This is the November 27, 2020 update of an old, outstanding problem for Raspberry Pi owners who use and regularly upgrade Node-Red and who simultaneously use the Node-Red SQLITE node. The issue has also been known to affect the serial port and i2c on upgrading. I KNOW I’m not the…
Chuwi Larkbox – Windows + Celeron Mini PC
This is one of those devices you just have to SEE – I’ll do my best. Check out my hand which is not unusually large. The Chuwi Larkbox Mini PC comes with Windows or Linux and has an Intel Celeron J4115 running at 2.5Ghz (according to the box – read…
Elegoo Uno Super Starter Kit
Just a quicky: possibly you know Elegoo.com for their 3D printers? That’s how I know them – however, they just sent me their Uno R3 Super Starter Kit – which includes an Uno and a shedload of sensors, wires, buzzers, motors, a CD with sample code and libraries… and more…
PiVPN (OpenVPN + WireGuard) Pi-hole and ZeroTier
This blog entry started off back in 2019 as a simple comment on the amazingly useful PiVPN with OpenVPN and has branched out a lot since then – now covering the (now default) WireGuard option) and the completely unassociated ZeroTier VPN solution. Before we start, here is a link to…
MaticBox Raspberry Pi 4 Case and accessories
I’m including a quick writeup on the DIN-rail mounting MaticBox because Leapmatic just sent me a couple of samples in the post today. The company are a little unusual in the Raspberry Pi case arena because they claim that “LeapMatic LLC is a high-tech company founded in 2015 by a…
Raspberry Pi 4 Cloning Challenge
As regular readers may know, for backups I swear by rpi-clone for making backups which can instantly take over in the case of a failed SSD or SD main drive on the RPi4. But there is a little more to it. For unattended operation I’m not aware of any current…
Creative Outlier Air V2 Earbuds
My most enduring memory of Creative is the Soundblaster from last century. Since then I’ve not really thought of them very much even though they still do a range of soundcards, speakers, gaming headsets and more – but they just sent me their Outlier Air V2 Earbuds and I just…
Anycubic Photon Mono 3D Printer
The Anycubic® Photon Mono 2K High Speed Resin 3D Printer looks like it has possibilities – but unlike my Crealty LD-002R who’s operation was immediately obvious and which works very well, the starting point with the Anycubic suggests I have a faulty unit – as I develop this blog entry…
Solar Power – the Wemos D1 and Battery Charging
I have a solar power setup for my external lighting here in Spain and for some time I’ve been having some kind of issue with (what I’m now fairly sure is) deteriorating battery capacity. My twin 100AH deep-discharge camping batteries are powered by a 250W 30v (or thereabouts) solar panel…
Haylou GT1 Pro Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds vs my Xiaomi Mi Earbuds
I’ve been using my Xiaomi Mi buds for some months now – every night (I’m one of these sad types who sends themselves off to sleep with a late night “Daily Show” or similar on Youtube). As for the Mi buds themselves, not much to say, they work well, I’ve…
Node-Red Security – To Be or not To Be
You’ll find plenty of articles on adding or improving the security of Node-Red and countless other programs and utilities. What are not quite so prevalent are articles about removing security. I’ve been using Node-Red for my home automation for years now and frequently get annoyed, as the dashboard security, when…
Bakeey T90 Bluetooth Earbuds Smart Watch Update
This is new – a smartband with built-in Bluetooth earbuds – WELL, THAT’s handy for travelling. This entry is about the Bakeey T90 Wireless Earbuds Smart Watch. I went out on a limb with this one – never seen anything quite like it but as the T90 was “different” –…
My Home Automation Endeavours – Updated
Skip to “present day” if you don’t want any background:-) As a current Node-Red/MQTT fanatic with some leanings toward HASS, It’s no secret that I’ve been playing with home automation since the mid-80s when a company founded by Aidan Ruff and myself created something called APPCON (for Application Controller). I…
70mai Midrive TP03 12V Portable Car Tire Inflator
Ok, I’ll grant you, not very high-tech – but when I got the opportunity to get on of these to test, I happily jumped at the opportunity as I don’t trust the tire pressure inflators in the few garages out here in the wilds that actually have one (I think…
Crealty 3D LD-002R LCD Resin Printer and MORE
For those looking in for the first time, I’ll simply start at the end to show you my current 3D model collection (minus models I’ve given away) now that I’ve cracked the basics of using this excellent Crealty printer – and then we’ll head back to where it all started…
RunCam 5 Orange Ultra-light 4K HD FPV Camera
The full title of this tiny 4K camera is RunCam 5 Orange 12MP 4:3 145°FOV 56g Ultra-light 4K HD FPV Camera and despite having 4K capability on my mobile phone, decided I just had to take a look at this model. Of course the gold standard for these sports movie cameras…
Fun with the MUDI 4G LTE Private Router for Road Warriers
The Mudi Travel Router (GL-E750) is another product from my new favourite router company and is a neat, portable router for business travellers and others who want to secure their data on the go while sharing a mobile connection. First things first – the obligatory opening pics – here it…
Boxym Home Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor
The Boxym blood pressure monitor (model CK-W133) is simple enough and fits on the wrist – as against the more usual type that fit around the upper arm and that means rolling up or removing your shirt. As someone who checks their blood pressure regularly I’ve wanted one of these…
Sonoff DIY 4CHR3 and 4CH PROR3
This week I received a set of Sonoff units from Itead including the 4CHR3 and 4CHPROR3 (described as 4-gang Interlock/Self-locking/Inching WiFi DIY Light Switches) as well as a ZBMINI. I’ll cover that last item elsewhere as it is a small, Alexa/Google-compatible single-channel 10A power controller using Zigbee protocol. As for…
General Itead Sonoff ramblings – now with Zigbee
Sonoff Zigbee Bridge Early in June 2020 I received my long-awaited Sonoff Zigbee bridge along with Itead‘s pre-programmed Zigbee CC2531 USB dongle which means I have written about low-power-consumption Zigbee devices including Itead devices (also some from ZemiSmart). In this update I’m including the new Sonoff sensors, the ZBMINI which…