Kaliko Systems Limited

Make a Low-Power Media Server

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Media Server, Power Server and External USB Disks

This site covers 4 topics related to home multi-media:


1. Make a Media Server. A simple media server is easy to make, but the whole-life costs of many designs can be surprisingly high. The media server design shown above is based on a low-power and cost PC, with multiple external USB disk drives that can be remotely switched on and off as needed. This can keep the 24x7 idle power consumption low and allows back-up drives and temporary drives to be added or removed from the server as needed. Note, I am considering major changes in this design, see Future Media Server section.


2. Choosing a Relay Board. Commercial relay boards are discusssed for general home control use (e.g. solar heating, tropical fish tanks, etc), and specifically for controlling a media server's external disk drives.


3. Make a Case for a Relay Board. As no suitable cases for home usage of relay boards seem to exist, there is an extensive section on how to make a good-looking,  plug and socket based case for your relay board.

 

4. Make a Silent, Low-Cost Bit-Torrent Downloader. A Windows compatible, simple bit-torrent download device based on a Linksys NSLU2 device and a pen drive. No electronic skills required.