Mastervolt Soladin 600 Wi-Fi logging adapter with ESP32
20 August 2021 9 min read
Adding remote Wi-Fi data access to our Mastervolt Soladin 600 solar PV inverter using an Espressif ESP32-WROOM-32UE module
Home Automation
From prototype to production - home automation that actually works.
Washing Machine notifications via Home Assistant and Sonos Smart Speakers
15 August 2021 4 min read
Audio notifications for when the washing machine needs to be emptied via Home Assistant and Sonos speakers
Sonoff POW R2 Smart Switch power consumption mod
15 August 2021 6 min read
Modifying a Sonoff POWR2 Smart Switch with energy monitoring to reduce its power consumption when being used to monitor a device's energy usage
Home Data Logger Zigbee Sensor Upgrades
15 May 2021 6 min read
We have added several new Zigbee sensors to our smart home system which runs Home Assistant and the sensors talk to the home Linux server using Zigbee2mqtt
Amazon Echo Dot 4th Gen Smart Speaker Teardown
19 December 2020 9 min read
Teardown time with an Amazon Echo Dot 4th generation smart speaker, find out how Alexa is listening to you
Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen Smart Speaker with Clock Teardown
18 December 2020 6 min read
Teardown time with an Amazon Echo Dot 3rd generation smart speaker with a built-in LED clock on the side
Sonos Door and Window Alerts from Home Assistant
01 November 2020 5 min read
Using Zigbee door and window sensors to trigger alerts in Home Assistant to our tablets, phones and Sonos smart speakers.
Kasa Smart Plug by TP-Link Power Consumption Mods
25 October 2020 4 min read
Modifying a Kasa Smart Plug by TP-Link Power to reduce its power consumption when being used to monitor a device's energy usage
Adding 10Gb Fibre to the home network
24 October 2020 9 min read
Everyone needs some fibre in their diet and we have added more to the home network using 10Gb Fibre to connect our computers and Synology network storage devices via a MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN network switch
Amazon Echo Flex Teardown
28 March 2020 20 min read
Teardown of an Amazon Echo Flex smart plug which listens to your commands via the Alexa service and replies using a very tiny speaker
Amazon Echo Input Teardown
03 December 2019 7 min read
Teardown of the Amazon Echo Input and trying to extract the firmware
Echo Dot 3rd Gen Digging Deeper
10 August 2019 30 min read
Digging deeper into the Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation smart speaker