zorruno.com

7 September 2024

Flashing a Mi Home 1S LED Desk Lamp with ESPHome

I found that this Xiaomi Lamp had an esp32 in it and could pretty easily be flashed with ESPHome. I always like commercial products that can be reflashed, so thought it might be a useful addition to my work desk. This is a pretty low effort product to flash.

Home Automation/Lighting Comments: 0

31 July 2024

My Polaroid Instant Cameras, 1969 – 2000

I have a bunch of still and movie film cameras I have collected over the years. The polaroid ones I’m most fond of, and have recently purchased some modern film for the Land Camera 1000. Here are some photos and descriptions of my Polaroid collection, with cameras from 1969 to 2000.

Collections/Photography/Technology Comments: 0

2 July 2024

Replacing ESPresense with Bermuda for BLE tracking

I really like using ESPHome, and the setup of ESPresense is similar in some ways, but focused on devices tracking. I had been hoping that ESPresense would eventually be fully integrated into ESPHome, but that has obviously not happened, or is a bit hard. “Bermuda BLE Trilateration” is a new project that could possibly replace my ESPresense setup.

Home Automation/Technology Comments: 0

5 June 2024

mmWave occupancy, ESP32 and LD2410 (UART)

An ESP32 running ESPHome to interface with a LD2410 (with UART/Serial, directly connected and not Bluetooth). Also using a BME280 and simple PIR for additional sensing. This was the second mmWave sensor I played with.

Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 0

16 May 2024

mmWave occupancy, ESP32 and LD1125H

Use of an ESP32 running ESPHome to interface with a LD1125H mmWave occupancy sensor, Also monitoring of room temperature, humidity and pressure via the same device.

Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 0

30 April 2024

MAME Cabinet Raspberry Pi 4

An old Taito standup arcade cabinet that I’d previously kitted out with MAME, came back from storage and I decided to refit it with something more maintainable. MAME and emulation should be a lot simpler now than it was back then shouldn’t it?

DIY Projects/Electronics/Entertainment/IT & Networking/Projects/Technology Comments: 0

24 November 2023

Automating “should be the bins be out… and are they?”

Use of ESPresense, BLE iBeacons, Node Red and Home Assistant to tell if it is rubbish day, which bins need to go out (and only if the bins haven’t been put out yet)

Home Automation Comments: 5

25 September 2023

700km Drive in the Atto 3

We drove our BYD Atto 3 from Auckland to Wellington, and this was the first long distance trip we have taken it on. So how was the charging and how much did it cost?

Electric Vehicles Comments: 0

20 August 2023

Dual Dashcam for the BYD Atto 3

Installing a front and rear dashcam in a BYD Atto 3. Although the Atto 3 has a dashcam, it doesn’t record when parked.
Dash cameras are great, and I like having them in all of our cars. The first one i installed was around 9 years ago and they have saved us a few times when involved in a fender-bender that wasn’t our fault, and really helped a couple of times when there has been a carpark ding.

CCTV/Electric Vehicles Comments: 4

7 August 2023

Home EV Wallcharger Setup & Installation Tips

Having had electric vehicles for a few years now, I thought I’d share a few tips and photos regarding our current EV charging setup. We currently have 2 EVs (both that live outside) and 2 charging points, one beside the other.

Electric Vehicles/Home Automation/Security Comments: 0

6 August 2023

Appliance Completion Notification with Node Red

Use of Node Red and Javascript to monitor power to an appliance and notify when complete. It also can log to a csv file and do calculations based on total power used and the cost of that power, with peak/offpeak rates taken into account.

Home Automation Comments: 0

4 August 2023

Tasmota Rules Examples

Below are some rules for Tasmota that I’ve used over the years, including doing basic standalone automations (no Home Assistant, no Node Red, or other additional tools). Standalone automation can be handy, and in simple cases you don’t need any working wireless for basic functions. If you install smart devices, you can safely disconnect your networking (eg if you sell your house) and still have some basic smart functions.

Home Automation Comments: 0

28 April 2023

Cheaper Sodastreaming with bulk CO2

We like our bubbly water, and although you can get fridges that carbonate… they are horrendously expensive. The next best thing is a sodastream machine, but again… this can be a huge cost if you stick to the sodastream brand cartridges. So, what options are there to DIY ?

DIY Projects/Projects Comments: 0

21 March 2023

BYD Atto 3, 2023

I have had a 2014 Nissan Leaf for 5 years, and it is possibly the most sensible car I’ve ever had. We needed a vehicle to replace our aging Mazda MPV which we tow a caravan with and wanted another EV. After much searching, we discounted overall towing performance, (I bought an American Ute for this). The Atto 3 started to become popular and a small dealership opened at our local shopping centre so we bought one.

Electric Vehicles/Vehicles Comments: 0

24 December 2022

Oven Reminders with Node Red & ESPHome

Use of Node Red and Javascript to monitor power to my oven and give regular announcements that is is still running. It also can log to a csv file and do calculations based on total power used and the cost of that power, with peak/offpeak rates taken into account.

Home Automation Comments: 0

19 October 2022

Small CCTV Monitor for RTSP Display

This project allows the use of an old raspberry pi (V1), plus a basic automotive 7″ analogue LCD screen to display streamed CCTV images.

CCTV/Home Automation Comments: 0

14 October 2022

30 Years, and my Digital Mobile Tour

It seemed like I’d owned a few mobile devices in my lifetime and a while back I gradually built up a list. The list showed that it was around one per year starting in the early ’90s, although there were times I had a work and personal phone or tablet at the same time. I thought I’d jog my own nostalgia a bit more by writing a bit of history of the cellphones in particular, and why I had them.

Mobile Phones & Android Comments: 0

6 October 2022

NZ Retro Caravan Awning Guide

In 2016, we had a custom awning manufactured for our New Zealand made, 15″ 1965 Zephyr Deluxe caravan. A few people have asked about it, so I have documented a bit of the process.

Retro Caravans Comments: 0

29 September 2022

Zemismart KS-811 with OpenBK7231N/OpenBeken

Recently a friend bought some Zemismart wall switches and they have a BK7231N chip rather than an ESP8266. This outines the OpenBeken project and how it can be used in the switch in a similar way to Tasmota/ESPHome.

Home Automation Comments: 3

31 August 2022

Vehicle 12V Battery Monitoring with ESP8266 and ESPHome

Using the Analogue input on an ESP8266 and voltage divider to monitor the status of a 12V battery in a car.

Electric Vehicles/Electronics/Home Automation/Vehicles Comments: 13

24 July 2022

1956 La Gloria Imp: NZ Made Valve Radio

Whilst on holiday in the South Island, we came across this 50s Valve Radio, which was a good price. Research showed it was made in Otahuhu by DRECO. This La Gloria Imp was the first model in a line of 18 models up to the late 60s.

Electronics/Retro Caravans Comments: 0

8 July 2022

WB3S replacement for Home Automation devices

More and more home automation devices from China are coming with no ESP8266 module, especially the TUYA based ones. Some are coming with a WB3S (which is different to the TYWB3S), but this can easily be removed and replaced with a cheap ESP12F (or similar) module.

Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 6

27 June 2022

Used EV Payback (Part 2, Was it worth it?)

How much to you save buying a used EV, and is it worth it? How long is the payback? This is my actual calculations about four years later and close to 100kkms on the odometer of the 2014 Nissan Leaf I purchased. Cutting to the chase, it was a LOT better than my estimates, and I wish we’d bought two of them.

Electric Vehicles/Home Automation/Opinion Comment: 1

27 May 2022

Xiaomi BLE LCD Thermometers in Home Assistant

Using esphome in an ESP32 dev board to pull the values of some cheap Xiaomi LCD temp sensors (with BLE) and integrate them into home assistant.

Home Automation Comments: 0