Misadventures of an Electronics Junkie

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Nillkin Hard Case For My Cherry Mobile Magnum

I just received my Nillkin Protective Case for my Cherry Mobile Magnum. I purchased it from ebay (at approximately PhP 870.00) as custom-fit cases and screen protectors for the Magnum are rare, if not available locally. The case is for Huawei Ideos X6 U9000 which is the same unit as the Cherry Mobile Magnum.

Android Phone Audio Signal Generator

An Audio Generator is a very useful tool in a hobbyist's lab especially during experiments and testing of audio circuits such as amplifiers. Unfortunately, this is one of those equipment that a hobbyist may not be willing to buy (that includes me) as it may not serve him much in other circuits i.e. digital circuits. Fortunately though, there are Virtual Instruments available for computers, and now as smartphones get smarter, they are now also available on phones.

Iwatsu SS-7810 100MHz Analog Oscilloscope

One great scope for serious hobbyists on a budget

HP 54503A 500MHz Digitizing Oscilloscope

Perhaps I was lucky enough to have owned this scope :D

Quick and dirty Scalar Network Analyzer
Graph is noisy as there is no video filter after the detector

While waiting for a Network Analyzer, a quick and dirty Scalar Network Analyzer is realized by using an Anritsu Signal Generator on sweep mode, Analog Oscilloscope on XY mode, and a ADL5513 Log Detector. A box on the grid denotes 10dBm, thus, rejected bands are 40dB below passed bands. Both passed bands are Globe's GSM 900 bands, rejected bands are first 25 channels of Globe, and Smart's GSM 900 bands.

These Band Filters are replacement for the Frequency Shift Filters found on Globe's Frequency Shifting Repeater. The Project is to modify these repeaters to Band Selective Repeaters.

From Frequency Shifting, it's now Band Selective

Top 5 Android Games On My Cherry Mobile Magnum

With my Cherry Mobile Magnum, gaming on my mobile has been more fun. For now, here are my top 5 favorite games (most of the times, Angry Birds bore me :D).

Cherry Mobile Magnum HD: First Impressions

I've been reading about the Cherry Mobile Magnum HD since last year. Specifications-wise, it's nearly the same as HTC Desire HD, running on a 1Ghz Qualcomm Scorpion Processor and an Adreno 205 Graphics Processor (Qualcomm MSM8255 SoC - Snapdragon). Just last month, Cherry Mobile slashed off the prices of their Android products putting the Magnum at just PhP14,000 (also their tablet, Superion, is now only 14,000). At this price point, I guess it's one deal I can not pass. I now have an early Christmas and Birthday present for myself. :D

Playing "Pusoy Dos" on Android: Big Big Big 2

Pusoy Dos is one of the card games I grew up with. While it's far too easy to get a Texas Hold 'Em Poker game for my Android, Pusoy Dos or Big 2 Poker is not as common. One of the Pusoy Dos games that can be found on the Android Market is big Big Big 2 from 2-Person Studio. By far, I can say that it's the best that I've played on my Android phone.

2 Cool Ways To Take Screenshots on a Rooted Android Phone

Taking screenshots on an Android phone can sometimes be a pain. The most referenced way of doing this is using the DDMS or Dalvik Debug Monitor Server. This requires the installation of Android SDK on your computer which consequently requires the installation of Java Development Kit. While the method is intended for developers, it also works quite well for casual users.

With a rooted phone, I find 2 cool and easy (and best of all, free) ways to take screenshots. The first one makes use of a browser on your computer, and the second one is done on the phone itself.

Software Data Cable for Android

For all Android users who always misplace (that would be me) or doesn't want to carry their USB Data Cable, this is the application for us. Software Data Cable, by Proid Mobile, Inc., turns your Android device into a FTP server - a file server that can easily be accessed through a network. For Android devices, that would typically be through WiFi.

Qucs: Quite Universal Circuit Simulator

Qucs is an open source circuit simulator that is, quite universal. It can solve from DC and AC analysis, to circuit S-Parameters. It can also design matching networks and filters. It's not yet finished (here's the roadmap to what is already available and what the project aims to include), there are some quirks with the GUI, and it is hard to troubleshoot some error messages. But as it is, I already find it useful.