Tony’s Cafe

Honestly, where would rogue dynamic DNS servers be without a proper DDNS client to point users to? ddclient is an excellent DDNS client for Linux users who need to update their DNS name whenever their IP changes. Unfortunately, ddclient doesn’t seem to work “out of the box” when used behind a Linksys firewall. When ddclient is installed in Debian (with apt-get install ddclient), the install script prompts for the proper values to update your DDNS name. These values are placed into a generic /etc/ddclient.conf configuration file, but won’t update the dyndns.org DDNS service from behind a Linksys router / firewall. After some research on the Internet and some trial and error, I was able to create a ddclient.conf that works. What follows is an /etc/ddclient.conf file that you can modify to use on your Linux server if you’re having the same problems I had. I’ve tested this configuration file with a BEFSR41 Linksys firewall / router.

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Well, Matt (of UConn dotmatt fame) has convinced us at work to jump on his Daimonin server. Daimonin is a free MMORPG client and server program that is based on the Crossfire MMORPG. I remember playing Crossfire once a few years back, but wasn’t able to devote the time needed to get deep into that game. (As is the usual case with MMORPGs!) Daimonin has taken Crossfire to the next level in terms of graphics, sounds, and gameplay. Best of all, it is FREE! The Daimonin forums have a post that describes a straightforward way to install the required precompiled packages and install Daimonin on OS X 10.4. Unfortunately, those instructions don’t work on 10.3! I was able to figure out how to get Daimonin to work on 10.3, after compiling the libraries myself… (oh yeah, and the precompiled libraries in fink didn’t work…) This post describes how to compile and install Daimonin and the required libraries on OS X 10.3.

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There are a few C64 drive emulators available that allow your PC’s hard drive to be available to a Commodore 64. Usually, you can either assign .D64 disk images or a directory to a device number. I would like to set up a C64 BBS connected to the Internet, also known as a “TelBBS.” The drive emulators utilize a few different cables to connect the C64 to the PC’s parallel port. If I want to set up a BBS, I have to keep the C64′s user port free, as the TelBBS programs use this interface. I have to stick with a drive emulator that uses the C64 serial (disk drive) port. In this post, I discuss a couple of drive emulators as well as the possibility of using Linux.

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I have a nice Radio Shack Digital Multimeter (DMM) that I use for troubleshooting my arcade games or the various projects I’m working on. If you are looking for a decent DMM that you don’t want to spend a lot of money on because you sometimes fry them, Radio Shack is the way to go.

I was troubleshooting one of my arcade games when I accidentally had the DMM set to “continuity” when probing AC voltage. D’oh! The DMM would still display some numbers but not measure voltage. Selecting the continuity function would always register “Short.” I was lucky — I had blown a fuse in the DMM.

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In a previous post, I discussed the work Doug and I did, attempting to build some cheap 915MHz yagi antennas. Based on our tests, I was able to design a more accurate 915MHz yagi. Instead of using PVC tubing for the boom, I changed the material to a 3.8cm x 1.9cm (1.5″ x 0.75″) wood boom. The wood boom was far more easier for drilling accurate holes for the elements. This yagi was relatively easy to make; the materials for two antennas were less than US$10. In a quick test using Aironet Arlan 915MHz access points (with one of them in repeater mode,) we were able to go 250m through a forest. In this post, I discuss how to make these directional antennas and how we tested them.

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If you are experimenting with 900MHz wireless, 915MHz WaveLAN cards can be a cheap way to set up a point to point link. You can usually find these ISA cards on eBay and are supported by most Linux kernels. If configured properly, they can be set up for IP routing to create a gateway for a point to point link. (I won’t get into the Linux drivers and routing here, only testing a link with the WaveLAN DOS utilities.)

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In a previous post, I discussed the possibility of linking my house’s network to my buddy Doug’s house, 6.5 miles (~10.5km) away. Using 2.4GHz technology with 200mW and 14dB yagi antenna’s didn’t do the trick. I wondered, though… could I utilize wireless networking in the 900MHz range? 900MHz can definitely go through trees and what not a lot better than 2.4GHz. I heard about a ship-to-shore link that used both 2.4GHz and 900MHz wireless networking technologies… once the 2.4GHz signal disappeared, the 900MHz network link would kick in and give the ship some extra distance. (Of course, though, that was over open water! I need to go through trees, houses, and bounce off rocks.) O’Reilly’s Wireless Hacks book states, “As the frequency of a signal increases, the apparent range it can cover at the same power and gain decreases. For example, a 100mW signal at 5.8 GHz appears to travel less than half the distance of a 100mW signal at 2.4 GHz, which appears to travel less than half that of a 100mW signal at 900 MHz.” (Wireless Hacks, Hack #7). I also read a post on Broadband Reports where someone was able to shoot a 900MHz link 9.7 miles through thick pine trees.

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In a past post, I described creating a 1980s videophone with Linux and a Brooktree chipset capture card. This particular card has three video inputs; two composite and one S-video. Since the S-video input takes care of the videophone’s camera, why not use one of the other composite inputs for a webcam?

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My brother, Brian, owns a 1962 Buick Special family sedan. This car is the first year Buick utilized a V-6 engine… the Fireball V-6. It’s also the last year Buick used a generator instead of an alternator. Not a good thing to have when you want to run modern-day car audio equipment! A 1962 generator isn’t going to have enough current to power what Brian wanted: An XM SkyFi Satellite Radio, an 8-Track player, and an amplifier to drive it all. Talk about both ends of the car audio spectrum! I wasn’t looking for creating a break-the-bank “boomin’ system”… just something that can deliver good sound, is cost effective, and won’t make your neighbors get upset. After Brian had his mechanic remove the generator and retrofit his Buick with a modern-day alternator, I got down to work. In the 1962 Buick Special, seatbelts and rear speakers were an option. For rear speakers, luckily there are holes in the rear shelf’s frame. All that’s needed is to cut speaker holes in the cardboard shelf. In the front is one mono speaker connected to the AM radio. Nothing like Lo-Fi!

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My 1980s Videophone project is a little lacking in the cable area. The video display utilizes a coax cable connection to the composite video out on the server, using F to RCA connectors. Since the server is in the basement, using a cable TV connection I have from my office to the basement works great for connecting the video display to the server. The wiring I needed was to connect the S-Video camera on top of the display (a Commodore 1702 monitor in my office) to the server in the basement. I had run a 10 meter stretch of S-Video cable to the basement, but that didn’t cut it. I wanted to use those network jacks I have in my office next to the cable TV jacks. Something came to mind:

Tony's Wiring Rule # 1: You can get almost anything to run over CAT5.

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