Home Assistant – a Quick Thank-You by Walter Krämbring: I can agree that RPi’s are a bit limited, especially when coming to analytic stuff where you really will benefit from having GPU’s Myself, still having a small farm of distributed RPi’s for dedicated tasks, I am using a really nice little thing; the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer kit! Runs my home automation main system, still NR however. So powerful, so great also doing fast & accurate YOLO analyses of video from my cameras. Running really cool and can do a lot more without any notable effort. A real master piece! Best regards, Walter Apr 23, 17:51
LD2410C Presence Sensor – First Steps & Beyond by : Fantastic, well thought out post. Thank you! Apr 7, 01:57
Aqara FP300 Presence Multi-Sensor by : Yes but it’s not a presence sensor, it’s a HUMAN MOTION SENSOR. The Ali Ad claims HUMAN SENSOR and the entity in Q2M says PRESENCE but the actual box says correctly HUMAN MOTION detection. As (for example) the Shelly ad doing the rounds right now correctly says “Lights off while you’re still in the room? Not anymore. Shelly Presence Gen4 utilizes advanced technology to detect actual presence, not just motion. Waving at sensors and wasting energy are things of the past” I took one of these AliExpress ZG-204ZV sensors (I bought 2 and have just requested a refund) and it seemed to work with Z2M perfectly, no hassle – but then I looked at the box which in capital letters says “HUMAN MOTION SENSOR” – so the Ali ad is misleading as is the name of the sensor in Z2M which says “presence” – I’ll expand on this in the blog. Apr 2, 16:43Home Assistant Mutually Exclusive Buttons by : Hi Peter Have you tried the The Unofficial and Awesome Home Assistant MCP Server (https://github.com/homeassistant-ai/ha-mcp) yet? It has been an incredible transformation to my HA system. I have had it fix bugs in other peoples github repositories, build dashboards, work out some really complex automation logic. It has been the biggest quality of life improvement on HA. I use it with Claude.AI Mar 31, 12:00
- Generators and Lithium Power – A Cautionary Tale by : Some updates to the blog and we are on our way to the coast (Murcia) to buy the invertor-generator. Mar 20, 15:56
- Generators and Lithium Power – A Cautionary Tale by : You;re right about the fuel – right now in Spain it’s up maybe 25%. Before TRump started this war, I was paying As little as 1.29 euros/litre – now it is heading to 1.90 euros/litre. Meanwhile I found a company (BT-Ingenieros) selling an electric-start 5KW invertor/generator for 750 euros which I figured would be ideal – not cheap but ideal. I emailed them (translated to Spanish)- no reply…. so I rang them, no English – so I asked the assistant to confirm their email address -I was using the right one – but 4 more emails over 3 days – STILL no reply. At this point I was desperate but if they can’t answer a sales message, what hope for support… then I hit lucky yesterday – the big hardware store in Murcia (Spain) has what even amazon doesn’t – a 4.5KW electric start invertor-generator (again Genergy – like our big generator but not producing rough electricity for construction site- and with specific claims of producing clean sine wave output for sensitive electronic equipment – and an economy mode – I have high hopes – this afternoon we’re off to get it. Mar 20, 11:36
Generators and Lithium Power – A Cautionary Tale by : Oh dear! What a tale of woe! Thanks for being – well, the guinea pig, I guess, and making sure we do our research first. Of course, soon we wont even be able to get fuel to power a generator, let alone afford it…..but that’s another dis….erm story! Mar 20, 03:30
Switchbot 13.3 inch AI Art Frame – What Fun! by : That SwitchBot AI frame sounds like pure joy—zero-power static art that crushes sunlight readability? Game-changer for cavehome vibes. Love the unboxing thoughtfulness (spirit level FTW) and ChatGPT hack dodging subs. Wife-approved too—mount it and watch the BBQ area glow. What’s your first custom AI art prompt for it? Mar 19, 15:21
- Aqara FP300 Presence Multi-Sensor by : I’m going to try that AliExpress device for the sake of it. Did you test it on Zigbee2MQTT? I assume you did. AliExpress are always an unknown quantity – sometimes stuff is utter crap, other times you wonder how they do the price.. a bit like Temu really – I use both far too often. Mar 16, 17:12
Aqara FP300 Presence Multi-Sensor by : Hi Pete, Try https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010114187645.html – Type 3 for Z2M – I tested it and works like a charm. Ion Mar 12, 08:26
(Almost) Random January Thoughts by : Just a quick heads up, but I’m in the US and just checked AliExpress. I found several listings like this “ESP8266 D1 Mini WIFI Development Board ESP-12F CH340G CH340 V2 Usb Wemos D1 Mini Nodemcu Lua Iot Board 3.3V Met Pins” This listing is $15.81 for 10 pieces with free shipping. The listing says that price includes import charges. Only other charge is $1.78 for local NJ state tax. Many of them have US warehouses and shipping is less than 1 week. Are they really cheaper where you are? Mar 2, 14:50
Even More 4G Modems – The ZTE MF286D by : Thanks! I might take a punt with the ZTE, if only to try it out and see what performance it delivers for my location (and I think performance will be very sensitive to location, not just geographic but location in the house, digital feng shui if you like!) Appreciate your double router setup, but that will be beyond my simple means and needs – I’ll be happy if the router + ethernet to iMac gives me more than the 6.5mbs I’m currently getting through old landline b’band! I’ll let you know how it goes. Feb 26, 20:18
- Even More 4G Modems – The ZTE MF286D by : Quick comments (I’m still in the process of moving home).. ZTE I still like – now use ZTE MC801A for 5G (bought on the off-chance our Spanish village might get 5G one day and guess what – we have it) – can’t comment on others but on a good day I can get over 800Mbps download. The original ZTE 4G+ router I sold to a pal and he’s happy. I don’t use the WiFi on my 4G/5G routers – I just use them as modems to pass on Ethernet to my main routers – right now both in the UK and Spain i use WiFi 6 GL-iNet routers (original Flint – I should have Flint 3 soon). Feb 26, 18:44
BigTimer by : So, I would have simply used two timers: one that switches on at, say, 3:00 and off at sunrise, the other that switches on at 6:00 and off sometime around noon. I would add these two values together, and only switch it on if the result is 2. It always switches off at sunrise. Feb 25, 18:32
- A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : WELL. that’s made my day to know someone is still using my ESP-GO. “Hackitt and Bodgitt” refers to myself and Aidan ruff, long time friend and business partner, who died last year completely unexpectedly (not old, just a missed heart condition despite him being very health-aware).. Thanks for that – and another one successfully using ESP8266 despite claims that it’s dead. I have a mix of ESP8266 and ESP32 these days, running ESP-HOME and Tasmota.. wonderful stuff. Incidentally in case you’re wondering why I’ve gone quiet – lots of stuff to write about but a badly timed visit to the UK followed by a much more complex than expected house move, still in progress. I should be back up to speed in the coming weeks. TTFN Feb 16, 19:38
A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : Funny seeing you reminisce about Tasmota reminds me that I am still using the ESP Go software you wrote way back (2018 I think). I even still have a Hackitt and Bodgitt printed handbook somewhere. It works so reliably that I had completely forgotten it. I developed a Node-Red automation to run my ASHP, which developed arms and legs and ultimately controlled the heating throughout the house. Your software runs all of my hand-built room thermostats. Over the years I have tried to update my Node-Red automation with a newer version that runs with zigbee but nothing is as reliable. Cudos to you. Feb 16, 18:37
- Reolink RLC-823S2 IP Camera – it’s a MONSTER by : Thanks for the feedback. I’m sure that will be useful to others as well as Raoul. Feb 13, 10:28
Reolink RLC-823S2 IP Camera – it’s a MONSTER by : I have two of these S2’s and they’re fabulous. Mounting the camera upside down is a huge no-no, as least-of-all the top dome protects the horizontal motor and water will pool and leach. Feb 13, 10:19
- Switchbot Smart Video Doorbell by : I should say that Switchbot generally have been very good for years… Feb 6, 00:12
- Switchbot Smart Video Doorbell by : In time I’ll clarify that. For now, moving home, so stable electricity is the priority of the moment. Soon. Feb 6, 00:11
Switchbot Smart Video Doorbell by : This is more informative than anything else I’ve seen & that includes the maker’s manual. One thing I’m not clear about is: will it actually work as a doorbell using just the doorbell itself & the monitor? Or is it essential to also use their app on some 3rd device & go through that rigmarole? Feb 5, 22:16
- NEW – Sonoff Airguard PM3.5 and Airguard CO2 by : That’s helpful advice.. I’ll follow that up in the blog once Im finished moving home. Right now all my sensors are still in moving boxes somewhere. We’re in our new home but operating on limited emergency power while waiting for the electricity company to get a move on. Within a week Ive learned more about what backup systems not to buy than I ever dreamed of 😊 Jan 31, 08:16
NEW – Sonoff Airguard PM3.5 and Airguard CO2 by : Since Sonoff states that AirGuard C02 utilizes a Swiss made sensor, we know it is Sinsirion. Why not ping Sonoff and ask which sensor they are using? I have used various SCD4x sensors and yes they vary, but within spec. I have evaluated Sinsirion vs Infineon C02 sensors and each technology has its pros/cons. Bascially it comes down to cost and availability. Appears that, according to the FAQs, the AirGuard supports calibration and that may help. Jan 24, 22:51- A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : Indeed – take a look at the new ESPHome Release notes – they specifically mention automatically picking up the best of multiple access points… the 2026 release notes make for very interesting reading – for that reason and for their decision to stop minimising the usefulness of the ESP8266, rather, to embrace the fact that millions of ESP8266’s are and will remain in use for years to come. https://esphome.io/changelog/2026.1.0/ I have a LOT of ESP8266 devices running Tasmota as in the past, ESPHome use on these DIRT CHEAP devices seemed to be discouraged – not any more. Jan 21, 09:47
A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : as specified in that page, better using secrets than explicit info in yaml… this way, if you change them, you need to just recompile without touching each yaml again… Jan 20, 10:43- A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : That’s handy. I didn’t know that. Good – now I do.. wifi: networks: – ssid: FirstNetworkToConnectTo password: VerySafePassword – ssid: SecondNetworkToConnectTo password: VerySafePassword # Other options # … Jan 20, 10:40
- A sometimes-forgotten reason to use Tasmota by : esphome supports that, too: https://esphome.io/components/wifi/#connecting-to-multiple-networks Jan 20, 10:25
- Apollo R Pro-1 mmWave Multisensor by : Agreed. Personal contact gives them many plus points. Jan 11, 21:45
Apollo R Pro-1 mmWave Multisensor by : Update on the above. The problems with the LD2412 were because it was bad device. I put in a ticket with Apollo because of the issues. They were very good. (Much better than most support teams). All via e-mail, efficient and reasonable. Suggested replacing the component and they were right. Had the replacement installed and tuned for my environment in about 90 minutes. (After days of screaming and cursing this was a relief). Apollo support gets a big A+, Bad chips happen, but quick replacement makes it all better. Jan 11, 20:34
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : if you talk with them with any protocol, HA supports them… mqtt is the passpartout… Jan 7, 15:56
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : Pete started migrating to docker from the script, here (my project is now archived): https://tech.scargill.net/the-transition-to-docker/ then i succeeded to convince him to try HA and he fell in love 🙂 https://tech.scargill.net/espresense-and-home-assistant-the-saga-continues/ Jan 7, 15:53
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : Yes, of course. I’m using a large number of ESP32 and ESP8266 devices with home assistant. I’m also using Node Red within the HAOS environment to allow use of Google voice comands. Timing in Home Assistant is more powerful than I achieved in Node Red. No brainer really but certainly a large learning curve initially. Jan 6, 11:11
Another Year, Another Thermostat by : I have been using your SCRIPT for many years with node red which no w sadly doesnt work. My question is does HA work with esp8266 devices. Thanks Cliff Jan 6, 02:12
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : Thats a difficult one – you’ll see reference to Home Assistant around 2020 in the blog… but I fought it to the bitter end, along the way getting sidetracked into using ever more powerful SBCs then virtual environments – I’d say I didn’t FULLY embrace HA until I moved to HAOS – firstly on an SBC, and then eventually on a mini PC. At about the time I took an interest in Home Assistant, I was also starting to want to do more with cameras and other powerful things that were starting to make the Raspberry Pi look a little bit on the weak side. Eventually it all came together as I realised that the cost of a mini PC, which I think I spent all in about £150 on a 256GB cheap mini-PC, was not in fact any more expensive than a fully kitted out Raspberry Pi with solid state drive, and the case to go with that, and the bigger power supply, and all the rest of it. By the time I was finished, I was getting towards the £150 and at some point, I just said, “Right, that’s it. I’m going to try the mini PC. I know you can do so much more with a mini PC, but I’ve not. I’ve put here our side it does nothing more than Home Assistant, and if I want to do backups, I back up to the SPC and also to a NAS drive. So now I do backups every night and keep several nights worth, and I’ve not lost anything despite my fears that the only real way to do backups was with Raspberry Pi and RPI clone. It’s actually easier to do backups with Home Assistant, no effort at all or just automatic backups overnight. Anyway, it’s not clear cut exactly when I switched over, but if you just look up, do a search on my articles that have got Home Assistant or HA in the search, and you’ll see where I started. I haven’t entirely abandoned Node-Red of course because I want to use Google voice commands, and you have to if you want to do that with Home Assistant on its own, you’ve got to then sign up for the cloud service. I’m not doing any of that. I’ve got Node-Red running under Home Assistant as an add-on and I use the Google Home plugin for Node-Red, and I can control groups of devices via voice that way. In fact, it’s been so successful that I’m now ditching Amazon, and I’ve bought one of the Google hubs with the screen to compliment my Google Nest hub (2nd generation), they are now available dirt cheap. So I’m thinking of getting another one of those, but in the living room at the full screen and all that is done with no ongoing monthly costs. I bought them second-hand or wallop up here in Spain and of course eBay in the UK etc. Today I do things in Home Assistant with AI support that I couldn’t have dreamed of doing with Node-RED. Jan 1, 01:28
Another Year, Another Thermostat by : Slightly off topic but can you tell me when you moved from node red to HA, I would like to pick up the thread in your blog, As I need to do the same thing Jan 1, 01:12
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : Right – totally different requirements. I travel and could alight from a plane at 10pm or later to come home an hour later in winter – the last thing I need is to arrive home to a freezing cold house – Northeast of England OR inland Spain for that matter – previously we ran holiday rental – getting notice of arrival maybe half an hour before someone actually arrives after the place has been unused for days – need to turn the heat on remotely – even if we are travelling ourselves. Dec 24, 22:08
Another Year, Another Thermostat by : The one I have is quite old, it isn’t smart, it’s just a programmable thermostat, 2+5 days, 4 time zones, but it does the job. It does have a temperature lock, aka holiday mode. I think if they had normal monostable relays the batteries wouldn’t last log at all. Dec 24, 21:52
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : I have a better solution which sadly will have to wait a couple of weeks now because everything is closed for Christmas, even Amazon won’t deliver until the 27th by which time I’ll be gone. Anyway, I’ll place the order to arrive when I get back. You’ll have seen in the photograph at the top a switch to turn a light on which I’ve tapped off. Well, the light actually has its own switch, so that main switch is a bit redundant. What I’ll do is I’ll feed the light directly via choc-block inside the wall box and to the Sonoff via a replacement front end of that switch, which is a £4.00 plate from Amazon that includes a fuse and switch. It’s a 13A fuse, but I’ll take the 13A out and put a 3A fuse in. You have to wonder why the original owner put that switch in, being as his light already has a switch in it. That’s handy that the wall box is already in place so it should be a 5 minute upgrade. Dec 24, 19:33
- Another Year, Another Thermostat by : The whole lot is fused – and I’ve never had any issues with Sonoff mains powered devices since and including the early Sonoff devices… but a breaker is not a bad idea.. I’m most likely to rip the lot out as the original layout looks like amateur night out – when we come back in January and put in proper kit but I’m on the clock now… good tip. Cheapest possible breaker box with a bit of din rail would be good. Dec 24, 16:55
Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 by : Great hands on review with real world testing across different ecosystems. I appreciate the honest breakdown of the setup process especially the Matter Google Home and Home Assistant experience. The improved video quality and dual-band Wi-Fi support are definite upgrades even if integration still is not fully seamless. Your step by step observations make it much easier for readers to decide whether the G410 fits their smart home setup. Dec 19, 07:44
- Argon40 Argon NEO5 + Poly+5 RPi5 Cases by : I’m inclined to say yes but bad timing I’m afraid as some time ago I gave away my collection of cases and sold the last Raspberry Pi. As you’ll see elsewhere I’ve moved lock, stock and barrel to Mini PC because once I started adding cameras and other devices to my ever expanding home automation setup, I began to see it slow down. Indeed I also abandoned years of Node Red development in favour of Home Assistant (I still keep a bit of Node Red so I can have Google voice control without using the HA cloud service). So in short I’ve nothing to look at to check for you. Dec 19, 01:35
Argon40 Argon NEO5 + Poly+5 RPi5 Cases by : Hi, thanks for this post. I have ordered a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB of RAM, the official M.2 HAT, and the official SSD. I would like to know if this setup will fit in the POLY+5 with THRML. I asked the same question to Argon, but they were unable to provide an answer. Dec 18, 23:57
- Quick Thoughts on CO2 and Particle Monitoring by : Good point Krikk – if it ever stops raining I’ll do just that. Not had rain for the best part of a tear and we’re getting the lot in one go. Dec 16, 11:38
Quick Thoughts on CO2 and Particle Monitoring by : this datasheet seems to provide hints whats happenings, these co2 sensors all need to be calibrated regulary i suspect https://www.winsen-sensor.com/d/files/MH-Z19B.pdf (See Chapter Zero Point Calibration) …so put all your sensors outside for a few hours, loook what values you get there, afterwards again indoor and see if they match better… Dec 16, 09:17
- The LattePanda IOTA SBC by : Thanks Marco. HAH, thanks for that. I’m dreading packing up my office with my countless samples and half-finished projects for the move. Dec 12, 13:47
The LattePanda IOTA SBC by : Greetings! From your fourth photograph, the POE hat kit comes with eight standoffs, and as there are only four holes in the LattePanda, the four extra may be (diverted) for the UPS hat. I hope you complete a successful move. Dec 12, 13:42
Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 and Dongle Max by : Thanks. Some googling revealed that the Dongle Max only supports being a WireGuard client. So doesn’t exactly meet my needs. I’ve tried what seems to be every flavor of VPN *except* for Tailscale. Will have to check it out. Cheers! Dec 2, 23:21
- Sonoff Dongle Plus MG24 and Dongle Max by : I used Tailscale only on one machine in each of two properties – also on my phone – that gives me access to absolutely everything whether I’m in one of the properties or out on the road. Dec 2, 19:41
- Christmas Time Again – Which ESP? by : I’ve reserved the last half dozen or so lights for white glitter… Done. Last video.. Dec 1, 16:31
Christmas Time Again – Which ESP? by : Loved this! Amazing how the old ESP8266 still ends up saving Christmas every year 😂. WLED + WS2812 is hard to beat, and TwinkleFox is one of my favourite presets. Thanks for the tip on power draw — easy to forget how quickly LEDs add up. Dec 1, 14:23
- Nous AZ7 Smart Zigbee Socket by : the countdown is there in case you want to do “inching”, like turning something on and off rapidly, like a gate opener (not that i know any needing 16A…), and having it locally makes it work even if ha is unavailable, the same way as you do with tasmota rules Dec 1, 11:16
Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition vs Google by : The get out clause for selling what is subpar e-waste is that its a PE aka preview edition. Its not good and if you have followed opensource voice tech the same actors keep turning be it Mycroft, Rhasspy or HA and the same far below consumer levels of expectations are on show again. Much is that permissive opensource is just being refactored and rebranded as own into supposed systems and the packaging of python is good code but the ML and audio processing is poor as that wasn’t developed merely taken. Nov 24, 16:44
- Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : The more I look at that cat above, the more haunting it gets, Antonio. It absolutely looks straight out of an adventure game. Nov 5, 20:11
- Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : I have to tell you, Garry, I am having so much fun with this stuff it’s a good job I’m retired because I wouldn’t have the time to hold down a job and play with all this tech at the same time. I’m just about to put up a short blog entry on something new I’ve just discovered at random called Wispr Flow. Now I’d really love feedback. Does it look like rubbish? Does it look dangerous? Or is anybody actually going to try this on my recommendation? Which, incidentally, I must clarify I’m not taking responsibility for anyone clicking on a link. One thing’s for sure: if there is such a thing still as a typing pool, well, guys, your time’s up. When I’m writing these blog entries and replying to people, I make so many mistakes that I spend more time correcting the mistakes than actually writing. So, hopefully, for the first time ever, this response will not have involved any typing at all. Wish me luck. Peach – No, not perfect, my name is Pete, not Peach 🙂 Nov 5, 20:09
Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : That’s really interesting. I used to play text adventures too and even had a go at writing one using Excel and VBA. Gemini really nailed the style, particularly the description. Nov 1, 05:42
- For Drone Owners Only – Waypoints and Elevation by : I’m not an expert but as far as I’m aware, under 250gm you’re OK. Over 250gm you need a licence. Usual restrictions around airports and public parks… I tend to stay away from people with the drone – just to be safe. The description of crowded spaces is a bit vague. Oct 31, 14:46
- Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : Yup – good Antonio – but the face does not quite match that of a Bengal cat. Well lit however…. I love the wet floor tiling… all subtle and good… I also just completed giving Gemini my own description and having it create an image… quite pleased… here’s what I put in… “Create an image, using a night-time dark garden as a base – and show a Bengal cat staring at something it thinks is mysterious – the image should offer clues as to possible exits out of the garden without being too obvious – and should convey the excitement of a 1980s style adventure while remaining realistic in the image depiction.” and it’s image it created…. This is SO much fun – if only the world wasn’t full of asses who will abuse this tech. I think I’m going to deliberately start marking any images or text I find useful to make it blatantly clear it’s AI. Someone has to make a start. In the image above I left in the Gemini marker bottom left. Oct 31, 01:19
- Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : asked to make it photorealistic, and flipped vertically so cat looks the same way as your photo… Oct 31, 00:00
- Text Adventure – Only 40 Years Too Late by : took your description and pasted as is in chatgpt, asking to create an image… here it is… Oct 30, 23:57
For Drone Owners Only – Waypoints and Elevation by : Ah…I too am in Spain, a little south of you about 40Km from Almeria at the moment. I have my drone with me and wondered if you could offer any pointers on using drones in Spain? I’m all legal and registered in France but not looked at what I can and can’t do here yet. Oct 29, 13:39
- Home Assistant to NAS to Mini PC – The Sequel by : Thanks for that. As it is onky running HAOS and related, 256GB is more than enough. 100% up to now… best decision of the year. Oct 22, 05:53
Home Assistant to NAS to Mini PC – The Sequel by : Have the identical unit, purchased to use while my BOSGAME P3, Ryzen 9 is being restored by the insurance I bought with it. So far and 6 months later it is a real worker. Good Luck and if you figure out how to increase the 256GB SSD please post. Best Regards Richard Baker a liberal in the hell of Texas Oct 21, 22:54
- Just a Quick Reminder – Wemos D1 Mini and WLED by : Some of mine are many years old and running fine – the point is – the ESP8266 is readily available and even cheaper than the ESP32 – and you can do lots with it as long as you don’t need BT. In the majority of cases – for commercial products such as smart switches and smart bulbs etc, the BT is only used in initial setup anyway to make setup marginally easier. Oct 20, 17:48
Just a Quick Reminder – Wemos D1 Mini and WLED by : My suite of 8266s with SHT31s are still doing sterling service after 8?9?10? years. Oct 16, 20:06
ESP32-C3 and LD2450 – A Quick Look by : I recently watched a YouTube video that uses the Bluetooth version of this sensor to integrate into Home Assistant without the need for an ESP32 https://youtu.be/Rkb0EYSYpUg Oct 4, 14:17
- Rpi5 and the Transition from The Script to Docker by : I’ve changed that line slightly to make it clear that /usr/local/bin is a folder – and the last code block in the blog entry is my CLS command – probably not the best name for it – it clears the screen and shows a load of status into. It’s a python file. Sep 30, 18:58
Rpi5 and the Transition from The Script to Docker by : I got completely lost at this step “Finally, insert the code for my cls command at /usr/local/bin using mcedit… then give the everyone full access to the file including execute.” I am a strict windows user and have no idea what Im creating here. Am I creating a file? It says to insert the code as if a flie already exist but I can’t see any files in the bin folder. Sep 30, 18:32
Surface Pro 4 – Windows 11 or NOT? by : Have Win 11 (24H2) running fine on mine (i7, 500GB, 16Gb) – although installing the latest intel 540 graphics driver was a challenge! Mine suffers from the dreaded battery drain when powered off – which kind of ruins the experience. Has anyone found a ‘cure’ for this? Like you I purchased my SP4 used – so considering what I paid I’m still happy. Fixing the battery drain would be the icing on the cake. Sep 28, 18:42
- A New Year’s AI Treat + September Updates by : The people who understand that probably don’t need AI. The ones who haven’t a clue form the vast majority, sadly. And many of them will be told by bosses who don’t have a clue, to use the AI in their work. I wonder from where Trump got the idea that Paracetamol causes autism… Sep 27, 09:52
- Switchbot S20 Lidar + AI Vacuum and Wet Cleaner by : Wow. I just saw the sale, but then I am in Spain… sorry – it seems you are getting ripped.. 599 Euros with voucher on Amazon.es I’m in the UK tomorrow – I’ll check… Sep 21, 19:51
- Switchbot S20 Lidar + AI Vacuum and Wet Cleaner by : It’s currently £800 gbp (UK pounds sterling) on switchbot website. Sep 21, 15:50
- Switchbot S20 Lidar + AI Vacuum and Wet Cleaner by : First things first – 800 Euros not £800 and in reality with sales more like 600 and I think they’ll likely adjust prices in time – our original Xiaomi dropped a lot in 4 years. I’m retired so no… but when running businesses – sure. We got the Xiaomi in 2021 and it is as new even now.. apart from a few scuffs thanks to banging into walls and furniture. I look after the brushes etc and spares if needed (we didn’t thanks to regular maintenance). I’ve no reason to believe the Switchbot unit will be any different. I’ve lots of Switchbot stuff and what I have is high quality. Sep 21, 11:55
- Switchbot S20 Lidar + AI Vacuum and Wet Cleaner by : Question is, at £800, would you have paid your own money for it? Time will tell if it lasts longer than a couple years. Sep 21, 11:26
Switchbot S20 Lidar + AI Vacuum and Wet Cleaner by : Good review. Thank you. However, there are a couple spelling mistakes. “Car scratching post”? 🤣 Sep 19, 13:15
- Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display – Learn with Peter 🙂 by : Ok, more updates – that last writing when I had to charge the battery was September 9 – I left the battery on charge ALL DAY… just looked now, the display stopped on September 11. I’ve just checked now… Obviously the display is still on – but reset and boot separately failed to provoke an update so I guess the battery is flat again. Plug into power – the display refreshed at January 1 – just under a minute later updated correctly to September 14 – i.e. today – SO – all works well but forget about long battery charge life with refreshes every minute. That’s a shame. Sep 14, 15:33
- New Sonoff Goodies – Plug and Thermometers by : There are not many Zigbee temperature sensors with a cable probe, so this is quite useful. However I cannot access my Home Assistant system via WireGuard from my employer’s network for security reasons. So I went for Shellys for switching the heating and pump on. Shellys just tunnel through most firewalls I know, so I could access the my office desk lamp from everywhere. Or any device connected to my Shelly plug. I wish Shelly would make a temperature sensor like the SNZB-02LD. Sep 12, 20:02
- New Sonoff Goodies – Plug and Thermometers by : Oh, see that nice right justified text in the orange display – well that’s Home Assistant Mushroom template card – guess what – as of the latest update they had the bright idea of no longer supporting that part of card-mod – am I the only person in the world that wants their text right-justified? Thankfully for now the mushroom-card author(s) are supporting a legacy version… claiming that standard Home Assistant card features are all you need – sorry guy(s) – standard HA tiles don’t do right-justified text properly either. Sep 11, 23:58
- New Sonoff Goodies – Plug and Thermometers by : My sensor on the side of the water tank here in Spain has proven very useful – and no matter where we are I can quickly check if the hot water is working – no problem. I need one of those on the tank back in the UK as I can currently turn on the power to the HW tank via a Sonoff phone-home eWeLink smartplugs when we go back in winter – great but can’t actually tell if the oil water heater is on for sure… makes the difference between getting there after a long flight to a nice hot bath – or freezing to death with a cold water wash…:-) Sep 11, 23:54
- New Sonoff Goodies – Plug and Thermometers by : I have an SNZB-02LD sitting on the edge of my swimming pool. After a few rainfalls it showed water drops on the inside of the display glass. I took it apart, dried it and reassembled it with a layer of (poorly attached) clear tape around the edge. This helped for some longer time, but now water is back inside. Maybe this is caused by the “breathing” from the temperature difference when it rains. I will build a proper vertical mount for it, because I like this display. Sep 11, 20:30
- Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display – Learn with Peter 🙂 by : Update guys – battery voltage not included as standard. Adding a little YAML to the file puts it that facility in but you also have to add a pair of resistors…(bit messy unless you’re good with a soldering iron) See here.. https://forum.seeedstudio.com/t/seeed-studio-xiao-7-5-epaper-panel-battery-status/292932/2 Sep 9, 10:59
- Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display – Learn with Peter 🙂 by : See above – the answer is going to take some time – I’ve just put the unit on USB charge right now after realising it stopped updating on September 5 and a reset made no difference – I’ll leave it on charge for the rest of the morning/afternoon then put it back on the wall. Hmm, I wonder if there is a way to see battery charge state – I’ll go look. Sep 9, 10:56
- Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display – Learn with Peter 🙂 by : Ok, some initial answers for you perhaps. I last updated this display on September 4 and left it on the wall in our hallway displaying various data. I’ve been busy and not noticed that although the display is still white and looks good – it’s not actuallyt doing anything. Whether this is down to a Home Assistant update or flat battery… anyway the date is stuck on September 5. I hot reset and nothing happened.. So now for USB. Ok, 01:00 Jan 01… OH… it is now up to date. I guess I’ll leave it on USB charge for several hours – I never did give it a full charge so the definitive answer will have to wait I’m afraid. Sep 9, 10:54
Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display – Learn with Peter 🙂 by : Really interesting to see how the Seeed 7.5″ ePaper Display combines clarity with low power consumption, making it ideal for modern IoT projects. Displays like these show how hardware is getting smarter and more efficient. On the software side, the gcmob apk 2025 update continues the trend by offering smoother performance and new features for Android users. Together, they represent the balance between efficient hardware and powerful apps. Sep 9, 06:10
