Regular readers will know that for years I was a great fan of using Ivona speech on my Raspberry Pi. In Node-Red I used the free Ivona service to provide high quality speech in Node-Red at the heart of my home control setup. Well, Ivona, good as it was, has…
Rpi5 and the Transition from The Script to Docker
After several years of compatibility concerns and linear, incremental development of my RPi-based node-red/mqtt/Zigbee2mqtt home control system which started with RPi2 and worked all the way through RPI4 while not EVER starting from scratch – and hence many articles in here, I’ve made a transition. Here is some detail: So…
Orange Pi Plus 16GB Version
When I say 16GB, I mean 16GB of RAM. In the world of single-board computers (SBCs), it isn’t unusual to focus on the Raspberry Pi as probably the most well known SBC but in some ways, the Orange Pi Plus stands out as a compelling choice for hobbyists and makers.…
256 Colour Editing in Linux
For many years I’ve been using SSH sessions on my PC to talk to headless SBCs such as Raspberry Pi. I HATE monochrome editing and almost as badly hate 16-colour editor. Be wary before going further that 256-colours is not for every situation. Disclaimer out of the way – with…
Tasmota Autonomous Auto-OFF, Solar Troubles and RPI5 WIN
Tasmota and Autonomous Turn-off Thoughts Right now I’m in the process of review writing some of which can’t be released until product launch dates – meantime – one of the main features of the free, open-source Tasmota device control firmware is it’s ability to control various devices and monitor various…
Reolink Argus Track – Twin-Lense 4K WiFi Security Camera
This new Reolink solar IP WiFi pan/tilt camera features 2 lenses. One normal, one 2 optical telephoto. The website claims “4K 8MPX, pan-tilt and 6* hybrid zoom”. I took the Argus Track out of the box, plugged in the supplied solar panel (in the house so no actual sun) waited…
A Tasmota/Zigbee2MQTT Learning Day
With help from the Tasmota forums and my Italian friend Antonio, I’ve learned some very useful stuff to share, in the last couple of days. Automatic router Re-Booter using Tasmota and Sonoff BASIC or Similar I have a 4G router which then feeds a normal router (we have no fibre…
More cheap AliExpress Zigbee Switches and Repeatability
Ok, so from time to time, AliExpress have cheap Zigbee and WiFi switches for sale – all seems good.. I purchased two Zigbee units along with an unrelated item, all of which arrived in one package, delivered this week (5 day delivery to Spain) and tested today. One is marked…
The New Aqara E1 Camera and H1EU No-Neutral Wall Switch
Firstly the Aqara E1 Camera Claimed features – Accurate person tracking, multi-platform access, secure audio and video streaming: Well it does track me and puts a red box aound me – so that works but right now (latest firmware update 4.0.3 as of 15/04/2024) the box still seems to fo…
BigTimer
Node–RED is a fantastic and powerful yet easy to use programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs and online services in new and interesting ways. For more information on Node-Red, go to the Node-Red site. After all, you probably don’t turn the outside lights ON at 6pm!! You most…
Extended Gripe and Info – USB Leads
Like many of you, I have countless USB leads of various types – and more and more USB-C leads (USB-A at one end, USB-C at the other – or USB-C at both ends). This is not new but I’ve been getting increasingly annoyed with two things: (a) discovering – despite…
Shelly H&T – a Year Later
Back in early March 2023 I wrote about the Shelly Door/Window sensor and remarked on it’s use of twin CR123A batteries – I remember commenting about the size of them. At the same time I BRIEFLY mentioned the Shelley H&T – a pretty-looking but otherwise non-descript temperature and humidity sensor.…
Sonoff Basic CHEAP – Rip-Offs and 12V Operation
Updated February 2024 This original article has been followed in here by many other articles on Sonoff devices and is preceeded by original Sonoff BASIC and other Sonoff articles again on this blog – but I’ve just learned something (new to me) so I’ll refer to it here – 12v…
TUYA and the iHORN T3 (Zigbee) Smart Home Kit
Quick update: This article was written in September 2022 and the iHorn LH-961ZB movement sensor has been sitting on a shelf under my desk since then, seeing quite a few movements per day. Regardless of my comments below, this sensor has been working all this time, 100% with Zigbee2MQTT, not…
SONOFF POW RING – What’s THAT?
Well, it’s new and it’s from Sonoff of the famous Sonoff BASIC IOT controller which I’ve written about many times. Many of you will know that Sonoff are known for far more than their original simple-but-effective-and-cheap mains power WiFi controller. SO, let’s take a look at this new device that…
Surface Pro 4 – Windows 11 or NOT?
Reddit and other locations are full of conflicting stories about the venerable Microsoft Surface 4 Pro concerning upgrading to Windows 11 – mostly from people who’ve not actually tried the conversion. I noted a number of writers saying they’d never trust Microsoft again and how betrayed they felt. Here is…
TOPGRO Mini Gaming PC i9-9880H NVIDIA GTX1650
I recently bought the above-named PC from Amazon.es (I see they are currently out of stock) to replace my Mini PC which has performed well but not a lot of use for games. The TOPGRO machine cost me €969 (no screen or keyboard, just the base unit) and came complete…
Cheap Sonoff-lookalike BASICs and Aubess Zigbee
No doubt I’m not the only one, despite being a long-term Sonoff BASIC user, who’s noticed that AliExpress and Temu have what look like cheap Sonoff knock-offs running as low on Temu as €2.00 on special offer and not much more on AlieExpress. Good deal? Well, for the sake of…
Aqara Smart G4 Video Doorbell and FP2 Presense Sensor
I just received my first packages of the new year, a duff screen protector from AliExpress, some USB shelf-lamps from the same (more on that later) meanwhile from Aqara, my eagerly-awaited Aqara G4 Smart video doorbell and their FP2 Presense sensor products. The G4 Video Doorbell After recovering from the…
Another Tasmota APP for Android
From time to time I get ESP8266/ESP32 control units for example Sonoff BASIC lookalikes – basic mains control boards – which I usually de-Smartlife and convert to Tasmota – also Tasmota-pre-fitted bulbs – and more often than not, I end up with more than I need. Sometimes, dirt-cheap Sonoff-BASIC look-alikes…