Broken Ubuntu Mate Desktop

I had Ubuntu 16.04 LTS installed as a guest on a Windows 10 OS. The VM was shutdown uncleanly and after that its Mate Desktop wouldn't run properly. I re-installed the MATE Desktop using the following command.

apt-get install ubuntu-mate-desktop --reinstall 

After the re-install it worked fine with no problems. I'll remember to shutdown the VM properly next time.

Virtualbox USB Problems

Using a PC running Ubuntu with Virtualbox using Windows 10 as the guest I found I could not add usb devices using the add new usb filter. After a bit of searching I found information about the issue here.
I had to run the following command to get it to work , remember to log out and log back in after running the command.
sudo adduser $USER vboxusers
After that the add USB devices filter worked fine.

iAQ-CORE_C I²C Problems

Problems with the iAQ-CORE-C Indoor Air Quality Sensor Module. I built the module onto a breadboard pcb and while testing I found that it would not work. I couldn't detect the device on the I²C bus of the Raspberry Pi I was using. Although I could use other devices on the bus without a problem , I found a lot of forums with entries about clock stretching causing problems for the Broadcom SoC I²C bus. I even tested it on an Arduino and no data from the device was detected. After a long time checking and testing the breadboard I came across an error in my wiring that turned out to be the problem. The wire for the SDA Pin 4 was connected to NC Pin 1 on its way off the board to the Raspberry Pi. There is no mention in the manufacturers data sheet not to connect to this pin it even says not connected. I spent a fair amount of time debugging this fault and eventually got it working

BT Infinity in a Closer Cabinet

I have BT infinity but this gives about 15Mbps download 1Mbps upload , not very good really. The reason is I am about 1.5km from the Cabinet providing my FTTC so the attenuation in the copper and increased noise pickup causes the drop in speed. I however noticed some contractor white spray painted symbols on the pavement about 200 metres from my house with the letters A.I.O and a box shape , see my photo below.

AIO

I think the AIO stands for an All In One Cabinet that BT sometimes install in outlying areas serving a smaller number of subscribers than is typical.
The main BT cable bundle that serves my house is in the duct marked BT in the picture below , so I am wondering/hoping that I will get moved from the far away one to this A.I.O cabinet? This would mean I could get true infinity speeds so I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope that this will happen. Update , got superfast broadband.

Getting ESPlorer to Run on Mint 17.4

I was having problems getting ESPlorer to run on my Linux machine , this to program an ESP8266 Wemos D1 Mini Clone with Lua , html content and an HA Bridge running on a Raspberry Pi for use with an Amazon Echo to control some RF remote control mains sockets. The error displayed from the console was  :-

# A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment:
#
#  SIGSEGV (0xb) at pc=0x00007fe595a40009, pid=11774, tid=11803
#
# JRE version: OpenJDK Runtime Environment (9.0) (build 9-internal+0-2016-04-14-195246.buildd.src)
# Java VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (9-internal+0-2016-04-14-195246.buildd.src, mixed mode, tiered, compressed oops, g1 gc, linux-amd64)
# Problematic frame:
# C  [libjava.so+0x1d009]  JNU_GetEnv+0x19

I used the command :-

sudo update-alternatives --config java  

and had the choice of either java-8-openjdk-amd64 or java-9-openjdk-amd64 on my machine. The default was java-9-openjdk-amd64 so I selected java-8-openjdk-amd64 and ESPlorer then worked without issue , I hope this helps someone in the same position.

3D Printing PLA Not Sticking

I have found that using blue masking tape works for helping adhesion of PLA on heated build plate. Though the brand I bought was not very good in that the print wouldn't stick to the plate. 3M blue masking tape is apparently the best for this. While I waited for this tape to arrive I used hairspray sprayed onto the glass build plate , this provided good adhesion for my prints. I like the idea of the blue tape as it's less messy than the hairspray method. 

CTC Replicator 1 (Dual) Clone RFI problems

Occasionally the display on this printer becomes garbled and the reset has to be pressed. I also noticed that when this printer is on it affects the speed of my fibre to the cabinet FTTC broadband. As a licensed Radio Ham I did notice that there was little or no RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) filtering at the mains input or any ferrite sleeves over wires going to the motors and thermocouples etc. I think that the switchmode power supply is probably causing RFI to be transmitted along the mains and then it's being picked up by the telephone line so reducing the broadband speed. I will retrofit filters and ferrite's to reduce the noise made by this machine. The graph below shows the slowing effect of this printer on my broadband speed.

I have since moved my printer to another room away from the telephone line until I get it filtered better.
WARNING! modifications to your machine may damage it or cause a FIRE! you have been warned. Be CAREFUL with Hot things like your printer!