Articles

. How to build a robot on a NodeMCU, L298 and two motors? Here is a short mini-project - part one. We are running a remote controlled "tank" with two tracks. By the way, we will see how to connect the L298 to the motors, how to operate it with PlatformIO/Arduino and how it can be... [Read more]

How to flash LSC Smart Ceiling Lamp model 3206306 featuring WS2812 RGB LED ring? How to configure WS2812/SM16703 LEDs to work along with PWM CW LED strip? How to run it cloudfree and pair with Home Assistant? Here's a short firmware change guide for one such product. We'll use a simple... [Read more]

Here's step by step guide for the LN882 (LN882HKI by Lightning Semi) TY-BK-A60 LED bulb firmware change. This will let you to run the device cloud free and pair with Home Assistant. Device will be flashed with our Tasmota/Esphome inspired firmare, OpenLN882H. A simple USB to UART... [Read more]

The struggle to keep product prices low forces compromises that may reduce uptime. Do you use solutions to extend the trouble-free operation of electronic devices? Equipment running on stand-by . For appliances without a mechanical power switch that completely cuts off the power supply... [Read more]

. Today, a 40-inch TV from my extended family comes to the table. The family first tried to have the TV serviced, but the service said it was uneconomical to repair and would cost a few hundred zloty, so we have the opportunity to experiment. The symptom of the fault is simple - the... [Read more]

. Ot, Atari never made a 3.5" station for the 8-bit series. The XF 351 never got beyond the prototype stage. I thought I would change that ;) The choice fell on the XF551. I built the electronics based on a schematic from the net. New board in SMD drawn in DipTrace, ordered from JLCPCB.... [Read more]

NiceMCU WB3S is a cheap WiFi+Bluetooth development board featuring 120MHz 32-bit CPU and 2MB of Flash. It can be easily flashed with open source firmware and paired with Home Assistant. Futhermore, you can script it to suit your needs and compile custom firmware versions/drivers online,... [Read more]

Have you forgotten your Home Assistant instance password? Don't panic! It's very easy to recover it, at least as long as you have direct access to your HA command line. In case of virtualized HA machine, it can be done directly in VMware. If you have a physical machine, better prepare... [Read more]

Here I'll take a look inside a generic Tuya-based UK smart plug with energy metering. The Tuya firmware on the main chip will be replaced with OpenBeken. This plug can be bought from Ali Express Packaging and product externals: To open, I trapped the plug in a vice below the joining... [Read more]

. How do you pair a Bluetooth RGB/CCT colour 'bulb' with the Tuya app? How is its interior built? Is there an inverter inside, how is the LED brightness control implemented and what is responsible for communication? This is what I will try to check here. I guess I have to start by... [Read more]

A simple PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) generator built on an ATtiny24/44/84 microcontroller, supplied with stabilised voltage Vcc=2.7-5.5V (2.4-5.5V if using the "A"/"V" version of the microcontroller). Its output produces a rectangular signal with a selected fixed frequency of 1.25/10/80... [Read more]

On my estate, the biggest problem is the frequent lack of electricity. The situation repeats itself almost every week and this occurs for several hours. I don't know the reasons - there is construction going on around here and maybe there is an interruption when connecting new buildings.... [Read more]

Good morning! With this year's lovely winter underway, I decided to create a Bartop slot machine. My main goal was the enclosure itself. It was intended to be as aesthetically pleasing on the inside as it was on the outside. Ultimately, the whole thing is supposed to be fun and evoke... [Read more]

. How to make a project based on the latest language models available locally, such as deepseek-r1, llama, qwen, gemma and mistral? How does Ollama's uniform interface based on HTTP requests work? Here I will try to demonstrate this. We will learn how to send chat requests containing... [Read more]

RTL8720CF/W701-VA2-CG can be easily flashed just like ESP modules - you just need to connect few more wires. Here's a step by step video showing firmware change process for WBR3 and WBR2 modules, which are using mentioned Realtek chip. This way you can free your devices from the cloud... [Read more]

. Here is another product that, after a firmware change, can be run 100% locally and linked to Home Assistant. This time it's a single light switch, appearing under vendor code 72-087#, but related models may also have designations: DS-101, DS-111, DS-151, DS-161, DS-1011ZC. Firmware... [Read more]

Hi, I've been writing a framework for internet of things devices for a few years now, which drives entire smart-home solutions for me at home. Recently I built a gateway to Zigbee, which is also driven by this framework. You can find a description of it here: . At first I supported... [Read more]

. WiFiManager is a library that offers a ready-made system for pairing with our WiFi and its configuration is just a few lines of code. Pairing is done in AP mode (WiFi network emitted by the ESP) and then, after providing the pointers to our network, the system itself remembers them... [Read more]

I bought a barometer. The seller said there was a mistake, not 50pln but 500pln it was supposed to be. He refunded the money. I bought another one - broken, it's sitting under the kitchen table waiting for a return label. I bought a third one - a new USSR, but it didn't survive transport....... [Read more]

Teardown of this energy meter from AliExpress The overall build quality is excellent. The screen is bright and clear, and the device offers a full set of features. However, there are a couple of drawbacks: •The RS485 interface does not use Modbus; instead, it relies on a proprietary... [Read more]

Welcome, I've been building projects based on ESP32/8266 microcontrollers for a couple of years now. I played around with atmegas / Arduino at first, but once the aforementioned modules fell into my hands, I stayed with them. I base my projects on xIotFramework - my own IoT framework,... [Read more]

. The original DeepSeek is rather too large to run on home hardware, but the Ollama repository offers an interesting alternative based on tuned (i.e. trained on the results of the larger model) LLama and Qwen models. These appear under the names deepseek-r1:1.5b/7b/14b/32b depending... [Read more]

Hello A short report on the disassembly of the EARU EAEMP3C-100-TY-W. . Fig. 1. Device without front casing commissioned without CB3S module The individual modules of the device can be separated without the use of a soldering iron, they are seated on golpins. The measuring system... [Read more]

Hi. This is a look at a LoraTap branded Tuya-based EU WiFi smart plug/socket with power/energy metering. The model number is SP800WJ-EU. The official product page is here where it can also be purchased, but mine came from Ali Express at a lower price. Much cheaper if you're eligible... [Read more]

. Here's a short presentation of Tuya's 3-phase energy meter offering web access to measurements. I will test its application here, and then change its firmware to run it without the cloud and connect it to Home Assistant. This will require an analysis of its TuyaMCU communication... [Read more]

Hello to all enthusiasts of home tube designs! I come today with a headphone amplifier project using ECC88 and 6N6P tubes. This amplifier was created to drive the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro headphones, which, as befits studio headphones, have a sizable impedance (250 Ω). It was one of... [Read more]

. The Sonoff SNZB-03 is a tiny (only 40x35x28mm) PIR sensor that is compatible with Home Assistant via, among other things, Zigbee2MQTT. It is available to buy for around PLN40-50, depending on whether you order from China or our country. It is powered by a tiny CR2450 (3V) battery.... [Read more]

. Here I will present a simple to use module to get additional I/O ports. One PCF8574 is controlled by only two signals, and gives us as many as 8 configurable I/Os together with an additional optional interrupt signal. What's more, two pins can drive as many as eight PCF8574s simultaneously,... [Read more]

. Today I am going to present a useful gadget for every desk - the Sonoff SNZB-02D, which is a tiny temperature and humidity meter with a 2.5" display. Dimensions: 62.5x59.5mm. All battery-powered (CR2450 3V) and additionally connectable to Home Assistant via Zigbee2MQTT. In our country,... [Read more]

The HLK-W801-KIT-V1.1 is a development board powered by the 32-bit, 240MHz WinnerMicro W801-C400 SoC. It includes 2MB of on-board Flash and 288KB of RAM, making it ideal for various IoT applications. The board can easily integrate with Home Assistant using the provided firmware. In... [Read more]