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Month: March 2023

Spring Is With Us and New Toys Are Here

March 28, 2023May 22, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneral4 Comments on Spring Is With Us and New Toys Are Here
Tester

I’ll soon have lots of new toys to play with but for today I’ll talk briefly about some new AliExpress purchases.. here at Bedrock I have typical Spanish rural electricity – there’s a wisdom that they don’t have live and neutral mains wiring here but thanks to some new toys…

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Holidays are Here Again

March 19, 2023May 22, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneral5 Comments on Holidays are Here Again

I’m about to head off for a few days holiday in Segovia in the north of Spain so I thought I’d leave you with some thoughts while I go off in search of culture… Do you get as sick as I do of YouTube headlines which contain “… will change…

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Fenvi AX1800 WiFi 6 Adaptor

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneral1 Comment on Fenvi AX1800 WiFi 6 Adaptor
Fenvi Dual Band USB 3.0 WiFi 6 Adaptor

Well, I was doing some 4G testing (covered elsewhere in the blog) and when I realised that my Windows 11 Beelink Mini-PC was not picking up a very fast signal from the 4G router, I took into account that my WiFi adaptor is an old 2.4Ghz-only USB 2.0 version (I…

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The Sonoff iHost Smart Home Hub – revisited

March 9, 2023October 1, 2024 Peter ScargillGeneral4 Comments on The Sonoff iHost Smart Home Hub – revisited
Sonoff iHome Smart Home Hub

Just another Zigbee Bridge? or Bluetooth bridge? No. The iHost originally ended up on my doorstep back in March 2023 and at the time I commented that this looked WAY more interesting. The iHost arrived with a 32GB Kingston “Select Plus” microSD. I also commented that the unit “does not…

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Zhiyun Smooth 5S Gimbal Combo

March 3, 2023April 8, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneralLeave a Comment on Zhiyun Smooth 5S Gimbal Combo
Zhiyun 5S Combo

I have in front of me the best looking smartphone gimbal I’ve come across to date. Also the most complex. If you just want to know about the gimbal without context, skip to “Enter the Zhiyun Smooth 5S”. Why a Smart Gimbal for a Smartphone? As you’ll soon gather, I’m…

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The Aqara Zigbee 3.0 Smart Pet Feeder and the TVOC Sensor

March 3, 2023March 13, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneralLeave a Comment on The Aqara Zigbee 3.0 Smart Pet Feeder and the TVOC Sensor

As you may know I’m increasingly becoming a fan of Zigbee where possible (as against WiFi) because with the latter, signal quality varies depending on availability of WiFi access points. I manage, but as I’ve fitted more and more Zigbee smart sockets and Zigbee lights around the house – by…

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More from AliExpress – Zigbee Electronic Hygrometer

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneralLeave a Comment on More from AliExpress – Zigbee Electronic Hygrometer
Tuya Hygrometer

Much as I hate to promote AliExpress, I took a chance and bought one of these devices and it was only €9.19 (Euros) delivered to me in Spain – ordered February 18, 2023, delivered March 2. The chance I took was that it might only work on the Smartlife APP…

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More Cheapies from AliExpress and a VALUABLE Experience

March 2, 2023March 4, 2023 Peter ScargillGeneral1 Comment on More Cheapies from AliExpress and a VALUABLE Experience
AliExpress solar grasshoppper

I couldn’t help myself – AliExpress had one of those “3 items for a fiver” sales and I simply couldn’t stop myself. The Not Worth-a-Light Solar Grasshopper First on the list – a solar grasshopper. Marvelous idea for a toy to annoy the cats… the grasshopper works (worked) in the…

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Recent Posts

  • Switchbot Outdoor Spotlight Cam and Solar Panel
  • Cheap AliExpress Zigbee SmartPlugs
  • And As Promised – the IoTorero Products
  • Iotorero/Athom AliExpress Smart plug
  • ESP8266, Tasmota and a Cautionary Tale about AI
  • Super Mini ESP32-S3, Broadband Testing and more
  • Tasmota Smartplugs
  • An Orange Pi Week
  • Meross Smart Switch, Presence Sensor and More
  • 3M VHB Tape – The name’s Bond – James Bond
  • Home Assistant at long last BUST?
  • Automatic DHCP and Home Automation
  • Aqara G4 Video Doorbell and FP2 Presense Sensor – Updated
  • Home Assistant Tuya Socket Woes
  • New Sonoff Goodies – Plug and Thermometers
  • M5Stack DIAL V1.1 in Brief
  • Zigbee2MQTT Lights – A Quick One
  • Seeed Studio 60Ghz mmWave Sensor
  • Whatever happened to everlasting solar garden lights?
  • Aqara FP1E Revisited Briefly
  • Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition vs Google
  • Home Assistant to NAS to Mini PC – The Sequel
  • M5Stack Goodness
  • Apollo Temp-1 Sensor Unit – Apollo Automation
  • Home Assistant – Synology DS720+ The Story So Far
  • The Ridiculous Windows 11 “Show More Options” and How To Bypass
  • Reolink RLC-823S2 IP Camera – it’s a MONSTER
  • The new Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro
  • Aqara P1 Motion Sensor – Something New?
  • Apollo Air-1 CO2 and other Sensors for Home Assistant
  • Argon40 Argon NEO5 + Poly+5 RPi5 Cases
  • The Reolink RLC 1224A UHD PoE Camera
  • The Sonoff Mini-D (MINI-Dry) WiFi Smart Switch
  • The New Wonder? DeepSeek AI
  • Tenda Model RX9 Pro AX3000 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router

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Disclaimer

As I have no idea of your level of technical skill or the requirements of your country laws in terms of electricity supply etc, I accept no responsibility for any damage attributed to following advice in these pages.

When dealing with wall outlet (high) voltages you should satisfy yourself that whatever you are doing is safe and if unsure, seek advice from someone who is sure.

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