System Notes 09/08/2012

It's been a few months since I have been able to post. I've been busy with work and life and enjoying the summer weather. So now that school is back in and things have more a routine to them I can get back to updating this blog.

I'll list the overall system changes that have been occurring. The largest happened today and was driven by receiving a $260 cable TV and internet bill. (We will be cutting the cord once again!) I will post some follow up items over the course of the next week.

Here's a preview of posts to come:

1. Purchased a TiVo Premiere to replace a Comcast Motorola DVR. - I will be subscribing to Hulu Plus, and Netflix. I am already an Amazon Prime member so Amazon Instant Video will included too.

• Also purchase a TiVo Network Adapter for testing on streaming via Wi-Fi.
• Also purchased an RCA indoor antenna to test reception of OTA with indoor antenna.

2. Purchased car charger and cables for Kindle Fire, iPod, and Samsung phone. Worked great charging one or two devices.

3. Pre-ordered the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 inch Wi-Fi version. This will be released on 11/20/2012.

4. Built a USB Drive Utility for running clean up processes on other computers. Using free applications on the internet and some Basic coding I was able to build a cool little gadget to help others.

5. Gadgets and toys that are wearing out and will need to be replaced soon:

• Logitech Harmony 880 remote
• Computer case fans (due to excessive running of Bonic research projects.)
• Potential large year end purchases: New TV, Apple iPad

6. Running firmware updates on gadgets that require firmware maintenance. Has not been done in about 3 months or since Firmware Update Saturday post.

That about covers it for now. I'll post later.

New Cooling Fans for Computer

As the summer time heat starts to creep in I am looking at cooling products for all my entertainment and network equipment. On Tuesday May 22, 2012 I ordered 3 120mm fans for my computer. My case, a Cooler Master Elite 310 ATX Mid Tower Case, has fan locations in the front, side and rear. I am going to configure them in a push-pull arrangement.

The front fan, located in front of the internal hard disk drive rack will push air into the case. The side and rear fans will pull air out of the case. I ordered a 4 pack of Cooler Master 120mm Silent Case Fans. I had been to Fry's over the weekend and this same pack was $17.99. I got it on Amazon for $12.96.

Reading the specs and knowing the power connections on my power supply, I needed to get two adapters as well. I got a 3-pin Y connector for the side and rear fans. I also got a 4-pin to 3-pin adapter for the front fan.

While I was at it I picked up a 6 foot USB A male to Micro B male cable. This will be used as longer charging cord for the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire comes with a short 3 foot wall warted cable. It works but if you want to use the Kindle Fire while it is charging it is a pain to be on a short cable. I might end up getting a 9.8 foot USB A Male to A Female cable as well. That would give me almost 16 feet of cable. More than enough to meet my needs. I highly recommend the Amazon Basic cable products.

After installation I probably will also purchase a new CPU heat sink and cooling fan. I either go basic, like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or something extreme like the Cooler Master V10. 

I am also going to need to install cooling fans in the new entertainment cabinet. For those I plan to use Cooler Guys products. This cabinet I think I will go with a pull only design. I will either use two banks of 80mm fans out the back or one bank of 120mm fans out the back. With the two bank arrangement I will have one bank behind the Onkyo TX-NR609 and one bank behind the Motorola DCX3400. With the one bank arrangement I will have one bank behind the Motorola DCX3400.

OBi100 Firmware Update

On Tuesday May 22, 2012 I found that OBi had release a new firmware update to the OBi100. The release is version 1.3.0 with build version 2711. Click here for the official release and information on previous firmware updates. Per the release issued by Obi version 1.3.0 build version 2711 addresses the following:

- Addresses a GV Backing Off Issue

There is also an update for the OBi202. Since I do not own the OBi202 I had to be careful not to download the wrong update. Please the see official release noted above for notes on the Obi202 update and the separate download.

Just like the updates preformed February and March, and posted about here on this blog, I will update using the web interface. There are multiple options for applying firmware updates to the Obi100 but I prefer the web interface because it gives me a sense of control over the process. The steps for applying the update this way are provided by OBi in the link provided above. I'll provide them here for future reference:

Firmware Update Instructions:
1. Download the file to your computer.

2. Access the web page of the OBi device:
- From a phone attached to the PHONE port of the OBi dial * * * 1
- The IP address of the OBi will be read to you.
- Open a new browser window on your PC and enter the IP address of the OBi. (E.g. 192.168.1.110)
- When prompted, enter "admin" for username and "admin" for password.
If you have previously changed the password, use that instead of "admin."

3. Now that you have accessed the OBi web page, go to the "System Management" - "Device Update" page. From there, "Browse" to the firmware file you just downloaded above and click Update.

4. Wait for the OBi to restart (approx. 30 seconds) and you will be good to go.

Onkyo Remote for Kindle Fire

Yesterday I was researching to find out how to use the Onkyo Remote 2 on the iPod Touch when I can across the updated Remote App page on the Onkyo website. At the bottom of the page was a link to the Onkyo Remote App for Kindle Fire.

Here is the Onkyo page about this app.

Here is the Amazon page about this app.

According to the data provided on the Amazon page this app was first available on May 7, 2012. So about 5 days before I found it there. There were 2 reviews and the Best Seller Rank was 3,971 in the Free section of the Appstore and 25 in the Music Player section of the Appstore.

It was easy to download the app to the Kindle Fire. It was no different than downloading any other app. What was not working was the app could not find the receiver on my network. I confirmed that my receiver was connected to my network by checking the USB input that showed the UWF-1 was connected to my Wi-Fi. Then I went to my computer and brought up my router's web interface to see what devices were connected. There I could see that the Kindle Fire, iPod and Nintendo 3DS were connected but not the receiver.

I turned the receiver off with the remote waited one minute and turned it back on with the remote. Nothing changed. I went to my PDF copy of the Instruction Manual for the TX-NR609. On page 58 under the Hardware Setup section regarding the Network there is a reference to Network Control and Control Port. You have to set the Network Control setting to Enable. In the On Screen Display you go Main Menu >> Hardware Setup >> Network >> Network Control.

Two notes; I did not change the Control Port setting at all. After you Enable the Network Control feature and Return to the Hardware Setup screen you will be asked to Save Changes. Doing so enables Network Control.

After this I turned off the receiver with the remote and noticed, as the Instruction Manual says, the NET indicator was dimly light when the unit was powered off. When I turned the receiver back on with the remote the Remote App still could not find the receiver.

As frustration started to set in I tried one last thing before going to the internet to find out how to fix this. I powered off the receiver by click the power button on the front of the unit. I then unplugged the UWF-1 from the USB port on the unit. I waited about 1 minute and then inserted the UWF-1 back into the USB port and powered on the receiver by clicking the power button on the front of the unit.

Before trying the Remote App I went back to the computer and refreshed the web interface to the router. Finally there was my receiver on the network! I turned on the Kindle Fire and loaded the Onkyo Remote App and there was my Onkyo TX-NR609 on the device selection list.

The coolest feature to me so far is the internet radio selection process. I use Pandora a lot and the album information displays on the Kindle Fire. You can easily change channels and move between services very easily. Much easier than with the On Screen Display navigation.

I will test it out over the next few weeks and maybe write a follow up on my impressions.

iPod Touch 8GB 4th Generation

As a Mother's Day slash Birthday gift I purchased an Apple iPod Touch for my wife. She was lacking in the new device area and really needed a new toy to play with. The purchase was a smashing hit!

The iPod Touch I learned is in it's 4th Generation and comes with some very cool features. In short and quoting the sales person at the Apple Store in the Arden Fair Mall, it is basically an iPhone without the phone aspect.

I was excited to give this to my wife because I thought the coolest feature was the ability to use Pandora as your music source while at home. No need to load the device up with MP3's or AAC's, just stream Pandora from the net. All the memory on the device can be used for apps, photos, video, etc.

Once I get to play with it I plan to use the Onkyo Remote App to control my AVR. There are some positive and negative reviews on this app so I will do a complete review here based on my listening style and usage patterns.

This purchase brings our wireless connected device total to 6. The other 5 are Kindle Fire, Nintendo 3DS, Kindle Keyboard, Panasonic Blu-ray player DMP-BDT210, and Onkyo Receiver TX-NR609.

More to come as we live with and play with this new toy.

System Notes 04/21/2012

So it has been a month since my last post. Man how the time flies when you have a family and work that takes you away from the things that you enjoy. For the past thirty days I have been settling in with the new Klipsch HD 500 speaker system. To date I have installed the front left, center, front right and subwoofer speakers. I am still waiting on how to best position and use rear sounding speakers.

I lived with the speakers in their natural form with no Audyssey room correction in place for about 3 weeks. After that I ran the Audyssey room correction and have been listening to that setup for about 1 week. I can say that the bass and mid-range are in more control now. The natural out of the box presentation was very sharp and quick. Now the sound is much more muted and consistent across the entire frequency range. I can say that I think I will bump up the subwoofer db reduction as it is too soft for my liking.

As I progress through my research on the next phase of my system upgrade I think I will go with the Clean Power and Surge Protection I have outlined previously. The start will be an A/C receptacle that is built with audio considerations in mind. This will be either Shunyata SR-Z1 or the PS Audio Power Port Classic.

Once that decision is made the receptacle has been installed in will come down to what Surge Protection option do I want to go with. Various reviews and articles talk about the pros and cons of Surge Protection and Power Line Conditioners. Specifically people seem to like to throw the "snake oil" and "marketing" and "voodoo" words around with these products. Since most of these products come with a money back guarantee period and people also say they experience a positive return on these investments, I think they are worth considering.

For now I am not sold on whether I want a component style Surge Protector or a Strip style. I can see the advantages to both and right now I think I want to use a component style. This will help me see a clean updated look to my equipment rack.

Also on the table right now is an equipment rack cooling system. We are entering the Summer months and the ambient temperature will rise so I want to make sure that I keep my components within a safe operating range. I will be looking to have a system that will be controlled by a thermostat and also display the temperature within the cabinet.

Hopefully before the month is out I will post some new pictures of the setup. This will show the new Klisch HD 500 speakers. That is all for now.

Cheers!

Firmware Update Saturday

Saturday March 17, 2012 was a busy day for updating firmware on system components. In reviewing releases from vendors I found that several of my components had new firmware versions to install.

The following components were updated. You can click on each component listed below to see more specific information about each firmware update.

D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router DIR-655 Version B - Firmware released on 02/29/2012

OBi100 - Firmware released on 03/15/2012

Onkyo TX-NR609 - Firmware released on 03/16/2012