How to Setup and Run a Hydroponics System

My  family and I  have a greenhouse,  and each year we usually set up tomatoes and basil,  sometimes other veg like Chiles.
I thought I would share some knowledge on how we do it.
It is remarkably simple !
You will need:
A fountain pump
Tubing
Big Plastic Pipes long and wide enough to hold plants - we use 4" (100mm) soil pipe
A Large tub - water tank
Clay beads
Plants
Plastic Net pots (Or ones with lots of holes in for the roots to escape out of)
Capillary Matting
pH meter or something of the sort (This is important)
Power socket x2
Nutrients (we use Canna vega and Canna flora)

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SysMate Replaces System Files Without Permission Errors

Windows: In most cases, you shouldn't fiddle with system files on your OS. However, sometimes you don't have a choice, and in those instances, SysMate can help make the process easier.

The app is impossibly simple to use. You point the first box to the file you want to replace and the second box to the new version. No mucking about with command lines or Emergency Repair Disks. It even makes a backup of the original so you can revert the changes if necessary. Again, this isn't something you should need to do very often, but when you do, this is a handy piece of software to have in your tool belt.

SysMate | via Ghacks

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MAMEFrame - The battery-powered MAME system

Tools:
For the Raspberry Pi 
A laptop with an SD card reader

For the controller box
A saw - a table saw is best, but a skilsaw will work
A screw driver to attach the hinge
Sand paper
3/8" Counter sink (optional)
A drill
A set of drill bits - (really, all you should need is a couple around 1/4" and 3/8") for pilot holes when building the controller box and mounting the joysticks
A 6mm hex key to screw in the blind hole screws
1 1/8" hole saw - another type of drill bit that looks like a cylinder with teeth
hacksaw - to cut the hinge and the electronics mount

For installing the wires on the switches
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Crimping tool (or pliers)

Parts

Phase 1 - Controller Box
3/4" plywood good one side (about 1/2 a sheet) $26 per sheet
piano hinge from Lee Valley $7.00
rubber feet $4.00
Wood plugs $3.00
Box of screws (I used 1 1/2" drywall screws) $3.00
(optional) Primer and Paint $51.00
Acrylic, wood or some other thin, non-conductive materialsmall piece (4" x 4") plexiglass, .  This will be used to mount the iPAC and RPi to the inside of the cabinet.
Adhesive feet  $2.00
(optional) Roll of velcro $7.00
Total: $103.00

Phase 1 - Arcade Parts
I get all my parts from Ultimarc (http://www.ultimarc.com/ ) in the UK.  This setup will be for 2 players.  Each player will have a 4/8way joystick, 6 buttons, a player start button, and there will be on Add Coin button.  Ultimarc are great to deal with, and the shipping is really quick.  The controller parts required are:

* I-PAC2 Interface - this component acts as the brains in a way.  All buttons and joystick controls are connected to this, and this interface then plugs into your computer.  The I-PAC works right out of the box using the MAME standard for controls.  It basically takes button pushes, joystick movements, etc, and converts them to keystrokes, then send them to MAME running on your computer.  We will reassign two buttons later on.  It comes with software that lets us do so.  

* 14  Game Buttons - (only 12 are shown) I used the Happ Classic Pushbuttons.  Note that the buttons from Ultimarc come with switches, but some other sources may not.  Don't bother putting the switches on your buttons until they are in the controller platform.  The switches that come from the Happ buttons from Ultimarc are E-Switch.

*  1 of each Player Start 1 and 1 Player 2 start Buttons - They come in white and black

* 2  Add Coin Button - This is really just another Happ button like above, but I picked a different color.  Strictly speaking, you can get away without this, as you can program the I-PAC to send the 'add coin' keystroke using existing buttons and movements.  I think by default it's Player 1 start + Player 1 button 1.  I wouldn't recommend it though.  Just buy the extra button.

* 2  Mag-Stik Plus Joysticks - I picked these because they can easily be changed from 4 way to 8 way.  Some games require 8 directions and some don't really work well with 8 directions enabled, so it's nice to be able to switch back and fourth without having to get at the bottom of the joystick.  These are expensive.  If you want to save some cash, get a cheaper joystick.

* 2  Mounting hardware for Mag-Stik Plus - A nice kit for mounting the joystick to the controller platform, assuming your platform is wood.  You could probably get away without this if you wanted to save a few bucks.  Note: If you order this, be sure to get size that matches your joystick (6mm for the Mag-Stik)

* 1  Daisy-Chain Harness - again, if you want to save a few bucks, you can probably do without this, but this is a really nice premade kit that just allows you to connect the ground from all the button switches together.  We'll cover this more later, but each switch (and direction on a joystick) has a ground, a Normally Open, and Normally Closed.  When we wire these, all the grounds can be chained together from switch to switch, but the Normally Open  connector must be connected directly to the IPAC.  This is why we have both the Daisy Chain, and other crimp connectors.  Note that this harness must match the size of the switches on your buttons.  This may differ by brand, but it 6.3mm for the Happ buttons I'm using.  Also note that switches are included with the Happ buttons listed below.

* 1 pack Crimp Connectors - These are the connectors that connect to the joysticks and switches.  As with the daisy-chain harness,  these connectors must match the size of the switches on your buttons.

Total parts list (prices in Canadian Dollars):

Classic Pushbuttons from Happ Controls. Orange 2 x 1.95 = $3.90 (only one shown in photo)
Classic Pushbuttons from Happ Controls. Red 1.95 x 4 = $7.80
Classic Pushbuttons from Happ Controls. Blue 1.95 x 4 = $7.80
Classic Pushbuttons from Happ Controls. Black 1.95 x 4 = $7.80
Classic Pushbuttons from Happ Controls. White 1.95 x 4 = $7.80 (not shown in photo)
Crimp Connectors 6.3 mm 9.00 x 1 = $9.00
Daisy-Chain Harness 6.3mm (1/4in) Connectors 14.00 x 1 = $14.00
Joystick Mounting Kits 6mm for Mag-Stik 7.00 x 2 = $14.00
Mag-Stik Plus Red 33.00 x 2 = $66.00
Start Logo Pushbuttons Black. Start1 1 x 2.90 = $2.90
Start Logo Pushbuttons Black. Start2 1 x 2.90 = $2.90
Sub-Total: $134.17
Shipping: $27.00
Total: $161.15

Note this cost doesn't include the two white buttons, or the second Coin button.  I added the 2 player coin later in the project after I realized that some games actually require the player 2 coin in order to go into 2 player mode.  Also, the two white buttons are used as Enter and Escape.  These are absolutely required either, but I highly recommend them.  They make the MAME controller playable without having to know the secret combinations for Enter (Player 2 Start + Player 1 left) and Escape (Player 1 start + Player 2 Start).

Phase 2 - Parts for the Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi from Lee's Electronics 1 x $45.00 (for Phase 2) - this is the amazing little computer that will run MAME.

8GB SD Card 1 x $9.99 - There's debate about the best class of card to use.  I'm using a cheap class 4.  This will be running the brains of the system, and I've read a few articles that discuss how different classes of cards affect speed.

Micro USB B to USB A cable 1 x $9.99 - This will provide the power from the projector (USB A) to the RPi (Micro USB).  Don't mistake Mini USB for Micro USB.  

Total Phase 2 Costs $64.98

Phase 3 - Parts for the Projector

1/4" x 1 1/4" bolt to mount the projector

Self Adhesive closed foam weather stripping for the projector mount $4.48

(Optional) 1/8" Headphones stereo splitter 1 x $4.00 (I got mine from Lee's Electronics, but I can't find a link on their site)

(Optional) Old headphones that you can cut apart (free) or 1/8" Headphones stereo extension cables 2 x $16.0 - I put the headphones in Phase 3 because I connect the splitter to the projector rather then the RPi.  I noticed that I was getting a lot of noise when I ran the audio directly from the RPi, however, the audio from the project was fine.  I think maybe because it's a digital signal from the HDMI cable, as opposed to the analog signal from the RPi?  I don't really know.

Brookstone Pocket Projector from Brookstone.com 1 x $329.00 (Phase 3) - this is the key to making the system portable and battery powered, as the projector contains a rechargeable battery that can power the Raspberry Pi and the iPAC.
Plus taxes and duties: $38.46
Plus shipping: $36.84
Total projector cost: $395.79

Total Phase 3 Cost: $420.27

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Show Us Your Favorite Operating System of All Time

Watching operating systems grow and mature over time has been a fun, and sometimes frustrating, ride. Those that trigger our favorite memories may not necessarily be the best, but they certainly mean something to us. What's your favorite operating system of all time?

Operating systems have come a long way since their humble beginnings. These days, we have our choice of fast, stable, reliable systems—no matter whether you favor Windows, OS X, or Linux. With dual-booting and virtualization, you don't even have to pick just one. But no matter how great the current contenders are, think back over the years to your favorite operating system of all time and share your pictures with us below!

Image by Steppinstars (pixabay).

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My Summer Project: Install a Budget Makeshift Home Surveillance System

Ever wanted to be just as cool as the government? Ever wanted to spy on your own house or watch the newspaper guy throw the paper onto your lawn? Or maybe there's a small chance that you actually have a legitimate need for video surveillance on your property but, like me, are too poor to buy top-of-the-line hardware and software for it. If this sounds like you, then read on!

I, too, had the interest of using a surveillance camera in my house. I accomplished this by re-purposing an old webcam I had sitting around, so it would finally get some use. Now, I use that webcam as my HamCam, to spy on my hamster.

What I did was, I plugged my webcam in to my desktop and installed a program called iSpy. This allowed me to use my webcam as a motion-sensing surveillance camera. Once I installed that, I went through the settings and made a few tweaks to settings. Specifically, I now have it record video upon detecting motion. I also have it run on a schedule, so it turns off around when I go to bed, and turns on again in the morning when there is light enough to see again.

But what about syncing to the cloud, you ask? Fret not; that base is covered too! What I did to achieve this was change the directory my HamCam videos are saved in, so that it's in my Dropbox folder. Now, I can view it on my Dropbox from anywhere I am. Each time motion is detected, I also have it store a snapshot of the photo in my Dropbox for my viewing pleasure.

I wasn't finished just yet, though. The finishing touch to this was having the photos and videos auto-import into my phone's gallery for ease of access. I accomplished this by using an app called DropSync, which auto-downloads or uploads photos to/from your Dropbox. The Pro key costs $4.99, but it's worth it to me. I had them save to a folder in my SD card under DCIM called HamCam. Because they're in my DCIM folder, they can also be auto-backed up to my Google+, and I can spam my friends with them! ...but I don't, because I don't have friends. I have a hamster.

I should mention that this was done on a Windows PC, and my phone is an Android phone. If there is anyone who's had similar experiences on Linux or OSX, with an iPhone or other type of phone, they might post about it below and what they use (hint hint, guys!).

Look at my little Hamlet unknowingly being watched at all times. The NSA would be proud.

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Flexible Pegboard - Hook System

PDF Downloads
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Pidora Is a Fedora-Based Operating System for the Raspberry Pi

For the most part, Raspberry Pi users have only had one or two really strong operating systems to work with. If you're looking to try something different, Pidora is an OS built on the Linux system Fedora.

Pidora is slightly different than something like Rasbian in a few ways. It comes with a handful of different software than Raspbian, including a ton of text editors, programming languages, and more. You also get a "headless mode" to operate your Pi without a monitor attached (and with the clever feature to say your IP address out loud when speakers are attached). As you'd expect, you can also download a ton of additional software from the Fedora repository. Pidora has a slightly different look and feel than Raspbian, but if you're looking to try out a new OS on your Raspberry Pi it's worth checking out. You'll find everything you need over on the Pidora page.

Pidora

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