But despite a incredible take up by punters everywhere, the lack of handset accessories is frustrating. Until recently we couldn’t even get an OSF specific screen protector, let alone a protective cover. And still we can not buy a desktop charger that fits!

And so, when a colleague was unpacking a toner cartridge and I spotted the polystyrene padding material, I thought, why not bodge one myself?

15 minutes (and a sharp blade) later, and voila!

So what is a tinkerer to do? He makes one himself! ;)

All I needed now were some kind of relay, some sockets, a few buttons and a way of letting the user my son know what the time was set to and if it was on or not. I ended up with a Ciseco Arduino Relay Shield, two Maplin push-to-make switches, a DFRobot I2C 16×2 LCD and a Maplin project box big enough to fit it all in

First a small word of warning. You are dealing with MAINS voltage, which can be lethal if you fool around. DO NOT EVER! connect the bits to mains power when parts of it are exposed. You’ve been warned

I started off with a small mockup of materials and then got my trusty Dremel clone out and started cutting away at the project case.

First off is the socket in which the battery charger can be plugged. A small template on paper is by far the easiest way to make sure you don’t cut out too much behind the socket

With the socket in place, I created the template for the LCD. I took my time with this, as I didn’t want to cut out too much. A lot of careful sanding ensured that only the black part would be visible, and nothing else. Then with the help of some small bolts and nuts, I created some spacers, enabling the LCD to sit nicely in the cutout. Lots of hotglue completes the mounting

The buttons only required some measuring to make sure they are neatly symetric and do not interfere with the LCD

All that remains is the IEC socket where the power will go into the project box

Now with everything in place, all we need to do is connect the components together with some wire using the below schematic

Warm up the soldering iron and just follow the diagram. As my soldering skills are not that great, I also used a bit of heatshrink here and there to make sure that wires could not short on each other :)

I’m using an old iPhone charger to power the Arduino as it provides a neat 5V/1A, with a small retractable USB lead with a Type A to B converter. A quick test of the wiring to make sure it all works as planned

Now with construction over, it was time to do the Arduino coding. The LCD uses the LiquidCrystal I2C library which takes care of all the hard work interfacing to it. Likewise, the Metro library takes care of the timer. So, it is just a simple case of increasing the clock by an hour every time the red button is pressed, and starting the timer when the green button is pressed. Once the timer is running, any button press will stop the timer and reset the state to the beginning.

// Arduino controlled timer socket
// (CC BY) 2011
// http://awooga.nl
 
// pull in libraries
#include <Wire.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>
#include <Metro.h>
 
 
// arduino pins constants
#define RELAY 2 // black wire connected to input on shield
#define RED   6 // green wire
#define GREEN 7 // white wire
 
// i2c pin A5 = white wire
// i2c pin A4 = green wire
 
// allow between 1 and 6 hours
#define MINIMUM_TIME 1
#define DEFAULT_TIME 6
#define MAXIMUM_TIME 6
 
 
const unsigned long MILLISECONDS=1;
const unsigned long SECONDS=(1000*MILLISECONDS);
const unsigned long MINUTES=(60*SECONDS);
const unsigned long HOURS=(60*MINUTES);
const unsigned long DAYS=(24*HOURS);
 
const unsigned long UNITS=HOURS;
 
 
// prgram states
#define IDLE         0
#define RED_BUTTON   1
#define GREEN_BUTTON 2
#define MENU         3
#define PAUSE        4
#define STOP_TIMER   5
#define CANCEL_TIMER 6
 
 
// global variables
byte events;
byte countdowntime;
boolean menu_running;
boolean timer_running;
 
boolean debug = false;
 
byte currentRed = LOW;
byte currentGreen = LOW;
byte previousRed = LOW;
byte previousGreen = LOW;
 
// set the LCD address to 0x27 for the 16x2 display
LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 16, 2);
 
// initiate Metro object
Metro relayMetro = Metro(0, true);
 
 
// arduino setup routine
void setup() {
 
  // set the arduino pins
  pinMode(RELAY, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(RED, INPUT);
  pinMode(GREEN, INPUT);  
 
  // initialise the lcd
  lcd.init();
  lcd.backlight();
 
  // activate debugging on the serial port
  if (debug) {
    Serial.begin(9600);
    Serial.println("Lets go!");
  }
 
  // initialise variables
  events = IDLE;
  countdowntime = DEFAULT_TIME;
  menu_running = false;
  timer_running = false;
  digitalWrite(RELAY, LOW);
}
 
 
// arduino loop routine
void loop() {
 
  switch (events) {
 
    case IDLE:
      events = Idling();
      break;
 
    case MENU:
      events = MainMenu();
      break;
 
    case RED_BUTTON:
      events = RedButton();
      break;
 
    case GREEN_BUTTON:
      events = GreenButton();
      break;
 
    case PAUSE:
      events = Pause();
      break;
 
    case STOP_TIMER:
      events = StopTimer();
      break;
 
    case CANCEL_TIMER:
      events = CancelTimer();
      break;
 
    default:
      events = IDLE;
      break;
  }
}
 
 
int MainMenu() {
 
  if (timer_running) {
    return IDLE;
  }
 
  if (menu_running) {
    return IDLE;
  }
 
  if (debug) { Serial.println("MainMenu()"); }
 
  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("  Red: Set time");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print("Green: Go (");
  lcd.print(countdowntime, DEC);
  if (countdowntime == 1) {
    lcd.print("hr)");
  }
  else {
    lcd.print("hrs)");
  }
 
  menu_running = true;
 
  return IDLE;
}
 
 
int Idling() {
 
  boolean do_red = false;
  boolean do_green = false;
 
  if (timer_running) {
    if (relayMetro.check()) {
      return STOP_TIMER;
    }
  }
 
  currentRed = digitalRead(RED);
  currentGreen = digitalRead(GREEN);
 
  if (currentRed != previousRed) {
    do_red = (currentRed == HIGH);
  }
  previousRed = currentRed;
 
  if (currentGreen != previousGreen) {
    do_green = (currentGreen == HIGH);
  }
  previousGreen = currentGreen;
 
  if ((do_red) && (!do_green)) {
    return RED_BUTTON;
  }
 
  if ((!do_red) && (do_green)) {
    return GREEN_BUTTON;
  }
 
  // all other button combinations are ignored
  return MENU;
}
 
 
int RedButton() {
  if (debug) { Serial.println("RedButton()"); }
 
  if (timer_running) {
    return CANCEL_TIMER;
  }
 
  if (++countdowntime > MAXIMUM_TIME) { countdowntime = MINIMUM_TIME; }
 
  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("Time set to");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print(countdowntime, DEC);
  if (countdowntime == 1) {
    lcd.print(" hour");
  }
  else {
    lcd.print(" hours");
  }
 
  menu_running = false;
 
  return PAUSE;
}
 
 
int GreenButton() {
  if (debug) { Serial.println("GreenButton()"); }
 
  if (timer_running) {
    return CANCEL_TIMER;
  }
 
  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("Running timer");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print("for ");
  lcd.print(countdowntime, DEC);
  if (countdowntime == 1) {
    lcd.print(" hour");
  }
  else {
    lcd.print(" hours");
  }
 
  unsigned long t = countdowntime * UNITS;
 
  timer_running = true;
  if (debug) {
    Serial.print("Setting metro for ");
    Serial.print(t);
    Serial.println(" seconds");
  }
  relayMetro.interval(t);
 
  digitalWrite(RELAY, HIGH);
 
  return IDLE;
}
 
 
int StopTimer() {
  if (debug) { Serial.println("StopTimer()"); }
 
  digitalWrite(RELAY, LOW);
 
  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("Timer finished");
 
  timer_running = false;
  menu_running = false;
  relayMetro.reset();
 
  return PAUSE;
}
 
 
int CancelTimer() {
  if (debug) { Serial.println("CancelTimer()"); }
 
  digitalWrite(RELAY, LOW);
 
  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("Timer stopped");
 
  timer_running = false;
  menu_running = false;
  relayMetro.reset();
 
  return PAUSE;
}
 
 
int Pause() {
  delay(1000);
  return IDLE;
}

Or just download the .pde file here

Obviously you can go all crazy with options and clocks, but I just wanted something quick and working. Changing the code to do all that is just a matter of opening it up, and uploading the new software.

And just to prove it is all working, here’s a small video demonstration. It doesn’t show the timer ending, you just have to take my word on that :D

To be completely honest, the internet scares me. Or better, the amount of scary stuff that is on it, scares me. So now that my son is old enough to have his own PC in his bedroom, I looked around to see what was available to make sure that he doesn’t get exposed to material that is well above his age. They grow up quick enough anyway.

Now as someone who runs Ubuntu on his server, and OS X on his MacBook, I am already one step ahead of most parents, who have to deal with a Microsoft Windows environment of some sort. Good luck to you. This blog post depends on a Linux server of some sort, and although the client can be any operating system, I strongly advice you to stick to a *nix based desktop.

After dismissing most options available (things like OpenDNS, and a variety of dedicated applications to block any harmful content), I decided that however I was going to implement it, it would have to be by using a whitelist, rather than the normal practice of a blacklist. The reasoning behind this is that the amount of harmful content changes every minute, and no amount of blacklisting will catch 100% of it. With a whitelist, everything has to be vetted by me, but it ensures total control over their web experience. I also wanted to be able to approve/deny new websites as my son requests them, with little effort required on my side.

Something that sits between the client and the internet would be the perfect solution, and I quickly stumbled upon TinyProxy. As the name implies, the application is small, efficient, easy to manage and it supports blacklisting and whitelisting. Perfect.

• A server running your favourite Linux distribution. I personally use Ubuntu, but for the purpose of this guide, it doesn’t matter.
• TinyProxy as installed by your favourite package manager. For Ubuntu that’s as easy as apt-get install tinyproxy, but obviously that will be different if you run something else. Make a note of the version number of TinyProxy though, as we’ll need version 1.6.5 or later.
• A webserver running on your server. Apache2 is what I use, but as long as it supports PHP, then it doesn’t matter. What does matter though, is that the webserver should be able to access your TinyProxy whitelist file, which if you have both TinyProxy and the webserver running on the same server will be the case.
• A client configured to use TinyProxy. This can be Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, or any other browser you like to use. Be aware though that as soon as your child learns what a proxy is and how to remove it from his PC/laptop, the whole plan falls apart.

Before you continue with the next section, make sure that your webserver is able to serve some pages, and that you have confirmed that TinyProxy is working correctly for you.

Installation

Grab the tinyproxy-admin.tar.gz package and unpack it somewhere on your server. There are a number of files in there, each of them I will describe below.

tinyproxy.32
tinyproxy.64 – These two binaries are the 1.6.5 binary patched with a small change to allow TinyProxy’s child processes to refresh their filter list when the parent receives a SIGHUP signal and when the whitelist file is changed. These changes have also been submitted to the development version of TinyProxy, but because apt-get on my Ubuntu system installs 1.6.5, I have used that code base. Eventually these patches will appear in the Ubuntu package manager, but until then, these will do. The extension indicates whether the binary is for 32-bit, or 64-bit *nix.

tinyproxy – This is the TinyProxy start file (usually found in /etc/init.d), which contains a couple of changed lines. The permission on the tinyproxy.log files is by default set to restrictive. It needs to be read by the webserver’s user, which means that setting it to 644 everytime we start TinyProxy is required.

The files below need to be put in your TinyProxy configuration directory, usually /etc/tinyproxy.

tinyproxy.conf – This contains only the required changes to your distribution’s version. The ErrorFile, PidFile and Filter locations need to match your installation, and to switch from blacklisting to whitelisting, the FilterDefaultDeny parameter needs to be set to Yes.

whitelist – This contains just a single line; localhost. You need to whitelist the domain that your webserver runs on, otherwise it won’t work. If your local webserver can be reached through a proper domain name, then change localhost to that instead.

403.html – This is the file referred to by the ErrorFile directive in the tinyproxy.conf file. It contains two variables which need to be changed to match your system.

The following files are part of the administration interface and will need to be put in a directory that can be served by your local webserver. For instance, if your webserver uses /var/www as the root directory, put these in a new directory called /var/www/tinyproxy. The pages should then be able to be accessible by navigating to the http://your.webserver.domain/tinyproxy url.

config.php – This is the configuration for the administration interface. Make sure that the variables match your configuration, and if you want it to notify you by Twitter each time a new domain approval request is made, enter your details in there too.

style.css
filter.html
admin.html
filter.php
img (dir) – These are the remaining files which do not require any modification.

How it all works

Whenever a client is requesting a webpage from a domain, the request is done through TinyProxy. If it finds a line in the whitelist file for the domain, it lets the request pass through, but if it doesn’t, an error 403 occurs (Forbidden) and the 403.html page is served to the client. The included 403.html file calls the filter.html file internally and passes it the website that the client is trying to access.

When the request is made, the domain gets added to the whitelist file, but with a prefix of M|, therefore still not matching a proper whitelisted domain name. And it is this mechanism which allows me to approve or deny domains whilst keeping the whitelists all in one place. The admin interface simply drops the M| prefix if the domain gets approved, or changes it to D| if it remains denied. Easy peasy :o)

• Install TinyProxy using package manager
• Install webserver
• Confirm the above are working
• Download tinyproxy-admin.tar.gz
• Amend config.php
• Move config.php, style.css, filter.html, admin.html, filter.php and the img directory to a subdirectory beneath your webserver
• Amend TinyProxy startup script: tinyproxy
• Amend TinyProxy configuration file: tinyproxy.conf
• Amend whitelist and move it to the TinyProxy configuration directory
• Amend 403.html and move it to the TinyProxy configuration directory
• Replace tinyproxy binary with patched version
• Restart TinyProxy
• Breath out ;o)

Start by stripping all switches down to their bare PCBs. The idea is to use the push button switches inside the Home Easy HE308 switch and connect them to the push button switches from the Bye Bye Standby wall switches and then stuff it all in the wall.

Carefully solder wires to each BBSB switch and then solder them to the HE308. As the PCB of the HE308 connects some of the pins, it wouldn’t work when I tested it. No problem though, it just meant that I had to get my faithful Dremel out and dremel away all PCB lines surrounding the switches.

Make sure you test it once it’s all been connected up, not just when you’re finished putting it back into your wall ;) At this point in time, make sure you have set the address codes to the correct modules.

As the whole package is larger than my backbox, I removed the bottom from a plastic backbox and used a hammer and old screwdriver to chisel away at the wall behind it. Once I had everything inside and made sure that it was still working, I discovered that the edges from the backbox were larger than the switch itself. Doh!

I took everything out again and carefully reduced the edging until it all fitted neatly underneath the switch.

I started off with a 4 port powered USB hub, which I had lying in a drawer and plugged my iPhone charger leads into it, expecting them to instantly charge my two iPhones. But to my surpise, nothing happened… so another quick Google later, I came accross a blog entry of Carl Hutzler, which details why they won’t charge. All you have to do is sacrifice the hub and forego it’s PC functionality by cutting the D+/- lines and short them. A quick test shows they now finally charge themselves. Apparently it is better to stick 2x 100K Ohm resistors on the D+/- lines, which I will do at some point, but for now, this will do.

All I now had to do was find a suitable SWMBO friendly container, and as our furniture is all beech, the tea storage container I found for £1.99 at QD stores was perfect. I just needed to gut the compartiments out and put something on top of the plastic lid. At my local crafts store I found a small foam pad for 50p which was nice and soft. Unfortunately I got my measurements all wrong, so I messed up the black pad, but SWMBO came to the rescue by rummaging through my kids crafts drawers by digging up a piece of brown padding.

The final thing to do is then drill some holes at the locations convenient for your devices, and put it all together. Job done!

Happy 12:34:56 07/08/09 :D

Glad to be back again

Update 11.06.2009

Just typical… 11 days after I received mine, Apple announces the new 13″ Macbook Pro’s at the Worldwide Developers Conference… I phone the Apple Store the next day to see if I can exchange it for one only to be told that I would have to return and re-order. So I did. Only to receive a new Macbook Pro today on my old order, whilst my new order is now in ‘Prepared for Shipping’, which means I can’t cancel it!

Guess I’ll be keeping the courier in business this month ;)

So here it is, the third (and hopefully last) instalment: The Eee PC Digital Picture Frame aka The Eee PF.

I’ve divided it up in four sections, for easy digesting ;) All pictures can be enlarged, and the complete set of pictures can be found in the gallery.

Part 1: Disassembling the Eee PC
Part 2: Mounting the LCD
Part 3: Building the frame
Part 4: Finishing touches

It starts off with an Asus Eee PC 701 2G, which is perfectly small, yet cheap enough to destroy in the name of science.

Push the three tabs at the top of the keyboard in and lift the keyboard up to reveal the keyboard connector at the bottom of the keyboard. Using a small flat screwdriver, push the two locks open and remove the keyboard completely. Next to the keyboard connector is the touchpad connector which should be disconnected as well.

With the keyboard removed, the bottom half of the case is next. Remove the nine screws as indicated in the pictures. Turn the Eee PC over and remove the six remaining screws. For good measure, also remove the battery by sliding the two latches outwards, and slide the battery out. Flip the Mini over again and open the lid again. Using a plastic wedge (or your finger nails if you have them), pry the case open using some gentle force along the sides. Be patient at this point as the plastic latches inside the case, are fragile and will snap if you exercise too much force.

Now we just need to remove the motherboard. Disconnect the speaker and display connectors. There are two latches holding it in place, located at the bottom edge of the PCB. Lift the motherboard up at the right hand side and then pull it out up and sideways.

Time to separate the LCD from the bezel. Six screws are hidden underneath the plastic covers which are stickied in place. Use a plastic wedge along the side of the bezel but be very careful, it is very fragile. Take your time and be gentle. Just four screws and four sticky metal tape strips to remove before you can lift the LCD clean out.

Voilà, the Eee PC naked! Now we are ready for some serious modding ;)

Part 2: Mounting the LCD

Whatever you do, make sure you buy a frame and mount which have a high WAF since it needs to live in the living room. You don’t want to find yourself building something like this and then SWMBO tossing it in the bin because is clashes with the design ;) Take the mount and measure the dimensions of the LCD and frame and carefully cut it to size. As usual; measure twice, cut once :)

The LCD driver board sits neatly underneath the LCD, but when you mount the display into the frame, it doesn’t fit. Cutting away a bit of the frame allows it to be sunken into it and sit flush with the frame. Some double sided tape holds the mount in place.

On to the motherboard. This needs to be mounted with enough clearance above the LCD so that heat can escape and to do this I made my own spacers using normal motherboard spacers which I had plenty of from my PC building days. The screw holes on the Eee PC are tiny, so cut away at the top of the spacers to make them small enough to fit. Looks rather neat, eh?

Part 3: Building the frame

Before we create the frame, we need to think about an alternative heat sink. Normally, the bottom of the keyboard would dissipate the heat, so after doing some testing, I settled on an Akasa Southbridge cooler and some tiny Maplin heat sinks. Tests showed that the temps remained nicely around the 50ºC mark, which will rise to about 65ºC once the back cover will be on. Well within the limits :)

Using some 4mm Pine Stripwood cut to length, mark out all the ports and crevices that need to be carefully removed from the frame to allow access once everything is closed up again.

Here’s a quick mock up of how it all will fit together once we’ve painted the frame and glued it to the photo frame’s back.

Because the power switch would be covered up when the back is glued on, we need to move the switch’s function to somewhere more convenient. Reading this blog post over at Infinity Squared on an external power switch, I decided to go for the smallest I could find at Maplin. My soldering is definitely not the best, so a bit of heat shrink camouflages most of it ;)

I also wanted to have some sort of visual indication that the frame is on or off (other than the tell-tale display ;)). But how to get the minuscule surface mounted LEDs displayed through the frame? I had seen something previously, where light was transported using a small transparent acrylic tube. And when I was killing some time wandering around my local Tesco, I found my 48p answer… translucent golf markers! Remove the heads, drill a few holes and Bob is a relative.

Almost there. Using some left over black paint, paint all the sides and make sure that once assembled, all the small blemishes are hidden. Well, most of them ;)

Ready for assembly! Some glue, some patience and some skilful balancing of weighty items on top of the corners and all that is left to do is add the back cover.

Part 4: Finishing touches

A sheet of hardboard has been cut to be the approximate size and then using patience and lots of sanding made to fit exactly. The space at the bottom of the frame is perfect for the speakers, so using a small drill, create lots of small holes where the sound can penetrate through. It won’t be high fidelity, but it’s good enough for announcements. At the top of the frame, the microphone has been mounted, so we may be able to support voice commands in the future! A quick lick of paint finishes it off.

We’re re-using the stand from the picture frame, but instead of hammering it in the backboard, we have to glue it. I’ve used Araldite, which should create a long lasting strong bond.

And that is it! I’m quite pleased with the result, and even SWMBO commented on how nicely it looks in the living room… result!

As a final note, I haven’t mentioned at all what software the frame is running, so before you bombard me with questions, I better list them here ;)