guess many people don't realize before dumping their old phones that they are also throwing away a treasure trove of micro hardware that can be extracted and used in multiple DIY projects. I don't blame them as most people don't even know how does the vibration in their phones work.

So recently while going through some old 2006< cellphones, I decided to salvage such components. I recovered some really neat gems:

• Micromotors [Both types: External and Sealed]
• Mics
• Speakers
• 2MP camera modules
• LCDs [Color 64K & 256K 160ppi & B/W 100ppi]
• Micro DC-in female jacks

Now to think of some things I could do with them!?? Bristlebots anyone ;-)

EXT4 filesystems on M$ Windows

A real pain that I had to go through was the inablility to preoperly read EXT4 filesystems on Windows. My old solution was a standalone app called Ext2Read but it was slow and a very dirty solution [files had to be copied onto a NTFS filesystem first].

What I desired was a more simpler approach and along came Ext2Fsd. This application allows the EXT4 partition to be mounted and read like a native NTFS. One caveat is that the 'extent' support is still pending so the interaction is limited to read-only which I don't mind since my need in Windows is to only listen to music which lies on the big and chunky EXT4 side.

DIY cooling solution...

I recently bought a new notebook [my old machine was... well old... needed a well deserved retirement. Goodbye ProcyonMk2 you ol' girl! :-P], about 2 months ago. ASUS K53 series, specs are:

ProcyonMk3:
15.6 inch screen @ 1366x768 WLED screen
Intel 2670QM CPU [4 Core + HT = 8 Threads]
NVIDIA GT 540M GPU [2GB DDR3 VRAM] [Optimus Solution]
ASint 8GB DDR3 RAM
WDC 5400RPM 750GB HDD
USB2.0 x 2, USB3.0 x 1
Atheros b/g/n Wifi, Realtek Audio, BT3, Altec-Lansing Speakers, 6 Cell Battery.

Basically a pretty powerful system. I wouldn't attach an ULTRA tag [my way of rating notebooks: low, midrange, high, ultra] to it but would consider it to be a HIGH end machine [a first for me since i am used to owning low to mid-range systems]...

Anyway, considering a heatwave thats been plaguing the area where I live, a decent cooling solution had to be designed as my old cooling pad was busted with 2 of its fans burnt out.

So basically I had this old but totally unused 12 volt .3 amps [3.6 watts] DC chassis fan lying around which I had extracted from my desktop since the mobo didn't have a chassis fan socket. Using an old router adapter rated at 12volts .7 amps DC [No.1 rule in Electrical Engg: Voltage should be the same, Current should be equal or more], laptop packaging and some nice nifty tools, made my own DIY cooling pad.

It turned out pretty good considering its simplicity.

Pics attached [I'm too lazy to take detailed photos, if you don't understand the design, then leave a comment and I could help you out]:

Pic 1: Underside.

Pic 2: Upside.

End Result: Cool'n'Quiet system, 1 week's lunch money saved :-)

Update: Since this is a internal desktop chassis fan, it has a high dB level, bloody thing makes noise like a jet engine. Good thing my speakers damp it all out with music... ;-D

Reanimated

It's been like what... ages... since my last post... so many things have changed. I guess its time I caught up and updated this blog... therefore i am officially reanimating this corner of the web.

Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Crisis

We are all well aware of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that caused massive damage and great loss of life to the Japanese coastal areas. Also the situation seems very critical at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility where engineers are attempting their best to avert a possible meltdown. My prayers go out to all the people and their families affected and I pray that that they are successful in stabilizing the situation. Also I salute all the people currently involved in the rescue and stabilization process. You are the real heroes guys...