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!
Tracking my Cat with Frigate NVR
Previosly, I built a home security camera system using ZoneMinder. Somewhat dissatisfied with the status quo of ZoneMinder, I set out to try a brand new security NVR - Frigate - and see if an NVR written specifically to integrate into Home Assistant could be used for more than just recording and viewing camera footage.
The Old System I am using the same Dahua cameras I installed in the ZoneMinder System.
Getting Started with Automated Lighting with Z-Wave
After playing with my Zigbee-controlled IKEA FYRTUR Blinds, I wanted to experiemnt with automated lighting. Despite already having a functional Zigbee network, I wanted to choose high quality, reliable lighting components. After spending a ton of time researching on the internet, I decided to start a new Z-Wave network, using Inovelli dimmer switches. This project is my first attempt to get the network functioning.
The Choice of a Network After my (somewhat poor) experience with Zigbee, I wasn’t eager to use Zigbee hardware again for something critical like lighting.
Accurate Water Measurement with ESP32
I am currently living in my parents house, which is fed water by a private well, and we have no way of knowing exactly how much water we use. Since I’m planning on building my own house, I wanted to know how much water I (and everyone else in the house) realistically used. In addition, I wanted to know how much hot water we use and how frequently we use hot water, so I could model hot water heating systems.
Measuring Water Softener Salt Remaining with ESP32
I am currently living in my parents house, which is fed water by a private well. Due to the mineral content in most well water, we use a water softener. For those of you with city water, a water softener is a type of ion exchange filter which uses salt (sodium chloride) to replace calcium, magnesium, and other metals in the water with sodium. None of these minerals are hazardous, but they do stain everything, so reducing them is desirable.
Zeus:
Contents Video Networking I decided I don’t want to use NetworkManager, so I instead wrote my own /etc/network/interfaces file (no need for IPv4 on this node, so inet6 auto only):
auto eth0 iface eth0 inet6 auto Then uninstalled network-managerand reboot. I get an IP based on the EUI64 which is the easiest way to do things and I don’t care about privacy extensions with my little IoT router here.