If you want it done right...

I should have just ordered the charger for the drill myself. The guy I spoke to at the local Black and Decker supply store said they had chargers available but when I got there last Saturday, they didn't have any so they have it on order. So, hopefully, I'll have it for next weekend.

In the meantime, I've been moving the software development forward. I had previously developed the music playing system that allowed me to play any track out of my MP3 collection over my whole house audio. I have speakers in the living room, master bedroom and office. I'll be installing additional speakers in the kitchen, exercise room and eventually outdoor speakers for the deck when I build that. This week I'm upgrading the software to be able to support the new Pioneer receiver that I got for the home theatre. It will also support the house audio. Up till now, I've been using the PC's sound card as the amplifier. Now, I can use the receiver which will be much better. Plus, I'll have access to the radio. I don't really listen to the radio that much but since it's there, I might as well take advantage of it. I'll be writing a software module that will allow the music or home theatre software to control the receiver for volume control, audio characteric presets, and radio tuner.

The First Setback

I set out as usual to get some work done this weekend and discovered that the battery charger for my drill had died. So one battery was completely dead and I was able to get one use out the other battery. Fortunately, I was able to source a replacement charger but won't have time to pick it up until next weekend. In the meantime, I can switch gears and work on the other components.

I successfully got a TV tuner card to work in the HTPC. The only uncertainty there was that the HTPC is running XP Embedded and I wasn't sure if all the necessary software components were present to allow the card to work. Now with this working, I can watch TV on the big screen if I want. I may use this to send video to the living room TV and/or the exercise room TV. This will mean I would only have to get one HD terminal if I ever decide to upgrade my cable to HD.