Articles

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]

. I have been looking for something like this for a long time - here is a 'smart' light switch that is not touch-sensitive. Instead, it offers classic "clicking" buttons based on microswitches. In addition, the whole thing is based on a module from BK7231, which means you can change... [Read more]

Retro computers have become very popular in recent times. Prices for such devices range from not too old cars. Manufacturers have not missed the opportunity and offer various types of clones. They are much cheaper, but they do not give the same satisfaction and note of nostalgia as... [Read more]

. In the previous section I showed how a beginner can get transistors for free from old scrap PC motherboards. Here I will show how to use them in practice. We will drive the MOSFET transistors from 3.3V and, in the process, see the importance of the voltage at the gate of the transistor.... [Read more]

. Measuring 35x39x45 mm, this compact gadget is equipped with a 1.5-inch IPS TFT display with a resolution of 240x240 pixels. The device is able to download the current time and weather forecast for a selected city from the web. In addition, it offers a gallery of images and animations... [Read more]

How to recover lost/forgotten MQTT password without creating new MQTT user, without having to reinstall everything again? Why does my password field reads "__**password_not_changed**__" ? Home Assistant Mosquitto broker behaviour has been recently changed. In the past the password... [Read more]

Here's step by step flashing and HA Discovery guide for W701-VA2-CG (RTL8720CF)-based Tuya modules that can be programmed with AmebaZ2 PG Tool 1.2.47 (download included). This way you can run those devices cloud free, use it with Tasmota commands (Tasmota Remota app), and add new... [Read more]

Here's a step by step guide showing LN882HKI flashing process along with soldering. LN882HKI can be easily flashed with OpenBeken port and run cloudfree, it can be also paired with Home Assistant. Our LN882H firmware also supports new features and sensors, like DHT11 or SSDP discovery,... [Read more]

This is a teardown for an Aqia Model F3202-US Wifi smart outlet. This outlet is controlled via a WB2S module. Item description page from MicroCenter This was my first reformatting of any sort of smart appliance. I made this work with Home Assistant via the MQTT protocol. I got four... [Read more]

. In a previous topic I showed the inside of an Acer S236HL LCD monitor along with its LED backlight. Here I will convert the remnants of this monitor into a WiFi controlled LED strip. For this I will use a WiFi module with a chip similar to the ESP8266 (BK7231). My chip will allow... [Read more]

OpenBeken can be used to create simple automations involving multiple devices without Home Assistant. No central server is required, you only need to have flashed Tuya devices. Here I will show you one such automation, where two devices are used - first is a power meter, used to measure... [Read more]

Wanted to incorporate the following device into my MQTT Network: Actually I wanted to detach the device and use with a RCB. Detaching was simple as there were two retaining latches at the top and the bottom. It came with Tuya Firmware V1.0.5 I was able to use cloutclutter to flash... [Read more]

NiceMCU_WB3S_V1 is a very cheap (possible to buy for as low as 1-2$) Beken development board. It comes with BK7238 chip, but with some soldering it's also possible to very easily swap the BK7238 module with any classic Tuya WB2S or CB2S and still get correct GPIO markings. Here I... [Read more]

As sold in the Action stores (NL, Dec 2024). First some images: The device can be successfully used with OpenBeken, but requires some DIY skills to open the housing without damage. BIG FAT WARNING: the electronics inside the power strip are directly connected to the 230V mains lines,... [Read more]

. Here I'll cover running the ESP32-Cam in PlatformIO, analyse how streaming video (?) from this board works, and show how to access the pixels of the image taken from the camera (e.g. to draw rectangles). The ESP32-Cam is a small and handy board offering an ESP-32S module (4MB Flash,... [Read more]

. Here I will introduce the ADS1115, which is a 4-channel, 16-bit ADC. The ADS1115 is available to buy in our country for a dozen or so zlotys, and can be imported from abroad for up to half the price. The ADS1115 uses the I2C protocol, so it is possible to connect as many as four... [Read more]

For my own purposes, I made a wire cutting machine to complement the electronic boards I offer for model railways. The premise was to cut the wires to a set length and quantity. Electronics . To speed up the build, instead of making a PCB I used off-the-shelf solutions: a CNC shield... [Read more]