This is my home page
Thank you for venturing into my corner of The Internet, to read my stories of engineering and technology, and explore the projects I’ve created and am in the process of creating. I primarily focus on home automation, homelab, and virtualization, but also enjoy building and making things. Feel free to browse the blog for regular updates, project pages for long term project descriptions, and my Youtube and Twitch channels for video content and casual relaxation. I hope you enjoy your journey along the way!
Not Every Project Works, And That’s Okay
In my previous tests using Software Defined Radio (SDR), I used rtl_433 to successfully receive data from an outdoor weather station sensor. Always seeking more data, I found rtlamr - a tool which decodes smart meter data. I don’t really need to read smart meter data since the only smart meter I have is my power meter and I already have my own meter for that, but I still was excited to give it a try and see what I could find!
Low-Cost 433Mhz Sensor Network with rtl_433 on Raspberry Pi
I’m fairly protocol agnostic in my home automation system, and that’s one of the benefits of building something with open source software like Home Assistant - there’s no vendor lock in and you can pretty much connect anything you can pull data from into it. While I’ve set up a Zigbee network for my blinds and ordered a ton of cheap sensors from Aliexpress to test, and set up a reliable Z-Wave network with more expensive sensors and lighting dimmers, I’m always looking to expand the wealth of data I can capture.
A Quick Primer on Autofs
As mentioned in my last blog post, I setup an autofs share to mount my NAS for backups. Since I’ve always used fstab in the past to mount this, and it’s quite unreliable for cifs shares, and some internet articles go into way more detail than necessary on setting up autofs, here’s a very quick overview on setting up samba / CIFS shares with autofs on Raspberry Pi OS (or any other Debian / Ubuntu based system).
Raspberry Pi SD Failure, and Backing Up ZWaveJS2MQTT
I got my Z-Wave Raspberry Pi setup a few weeks ago, and then spent a ton of time setting up my Bedroom Lights, Bathroom Fan+Light, and ordered even more Z-wave hardware. I also started up an RTL-433 server for a yet unfinished project, and about a week later, Home Assistant suddenly reported all of my Z-wave devices offline. Home Assistant was unable to connect to the WebSocket of ZWaveJS. The Pi was acting really weird.
Re-Using Old XFINITY Security Hardware in a Real Automation System
A number of years ago, my dad subscribed to Comcast / Xfinity’s security system to get a discount on internet, then un-subscribed when the promotional period ended. Their system relied on a Technicolor touchscreen which acted as a Zigbee hub, connected to a number of Zigbee door switches and a Zigbee wall moounted keypad. They wanted their touchscreen back, but didn’t care about all of the dirt cheap sensors or the keypad, so they’ve been sitting in place in the house for many years now.
A Quick Infill Project
Everyone who has 3D printed something is at least vaguely aware of the concept of infill. Unless you want your 3D prints to be totally solid, you usually reduce the density of the center of the part, creating a number of solid layers around a central void. The percentage of this central void that is filled with material is known as the infill ratio. A lot of slicers will automatically pick some level of infill and some pattern to distribute the material in the most structurally sound way, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to these settings.
Starting my Personal Website
I’ve wanted to document my projects for a few years, after following plenty of other creators with excellent project documentation, but I’ve never found the time to start. This is my start. I’ve built my personal website, created content for back projects worth sharing with the world, and I’m committed to continuing to document and share the things that I make.
All In The Name I started off with choosing a name.
3D Printer Mood
As all of you can appreciate, my interest in projects varies with time. At any given time, I have plenty of projects in process, and my moods change which projects I work on at any given time.
Given that information, here’s an update on what I’m working on currently:
Cheap PoE Fisheye Camera for 3D Printing - This project finished months ago, but I wrote a detailed review of the camera and published it.
First (mis)Steps in Bathroom Automation
I’d already had a start in Home Automation with my IKEA Blinds Project and Z-Wave with my Bedroom Lighting, so I was ready for something more advanced. Little did I know that automating a bathroom light and fan switch would require so much logic to avoid being stuck in the dark in the shower at night, and all the other corner cases that come up when you try to implement real automation logic instead of ‘smart home’ party tricks.