Articles

eWeLink RGBCW LED bulbs series is often using BW2L WiFi module based on BL602 chip. Those bulbs are easy to disassemble, although flash pins are only accessible on the back side of the module, it has to be desoldered before flashing. Here I will show you how you can do it step by... [Read more]

Good morning. As I've been using a dozen or so smart sockets of one type for over two years, I've finally matured into trying to make them cloud free. I use them for Home Assistant with LocalTuya integration (which in itself no longer requires the cloud), but I wanted to change the... [Read more]

. The Tuya Bluetooth device cannot be connected via WiFi to a router, it is usually controlled directly from the phone. This is quite inconvenient, because then we cannot create scenarios and we cannot control the equipment remotely. Fortunately, there is one way around this problem,... [Read more]

. In 2021, I featured two switches in the QTouch series on the forum, both of which were based on the ESP8285. Today I'm going back and checking out the latest copies in the same series, has anything inside changed in four years? And if so, how can they now be freed from the cloud... [Read more]

OpenBeken features an automatic self-testing system that checks the firmware for potential bugs and errors with each new commit. Each test simulates a practical use-case scenario, simulates certain inputs and verifies if the outputs are within the expected range. Thanks to this, we... [Read more]

Edit: 03-10-2025: I have corrected the circuit diagram for normalising the output signals, and refined the buffer (emitter secondary) which was causing some problems. Just for fun, I committed a function generator, sine, triangle and rectangle based on the AD9833 programmable generator... [Read more]

. Wireless solutions are often considered more convenient and handy than wired ones. Installation is easier, there is no need to pull cables, drill, hide them under angles and combine how to do it aesthetically. There is, however, an inconvenience - the need to regularly replace the... [Read more]

As in the title - today, when integrated circuits have made themselves at home in all sorts of amateur electronic constructions - there is a problem with this. However, is it really? Of course, I'm not talking about programmable circuits or specialised ICs designed for a specific... [Read more]

Goodram Industrial at Embedded World 2025 - cutting-edge solutions for industry, AI and defence The Polish industrial memory manufacturer will once again be showcasing its product range at Embedded World, which takes place in Nuremberg, Germany, from 11 to 13 March. The company will... [Read more]

This is an interesting device that has two separate power measurement circuits . It can be now run without cloud, in OpenBeken . I added support (version 1.18.17) for measuring devices with two BL0942 connected to UART1 and UART2 (Beken). Currently, energy is always counted only from... [Read more]

BL602 is a WiFi+Bluetooth 32-bit SoC found in some Sonoff and eWeLink devices. It comes in 2MB and 1MB flash versions, but here I will focus on 2MB one. BL702, on the other hand, is a Zigbee chip. They both can be read and flashed with BLDevCube, here are the connection details and... [Read more]

. Here I will show the inner workings of MQTT-based HASS Discovery, a way for Home Assistant to automatically detect and configure devices. HASS Discovery only requires our device to be connected to the MQTT broker in HA. After that, our device can already be detected. In order for... [Read more]

PCBWay Presents Glow-in-the-Dark PCBs at Embedded World 2025 . Major Information . - PCBWay is introducing a glow-in-the-dark PCB with a special solder mask that emits light in low-light conditions when charged with light. - The product will be exhibited at Embedded World 2025 in... [Read more]

. Welcome. Some time ago I started my adventure with PLC programming. To start with, I found that Siemens LOGO! was sufficient. Creating a program in FBD language is quite transparent but, as you know, the created program must somehow affect reality. It is a good idea to test the... [Read more]

. 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]