Know How... 116

Hendo Hoverboard is the closest thing to Marty McFly's levitating toy, Google Plus community questions answered, fixing sticky Windows problem, and Part 2 of our Quadcopter series.

It's a Kickstarter

Hendo Hoverboard

• Has raised $304,338 of a $250,000 goal
• 1,609 backers -- 52 days to go
• Most of the pledges for $149 or less are for stickers and shirts... but once you pledge $299 or more, you start to get the tech -- What they call the "Whitebox Developer Kit" which actually has their hovering engine!
• $10k will get you a hoverboard... but they were only going to supply 10 of those, and they're already all gone.

Let's talk tech:

• It works with magnetism - Two opposing fields placed, one on top of the other.
• But any kid who has played with magnets knows that only works so far, if you move the magnets, the repulsion collapses, and if you're riding that field, you're going for a tumble.
• The guys at Hendo have created an "engine" for creating an opposing magnetic field in a non-ferrous conductor under the board.
• This means you need metal under the board, and it can't have iron in it.

Notes

Gilbert Knarr

"I'm glad you are doing a quadcopter series. I am planning on building one. I really like the idea of buying an inexpensive one to learn to fly on. I will probably buy the one you showed on the episode and I have a question about it. Could I use the controller for the one that I build?"

Ian Treleaven

"My home router's DNS service is flaky. It's an Actiontec 1200. I can specify which DNSes to advertise from the router. Is there any reason to include the router in the list of DNSes? I moved it's 192.168.1.254 entry to the secondary DNS spot, using my ISP's DNS as the primary. Steve Gibson's DNS Bench says that's the wrong way round for performance but I want to make sure I get reliable Internet rather than flaky internet. Any advice?"

Use 8.8.8.8 (Google's DNS) 208.67.220.220 (OpenDNS)

Also: Episode 81 of Know How had a segment on fixing DNS.

Jason Perry

"First, is there a standard for fiber optic networks? and Second, the only reason I would be interested in fiber optic is speed, but every card I have seen isn't faster than GigE, what speeds can your standard fiber home network reach??"

Notes

1. Start Regedit.exe
2. Navigate to: > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel > Desktop
3. Find the DWORD labeled, "MouseMonitorEscapeSpeed" -- If it does not exist, right click and create a new DWORD Value
4. Set the Value Data to "1"
5. Navigate to: > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > ImmersiveShell > EdgeUI
6. Find the DWORD labeled, "MouseMonitorEscapeSpeed" -- If it does not exist, right click and create a new QWORD Value
7. Set the Value Data to "1"
8. Close Regedit
9. Hit "CTRL-ALT-DEL"
10. Find and select "Windows Explorer"
11. Click Restart

Airframes

Classes of AirFrames

• The bigger the number, the bigger the frame
• The bigger the frame, the larger the propellers it will accommodate
• The bigger the propellers, the more powerful the motor it can utilize
• The more powerful the motor, the more thrust it can generate
• The more thrust it can generated, the larger the battery / the more gear it can carry

Some Examples of popular airframes: (This is NOT inclusive... there are many examples of each size, and many sizes in-between.)

• x250
• x450
• x525

Choosing an airframe is a balance between cost, performance, and capabilities.

• Larger Airframes
  • Usable Outdoors
  • Have an increased cargo capacity
  • Have more room for advanced features (GPS, cameras, etc.)
• Smaller airframes
  • Usable indoors
  • Lower cost

Connect with us!

Don't forget to check out our large library of projects at https://twit.tv/shows/know-how.

Tweet at us at @padresj, @Cranky_Hippo, and @Anelf3

• Transcripts: Know How... 116 (Transcript)