Plex - Management tools

Plex is a great media server, but sometime is necessary to have something extra to perform some operations, like for example extract the list of movies available on the server.

There is something out there, let see some choices.

Pokit

Long long time without writing something, I guess I'm really busy :)
However something happens in my world.

A couple of years ago I did find an interesting Kickstarter project and I decided to participate, Pokit.

It took forever to receive finally the product but in the end, finally arrived !
Few notes about it.

3D Printing - OctoPrint

Many 3D printers, including the one I choose, the Ender 3 Pro, can be autonomous, meaning you simply save the file you want to print on a SD card, insert it in the printer and start the print.

However is much better to be able to monitor remotely what the printer is doing and even load remotely the file to be printed.

OctoPrint allows to do so.

Artifactory - what is it ?

Today many projects are based on different libraries and code.
Usually the code on a project is stored in some repository, like github, but usually a lot of stuff is not stored in the github for a project.
For example, in order to create your project you need to have a compiler, libraries, modules, tools, etc.
Most of them are usually available on the net but ... but there are some limits.
What happens if you want to build your project in the future ?
How can you be sure to be able to find what "now" is easily available ?

iFood - bread Bodini

Well, technology is my world, but I'm a human being  too, and one who loves to eat.
This blog is technical oriented, preparing food is an art but involve technology too ... OK OK, today I'm feeling to share one of my recipes.
When I have time or when I'm in the mood for bread or pizza, the only way to satisfy such mood, is to prepare the bread or pizza by myself.
I love to cook many other things, on my Pinterest table "iFood" i show something ... if you are curious enough to see that :)

Bodini's bread and pizza recipe

Example of bread obtained with this recipe

Tools

• Bread machine.
  To prepare the dough, use a bread machine.
  Nothing special, almost every generic low cost bread machine will work.
  Just be sure that it can prepare the 2 pounds loaf. Usually such kind of bread machine cost around $40.
• 2 cups Pyrex to measure liquids.
• Set of measurement spoons, from 1/4 tsp to 1 tbs
  tsp = teaspoon
  tbs = tablespoon
• Set of “cups” to measure the flour. Usually these sets goes from 1/4 Cup up to 1 Cup
• wooden mattarello
• dough cutter 
• sprayer for water
• round cutter (for “panini”)
• rectangular nonstick baking trays for the bread.
• Round nonstick baking trays for pizza. Much much better if they have holes, like this one :
  

Bread/Pizza dough

Ingredients

Ingredients for 20 “panini” or 4 pizzas :

• 1 ¾ cup room temperature water
  It is strongly suggested to use filtered water, left in a jar for at least a night.
  Impurities will be on the bottom and the water will be at room temperature.
  Never underestimate the quality of the ingredients, especially the water !
  Water with chlorine or other impurities will make difficult to the dough to raise and will leave a sour taste !
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• Extra virgin oil
  - Bread : pour enough oil to cover ¾ of the water surface
  - Pizza : the oil have to cover the entire water surface
• 6 cup “normal” flour ( 00 )
• 3 tsp yeast for bread machine or fast raising

Preparation

Put in the bread machine bake pan the ingredients, in this order :

• water
  
• salt
  
• sugar
  
• oil
  
• flour (level it )
  
• yeast
  

Set the program “only dough”, NO BAKING !

This is IMPORTANT because the quantity of the ingredients is above the baking capability of the bread machine !!

Bread preparation

When the dough is ready in the bread machine, remove it from the baking pan and put it on a table.
In order to prepare “panini”, use the “mattarello” to flat the dough.
Flat it at least to reach ½ inch thick.
Then use a round cutter to cut at least 10-14 “round panini”.
Put them on a nonstick baking tray (is possible to use also the pizza round baking tray).
Leave some space between the panini since they will raise a bit and leave them on it at least for 1 hour (don't go over 2 hours !)

The left over dough can be put together and flattened again, then cut it in triangles and then roll the triangles to form a mini roll.
At the end of the raising time, spray the bread with water and put them in the per-heated oven at 400-405 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 18 minutes.

Check sometime the bottom of the bread. If is yellow/brown is ready.

Remove it from the oven and left it to cool down at least for an hour before to eat it.

The best way to cool it down, is to remove the bread from the baking tray (use mittens or oven gloves, it will be HOT !) and put it in a basket.

The best way to taste it is to cut it in half and then put some salami or cooked ham, a little bit of mayo or some cheese (swiss cheese will be great).

It is possible to put the bread in the freezer.
Put it in small quantities (4 to 6 paninis) in a 1 gallon freezer plastic bag. Gently squeeze out the air before to seal it.
The bread will last at least two to three months.

To re-heat it, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then put it still frozen (out of the bag !) for at least 8 to 10 minutes. Will be like just made.

The bread will last at least a couple of days if not put in the freezer.

Pizza preparation

When the dough is ready in the bread machine, remove it from the baking pan and put it on a table.

Create a big roll and divide it in 2, 3 or 4 pieces.

2 pieces if you like a “soft pizza”, 3 for a normal pizza, 4 for thin and crunchy pizza.

The best result is with 3 pieces.

It is also important to considering the type of topping.
Cheese topping will require short cooking time, topping with vegetables or other ingredients will require more time.
A thin crust will be OK for cheesy pizza.
Thin crust will cook MUCH faster than normal crust ! Remember that !

Using the “mattarello” flat each piece in a round shape.
Spray with flour and turn upside down the pizza during this stage, multiple times.
The dimension of the pizza has to match the round baking tray and thus will determine the “thickness” of the pizza.

Put the flatten dough on a round baking tray.

With a spoon put the basic topping (see below) over the pizza. It must be spread uniformly.

When the oven is per-heated (again 400-405 degrees Fahrenheit) place the pizza in it.
The baking will happens in two phases.

1. Phase one
   Put the pizza with the basic topping on it in the oven at least for 9 minutes (thin pizza) to 12 minutes (thick pizza).
2. Phase two
   Remove the pizza from the oven and spread it uniformly with a lot of shredded mozzarella cheese.
   Put the pizza back in the oven for at least 9 minutes more.
   Check the mozzarella ! When it start to become yellow/orange the pizza is ready !!
   If the mozzarella does not have yellow/orange spots, then is NOT yet ready !
   Don't over bake it.

Topping

How to prepare the basic topping for almost every type of pizza.

In a container, pour the content of a big can of crushed tomato.
Be careful to use ONLY crushed tomato ! Not crushed tomato with basil, or garlic, or other stuff in it.

Then add some extra virgin oil (a couple of table spoon), salt (two or three tea spoon), sugar (1 or 2 tea spoon), oregano (as much as you like, however too much will make the sauce too sour).

Mix it very well.

These quantities are enough for 4 pizzas

For 4 pizza, you will need also at least 8 to 10 cups of shredded mozzarella.
More if you like a “cheesy” pizza.

Ryobi wired

Time ago I bought some wireless tools from Ryobi .
Nice tools. The "kit" included a drill and and a hand-circular saw.
For a while they worked just fine, then as expected, the batteries died.
In order to use them I have to buy new battery.

The original ones were NiCd 18V, but now there are available also Lithium ones.

The problem of course is the cost !
The NiCd new are around 30/35$ each, the Lithium are around 50$ each.
In the case of the Lithium I have also to buy a new charger. So basically an investment of ~120$.

Since I'm not using often the tools, and when it happens usually I'm at home, I looked for  a different solution.

The first idea was to change the internal batteries with a new series.
However there are two problems to follow this idea :

• the cost of the "raw" batteries is not so distant from the original or refurbished one
• it's a quite mechanically challenge because the way the batteries are connected

So I decided to follow another way.

Simply to create a "wired" battery ! 

In other words, the idea is to use the battery holder emptied by the batteries and connect it to  a power supply capable to drive the tools.

CAUTION !
This modification will avoid any kind of warranty and can be potentially lethal if you DON'T KNOW what you are doing !

If you decide to do this modification the responsibility is only YOURS !

Battery holder preparation

The first step is to prepare the battery holder.
To open it, there are 6 Philips screws to remove.
The yellow cap will simply come out, exposing the batteries.

Once opened, remove all the batteries, leaving the only one  attached  to the contacts, cutting out the piece of metal soldered to the batteries.

Don't throw in the landfill the batteries ! Recycle them !
I use the Battery Solutions services for that.

The battery left attached to the contacts it is needed for the mechanical support of the contacts, don't remove it.

Simply connect a wire for the positive (originally it is  the battery itself to be connected to the contact) and put back the contacts in it's place with some glue (I used hot glue).

Then do a hole in the battery holder and connected a power outlet.
I choose one  compatible with the first power supply attempt (see below).

Of course this modification is related only to the battery holder. It is still possible to use the tool with new batteries.

Power supply  - first attempt

The first attempt is based on some articles I found on internet.
Somebody claimed to use a 18V 2A power supply from an old printer, like this one :

On eBay I did find a similar power supply, a 18V, 3.5 A switching power supply.
It didn't work as expected though.
It can drive the drill but not at the maximum speed and as soon the drill starts to really work, the power is not enough.
This brought me to the ...

Power supply - second attempt 

The second attempt is to actually build a suitable power supply.
The word to use here is "electric current", so we need a good old simple linear power supply.

In the end we need to power motors, so I started to look around and I found an old battery broken UPS from APC, the APC 500.

AGAIN CAUTION !  

A UPS can be very dangerous even if disconnected from the grid !!
If you don't know what to expect and how to operate safely, DON'T EVEN OPEN IT !!!

Strip out everything and leave only the main transformer in the unit.
I put it down a classic simple power supply schematic :

The first attempt is just to obtain a decent DC voltage, no regulators or fancy stuff, just a very brute force power supply.
I was unable to find the specifications for the APC transformer, so I don't know how much current is capable to give, but at least I was able to measure the voltage, around 16 V between the yellow and white wires.
After the rectification we should have around 22V (Vpk/1.4142 - 6/1.4142 = ~22V) without any load.
Applying a load the voltage should drop a little bit, going around 18-19V, i.e. what we actually need to drive the tools motor.
Also I decided to reuse the UPC box and accessories  to contains the power supply.
I just bought two fuse holder, the capacitors (actually they are 50V, not 35V but is OK) and the 35A bridge.
Here some pictures of the UPS unit .. refurbished :)

The power supply is just perfect and is working just fine.
With no load I have a 22 Volt as predicted, value that drops around 18-19 Volt when a tool is in use.
For a normal use I don't expect to have heat problems.

I can operate now my Ryobi tools with the same battery performance.
Eventually I'll remove from the battery holder the outlet and instead I'll wire it directly for a better mechanical coupling.

CY7C68013A USB Logic Analyzer

I received to test a little board based on the Cypress CY7C68013A.
Here some notes about this experience.

The CY7C68013A USB Logic Analyzer is a small board made by a Chinese company (Lcsoft) sold on Ebay from a China reseller as a Logic Analyzer tool.
It's a small board based on a Cypress CY7C68013A micro-controller (an 8051 clone).

First impressions

The board arrived in a small padded envelop, without any cable, documentation and software.
Quite useless due the totally lack of information.
Looking over the net didn't return too much information, there are very few seller of this product.

On some Ebay auctions for this board, there were present some links to the schematics and software, however these links seems not working.

Being only in Chinese is not really helpful to understand what is going on, also if it appears a "button" is available, but it is  disabled (gray one).
Also the download material available on these links, is information-less.
Are basically 3 rar files named 0000.rar, 1111.rar and 2222.rar, not really self explaining.
I had to contact the vendor of the board, and he initially answered back giving me the link to the same URL I discovered not working.
After another round of contacts, the vendor sent me the files via email.

The software

As I mentioned earlier, the software associated to this board, is coming in three "anonymous" RAR files :

• 0000.rar
• 1111.rar
• 2222.rar 

0000.rar

This file contains other rar files, some of them named in Chinese and thus with wrong/illegal names in English.
Fortunately, at least under Linux, almost all in the end was accessible.
Without entering too much in detail here some contents, for what I can say (no documentation is present) :

• -rw-r--r-- 1 1118001 2007-01-02 00:13 56pin.rar
  Source code for the board firmware.
  There are different directories and is not clear if all the code present is part of what is written on the chip or if there are testing code, experiments, ecc.
  There is NO documentation, nor information, nor about the necessary tools to compile the code and how to load it in the chip.
• -rw-r--r-- 1 1701745 2007-01-02 00:13 Logic Software 1.0.21.rar
  Windows version Logic analyzer program in binary, no documentation.
  It is from the USBee Suite .
• -rw-r--r-- 1 229606 2007-01-02 00:13 Schematic.rar
  Schematic and BOM of the board

1111.rar

This file contains a single zip file, that in the end contains a MSIA loader (Microsoft stuff)

• -rw-r--r-- 1 11416917 2009-02-18 02:13 axsw.zip
  

2222.rar

Also this file contains a single zip file that contains some USB drivers for Windows.

• -rw-r--r-- 1 8372169 2010-05-05 11:21 usbeesuitesw.zip 

To better organize the received material, I created a new tree , changing some names to better identify the pieces :

• drwxr-xr-x 7   4096 2010-11-01 16:23 Firmware
  This directory contains the firmware supposedly on board
• drwxr-xr-x 2   4096 2011-03-18 12:29 LogicAnalyzer
  It seems a logic analyzer code. Not sure if is equivalent to the UsbeeSuite or it is part
• drwxr-xr-x 2   4096 2011-03-18 07:05 Msia
  Microsoft libraries
• drwxr-xr-x 2   4096 2007-01-02 03:37 Schematics
  Schematics of the board
• drwxr-xr-x 2   4096 2011-03-18 07:05 UsbeeSuite
  Usbee Suite 1.5.7

The hardware

The schematic present in the received files, it just illustrates the board "as is", without any indication about how to use it for the Logic Analyzer function. 
Doing some tests using the program Logic under Windows (1.0.21), it seems that the 8 inputs used are located in the port B, where PB0 is the Input 1, PB1 the input 2 and so on.
The pins not connected to a probe input, reports an high value (+5V), i.e. seems the inputs are pulled up.
Also from the tests it seems the board can support max 8Mhz as input frequency.
The possible selection of the program Logic (12 Mhz, 16 Mhz and 24 Mhz) are not working.
The program automatically reduce them to lower values if selected. 
From some tests, it appears that all the selections of frequency are working, however the combination of the frequency and the  number of samples can  cause the program to "scale down" the frequency selection.
When the jumper close to the Eeprom is removed, the board is not seen anymore as Logic Analyzer but as Cypress development board.
Probably in the Eeprom are stored the codes and/or firmware for the Logic analyzer.

The cable

The analyzer arrived without any cable, so I looked around to see what was the best approach.
Some sellers of the board (and similar one) sells a cable that can be connected to the board, but I didn't like it for the price, the endless waiting time (from Honk Kong) and the appearance.
So I decided to buy the cable  used by the Logic original hardware and build a simple adapter board to connect it.
I bought the cable from Sparkfun (TOL-09225).

Here a couple of pictures of the adapter board to connect the cable to the logic analyzer.

     

The Logic Analyzer

Exploring the received files, I didn't find a single piece of documentation about how to set up both software and hardware, the logic analyzer functionality.

From some comments and the nature of the code, I think that the package (hardware and software) is a clone (hack ?) of the USBee LX series of USB instruments .
There is also another Logic analyzer code, the Logic, from Saleae , that exist also for Linux .
So in order to see if the board is actually working, here are some required steps :

1. try to install on a Windows machine the included software :
   
   • USBee Logic Analyzer Suite
   • Microsoft Net extensions
   • Saleae Logic analyzer (Version 1.0.21)
2. check the installed software in order to find hardware hook up info
3. connect the hardware to the PC and see if is working and discover how to use the board I/O
4. try to do the same with the Linux version

Install code

Logic 1.0.21 (Windows)

One for the Windows code in the received files, is from the Saleae, Logic, version 1.0.21.
The program requires some .Net libraries, I suspect the ones received with the rest of the code.
However the installation checks and installs them from the Microsoft website directly.
The .Net framework installation takes some time, so it is mandatory to have patience. 
After restarted the computer and completed the installation, it is possible to launch Logic, after connecting the board.
The board is recognized and the program is able to read the signals.
Status : working

Logic 1.1.4 (Ubuntu)

The Ubuntu (32 bit) version tested is the 1.1.4.
There is no need to install the code, however in the Driver directory there is an udev entry and a small script capable to copy the udev rule under /etc/udev.
So far the board is recognized (plug in) but on I have a not identified "access" problem.
lsusb recognize the board as "Lakeview Research"
Bus 001 Device 021: ID 0925:3881 Lakeview Research
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass          255 Vendor Specific Class
  bDeviceSubClass       255 Vendor Specific Subclass
  bDeviceProtocol       255 Vendor Specific Protocol
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0925 Lakeview Research
  idProduct          0x3881
  bcdDevice            0.00
  iManufacturer           1
  iProduct                2
  iSerial                 0
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           46
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              100mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           4
      bInterfaceClass       255 Vendor Specific Class
      bInterfaceSubClass    255 Vendor Specific Subclass
      bInterfaceProtocol    255 Vendor Specific Protocol
      iInterface              0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x01  EP 1 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x82  EP 2 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x06  EP 6 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
can't get device qualifier: Connection timed out
can't get debug descriptor: Connection timed out
cannot read device status, Connection timed out (110)

However some info I found suggest that the board should give more information.
Status : NOT working



Logic 1.1.9 (Ubuntu)

The Ubuntu (32 bit) version tested is the 1.1.9.
There is no need to install the code, however in the Driver directory there is an udev entry and a small script capable to copy the udev rule under /etc/udev.
So far the board is recognized (plug in) but on I have a not identified "access" problem.
lsusb recognize the board as "Lakeview Research".

Status :  working

Logic 1.1.4  (Windows)

I installed also the new version of Logic, the 1.1.4, under Windows.
The installation was successful, however like the Ubuntu version, is not full recognizing the board, aborting immediately after the board is connected to the USB.
A collateral effect I had so far, is that the board is not working anymore also with the 1.0.21 version of Logic until the new Logic program 1.1.4 is dis-installed and the computer restarted.
Status : NOT working (not yet tested with the update)

Logic 1.0.33  (Windows)

On the Saleae website is also present an older version of Logic, but greater than the one present in the received files from the board vendor.
The version, only for Windows, is called 1.0.33 (present also in this website) and is working.
Status : working

USBee Suite 1.5.7 (Windows)

The other included Logic analyzer application is the USBee Suite, version 1.5.7.
The installation went well, no errors (on my Win XP machine) but the code it crash as soon as it starts, after the splashscreen.
Doesn't matter to have the board connected or not to the computer.
Status : NOT working

Conclusion

The board is working basically only with the version of Logic 1.0.21 and Logic 1.0.33 under Windows and with limitations (max. available frequency).
The lack of information make really complicate to try to study the reason of the failure with newer version of the Logic or Linux version, but I think has to do with a lack of information to the USB udev.
Also in order to use the board is necessary to :

• buy a set of 9 probes
• prepare a piggy back circuit to adapt the probe connettor
  Since the board is "generic" the probe connection are not linear but the ones available on the market are.
• eventually optoisolate/protect the inputs
• put the board in a case

For the price is sure an interesting object, but the lack of information and the reduced capabilities if compared with "official" products can reduce the usefulness of the product.

If having reduced capabilities, like be forced to use Windows instead of Linux and the limit in the frequency input, having to build the case for the board, play with the received material and lack of information (that this article tries to fix), then it can make sense to spend the money.

Otherwise I think the full price of the "originals" like the Saleae Logic are more than well justified.