Hardware - Dave Jansen

Hardware

A collection of 26 posts

Asus Zenbook Duo 14 and Fedora Linux

Asus Zenbook Duo 14 and Fedora Linux

I spend most days sitting in front of my desk working, where I have a desktop computer with larger display. It's a great setup that helps me be productive. The past few months I have been thinking of finding a laptop to accompany my main setup, to allow me to

Synology DS920+ First Impressions

Synology DS920+ First Impressions

Get ready to wait a lot..

Using a Logitech StreamCam on Linux

Using a Logitech StreamCam on Linux

Last week I finally purchased a webcam for online meetings, something I had been holding off on for quite some time. I was using a 12" MacBook for these up until now, but I wanted to get a webcam for my main computer as I sometimes need to look over

The GPD Win Max

The GPD Win Max

I have always had a soft spot for (near-)pocketable devices that –successfully or otherwise– punch above their weight. From the pre-smartphone Pocket PCs days, to the short-lived UPCs and UMPCs, there have always been companies trying to bravely attempt to pack a tremendous amount in an as small as

Denon DL-110 Phono Cartridge

Denon DL-110 Phono Cartridge

I have been using an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge that came stock with the Pro-Ject RPM 1.3 "Genie" record player for about three or four years now. While it did well and certainly better than the heavily used second hand cartridge and needle I had before it, I was

Adding a third monitor

Adding a third monitor

The time has come for me to add a third (and probably fourth — local deal permitting) monitor to my setup, as my dual monitor setup was becoming a proper limiting factor to my productivity. This is in large part due to the scope of the project I am working on,

Winter emergency center for our succulents

Winter emergency center for our succulents

In our previous house we had a veranda area (think "inside but kind of outside") area that was perfect for plants, as it had direct sunlight on it all day long. While I wouldn't want to spend more than a couple of seconds there during the hottest part of summer,

Taking a first look at the Wii Classic Controller

Taking a first look at the Wii Classic Controller

I wanted to try out the Wii Classic Controller for a while now, and earlier this week I was finally able to do so. The Classic Controller is a controller that you plug directly into the Wiimote, so while it's a wired controller, it wirelessly connects to your Wii (or

Now is a great time to play on Wii.

Gaming Featured

Now is a great time to play on Wii.

These days I have come to appreciate older generation consoles and games more. I have always considered the Super Nintendo my favorite console, but there is so much more to explore and try, and it often feels hard to figure out where to even start. With so many great titles

Homelab re-organization project conclusions

Homelab re-organization project conclusions

Several months ago I began a rather extensive homelab re-organization project, which I started documenting here on my blog as-well. Since it has been a while since I last posted an update, I wanted to gather more recent progress updates into one update post. Let's get to it. What started

Installing Noctua 40mm fans in my router

Installing Noctua 40mm fans in my router

To help reduce noise I've been wanting to replace the stock fans (Yate Loon D40SM-12C) that come with the HCiPC Router with something more quiet. I had to wait until I was able to move some services I was running on my dev server before I could do so. Fortunately,

Installing two PERC H200s

Installing two PERC H200s

Ever since acquiring the Dell R510 —which came with a PERC H700— it was my intention to replace it with an often-recommended H200. This particular card is popular because it can be found relatively affordably, and it can be flashed to so-called IT mode, which means the card passes all

Homelab re-organization project

Homelab re-organization project

Over the next few posts I will be going in more detail into what I have been doing lately to re-organize my homelab. My purpose for the re-organization is to set the software up the "right" way, reduce clutter, and equally importantly, to reduce power consumption. Posts in this series

Upgraded Soldering Setup

Upgraded Soldering Setup

I've had a very basic soldering iron for years, and it served its purpose well enough. It was one of those "plug in and they go" type irons that lacked any settings, and its tip wasn't really replaceable either. After I recently started installing new batteries with proper holders a

GPD Pocket 2 Typing Test

GPD Pocket 2 Typing Test

I've been meaning to do a typing test on the GPD Pocket 2, and today finally had a moment to sit down, set up the camera, and try. The results will likely not surprise anyone, but it's always handy to be able to see not just what the somewhat arbitrary

D-Link DGS-1210-28 Smart Managed Switch Brief Hardware Overview

D-Link DGS-1210-28 Smart Managed Switch Brief Hardware Overview

For anyone in the market of a managed switch for home(lab) or small office use, the DGS-1210 is likely to pop up as a possible consideration. While it is not the latest and greatest, it certainly checks off a few potentially important checkbox items. For my use case

Dell R510 2U Server Hardware Overview

Dell R510 2U Server Hardware Overview

As you may have seen in some of my previous posts, I have a few servers at home. These serve several purposes, most of which are directly or indirectly related to me bettering myself, learning more about server soft- and hardware, and for use in project development. The Dell R510

Applying new thermal paste on a GPD Pocket 2 for better thermals

Applying new thermal paste on a GPD Pocket 2 for better thermals

The GPD Pocket 2 (P2) has decent thermal paste applied coming out of the factory, but thanks to modders and tinkerers it became rather evident that you could get quite a substantial decrease in temperature if you re-apply the thermal paste with your own, higher grade paste. While I generally

Cleaning SNES and Super Famicom carts

Cleaning SNES and Super Famicom carts

When collecting older games —or simply revisiting your childhood games— it's usually a good idea to clean the games and, ideally, replace their batteries. A few months ago I made a video about the first Super Famicom game I replaced the battery of, but I had more work ahead of

Unitek USB3 memory card reader

Unitek USB3 memory card reader

Recently I decided to get a new microSD card for the camera I use to make my videos, as up until now I had been using a very old 16GB Sandisk SD card. I also took the opportunity to browse Amazon to look for a decent memory card reader. I

Update: Installing a Monitor Arm on my Tiny Desk.

Update: Installing a Monitor Arm on my Tiny Desk.

A few weeks ago I installed a dual monitor arm on my tiny standing desk, and today I wanted to post a quick follow-up to this. First; I've been thoroughly enjoying this setup. It not only brought up the monitor(s, now) to the right height (as I had to

Video: Native Bluetooth and WiFi on a Hackintosh

Video: Native Bluetooth and WiFi on a Hackintosh

Today I'm installing a WTXUP TX-AC94360 PCIe card, which has a Broadcom BCM94360CD chip, for native Bluetooth and WiFi support on the Hackintosh I built not too long ago for home work usage. The process is easy enough, and this particular card is natively supported by macOS, so it works

Upgrading a PS4 Hard Drive

Upgrading a PS4 Hard Drive

Not too long ago I upgraded the hard drive of my PS4. This was just in time, too, with Red Dead Redemption 2 coming out not long after and weighing in at a hefty 100GB. The stock 500GB drive that came with my PS4 was already constantly full, requiring me

Installing a Monitor Arm on my Tiny Desk.

Installing a Monitor Arm on my Tiny Desk.

I have a very small standing desk that I use as a sort of as a mobile home office, as I can roll it around the house to find the best spot for me to work in. Whether that's close to the servers for maintenance or so, to the more

Installing a grounded wall socket

Installing a grounded wall socket

For some reason that is completely unknown to me, only two or three wall sockets in our rental apartment are actually grounded — in the kitchen and laundry room. All the other ones actually have grounding wires present, they're just not used, and often tucked away into the wall without so