Creating a Minimalist CentOS Home Server

It's about time I wrote this, so here we go. I built a little NAS/home server over Christmas time a few months ago. It's based on a FM2 3.5Ghz dual core, a mATX Gigabyte board with eight Sata3 ports, and currently has three 4TB hard drives. I've been jumping between what OS to run on it for a while: first it had Arch, then some Debian, FreeBSD and now here we are at CentOS.

Why? Arch was stable but for fear of things going bad (Arch is not meant to be a server), I switched to Debian which had consistent issues with full network bandwidth causing the Ethernet driver to crash. I had high hopes for BSD then realized they dont support XFS anymore which means I couldn't mount my data drives. So here goes CentOS.

While this is meant for CentOS, most commands are similar and software names are the same, so it can be used as reference for other systems.

RC Mitsubishi Eclipse Part 1: 3D Modeled Shell

This here is one of my long term projects: a 1/8th scale remote controlled Mitsubishi Eclipse. I don't feel like going into much detail currently, but in this part I will be taking a 3D model of a 2nd generation Eclipse and creating a scaled mold that can be used in a vacuum former to create a shell for the car. A 3D model was very hard to find for free, but I did eventually find one.

First I had to import this .3ds formatted file into Solidworks. With a premium version, this can be done with the ScanTo3D feature. This must be first enabled under Tools>Add-Ins. Once done, the .3ds can be opened like any other SolidWorks file.

Then I could move on to modifying the model to the correct scale. However, this cannot be done to the part file as it is with the meshes. So, we convert this to a .STL which also allows us to modify and measure the model unlike the meshes. I then measured the length of the model and found the ratio of it to the needed length of the model to fit the 1/8th scale of the real car. This ratio is then inserted into the Scale feature (found under Insert>Features>Scale) which scales the model to the correct 1/8th scale.

The next step is to create the carbon fiber base chassis to fit the shell. This method (basing it off of a real car) makes it so much easier to design the car as not everything needs to be created from scratch. As for creating the actual shell, i'd need to get a hold of a vacuum form machine.

Modifying a Logitech Gaming Controller

I have a few projects that need to be easily interfaced with a computer to be used in games. I thought of using a Teensy cause it has USB support, but I had a sorta old Logitech controller that I wasn't using anymore. My idea was to bring out all the buttons and joysticks (potentiometers) to a header that could be accessed on the outside. Then this slimmed down controller could be put into a modular case that can be swapped between multiple gaming accessories such as a racing wheel or a guitar for Phase Shift (guitar hero for the PC). An since its a Logitech controller, it pretty much works in every game.

DIY Varaible Temp Soldering Iton

I still haven't spent the money to get a nice variable soldering iron for home use so I continue to make do with what I have or on the cheap. I'm getting really tired of no temp control so I thought of using a AC light dimmer to control it. A few short Googles later and sure enough someone else has already thought of this idea and tested it. 

Old Glider to RC Plane

After my utter failure in building a BluBaby RC plane, I decided to hit it again, but with a different approach. I know a decent amount about flight mechanics, but not so much on building one from scratch. So, I used a glider as the base for my plane and added electronics to make remote controlled, and then later a brushless motor. This plane will be Elevator and aileron only, simply because I don't want to deal with a rudder, and its not really necessary in the beginning (yank and bank all the way!)

How To Mod a NERF Raider CS-35

I won a Nerf Raider at a school event and so naturally I had to mod it.

A nice overview of the gun (and my mess).

Netbook Touchscreen Car PC

In this project I created a touchscreen car PC from an old Gateway netbook I had (the same one from this teardown post). The specs are about just right for what I need for a in car computer: 1.66ghz Atom N450, 1GB ram, GMA 3150 and a 10in 1024x600 display. All it has to do is run XBMC or some media player for listening to music and deal with a few peripherals such as a touch screen, media keys and possibly an OBD II bluetooth reader.

Running some XBMC, but still needs a bit of cleaning up.