Robot arms reach out to the Raspberry Pi: this is art
What’s going on? Hec, I’m in a room with robot arms and fingers twitching as they respond to social media. THIS can only be art but it’s art powered by makers. Tucked away is...
Category: home & garden
LED light project examples
There are LED strip lights where every LED can be doing something different with the result that you can create effects. Throughout the ‘Zoom’ years of 2020-2021 I experimented showing different things in the...
addressable LED light projects
There are ‘analogue’ LED lights on a tape that do a fine job of creating interesting lighting. All the LED lights on the strip usually do the same brightness or colour. There are also...
Dim display problem on large LED digital clock
The digits at one end of a large LED clock displayed much more dimly than they ought. I’d say they were about half the brightness – and it was quite a puzzle. The clock...
Jura coffee machine repairs
… how to service or replace the brewing unit on a Jura coffee machine and other fixes. It might be assumed that if you can afford the BMW of coffee machines, you can afford...
Cheesecake – Jewish style
Some cheesecakes are set with gelatin and have smooth, jelly-like texture. This cheesecake is baked and sets due to its whipped egg. When chilled it has an appealing dry, soft, crumbly texture. I use...
owning a marquee – garden tent
A garden marquee is quite the thing in times not only when only outdoor mixing is allowed but also when you live in a climate with rainy summers. This page collects my experience of...
Sandstone patio – install, seal and maintain
Here is advice to save money without affecting what you end up with. In short: your patio is going to end up looking like it was going to end up. Many tradespeople have a...
Countax mower repairs – C600 – year 2008
A page where I record successful repairs as they happen. The parts list on my 2008 C-series is downloadable below. Steering Problem – can’t steer The Countax steering mechanism is surprisingly simple – a...
how to know when the washing machine has finished
If you need to know when a device, like a dryer or washing machine has completed its work, get a ‘smart plug with energy monitoring‘. Amazon list many of them but whichever brand you...
automated fade up dimmer for analogue LED Strips – using a MOSFET and ESPhome
This ceiling ‘coffer’ is lit by four 5m LED strips cut down to size fitted in 2017. If you wanted really, really bright light, these analogue white LED strips were the thing to get....
what is the actual temperature of your oven? how to cook reliably with an expensive but inaccurate oven
My household can’t be the only one that burns the food. The dial on this shiny, expensive Smeg oven not only gives a wrong temperature, the temperature varies over a wide range. I replaced...
how to integrate 433MHz temperature & humidity sensors with Home Assistant
A home automation platform, such as Home Assistant, allows you to make temperature v time graphs using sensors that you might place around the home. Monitoring temperatures allowed me to get my heating devices...
XANES 2606-8 headlamp review and instructions
This insanely bright headlamp / flashlight is excellent for hobbies, camping and cycling. Here are a few instructions to use it well This flashlight (aka torch) requires 2 x 18650 Lithium cells which have...
coping with 18650 batteries with and without button tops
Just when I thought I knew enough … I discover why a bicycle headlamp wasn’t working. It was because some 18650 batteries have a button top … The 18650 battery, like many batteries, is...
use Google lens to search the Internet using a picture or photo
Here’s what to do when a restaurant asks you to scan a QR code for their track and trace (written in 2020). And here’s how to identify a plant, an animal and lots more....
T4EU1C and Home Assistant
a 3-gang wall switch for your home automation – using eWelink, T4EU1C and Home Assistant I got to a point where I had plenty of ‘smart’ lights and gadgets but few switches. But then...
project: plot the temperature of your fridge-freezer, pet home or fermenting wine on a history graph in Home Assistant
In a previous project I set up temperature sensors in my room and sent the data via Bluetooth to Home Assistant, the home automation platform. Home Assistant is software that can record measurements and...
recycle laptop 18650 lithium batteries in a DIY power bank
If you could look inside an old replaceable laptop battery pack like this you’d find 4 or 6 cells. Usually the cells are 18mm diameter, 65mm long and are called 18650 lithium batteries. Each...
the buttons to press to reset a Toshiba laptop when the lithium battery can't be removed
Sometimes a laptop goes into a comatose state that no amount of charging or on-offing can end. If the laptop has a removable battery the solution might be to Disconnect the power supply and...
project: plug-in energy meter with graphs of energy use over time
‘Smart meters’ and metering devices usually measure the electricity used by the whole house*. However I prefer to pay attention to the electricity used by individual devices, such as a combination oven, fan heater...
best uses for a smart socket
smart sockets have uses. A smart socket adds a little cleverness to a table lamp or electric heater. The printer upstairs takes five minutes to warm up so switching it on by remote control...
433MHz smarter letterbox – for when you don’t want to walk to the letter box
see also more about 433MHz devices The letterbox is five doors and fifty metres from my desk. The uncertainty of the post lady arriving in the afternoon means that I make wasted journeys to...
estimate energy bills – the cost of living
This quick post is for anybody wondering how much money they need to put aside for energy. If you don’t use electricity for keeping warm, your summer and winter electricity bills will be similar....
smart sockets vs smart bulbs – introduction
smart bulbs and sockets have select uses. A smart socket adds a little on/off cleverness to a table lamp, electric heater or the printer upstairs that takes five minutes before it’s warm and useful....
calculate how long is the day
… and see how to add features to the Home Assistant display An interest in solar energy is a possible reason to record the sun’s azimuth and the time of sunset. Home Assistant can track...
project: smart thermostat – nest and hive
The Google nest thermostat or its Hive equivalent are items which I’d be happy to pay for rather than make. A first reason is that we rely too much on warmth, and a second...
comparing the cost of fuels for heating
I am the person who wants to know if using an electric fan heater in one room costs less than heating the whole house using gas*. At parties I can keep a sofa to...
project: an immersion heater that turns itself when the water is hot – using a Sonoff POW.
Domestic hot water can be heated by a gas / oil central heating boiler or by an electrical immersion heater. I choose to take advantage of half-price nighttime electricity and use an immersion heater....
automation: routines that do things or alert you
ready dec 2020
project: cameras around the house
There are a variety of camera types to help monitor the drive, a pet, a baby, a device, a bird feeder – whatever. You might want to know what’s eating the rabbit’s food or...
project: does my broadband speed vary?
Here’s how to add a little functionality to Home Assistant, the automation platform. Do try this especially if you’re just starting to add features to Home Assistant. speedtestdotnet: scan_interval: hours: 4 Go to the...
project: when is the next train from the station?
Travel information can be one of the things you need easy access to. If you have Google Home or Alexa you’ll find it helpful to recall the exact way to ask for the info....
automation: turn on lights when I enter the room
The LED striplights in a kitchen use 12v transformers and they are powered through smart plugs / sockets. The sockets are by TP-link – and they remember their on-off state if ever there’s a...
project: smart electricity meter with historic energy use
fit a sensor to the electricity meter for a minute by minute readout The UK electricity meter has a display showing electricity use in kWatt, and every few months someone pops by to read...
project: oil tank level sensor
Make a heating oil tank level sensor that’s more useful than anything you can buy. Measures oil level in any unit – litres, gallons or days until I need to refill the tank Displays...
how much heating oil does the boiler use?
The simple answer for a domestic central central heating boiler is two to three litres an hour if it’s continuously alive and burning oil. In reality it’s half of this because when you turn...
project: desktop volume control with Arduino
A volume control near the mouse and ready to turn. Bash the top and the video or track pauses. Double bash to skip to the next track. It’s plug and play, requires no app...
