HorstBaerbel

Start program when inserting / removing an USB device

For my digital signage / kiosk system I want to start a slideshow when inserting an USB stick and show a splash screen when no USB stick is inserted. This is how I did it. Enable USB automounting Enable automounting of a (single) USB stick in read-only mode to /mnt/usb1 when inserting it. Add aContinue reading “Start program when inserting / removing an USB device”

Backup your SD cards

It makes sense to backup your SD cards after e.g. successfully setting up you Raspberry Pi. A basic command could look like this: If you don’t want to backup the whole disk or your partition is smaller than the SD card, you can also backup only part of the card. First list the disk geometry:Continue reading “Backup your SD cards”

A digital signage / kiosk system using Raspbian Lite / RPI Zero

I needed headless (well, inputless) system for displaying a slideshow from a USB drive via HDMI. I had a Raspberry Pi 0 with an attached USB hub and a USB WiFi dongle lying around. Here goes… Install Raspbian Lite 32bit, e.g. via Raspberry Pi imager Note that you can set up user name, password, SSHContinue reading “A digital signage / kiosk system using Raspbian Lite / RPI Zero”

CNC machining / laser cutting setup on the SnapMaker 2.0

I recently got a SnapMaker 2.0 A350T and I love it. I always forget how to set up the machine for CNC machining and laser cutting, so here goes… CNC machines have two different coordinate systems, which have the same orientation, but different origins: Machine coordinates: These are the physical / machine coordinates of theContinue reading “CNC machining / laser cutting setup on the SnapMaker 2.0”

Diamondback Mission 1C / 2C tips / hacks

Recently I’ve rediscovered mountain-biking and bought a used Diamondback 2019 Mission 1C. I love the bike so far and will document some hacks / improvements I’ve done on that bike (and possibly others) here. Cable clips Derailleur hanger / dropout replacement Level Link bearing / frame protector Cable clips This is pretty general. I’ve designedContinue reading “Diamondback Mission 1C / 2C tips / hacks”

Building you own Kodi-flavored Ubuntu Desktop with Cubic

I was experimenting with my HTPC setup and was looking for a “one-click-install” Kodi distribution for x86 PCs. …But there was only one… WTF?! Though Libreelec is looking good, at this point it is just not “there” in terms of availability of packages etc. and it was in beta. I wanted a snapcast server forContinue reading “Building you own Kodi-flavored Ubuntu Desktop with Cubic”

Simple Game Boy Advance micro USB / USB-C Li-ion battery power supply aka the “CheapJuice”

Don’t be mistaken, the CleanJuice v1.1 or Retro Modding Rechargeable Battery Pack Game Boy Advance USB-C power supply are well-thought-out solutions. They’re almost “drop-in”, need minimal modifications to the GBA and keep the battery compartment intact so you can still use AAs. But they’re also relatively expensive, especially if you don’t live in the US.Continue reading “Simple Game Boy Advance micro USB / USB-C Li-ion battery power supply aka the “CheapJuice””

Installing the Linux Nvidia driver in secure boot mode / Manually enrolling a platform key in BIOS

My Asrock Fatal1ty X470 AC BIOS is broken or does not work correctly in conjunction with my Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti, as I can’t see the screen to enroll a platform key. This is necessary if you want to install e.g. the proprietary Nvidia driver with secure boot on. I read some threads here, hereContinue reading “Installing the Linux Nvidia driver in secure boot mode / Manually enrolling a platform key in BIOS”

Coreboot for the Lenovo T420 / T420i with Ivy Bridge support

Usually I tend to decline offers for old laptops, because I have too many projects anyway, but when a friend offered me a broken T420, I thought “Hmm, good opportunity to try out Coreboot…”. Because, why not?! The laptop The device arrived in a sad state: It was dirty, had old stickers on it, itsContinue reading “Coreboot for the Lenovo T420 / T420i with Ivy Bridge support”

Properly (passive) cooling the Toshiba Z20t-C / the Intel m7-6Y75

The Toshiba Z20t-C is a really nice, silent convertible with a long battery runtime. It’s CPU is held back though by cooling issues. The Intel m7-6Y75 performs especially bad, running even slower than its cheaper m5-6Y57 / m5-6Y54 counterparts due to cooling. Though the CPU could clock at 2.9 GHz for two loaded cores, itContinue reading “Properly (passive) cooling the Toshiba Z20t-C / the Intel m7-6Y75”