PISMO POWERBOOK G3- ANTI-obsolescence SERIES-ARTICLE #1 : torrent server

RETRO TECK -
THE MIGHTY PISMO -


RUNNING TORRENT SERVER WITH FIREWIRE IPODS


ANTI-obsolescence SERIES - ARTICLE #1
- running a torrent server with firewire 3rd Gen. Ipods on the Pismo -


Yeah this is how I flow with what I share on my Blog, with the Lossless Torrents LPCD
sharing.



I bought 2 used but working 3rd Generation Firewire Ipods on Ebay for around $20.00 each.
one 15g the other 20 gigs.

I have not noticed lack of speed, no crashing, fast file transfers, great all around solution
for data storage and portability if you own Mac with Firewire capabilities.
The Pismo G3 Powerbook is a wonderful computer with good power and still extremely functional
and much more series to come on ideas on how to use the Pismo productively
10 years after it was made. Steve Jobs even tried to push the Pismo under, but discontinuing that series of Powerbooks, to make way for the Ibook, ect.
Look for future in depth posts on hacks, tricks, configurations, tips, ect focusing on
the Pismo.
As noted the Harddrives I'm hosting the Torrents with are 2 Ipods. Since they are Firewire
the transfer rate is not an issue and they are very reliable. I have them mounted on a custom server stand I made for them with Elastic float mounts and a small fan powered by the USB bus of the Pismo to keep them cool. Very basic but ultra effective. And neat looking.
The stand was made of bamboo sticks.
I chose the Ipods after seeing prices of general use Firewire Drives that were more expensive. And since I love the older Ipods for playback of Lossless files, I bought a few and just thought nothing to lose and tried it and now confirmed it all works flawlessly. I use Vuze 3x on the Pismo for Torrents under os 10.4.11.
I have to test soon older vuze under OS9 and the drives. I'm sure it will work.

 

Above : PIcture of the bamboo float air cage for the Ipod drives 

Below : the connector that glows for fan power - USB connector from broken

cheapy remote control helicopter charger

Below : the Pismo running in CLOSED LID MODE powering

my 19" monitor @ much higher resolution than the built in monitor.

You can see the Torrent Server drives on top of the closed Pismo. COOL! 

A VERY SIMPLE AND AWESOME HACK TO THE SONY PS-1 PS1- SCPH-1001 1996 canada unit

I had 2 Playstation PS-1's kicking around. One was a early version, Canada market
SCPH-1001 1996 NTSC, and a 1998 version, with NO Rca jacks in back, a model SCPH-7501
for Canada too, and they had striking differences in their internals. One common thread
I took advantage of for a swap, is the CD laser mechanism. They are juxtaposed on the board different, but are essentially the same product, aside from Pegs on the 7501 version i snipped off, which made mounting fully in the rubber gaskets impossible.

The reason i was looking into trying this, was due to when I played burned CD's on the 1001, there were common glitches, and you could not listen to a song without wanting to rip something to shreds from the jittering start/stopping.

I had done all the recommended adjustments found online. None worked to totality. One helped much, but still, half way.
The 7501 I had bought long ago to use for gaming, but never got around to it. Seeing it has a inferior audio path, it's prime to just recycle.

As mentioned the Lazer mechanism is identical mostly, the flexi cable and power cable are a bit different in length, but are the same to connect at ends. The data cable from the 7501 is an improvement, longer and more durable, easier to insert.

I have now played 3 Tough to play on ANY CD player Burned discs and they are flawless! CD's i have almost thrown out, are now players.

This is really cool!

It's my first MOD of the playstation, so it's enticing to me and so far a great learning experience. this thing is logically laid out, a sweet piece of candy for gear heads to what I can imagine now with a bit of experience taking 2 apart. They come apart like lego, so don't be afraid. I think like 15 screws and you have every component seperate.

Over time as I learn, I want to adapt things to Lay-Man terms, and video-pic-diagrams. Take advantage of the web and also use relevent readings from some proper 'machines', digital display measurement devices...you know? but most I strive to just make it available for the extra-senses, not just the upper brain! Not text book jargon, but down to rootsy/mossy/earth spagnum full of water-bears.

if you don't see a video of how i did this, it's on it's way!