projects

After over 20 years of usage, I recently declared that my trusty alarm clock was to be banished to the guest bedroom, which previously had no clock at all. I was eager to replace it with something with a higher geek-approval rating while remaining inexpensive.

I’ve worn a Casio “atomic” wristwatch for six years. Each night, the watch turns on an internal radio that listens for the time broadcasts from the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – home of the U.S. Cesium atomic clock. These broadcasts, from Fort Collins, Colorado, bounce off of the ionosphere late at night to provide very accurate (less than 1/100th of a second delay) time signals across North America. My wristwatch synchronizes with these signals each night.

I really wanted an alarm clock that featured similar synchronization technology. In addition, I was hoping to find a clock that would provide the outside temperature so that I’d be able to dress appropriately in the morning.

We’ve owned a small Oregon Scientific temperature station, with atomic clock, for several years. My father gave it to me one year as a gift. The outdoor temperature sensor is wireless and has survived Florida hurricanes, and near zero conditions, without missing a beat. This historical evidence gave preference to an Oregon Scientific solution.

As usual, I spent several days researching potential solutions – scouring the Internet for reviews. My final choice: The Oregon Scientific Elements Collection EW 98. I paid $30, ordering directly from Oregon Scientific.

In addition to the features I desired (atomic time synchronization, outdoor temperature), the clock includes indoor temperature, an “ice alert”, and ceiling projection.

After freeing the clock, external sensor, and clock AC power-supply from their blister pack prison, I loaded the clock and sensor with (not supplied) batteries. Note that you must reset the sensor and the clock to get accurate temperature readings from the external sensor. Just resetting the external sensor won’t do the trick.

For $30 I didn’t expect a laboratory grade device and it appears I was correct. The temperature sensor in the clock, and the external temperature sensor, never agree. After 8 hours next to each other, they differed by two degrees. Still – the external sensor should be close enough for my needs.

I was able to synchronize with NIST within a few minutes by click the manual search button on the bottom of the clock. It was about 8:00 p.m. – a bit early for the best radio reception – but it worked within about two minutes showing the correct time and date.

The next test was the ceiling projector. This seemed like a gimmick to me, rather than a useful function. I expected a fuzzy, dark, unusable image – I was wrong. The clock display on the ceiling is sharp (after adjusting the side mounted focus ring), very readable, and even too bright. Our bedroom ceiling is 10 feet high, with a light texture finish. My wife doesn’t like the intense red numbers above the bed, so I’ve switched the clock to only project the time and temperature onto the ceiling if I’ve tapped the snooze button on top of the clock. I prefer the “always on” style, but it needs to be less intense to be satisfactory in a dark bedroom.

Bottom line: I would recommend this clock to other geeks looking for an inexpensive clock for the bedroom or home office.

Pros:

• Atomic time – very accurate and automatic synchronization
• Projector clarity – time and temperature are clearly visible
• Clear LCD display – large time characters with good off-axis visibility
• AC adapter – saves batteries and allows full-time projector time

Cons:

• Projector intensity – would be nice to have an extra setting to set the brightness to half of the standard brightness
• Confusing sensor configuration – took me several tries to get the outdoor sensor display (on the clock) to appear correctly

I'm a sucker for technology and time pieces. I also enjoy an art form called, "Steam Punk." Take something old, sneak in something new, and you have classic coolness. In this case, the something old is Nixie tubes. Nixie tubes are vacuum tubes (similar to those from old TVs and radio sets) that use their cathode to provide a digital character representation - typically a number. They were used in digital clocks and counters beginning in the early 60's. Now someone has mated 60's Nixie tubes with a GPS heart to create an incredibly accurate digital clock with old school warmth and style. It's not cheap ($400), but still very cool.

The Man World project continues to move ahead. I've been saving nickles and dimes where I can to make the garage work bench a functioning computer maintenance area. Last weekend I installed a fluourescent shop light over the bench. I purchased the light because it was suspended by chains; I figured I could adjust them for the best lighting - wrong! The supplied chains are just long enough to connect to ceiling hooks. I zipped down to Home Depot, picked up some longer chain, cut it to three foot lengths, and installed the light. The light now hangs about 6 1/2 feet above the floor - just right for the bench.

I've also added a gigabit network run to the bench. The communications panel for the house (television, phone, Internet) is on the opposite wall of the garage. There was already a gigabit switch in that mix, so I needed to run CAT5e from the switch, through ceiling hooks, to the other side of the garage. Add a couple of RJ45 connectors and everything lit up.

What's left? A bunch of stuff. I still need to add a dedicated 20 amp power circuit (I'm running off of an extention cord currently), a peg-board backsplash, some kind of flooring (got to get off of the concrete), and tidy it up with some paint. Oh, and maybe a drafting stool!

After 25 years of tearing computers apart on the kitchen counter, I finally have a bench. I stumbled upon a “one-night-only” sale at Sears, scooping up their Craftsman 6-Foot Red Workbench with the  optional Craftsman 5-Drawer Workbench Module in Red/Black. I ordered the two pieces online, with the option for local pick-up at the near-by Sears in the Alderwood Mall.

Kenny came by with a pick-up truck and off we went. The loading area attendant was helpful and friendly. He helped us get the two large cardboard boxes into the bed of the truck. I really appreciated his attitude; customer assistance seems often forgotten.

Unpacking

We began by locating the instruction sheets for each system. Complete construction of the bench seemed to be the best first step.

After carefully unpacking and doing inventory, we discovered that several of the pieces for the bench were bent, even though the delivery box was in good shape. Luckily, I was able to persuade the offending bits back into shape with a large rubber mallet. The inventory was complete. Kenny and I got underway...

Assembling

The bench is a large, steel structure with some rough edges – wear gloves, or expect to get your knuckles banged up. All of the bolts, screws, and drawer slides seem like pretty decent quality. If you’re building this beast (particularly if you’re installing the drawers), be sure to leave the bolts hand-tight at this point. The biggest challenge in the basic assembly was the torque necessary to get the bottom-back rail in place. Kenny and I had to pull the outside legs apart a bit to get the bolts in place.

The instructions were pretty good, although I still managed to get the bottom-back rail installed backwards initially. Additional detail with the exploded drawings would have been useful. If the drawers were not used, the backwards rail wouldn’t matter. Since I was installing the drawers, I had to take the offending rail off, and reinstall it. This is the rail that required extra spreading between the legs, which are nearly six feet apart – tough sledding for someone who is 5’ 7”.

The drawers took a while to prep, although I found it to be straight forward. Each drawer needs to have the rails attached on each side. By carefully laying out each set of rails, I only had to do this once. I imagine it would be quite easy to get these mounted backwards. Put on some Boston and get’er done.

Likewise, the matching rails must be installed into the cabinet base after the rough framing is complete (with bolts still loose). I elected to match the installation of drawers in the illustration and the screw holes matched up exactly. Again, it would be easy to get these in backwards; take your time.

Adjusting

The engineering of the beast is not exact, so care must be taken to only tighten the primary bolts enough to keep the thing from flying apart (hand-tight) while you make adjustments to get it square. The squaring process is not nearly as critical if the drawers are omitted. However, if you are installing the drawers module, the squaring process becomes critical.
Be sure to think about all of the axes that are at play – side-to-side, back-to-front, and top-to-bottom. Kenny and I did some interesting twisting before the drawers seemed to settle down.

After everything is working, then carefully cinch down the bolts.

Summary

As I am not a construction-savvy guy, I’m reasonably happy with the results; I suspect this is normal fare for guys who are handy with a wrench. The drawers open and close, and I have a flat surface to work on. It is quite stout. I had expected that things would line-up a bit more easily (that the process would be a little more exact), but I can deal with the result.
The bench top seems pretty soft; it scratches easily. I believe I’ll use a very fine grit sandpaper to take the finish off, then apply several coats of a polyurethane finish to provide years of protection.

Would I buy it again? Yes – it solved my problem.
 

It's been over a week since I posted my initial FIOS TV experience - time for an update. A Verizon technician (not a contractor) was scheduled to arrive on Sunday afternoon, after 1 p.m. I arrived home at 12:30 to discover that he'd already been at the house and left. A quick call to his cell phone uncovered that he'd been told that the work needed to be done before 1 p.m. By 2 p.m. he was back at the house and began investigating our non-functional TV service.

There were several calls to the a center where they can perform remote diagnostics on the Set Top Boxes (STB) attached to the televisions. They were unable to get a consistent reading from the boxes. Several resets were attempted, renewal of the service, but nothing seemed to work. The technician them placed one of his diagnostic tools on the cable from the FIOS box that is attached to the side of the house. He discovered that the box wasn't sending a proper signal. It seems that after one day of service, the TV module in the box had failed. The technician then replaced the entire box - having to disconnect and reconnect our phones, Internet, and TV services.

We've been using FIOS TV for one week since the fix.

I have the following observations:

1) Good: The picture is better than Comcast. It appears to have more detail, contrast, with less pixelation.

2) Bad: The picture sometimes stutters. I'm not sure what causes this, but sometimes the picture will freeze (about every 10 to 15 seconds) for about a second. It seems to be in this mode until the channel is somehow refreshed. It's incredibly irritating - not sure what is happening there.

3) Good: The phone and Internet services appear to be running quite well. The Internet package we have currently is 20/5 mbps and it consistently maintains this speed.

4) Undecided: The on-screen guide is more difficult for me to read than the old Comcast guide. It might be the number of available channels (much more now), the intermingling of free / pay channels, the font size... I'm not exactly sure, but I have been trying to use a "favorites" list to reduce the noise. Still, it is more difficult to navigate, even if it is only because I had become used to the Comcast guide.

So, is it better than Comcast? Usually. Was it worth the switch? For me, "Yes." However, I'm a nerd and there's a certain "coolness" to having a high speed digital fiber connected to the side of the house... even if it's just a subject evaluation...