1202 ALARM

I was given this older Apple iPad a while back and was looking into installing Linux on it. Options are limited, but it is possible to install a shell to the iPad and run command line stuff.  SSH is always a bit of fun so I logged into my Linux Mint laptop remotely for a giggle. It was interesting running a few simple commands from the iPad. My cheapo Bluetooth keyboard came in very useful although I discovered that the iPad's OS version predated mouse support so the trackpad didn't work. Going a step further, I got my Raspberry Pi going again and was able to install VNC on the iPad and remotely control the Raspberry Pi's desktop. Could be useful! I'm also looking at fitting a small heatsink and 5-volt fan (recovered from a broken laptop) to the Raspberry Pi and over clocking it to 1GHz.

This is the biggest power bank I've made yet using 16 recycled 18650 cells from defunct laptop batteries. I now have a decent system for identifying the useable cells and preparing them for use in a power bank. The first think to be clear about is that after messing about with soldering recovered cells together I've given up on that as unneccessary when you can buy power banks with spring connections ready for the cells to be slotted in, just like any battery-operated device. The trick is to use a Dremel or Minicraft drill fitted with a cone grinder to clean both the positive and negative connections on the cells. A squirt of contact cleaner helps as well. Fit all the cells and charge to 100%, which with a 16 cell unit can take a while, but the USB-C 3 amp charging speeds things up. The next bit takes patience because you need to leave the thing for at least 2 weeks to see if any cells are dud and not holding a charge. As I've said before, most cells will be serviceable, us...