Articles

. How does the shift register work? How can shift registers be cascaded so that you can run 48 LEDs using just two lines - clock and data? Here I will try to demonstrate this using an example of a junk board, which I will also analyse first. The scouting begins. There are six HC164A... [Read more]

In previous articles I have already mentioned the possibility of receiving interesting parametric information from aircraft, an air-band receiver for listening to conversations between pilots and traffic controllers. No less interesting may be the data on marine vessels, transmitted... [Read more]

. How do I replace the battery on my iPhone? How do I remove the screen? How much does such a replacement cost if we do it ourselves? Can a complete layman (me) handle it? Here I will try to answer these questions, as circumstances forced me to perform this replacement. After many... [Read more]

For some time now I have been developing a certain system, which I have tentatively named Virtual Machine for 8-bit systems. The name seems to me, at least for now, to reflect well what it is intended to be used for. ;) . . The project is based on the STM32H750, although in principle... [Read more]

Welcome, I wanted to show you my irrigation controller that I built based on ESP8266 has a clone of the WemosD1 board. It is interfaced with the home automation using the MySensors library [ref 3]. In a nutshell, the idea is to have all devices managed from one application (doesn't... [Read more]

Home on laptop batteries 🙂 . Usability testing of the eperimental-experimental 48V energy storage on 18650 cells completed. As an answer to the eternal question "what else would you build ?", I built a "Paragon" class energy storage inspired by Leszek Kwitek After 3 months of testing... [Read more]

. Here is another product which turned out to be a repainted relay from Sonoff - the WS-04H1 from elHome. Here I show its interior and the procedure for changing the ESP8266 firmware to Tasmota, for example. I bought the WS-04H1 for 12$ along with similar products in the series when... [Read more]

For the most common devices based on platforms supported by OpenBeken, the general firmware releases cater to most users' needs. Occasionally a device comes up that can only be partially made working with the standard firmware. Devices like the TH03 temperature and humidity sensor... [Read more]

. I've already shown some older radio receivers, so this time it's time for something more contemporary. Here's a simple budget allotment from Eltra, a portable radio receiver with a long wave and UKF range. Powered by 230V or three LR14 batteries, plus offering a 3.5mm jack headphone... [Read more]

. RF controllers for RGB LED strips can be an interesting alternative to WiFi and Zigbee-based solutions. Unlike more 'advanced' technologies, they don't often require pairing (i.e. the remote control is already paired when you buy it), don't require an app or even require a router.... [Read more]

. How do I upgrade to the latest version of macOS? What if an upgrade to Ventura, Sonoma or Sequoia is not available? Does an old Mac have to have an old operating system? Well, no - the OpenCore Legacy Patcher will allow you to upload the latest system even to a ten-year-old Apple... [Read more]

. It took me a long time to decide whether to publish this post, it also took me a little while to prepare it, so I don't know if I've drawn up everything exactly according to the "what you need" recipe. However, I decided to post it, maybe it will inspire someone or I will learn... [Read more]

. The Sonoff ZBMini is a tiny, in-box relay controlled via the Zigbee protocol. These models are characterised by their small dimensions of 42.6*42.6*20 mm and their ability to work with a light switch from an existing installation (bistable). As usually, I will present here connecting... [Read more]

Hello. A few days ago a colleague sent me a link to a well-known auction site leading to a welding machine for less than PLN90. I don't think anyone with a bit of technical imagination could be so naive as to believe in the miraculous performance of the device. However, I decided... [Read more]

. The BME280 is an enhanced version of the BMP280, which is capable of measuring humidity in addition to pressure and temperature. OBK allows you to easily add BME/BMP sensors to any smart device, the measurements from which can then be sent to Home Assistant or to our HTTP server... [Read more]

. Here I will test a 'smart' light switch based on the Zigbee wireless protocol. After pairing it with Home Assistant, it will show how to configure it, turn off its backlight, set the initial state of the relays, etc. But first - the purchase and the price. We paid PLN80 per unit.... [Read more]

. What does the inside of a TV set flooded look like? Is it still possible to get such a television working? How much work does it take to clean it, how deep is the water able to reach inside? Will a flooded Samsung still work? Let's find out! In this topic, I will just deal with... [Read more]

. My father has recently started using a Libre 2 sensor to continuously monitor his blood glucose levels. A cursory browse of the internet results in the belief that it's a sensor for sticking on the skin, but something kept me guessing: how does it measure? Is there a way to measure... [Read more]

. I would like to invite you to a gallery of photos of the inside of HDD drives from different periods, starting from 1994 and ending after 2010. By the way, we will see if flood water is able to get inside such a drive, because all the copies presented here are after flooding. The... [Read more]

. Today we are going to look at the topic of entering text through a touchscreen display in LVGL. With older displays, without the "touch" option, you had to have a separate keyboard to enter anything at all. This was quite problematic. With a touch display, on the other hand, we... [Read more]

. I will test here a wireless video intercom (battery powered) based on WiFi communication. All compatible with the Tuya app, so allowing us to talk to our visitor from anywhere in the world. All you need is an internet connection. The whole thing can be bought for around PLN170 and... [Read more]

Main board designation: SY-GU10-5L-WIFI-BL LED board designation: XB-05257 I was really surprised to receive this bulb with a WiFi module, instead of a bluetooth one (and i ordered the bluetooth version specifically). The only difference between them, as far as i have seen, is that... [Read more]

Dreame V9 cordless hoover as pictured. . After a couple of years of brave work, the operating time was significantly reduced. The conclusion was obvious, the battery is coming to the end of its life, you have to think about buying a new one (a considerable expense) or buying a used... [Read more]

. What can a hobbyst recover from an old computer motherboard? Where to get good MOSFETs to drive from 5V, from an Arduino, preferably ones for higher currents, with low resistance in the open state? They can be just recovered from such a motherboard - here I will show how and briefly... [Read more]

Sometimes I like a short look in the logs of an OpenBeken device without starting the web app and open the "logs" menu. Or I like to save or filter the logs over a longer period. This can be easily achieved by the connecting to port 9000 of the device. I learned about this feature... [Read more]

Today we are testing a tiny 0.91-inch OLED display based on the SSD1306 controller and offering control via I2C. The module discussed here offers a rather low resolution, at a mere 128x32, but this can easily be justified by its small price (around PLN5) and, of course, its small... [Read more]

Be Part of the PCBWay 7th Project Design Contest! . PCBWay 7th Project Design Contest has arrived. Prior to this, PCBWay successfully held six design contests. In each contest, we saw many eye-catching projects shared by outstanding and creative electronic engineers and enthusiasts.... [Read more]

. We bought some Modee LED 24W RGBCW lamps in order to realise lighting in the corridor based on them. Here I will show the inside of one of these lamps and the procedure for changing its firmware to free it from the manufacturer's cloud. Then we will also pair it with Home Assistant... [Read more]

. Today we will take a look inside another IoT gadget, but this time working with the Polish Supla system. We will see how it is built, how the power path is realised, what WiFi module is inside and, in addition, we will try to pair it with the Supla cloud and maybe back up its firmware... [Read more]

. Today I'm testing a classic, budget 858 hot air soldering iron possible to buy for as little as PLN25-30 often appearing under different versions and names, such as DexXer 700W, or 858D, 858A, etc. I will check if this station is able to solder components from the motherboard at... [Read more]