My Smart Home During an 18 Hour Internet Outage

 

Here's what happened to my smart home and all its automations when we recently experienced a complete Internet outage that lasted for 18 long hours!  Yep... we were right in the middle of one of those big red blobs shown above.

StreamPi - Build your own Stream Deck!

 

If you are a streamer, having a configurable stream deck to control your video and audio feeds is almost a necessity. Even if you don't stream online, a stream deck can be a handy device.  But commercial versions are expensive.  Instead of spending hundreds of dollars, you can create you own with a Raspberry Pi and maybe even some devices you already have around the house.

My Favorite Components and Tools

 

This is a companion piece for my YouTube video: My Favorite and Most Commonly Used Items.

RGB LED Strips - A Beginner's Guide

 

Are you interested in building your own custom LED lighting at a fraction of the cost and with hundreds of more custom effects than in a 'pre-built' version?  It's pretty simple to do with just some basic skills.

Rearrangeable LED Lettering

 

This is a companion article to my YouTube video on building rearrangeable, magnetically connected LED lettering, powered by an ESP8266 running the ever-popular WLED software.

Why should you consider "local" control for your devices?

 

You've heard me speak on it, and there are plenty of other home automation aficionados that talk about it as well... local control of your smart home, or IoT, devices.  But is this just a tin hat conspiracy, or are there really a number of good reasons to favor local devices over those that operate in the cloud?

Move a switched outlet with two smart devices and simple wiring

 

Have you ever wished that a switch in a room controlled a different outlet?  Of course, you can go into the attic or crawl space (if possible) and reroute all the wiring.... or you can move the switched outlet just by upgrading the switch and using a smart outlet.

Hexagonal LED Wall Display

 

This is a companion article to my YouTube video on building a "Nanoleaf®"-style wall display using WLED and a custom controller.  Only supporting information (like parts used) and a high level overview of the build are provided in this article.

Simple Motion-Activated LED Light Strip Controller

 

This is a companion article for my YouTube video on building a simple motion-activated LED strip controller that does not require any additional automation software and will work as a standalone system.

Rewiring a Christmas Tree for WLED Lighting

 

This is a companion post for my YouTube video on creating a WLED lit Christmas tree from an original pre-lit, three section artificial tree.

ESP8266 vs. ESP32 with WLED

 

This blog article is an overview of the testing parameters and setup for comparing the ESP8266 and the ESP32 when used with standard WLED and the sound-reactive version of WLED.  To see the results, I highly recommend you watch the YouTube video that shows the various feature and performance differences.

Halloween Props with Moving Head and Sound

 

These animatronic props have LED eyes that change color, a rotating head and optional sound that all activate via motion detection.  Alternatively, on board motion can be disabled and all features controlled via automation (like Home Assistant) using MQTT.

My Retro Arcade Build

 

I've had a few folks inquire from my YouTube video highlights if I have more information on the build of my own Retro Arcade machine.  And I do!  In fact, I have a separate blog that provides the full journey... from planning, acquiring the parts, the cabinet construction, lighting, control panel wiring and more!  You can find the full details (and there are lots!) on my adventure at https://retroarcadebuild.blogspot.com/

Transforming an IT Shop with WLED Lighting

 

Background

Our IT shop recently relocated to a new space.  This space had previously been configured as a engineering classroom.  As we began to move into this space, it became apparent that the harsh, non-defused fluorescent lighting was going to be an issue for folks that stared at a screen all day.  

Automated Garage Lighting

 

I became frustrated with our overhead garage lighting due to a lack of a switch at the exterior service door to turn on the lights when entering from outside.  In addition, the lights were occasionally left on overnight, burning at a whopping 845 watts!  This was my adventure in solving these issues through automation.