All things technical or technology related
Half a million Wifi access points discovered! I’ve also integrated the Raspberry Pi Foundation 7 inch touch display into the phone compartment on my Tesla center console. This allows me to see the status of the scan as well as change operating modes. There are almost no light leaks with the lid closed, but at night the screen is washed out in photos. A usb port was added for convenience. I will want to clean up the USB port and add some physical buttons.
This project was cannibalized over a year ago. With Raspberry Pi as difficult to get ahold of as they’ve been, i thought this project might never come back to life. I launched a number of pi liberating ideas with some success. I now have enough for both fun personal projects and to get my work done. I felt i should explain the name wardriving. It is a variation on wardialing. Wardialing was trying phone numbers, looking for interesting things on the phone. Wardriving is similarly driving around looking for interesting things in the air.
My wardriver is not pictured above, but these Pi are ready for whatever comes next. I’ve recovered an assortment of different Pi from original B+ (pi-hole) to a 2GB Pi 4 (broken helium miner). One of the best parts of this setup is the early Pi 3 (not B+). This was a lucky find as it consumes less energy and produces much less heat. With only 6 radios running (including GPS) the lower performance hasn’t been an issue, but the reduced power has been incredible. Early testing has me getting an additional 20-40% battery life vs the original pi 4 configuration. my cable management has also improved with this iteration. The setup fits in a small box in my trunk instead of a tangled mass of wires in a large bin (prototyping is fun). The reason power is so important because, believe it or not, the amperage you can pull out of a Tesla for accessories is limited. Without an alternator dumping piles of unclean energy i am forced to resort to BYOB (bring your own battery). I got a monster battery to power the Pi 4 and even more radios and accessories of the original prototype.
It is fun using the ADSB live tracker in Los Angeles as there are always planes above. Next step will be DJI drone tracking and some sort of dashboard indicator/control. I started a WiGLE account, it’s off to a pretty good start. i found a few APs, but i’m still figuring out how to share BT. maybe i’ll join the #HardHatBrigade group.
A wise pilot i know says, “it’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.”
I was hoping to fly Tuesday, but wind gusts were too much for my little Mini 2. I flew Wednesday instead. not quite as clear, but the haze was truer to character for Los Angeles.
And with it, the last of my engagement. Tapbots makes incredible software for interacting with twitter. Despite it’s already limited API integration, chief twit killed the integration completely with no word or warning. You had incredible developers working for your users, but now you have pissed them off. I cannot wait to see the incredible work that comes out of spite.
Most of the people i follow have already departed twitter. It hasn’t been useful for a while. now, it’s not even amusing. I’ve moved to @be3n@mastodon.social. I will still syndicate posts from this site to twitter and the twitter feed will also remain (for now). I’ve already added Mastodon syndication and feed. (assuming this posts makes it there). Exciting.
I’ve been using Ubiquiti equipment since the original PowerStation. I took it to the next level with Unifi. I slowly acquired more and more equipment until their controller software had such an incredible sight into my network and it’s workings. An insight that makes maintenance and troubleshooting effortless. Moving from the USG Pro to UDM Pro i immediately enjoy the faster speeds and the fancy touch screen panel. What i don’t like is it’s complete lack of integration with non-local controllers and the missing features in its switch component.
As you can see from this image, i am a fan of link aggregation. It is an inexpensive way to maximize existing infrastructure and improve network performance. Unfortunately, the 8 ports on the UDM are currently incapable of this feature. I was hoping to remove one of the switches from my closet as i move links to the UDM, but it was not to be. This seems like a serious oversight for a Pro branded unit. I am hoping they fix this with a future update, but will not be holding my breath.
Black Friday deals bring about RAID expansions, hand me down drives lead to more expansions. The 4TBs i pulled out of service had almost 6 years on them. Still passed SMART!
Filming the mural that is called, “The Great wall of Los Angeles.” i crashed my drone by being a terrible pilot (i need more practice in tight spaces}). I had to fish my DJI Mini 2 out of the LA River. good thing it crashed onto a dry patch and suffered minimal damage.
The Great Wall of Los Angeles is a mural on one wall of a one mile stretch of the LA River. If you don’t know that, it is the flood drainage system of Los Angeles. There was a river at one point, but now it is a concrete riverbank accented with chain link.
At first i thought i just needed to flip it over and i could liftoff. alas, i had to construct an elaborate fishing pole of entangling loops attached to a telescoping dusting pole i had. Just out of reach, it took nearly 30 minutes and countless attempts to ensnare my little mini.
After reading of its impending destruction, i was hoping to pay the Encino Avenue pedestrian overpass a final visit. Unfortunately visits were discouraged. The messaging was a bit mixed, as the fence was literally tied up with string. i took pictures without trespassing. The 101 will shutdown between White Oak and Burbank over the weekend for the bridge’s demolition.
A saw some great acrobatic flying including a helicopter doing loops and barrel rolls. The sky was full of Jets, skydivers, simulated strafing runs, a water drop, and so much more. On the ground i was able to check out a lot of incredible machines including a jetpack and aquatic aircraft called the ICON. There was a STEM hanger where kids could operate basketball playing robots.
