Articles

Eightree ET31 Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring 13A (BK7238 T1) Note: loads of editing and moving parts here and there, so things might not be exactly spot on - if anything appears non-sensical, you will have to trust that it made sense before I cut/pasted the paragraph higher/lower.... [Read more]

I bought a couple of these and managed to get it working with OpenBeken: Some info: -  Webshop link - Datasheet - Product code: 3208075 - CBLC5 module with BK7231N - LED driver (U2) is a SM2185N - The 3v3 for the CBLC5 module is provided by a BP2571 buck converter. This post has a... [Read more]

I’d like to share an early prototype of a Python app designed for remote access to Fluke meters using RS232. At the moment, it supports basic communication and data retrieval. It's using CPL protocol over RS232 connection to send commands and receive information from scopemeter. So... [Read more]

Is a catalogue note in a foreign language a problem in 2026? Today I will test whether artificial intelligence can replace a translator and translate subtitles from electronic parts specifications into English. Importantly, the whole experiment will be based on screenshots (bitmaps)... [Read more]

Hello This is my first teardown article so please for understanding. Introduction I bought water leakage sensor DYGSM DY-SQ400B from  Aliexpress  for 1$. I wanted to connect it directly to my HA instance (bypass Internet connection requirement, which could be a bottleneck during critical... [Read more]

For several years, Elektroda has been developing universal, open-source software for various types of Wi-Fi-controlled building automation devices, such as relays, LED lamp and LED strip controllers (including WS2812), thermostats, energy meters, or there temperature, humidity, motion... [Read more]

Some time ago I presented how reverse geocoding (converting geographic coordinates into address data) can be run locally based on the Nominatim service from OpenStreetMap. Here I will show a similar system, this time realised manually in Python based on ready-made libraries and ready-made... [Read more]

I would like to invite you to a demonstration of the interior and software changes of the Tuya universal IR remote control. The device shown here is capable of receiving and transmitting infrared signals in various remote control standards such as RC5, RC6, NEC, etc. The whole thing... [Read more]

In this topic I will show how anyone can run the Nemotron 3 Nano on their own computer and then test it with all sorts of electronics and programming tasks. The Nemotron 3 Nano is a new thinking LLM model based on a Mixture-of-Experts architecture with a Mamba-2 + Transformer hybrid.... [Read more]

NextPCB offers free HQDFM DFM webinars for PCB designers and maker groups Anyone who has sent Gerbers to a fab knows the feeling: you wait for the boards and hope no hidden manufacturability issue shows up. That “hope” phase is exactly what Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is meant... [Read more]

Do you like old video games? The console presented here allows you to run many titles from different platforms such as Atari, NES, PlayStation or Game Boy, all in one handy device. With an open system and a large number of emulated platforms, the possibilities are truly great - let's... [Read more]

Here I will present the WEP 8858 portable hot air, also often advertised as a 'plastic welder' or as a '100-650W digital soldering station'. I will check how it handles the soldering of components from the motherboard and then try to measure its power consumption and the temperature... [Read more]

Good morning. I would like to show you my mini hauler, which is powered by an engine from a petrol scythe. The 3hp internal combustion engine comes from a NAC scythe and is connected to a 60:1 worm gearbox. The gearbox drives the differential from the mower tractor, on which the 18-8.00x8... [Read more]

Are 'smart' LED lights designed to overheat? What temperature will such a "led" light reach after a quarter of an hour of operation? Is it somehow possible to reduce its heating and prolong its life? I invite you to a presentation of the interior, measurements, and firmware changes... [Read more]

Recently time code from OBK was changed to allow for more time sources (beside the well known NTP). The possibly simplest method is setting the OpenBeken time to the time of the device you are using to access the GUI (this is allready in OBK code, just not enabled): Setting device... [Read more]

Can the tiny eight-bit PIC12F683 microcontroller handle the dynamic colour animation on the WS2812 LEDs? The MCU used here has just 2048 bytes of Flash memory, 128 bytes of RAM and is clocked at up to 20 MHz (8 MHz for the internal oscillator). Is this enough? Let's find out! The... [Read more]

This is a teardown and modding guide to OpenBeken of the Smart Plug Sonoff S61TPF which is available at Amazon for 10,99 € in December 2025. The device looks as follows Before starting the teardown: The procedure requires experience in opening plastic housings, soldering, especially... [Read more]

Here is a short presentation of the inside of the Blaupunkt model MS8BK microwave with CD and USB player. I will check here how it is built, try to analyse its firmware from an unknown microprocessor and determine its architecture in Ghidra, and then run its display with Arduino.... [Read more]

ESPConnect is an advanced tool for managing ESP family microcontrollers without having to install desktop applications. It allows you to read and upload the contents of the chip's Flash memory. It allows you to view detailed device information such as chip family, MAC, Flash size... [Read more]

How to flash and configure RF remote receiver with open source firmware? How to use it to control relays and external devices, with and without Home Assistant? How to add custom remotes? Here's a short guide to RC (Radio Control) driver in OpenBeken, all basics covered. With this... [Read more]

Here we will present a DIY remote RF controller for Dooya shutters made with a CC1101 transceiver and ESP-S3 Super Mini and a 3D-printed case. The controller is running ESPHome firmware and allows us to control Dooya shutters from Home Assistant. Full YAML script source and SKP enclosure... [Read more]

Do you like touch buttons? They are very easy to find in all sorts of modern devices today - including building automation systems. However, I myself am not a fan of them, which is why in this topic I will be showing a Wi-Fi enabled programmable switch based on classic, clickable... [Read more]

Recently, when building a controller for my cooker, I decided to experiment with something simpler. Admittedly, I'm not keen on Wi-Fi control, but I was curious to see how low the current consumption could currently be. In the off-the-shelf solutions I tested, the consumption ranged... [Read more]

Upgrade Your PCB Design Workflow with JLCPCB’s Layout Services and One-Stop Manufacturing JLCPCB: Professional PCB Layout Services Backed by Full One-Stop Manufacturing Introduction The progress of modern electronics has been a nightmare of disrupted workflow for engineers. After... [Read more]

The NE555 astable circuit - how to make a flashing LED The NE555 chip is one of the most popular and widely used integrated circuits in electronics. Due to its simplicity, versatility and low cost, it is used in many projects such as pulse generators, clocks, timers and flashing LEDs.... [Read more]

In Polish measurement equipment it is common to find filters manufactured by Silesia . The diagram on the chassis allows discussion of each part of this filter - the purpose of the choke at the input is to suppress common mode interference ( common-mode interference ), that is, interference... [Read more]

Good morning. Socket smart from Ali cheap (PLN9.5) and a great mine, but probably the latest :) Under the T34 chip the TX1/RX1 signals are not routed anywhere, no approach from the side. Only pulling off the circuit or scraping. With the previous WB2S there was no problem. It's impossible... [Read more]

I will show here the first attempts and a simple "Hello world" for the ALI M3801 processor on the example of an old Comsat TE 1050 HD tuner based on the project ali_sdk from GitHub. I will then try to add new functionality to it - GPIO support. The project shown here is not a full... [Read more]

Today I'm going to present an interesting free solution to connect externally to our local network - for example IoT devices. You won't need a public IP here - everything will work even if we are behind NAT and don't have port forwarding. What's more, there will only be two devices... [Read more]

Hi, here's a peak at a tiny little Beken BK7252N 'Xiaomi' '4k' Rear View Car IP camera bought from Ali Express. It's far from a full rear-view camera car kit, more like another cheap Chinese mini cam packaged with standard micro USB cable. No mounting options are supplied. The case... [Read more]