Home Entertainment Center

 I have replace the Raspberry Pi 4B and miniDLNA software media server, with a new sytem. The new system is an IBM Lenovo T61 Thinkpad with SimpleDLNA software. I decided to save the Raspberry Pi for another project. I purchased a used T61 for $15 from a local used stuff store. The purchase included a docking station and power cord. The software was available online, free of charge for non-commercial use. I went through the usual learning curve and reduced the system to a single USB hub, the Amazon Basics hub, and five drives. The drives show up in the DLNA system as individual drives on the LG TV and my iPhone's VLC network.  I can add two more drives, later if needed. One advantage is the software does not rebuild the database as often, thus reducing the time to access when the system is booted. There is also an option to use a web page to display and access the drive contents. The Raspberry Pi will be the test unit for a blindspot collision detector on my Jeep Renegade Spor...

  The current state of the entertainment system. Elements:=========================================================== LG oled Smart-TV, 55-inch Pioneer VSX-1023 AVR (Audio Video Receiver) B&O RX-2 turntable w/ Soundsmith replacement phono cartridge, RIAA compensation box Alesis MEQ-230 30 band Equalizer Altec Valencia speaker cabinets w/ fixed, external cross-over filters for bi-amp use Polk Audio 50w Subwoofer Samsung blu-ray player - This has been removed and will eventually be replaced by a newer model that will play UHD 4k discs. The existing unit does not play UHD.  Hauppage Win-TV computer television receiver dongle and  RCA antenna for local television signals, with Channel Master antenna signal booster Sennheiser headphones Panasonic VHS VCR EasyCap VCR tape digitiser A Netflix subscription Latest addition: Raspberry Pi 4B/2gb SoC (computer System On a Card) with  miniDLNA software to connect 3000 video files on eight hard drives, to the TV via WiFi. A Be...

Finally, the mini wireless keyboard works Some time ago, I ordered a mini wireless keyboard. The unit is a clone of more familiar products by Rii and iPazzPort. The instructional pamphlet with the unit was minimally useful. When I last used the thing, I had discovered that I had to have the unit next to the back of the TV where I had plugged the accompanying dongle. The unit has been in storage for the last couple of years.  I was cruising YouTube and ran across a video that provided some insight into my problem. The unit goes into 'sleep' mode automatically if not active. There's not a constant need for a keyboard with a TV so the unit spent most of the time in 'sleep' mode. Unfortunately, after a while the unit would disconnect from the TV. The wireless transmissions would stop. At that point I would have to place the unit next to the dongle on the back of the TV and unplug/plug the dongle to restart. A nuisance to say the least. The video pointed out that the don...