My first Remote Controlled Airplane

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Apr 5,2011

My whole life I’ve loved all things remote controlled, and I’ve always wanted a remote controlled helicopter or airplane. As you know, I bought a small and cheap RC helicopter a few years back. That one eventually broke and my friend got me another at Christmas this year. This got me back into RC flying; my research started and my new favorite hobby was born.

As I started researching remote controlled airplanes, I came across something spectacular. Something I’ve wanted my whole live but never knew it : FPV flying.

FPV flying, also known as First Person View flying is when you attach a small video camera and video transmitter to your airplane (or helicopter) which transmits the video back to you on the ground in real time. With the use of video goggles or a laptop, you literally fly the plane as if you were sitting there in the cockpit. (The camera even moves left/right, up/down as you move your head!!) You can also record all your flights. This takes RC flying to a whole new level ! You can fly much further since you don’t need to actually see the airplane from the ground and figure out which way it’s heading.

So I spent many hours on the internet, and found the youtube channel of AltitudeRC which is a small group of Montrealers who are involved in this hobby. Thanks to AltitudeRC, I was able to get myself everything I needed to get involved in RC FPV flying. (Actually I’m still missing the video goggles, those are really expensive) They were really great. For a couple of weeks I was sending almost daily emails packed with questions about which RC plane I should buy, which video transmitter/ receiver I need, which Camera, how to put it all together, etc, etc, etc ….

In the end, I got a SkySurfer airplane / glider from BananaHobby (their customer service sucks, but their prices are good), I got an 800mw transmitter / receiver from DinoDirect (Slow shipping, but can’t beat the prices!) , a micro video camera from FoxtechFPV (they’re awesome) , and an “easy pod” to mount my camera and transmitter to my plane from NG Hobbies (also awesome).

I haven’t yet done any FPV flights, however I have gone and flown my new airplane a handful of times at the park near my house. My first time out was really stressful. The first 2 times I tried flying I didn’t stay in the air any more than 5 seconds per “flight”. After that things started going better. (I say that, but that first day every time I “landed” I had to fix things on the plane so that I could fly it again) There really is a large learning curve to flying RC planes, I don’t think I could have done it as a kid. I’m still stressed out when I go flying since it’s still very new to me, but things are getting a lot better. The park I fly in has lots of obstacles, so I recently figured out that it makes things MUCH easier to simply fly the plane WAY above any obstacles; that way you don’t need to dodge them.

Here’s a video of my first day out with the plane :

Here’s a video of my first time trying to fly on a windy day :

Here’s the video of the first time I REALLY crashed my RC airplane (flew it into a tree) :

And here’s the video of the last time I went flying (after I crashed it into a tree) and decided to try going really high to avoid obstacles : (kinda boring since the plane is too high to see most of the time, but checkout my sweet landings )

For more information about RC flying, checkout the website of the guy who helped me : www.altitudeRC.com .. (actually, I made the site to thank him for all the help he’s given me, but all the content is his )

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Cheap but effective home automation

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Sep 29,2010

I have been dreaming about having a “smart home” for years. I’ve worked on many ways of doing it from scratch, using a PC’s parallel port and some relays, and I’ve looked at existing software and hardware. I’ve decided to start my home automation project using X10′s products. SOMEHOW, they sell it for cheaper than I can make it. (Although I haven’t taken anything of their’s apart yet)

X10 has been around forever (It seems). I’ve spent 8 years visiting their website here and there, and 8 years getting spammed daily with their new “sales”. To be totally honest, their whole site is a maze of different sales pitches and “packages’ that are currently on sale “ONLY FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS!”. (yeah right) It’s very affordable. All these things combined always had me wondering if it was a giant scam.

Last week I decided to place a small order and test these things out. (And to make sure it wasn’t a scam)

I ordered a transceiver module, 2 lamp modules, 1 remote control that can control over 200 “things”, 2 switch modules, and a little serial Adapterb so that the PC can communicate with the modules.

Here’s how it works :

1) The transceiver Module : It’s a little box the size of a deck of cards that plugs into an electrical outlet. It has an antenna sticking out of it. BASICALLY, this module receives wireless x10 signals and passes it on the existing electrical wiring to other modules. (Which don’t have or require antenna’s) The Transceiver module also has an electrical outlet on it, which means it also doubles as an appliance module. (So you can plug something into that box and turn it on/off via remote control) The Transceiver module can only pass on signals to devices that are connected on the same electrical circuit, so you need a few transceiver modules to be able to control every part of your home.

2) The Lamp Modules : This is pretty self explanatory. You plug the lamp module into the wall, and you plug your lamp into the module. Then, using a remote or a PC, you can send on / off and dim signals to that lamp via the transceiver module.

3) The Remote Control : X10 has a TON of remote controls. As a man, I LOVE my remotes. I got one that will be able to grow with my system as it expands, but there are many many other much cooler ones. There are remotes that will control your TV, DVD, AND your x10 home automation equipment. They have keychain remotes that look like a remote car-starter, they have remotes that will control your PC (the mouse, clicks, everything) AND your x10 equipment, it goes on and on and on .. I’ve turned on the lights in my kitchen from 100 ft away, outside, on the other side of the building that my transceiver module is. VERY impressive! (I was originally worried it wouldn’t work through walls properly!)

4) The Switch Modules : These are my favorite. You replace the light switches in your home with these switches, and now you can control your ceiling lights with the switch, OR by remote control / PC. The wall switches fit in the regular wall switch outlet, and use the same faceplate you had to cover it up! Don’t forget, all these modules need to be on the same circuit as an x10 transceiver module in order to work! (Meaning if there’ s no transceiver module plugged into the wall on the same circuit that that switch uses to get it’s power, it won’t work!)

5) The “Firecracker” CM17A : This is a small adapter that fits onto the serial port of your pc and will let you control your lights from your computer. With this, you can easily program your computer to turn the lights on or off via a quick click, or even setup schedules so that it does it automatically. The software that x10 gives to go with the firecracker it basically just a picture of the remote I already got on the PC. Nothing fancy. Luckily other people have written software for it that can do a little more. Using MisterHouse and this firecracker module, you can use voice commands to control everything, setup very fancy schedules, and do SOOO much more that I’m still just figuring out. (It’s not the most user friendly piece of software, but it’s free and VERY flexible) Personally, I just got a small piece of software that lets me control the firecracker via the command line, and then I setup batch files for the things I want to automate. I put shortcuts to those files on my desktop, and I setup some scheduling using the built in windows scheduling feature. Very simple. X10 has a newer and better PC interface (using USB) and software, called ACTIVE HOME, which is on my list of the next things to buy.

Every module except the transceiver modules have 2 dials on them. One of them is to set the “house code”, and one to set the “unit code”. Generally, you try and put everything on the same house code, but you give different unit codes to each module. So lets say you have a transceiver module that has the dial set to house code A, (the transceiver modules always take unit 1, you can’t change that, but the housecode you can change) and in the other room (but on the same electrical circuit) you have a lamp module that you set to house code A, unit 2. On your remote you would program buttons for Unit 1, Unit 2, both housecode A. When you press the button for unit 2, ONLY the modules that are set to unit 2 (and the same housecode) will go on or off. Etc, etc, etc … All this to say that it’s very easy to “program” your modules.

So far, I’m VERY impressed with their products. They ACTUALLY work how they say it would work! (wow, who knew?!) The installation of ALL these things took under 20 minutes in total. I ordered all of it on a Sunday, (to be shipped to Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and I had it by Friday. (And the post office was actually late delivering it – according to them they should have delivered it to me on Wednesday or Thursday!)

Now that I know that they’re not a scam and that the products actually get delivered and that they work, I plan on going much further with this.

This is what’s to come :

1) I will replace ALL my wall switches with x10 switches so that I have control of ALL the lights in my home. This will involve a second transceiver module because the electrical outlets and light switches in my home are on 2 different circuits. (It’s very easy to test, shut of a single breaker in your fuse panel, then go walk around to see what’s not working. You now know that all those things are on the same circuit and will only need 1 transceiver module to control everything from that circuit using the other x10 modules. Keep doing that until you know how many different circuits you need to control and that will be the amount of transceiver modules you need) I’m lucky that I only need 2 since I’m in an a duplex. I assume houses will need more.

2) Motion Sensors : This will be one of the best parts. X10 has motion sensor modules that work with all the other x10 modules. I plan on putting an x10 motion sensor by the front door. When motion is detected, and it’s dark outside (did I mention the motion sensor has a photocell that can tell if it’s light or dark?) it will turn on the porch light. I live in a duplex, so I don’t want to turn on the staircase lights of the neighbors, so there will be another sensor in the staircase that will turn on MY staircase light if someone goes up the stairs past the neighbors section. When that sensor goes off, not only will it turn on the staircase light, but it will turn on the light in the entrance of my home. The hallways light will turn itself off about 1 minute after it stops detecting motion. (The time before turning off can be set). I will also put motion detectors in the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen so that whenever someone walks in while it’s dark it will turn on the lights automatically as they walk in the room. HOWEVER, (using the x10 CM11 USB Adapter with ActiveHome), if it detects motion in the middle of the night in one of these rooms (lets say between midnight and 5 AM) it will turn on the lights but will dim them to 30%. (Who wants super bright lights when they have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?!)

The possibilities with these modules are endless ! The Video below shows a guy who used x10 equipment to make an “Emergency Party Button”. It’s a must in all homes, where do you keep yours?

Why do this?!

Personally, I never would have thought I’d be asked why I would want to control my home automatically and/or via remote control. However, all the non-techie people I’ve talked to about this ask. My answer is simple, Why not?! It’s not out of laziness, I can use a switch, I just like the techie value of this. It’s fun, it’s techie, it’s handy ! SOOO many times I’m in bed falling asleep and realize I left the kitchen light on. Now I can turn it off without waking myself up and spending another hour trying to get to that sleepy state!

My Conclusion

X10 is not a scam. They deliver their products promptly and they work as advertised. (Atleast the home automation equipment – I haven’t tried their videocamera’s yet, but I read lots of bad reviews about them. Hey X10, wanna send me free camera’s so I can test them out and hopefully write a good review? I recommend all techie’s who like the idea of controlling their lights and appliances by remote and PC to give X10 a shot. I’ve spent under $70 for what I already have, what a deal !

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Samsung Jack Cell phone review

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Dec 1,2008

After a year of using a cell phone that hangs up on half the people that call me, my cell phone contract has finally expired and it’s time to get a new phone at a huge discount.

My Cell phone carrier, Fido, has never sold blackberry services. (Which is strange because they’re owned by Rogers who was the first to offer blackberry service here in Montreal) I’m an email addict and this has been a pain. About 6 months ago they finally offered a service like the blackberry, (Called blackberry connect) but was only supported on a specific Nokia brand telephone. (Although lots of people have been successfully able to use the fake fido blackberry service with unlocked blackberries)

After a visit to the nearest Fido Store in downtown Montreal, I’ve discovered that things have finally changed! (Fido used to have a very easy to use website with all the information that is needed, now they’ve completely changed it and I can’t find anything I wanted on it. So I had to go in person. Fido, if you’re reading this, what were you thinking?!)

Despite their now crappy website, I’m a big fan of Fido. They give good service and have affordable prices. I was happy to hear they now supported the 3G Wireless High speed Network. They had 2 phones that I could see myself using. The Iphone, and the Samsung Jack. (Also knows as the Samsung Blackjack 2, or the Samsung i616)

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World Wide Flash Mob (WWFM IV) – Geocaching

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Nov 15,2008

On November 8th, 2008 at 12:58 pm Eastern Standard Time geocachers worldwide took part in Flash Mobs at various locations. The Wikipedia describes a flash mob as “a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse.”

I took part in the Laval Flash mob which was organized by a well known geocacher called Landbehrt. Over 100 people suddenly arrived at the Montmorency metro (subway) station and got onto the same wagon at the same time. We basically had a mini geocaching party that lasted about 15 minutes in the metro wagon. We exchanged geocoins, gave out toys and candy to the children, and had a great time meeting other geocachers from the area !

If you don’t know what geocaching is, you should read my past post about it here !

This is the video montage, courtesy of TechieNATION, about the WWFM Laval event. (GC1GRC4)

If you would like to download the high quality video, please right click this link and “save as”.

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Drug-dealers vs software developers

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Aug 15,2008

I did not write this myself, I simply stumbled upon it on this site but found it funny enough to post.

Drug dealers	Software developers
Refer to their clients as “users”.	Refer to their clients as “users”.
“The first one’s free!”	“Download a free trial version…”
Have important South-East Asian connections (to help move the stuff).	Have important South-East Asian connections (to help debug the code).
Strange jargon: “Stick”, “Rock”, “Dime bag,” “E”.	Strange jargon: “SCSI”, “ISDN”, “Java”, “RTFM”
Realize that there’s tons of cash in the 14- to 25-year-old market.	Realize that there’s tons of cash in the 14- to 25-year-old market.
Job is assisted by industry’s producing newer, more potent mixes.	Job is assisted by industry’s producing newer, faster machines.
Often seen in the company of pimps and hustlers.	Often seen in the company of marketing people and venture capitalists (same thing).
Their product causes unhealthy addictions.	DOOM. Quake. SimCity. Duke Nukem 3D. ‘Nuff said.
Do your job well, and you can sleep with sexy movie stars who depend on you.	Damn! Damn! DAMN!!!

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Geocaching featured in the Montreal Mirror newspaper

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Jul 31,2008

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Erik Leijon, a writer for The Mirror. (A local, free, montreal newspaper that is read by many, including myself) He found me via TechieNATION, and told me he was writing an article on geocaching and asked if I had time to answer some questions and maybe do a cache with him. I was glad to help spread the word about geocaching so we set an appointment to meet near the newspapers office downtown by the old port. (If you don’t know what geo-caching is, please click here to read my post about geo-caching)

There were 3 cache’s within about 4 small city blocks of his office. Oddly enough, I have never been out looking for these ones even though I’m in the neighborhood often. I was a little nervous that the cache’s might be gone or that I couldn’t find them, but it was not the case.

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My Razor E200 Electric Scooter review

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Jul 29,2008

Last Thursday I was at a customers and noticed this tiny little electric scooter inside the IT guy’s office. I asked him about it, and he told me that he uses this scooter to get to and from work regularly during the summer. By car, it would take him 20 minutes to get to work. He comes in with the scooter, then plugs it in his office to recharge so that it’s ready to go back at the end of the day ! Wow !

Needless to say I went online and started looking into this scooter. It can go up to 12 MILES per hour for 40 minutes. That’s more or less a 15 km drive with a single charge ! The selling point for me was the low price tag: $200 dollars ! I bought one the next weekend.

I went to a couple of stores that were supposed to sell it, but they were all out. I lucked out to find this one, the last one on the shelf, at Toys’R'Us. (I can’t believe this thing is made for children 12 years old and up!) The box was in bad shape so I was worried about the contents, but everything was fine.

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Cool toys for the outdoor Techie

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: Jun 11,2008

My Sister and her Hubby recently got me a really cool Monocular. This got me looking into other fun techie toys and I came across opticsplanet.net’s website.

OpticsPlanet is one of the leading optics suppliers with a wide selection of sport optics, tactical and military gear, microscopes, and even Prescription Sunglasses! They have a huge selection of binoculars, spotting scopes, night vision, telescopes, rangefinders, laser sights, flashlights, tripods, radar guns, digital camera binoculars and much more!

One of the things I find the most interesting is the DIGITAL BINOCULARS. Normally, when you go hiking, bird watching, geocaching, or camping, you might take a high end digital camera or expensive binoculars. Instead, take an inexpensive digital binoculars camera and capture the moment while you enjoy the beauty of nature. Integrated Digital Camera binoculars not only bring objects closer, binoculars digital camera let you take digital photo pictures, and, with many models, capture video, that you can share with friends, send to relatives, and keep a memory for years to come.

OpticsPlanet’s site is a great place for people to explore, learn about their hobbies and find the best gear to suit their needs. The site has a Best Price Guarantee offers Free UPS Shipping on most orders over $29.95. Check it out !

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Travel Bugs, Geocoins, and other geocaching trackable items.

Author: DigitalMind
Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
Date: May 1,2008

Geocaching is a great hobby for Techie’s, Families, animals … I guess what i’m saying, is that it’s a game that everyone can enjoy for one reason or another. Travelbugs and geocoins are items that are trackable via the geocaching.com website and add an interesting twist to the game. If you have no clue what geocaching is, read this article.

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