Category: Projects

Can I game on a server?

So i’ve wanted to try this one for a while, can I install a desktop GPU into a server, and pass it through to a VM for gaming on?

 

Why?

 

Well my server has 128GB RAM, 4 SSDs RAIDed together, and 16 logical processors, so like, why not add a GPU and play some games on it!?

 

I picked up a GT740 second hand on a buy sell facebook group, and i’ve spun up a VM running Windows 10 x64 to install steam on.

 

I test fit the GPU into my Dell R210, and it doesnt really fit with the fan on, so removing the fan so its just a heatsink lets it fit, but im not sure if the airflow inside will be enough to cool it down? hopefully.

 

Its not going in the R210 anyway, its going in the R610.

 

Ill power it down shortly and test fit it.

 

 

OK, I had to cut the end off one of the PCIE slots as the R610 only had x8 slots, but that wasn’t too hard, just some very careful dremel work then a small file to clean it up.

 

I also had to cut off the little lock part of the GPU, the part at the end of the connector, as the R610 raiser card has a large component there (intrusion detection switch maybe?)

With those two parts removed it fits in well.

The system is taking a *very* long time to boot… but it is booting.

 

the video is coming from the onboard graphics though.

WE HAVE ESXi!!!!

 

Okay it booted and detected the GPU correctly, but looks like getting NVidia pci-e passthrough is a pain in the ass…. Might look into an AMD card at some point instead. Until then Ill mark this as a maybe!

Maybe ill migrate all the VMs from the R210 over to the R610 and then setup the R210 with a desktop OS ? hmm

Homemade FPV monitor

Hi guys, I wanted an fpv monitor that had a receiver built in. 
Looking around online there’s some for around $100ish but I already had a spare Sony LCD meant for a reversing camera, and a spare RC832 so I


 figured I would give it a shot !
I disassembled both first, and was pleased to find a little free space in the LCD. 

I positioned things around a bit and used a sharpie to Mark things out to get an idea of if this was feasible. 


It looked like it would work !

The cables it had were huge and thick and had multiple connectors and Yada Yada I didn’t want all that so I just soldered to the convenient break out connector !

I did some final position testing and drilled some holes for the buttons and antenna connector, also drilled a hole and filed it a bit for the LED display on the receiver to see which channel we are on. 

Hooked it up and tested everything before routing the power cable through a hole, the hole I drilled inadvertently had a connector right in front of it when ibsealed up the case, this conveniently served to compress the cable and provide strain relief!! (The connector was unused anyway!)

Everything sealed up and working !

Crude holes but meh they work !
It has a tripod screw hole in the bottom and that slot for mounting. I’ll sort something out to mount it later. 

It has the option to disable blue screen so I can always get as much image as possible even with low signal !

Runs off a 3s lipo. 

Not much room inside for anything else or I would have tried to fit something inside to power it…

Picture looks great ! It’s super bright so should be visible outdoors well enough. 

Das me

That’s all for now ! 

Lasers, Robots and Dinosaurs

Yesterday I decided to visit the Robots and Dinisaurs hackerspace in Meadowbank after work. 

I had been meaning to go there for quite some time, and finally got around to going!

I got on the train to Epping from Central and not too long later I was at Meadowbank station. 

Across the road from the station, around the back of the shops, it was easy to find. 

Knocking on the door a man named James was there to greet us, he let us in, we took a quick glance around, and I knew I was happy to be there!

There is heaps of amazing resources available, machinery, tools, parts, everything a young hacker could need!

James showed us some things he had been working on including a laser cut geared arduino powered compass !

It looks pretty damn cool! Haha

Here is some photos of the space:


Ok fine, some photos of the machines I was keen to learn how to use!

The black laser cutter was the objective today, James showed me how to work the CAD software, how to work with objects, to set the machine up and mark its origin, how to properly attach the material to the work area using magnets, adjust settings, all the things!

He used some scrap wood out of the scrap bin to laser cut and engrave a few die that he had prior designed through (Inkscape?)

They’re pretty cute, and it was amazing how fast the machine works, especially when I was used to the slow speed of 3D printers!

On the topic of 3D printers, the space has a bunch of them, from commercial types, to homemade, to an egg boy that can draw designs on eggs or other round objects!

I decided I wanted to try making a keyboard on the laser machine. I picked out a piece of wood from the new materials section, because I wanted a nice thin piece some MX switches could clip into, and I loaded up some DXF files onto a USB of a design I liked. 

Importing the files into the cutter software was super easy, and within seconds we had realigned the material and had the box for the plate free from obstruction and held down steady!

I hit go and the machine jumped to life !

​
I took two revisions, the first one had 4 mounting holes, which would be fine for a metal plate, but the wood is too soft and weak for that. 

In the second revision, Mark and James added in a bunch more holes for mounting points !

​​

Much sturdier!

The second one also has a 3mm white acrylic base as that was in the off cuts bin for free. 

The machine is pretty damn good at getting the detail, and for the most part switches fit in pretty well!

​​


While I was doing all this, Mark and James were working on making a completely DIY DC Motor!

They were following a guide and using some enamelled copper wire, paper clips, a hard disk magnet and a block of foam!

It was pretty cool watching them spend hours on it and get really excited when it finally worked!

​​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rUJisqsmZg

Fiber, Fibre and Networks

Over the weekend I picked up some fiber gear from the lab, took it home and decided to replace the links between rooms with it!

I brought home my trusty old Lindy switch I got years ago from ByteFoundry, some multimode OM3 cable with LC connectors, and I already had some 850nm optical transceivers at home in my tool box. 

I replaced the run of copper from the core in the living room to the Lindy switch in my bedroom, it’s just sitting there for now, I’ll grab a Lack when I’m near Ikea next and mount it to that. 

This solves my problem of having to do my wired network projects in the living room ! I finally have spare ports in my bedroom haha 

The core switch in the living room has 3 spare SFP ports?, which leaves room for a second link to my room that I could trunk if I setup a NAS in there, and a link to my flatmates room, still leaving a spare port for a link to the veranda or garage if I setup a rack there. 

There’s little benefit to this as the links are still 1gbps but the fiber has a smaller profile physically to the copper so it pleases me. 
Plus it’s nice to play with fiber!
I’ll get some of that Velcro people use over cables to replace the duct tape as that’s already peeling 🙁
Here’s some photos of how it is:

I should get around to setting up a Spillpass hotspot already!

ESP8266 Arduino Pro Micro 

I was looking everybody’s favorite online store for Atmega32u4 based MCUs for a friend and stumbled upon this little guy:

http://ebay.com.au/itm/191890522764

It sure as heck isn’t a 32u4 but it is rather interesting !

It looks like it’s an esp8266 module in the form factor of an arduino pro micro, I’m a bit put off by the $20~ price tag but it would be interesting to see if they have routed the pins to the corresponding ones as for the pro micro. 

Then you could use it as a drop in replacement without even having to change the code, except you would suddenly have the option to add wifi to your project! 
IoT is definitely getting much easier these days to implement than when this blog first started! Hahaha
No more fumbling around with an Arduino Uno with Ethernet and then little dodgy radios talking to other Unos with the same radio…..

Oh man that was hell