All projects and posts

Video capture setup for vintage computers and consoles Photo

General

Video capture setup for vintage computers and consoles

14 October 2026 8 min read

How we capture video from vintage computers and games consoles, using a SCART to HDMI converter, a 1980s analogue TV tuner and a second-hand Kramer VP-770 scaler feeding into OBS.

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Building an offline survival computer with Project NOMAD Photo

Programming and Code

Building an offline survival computer with Project NOMAD

10 October 2026 10 min read

How to turn an old low-power PC into an offline knowledge server with Project NOMAD on Debian 13, including a standalone Wi-Fi access point.

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The Blog is Twenty Years Old Photo

General

The Blog is Twenty Years Old

11 September 2026 3 min read

This year has two website anniversaries. It's twenty years since the first post went up on this blog, and thirty years since I built Virtual Swanage, the community site for my home town

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DIY Pick and Place software and hardware upgrades Photo

DIY Pick and Place

DIY Pick and Place software and hardware upgrades

17 August 2026 16 min read

It’s been nine years running our DIY pick and place machine using the same software and it’s time for some upgrades to the software as well as changes to the hardware with an Elgato Stream Deck and new picker nozzles

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ModBus to MQTT Ethernet Bridge for a Solis 1.5kW Inverter Photo

Solar Power

ModBus to MQTT Ethernet Bridge for a Solis 1.5kW Inverter

10 August 2026 13 min read

Using a Microchip/Atmel ATmega32U4 to create a ModBus to MQTT Ethernet Bridge for a Solis 1.5kW Solar PV Inverter to log data with Home Assistant

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Building a custom network rack from steel box section Photo

Home AutomationGeneral

Building a custom network rack from steel box section

09 May 2026 10 min read

Upgrading Our Home Network Rack: Custom Steel Frame Build, 10Gb Switching & UniFi Setup

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30 year Windows user switches to Mac Photo

AppleGeneral

30 year Windows user switches to Mac

18 February 2026 14 min read

After using Windows as my primary computer operating system for over 30 years, I am finally switching to Apple Mac as my daily driver computer and operating system.

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3D printed PCB assembly jig Photo

ElectronicsGeneral

3D printed PCB assembly jig

16 February 2026 7 min read

Building an adjustable 3D printed PCB assembly jig to hold circuit boards when soldering

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Shimano Di2 to Bluetooth Keyboard remote control mod Photo

ElectronicsGeneral

Shimano Di2 to Bluetooth Keyboard remote control mod

29 November 2025 14 min read

Modifying a Shimano Di2 road shifter to control virtual shifting in Rouvy and MyWhoosh and a smart trainer using Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 module as a Bluetooth Keyboard

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Shimano Di2 to Zwift Click v2 remote control mod Photo

Electronics

Shimano Di2 to Zwift Click v2 remote control mod

15 November 2025 13 min read

Modifying a Shimano Di2 road shifter to control virtual shifting in Zwift and a smart trainer using Zwift Click v2 controllers

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Building a DIY bike trainer rocker plate for Tacx Neo 2T trainer Photo

General

Building a DIY bike trainer rocker plate for Tacx Neo 2T trainer

25 September 2025 12 min read

Building a DIY bike rocker plate to use with a smart bike trainer to try to keep fit over the winter months

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Zwift Cog and Zwift Click v2 Controllers with Tacx Neo 2T Photo

General

Zwift Cog and Zwift Click v2 Controllers with Tacx Neo 2T

11 September 2025 9 min read

New Zwift Click v2 Controllers upgrade on the smart cycle trainer and troubleshooting Bluetooth connection issues

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