Bitscope makes some low-cost USB logic analyers and low bandwidth oscilloscopes. Since I am a computer engineer and primarily work in the digital domain, this is adequate for a lot of my projects, and I’ve had a Bitscope Mini for a few years now. I think there are better options available on the market now that weren’t back when I bought it, but I’m sticking with the tools I already own.

I currently have a TI CC2531 based Controller for Zigbee2MQTT, and the performance is poor. Based on how much my Zigbee network is expanding with the really low cost of Zigbee hardware (despite my preference for Z-wave for reliability when it counts), I’m upgrading my Controller to the zzh! from electrolama. The new controller is based on the CC2652 and has a decent external antenna, and should hopefully improve my awful Zigbee reception and reliance on IKEA repeaters to get any signal at all.

Often, when I’m focused on a task or project, I absolutely can’t think about anything else. This means that other tasks often get left unattended, possibly for hours. To reduce this, I’ve implemented a system in Home Assistant to notify me when either the washer or dryer are finished running. It’s a pretty simple automation, but it’s this kind of useful life-improvements that really make home automation worthwhile. The Hardware I have a gas dryer (not ideal, but I’ll get a heat pump in the next house) and normal electric washer.

Today I just published a project I’ve been working on for awhile - my 3D printer nozzle camera - and it’s the first project I’ve made a corresponding video for! I built this nozzle camera mount to carefully watch the first layer of 3D prints, since most failures happen early on due to poor first layer adhesion or related issues. Keeping the camera out of the print volume while still getting a good view of the nozzle and print was challenging, but I ended up with a cool solution that I’m really proud of, and the view is fantastic.

Flexy Rex is a 3D print that’s been circling the internet for awhile. See below for the links to all of the variants that have been created over the years. Anyway, I printed this is one of the test prints with my upcoming Nozzle Cam project. My cousin was visiting from out of state along with her young son, so I let him print a Flexy Rex, watch the printer (and the camera feed), and take it off the bed when it was done.

Today I spent the day flashing Tasmota on a variety of Sonoff devices, for use in future projects. I took pictures of the process, so you can follow along with all of the fun bits of playing with repurposed electronic hardware. I have projects in mind for some of these, but some are still ’extra’ (nothing is really ever ’extra’, it will always be used eventually). I have two Sonoff S31 (US smart plug with power monitoring), two Sonoff S26 (US version of the low cost S20 smart plug), and two Sonoff 4CHPRO R3 (4 channel relay, the Pro version with isolated relays).

I’ve been working on a new OctoPrint system for my 3D printer, and as part of this project I made some nice flashy individually addressable LEDs for the sides of the enclosure to show the print status. The full project page is coming soon, but I just had to give you guys a sneak peek at the LEDs. These are WS2812 style individually addressible LEDs, controlled by an OctoPrint plugin on the Raspberry Pi, along with a perf board PCB I soldered to power and level-shift them.

When I started my bathroom automation journey, I used the Inovelli 4-in-1 Motion Sensor (LZW60) which had sensors for motion, temperature, humidity, and ambient light level in my Smart Bathroom Project. I was happy with the automation, but wanted to try out some cheaper sensors to see if they were adequate for the other bathrooms in my house. I decided to try the Aqara (Xiaomi) Temperature and Humidity Sensor and the Sonoff SNZB-02 Temperature and Humidity Sensor as cheap alternatives for temperature and humidity.

I finished the box! At least I finished it enough to start using it. It still needs OctoPrint, lighting, and some RGB LEDs (doesn’t everything these days?). But, it’s usable now. Check out the Project Page for the full story. The New Box In addition, I’ve started designing a Raspberry Pi case for my OctoPrint Pi. First revisions are shown below. I thought I’d start with this case and re-print it as I add things to the enclosure, but I think I’m going to go caseless for now and work up to what I want the final design to be.

It’s always a good day to receive new hardware, and today is no different. Over the past few days, I’ve received a bunch of hardware in the mail and I’d like to share my plans with you. Ever since I setup my first automations with my blinds and started automating my lighting and bathroom, I’ve been addicted to automating more and more of the house. So, after spending a lot of money on high end Z-wave motion sensors, dimmers, and switches, I went searching for some more cost-effective products to try out.