When It's Time to Create a Custom PCB

 

If you've built a few projects on breadboards or maybe even on solderable prototype boards, like an ElectroCookie, you may be wondering when it is time to consider designing your own printed circuit board or PCB.  Maybe you think it is too complicated or too expensive?  Well, in this article, I'm going to cover my journey of creating my first PCB, using it in my project and also cover what I learned and what I might do different the next time.

Add up to 128 I/O Pins to your ESP Board

 

While it may not have happened to you yet, there may come a time when you need more inputs and outputs than can be connected to the default GPIO pins of a single ESP8266 or ESP32 board.  While there are many different types of port expanders and multiplexers available for ESP-based boards, this article is going to take a look at one of those options:  The MCP23017 16-Port Digital I/O expander.  

Three Way Switching with Tasmota

 

This article will describe one of many different ways that you can create smart 3-way switching for devices like lights or lamps.  This technique can be used to upgrade existing 3-way switches or you can create 3-way switching where it didn't exist before.  This can be done without pulling or installing any new wiring in your walls and without adding or altering any existing circuits.  The 3-way switches can even be on completely different circuits and can easily be expanded to 4-way or even 5-way switching.

Battery Powered LED Matrix T-Shirt

 

This article is a companion piece to the Curtain LED article and video but can also be a standalone project.  Why is it a companion piece?  Well, my intended use is to wear the shirt for special occasions, like Halloween, where the t-shirt will be synced to the LED curtain and both will display the same effect/colors and change from one to another simultaneously.  

Flashing Custom Firmware to a Retail Device

 

Have you ever had a retail device that either became useless because the manufacturer went out of business... or one that started charging a monthly subscription for a previously free service?  It happens all the time.  And if it happens to you, your device is either a useless piece of plastic or you are forced to pay a "ransom" to continue to use a device you already purchased and own.

DIY LED Curtain Lights

 

This article is a companion to the YouTube video that describes building a DIY version of a commercial LED curtain.  The goal will be to build a system that is either cheaper or has more features than the retail product.  It may be beneficial to watch the video first, then refer back to this article.

Creating an NFC Card Reader for Home Assistant

 

Every wish you could tap your phone, or a 'credit card' to a reader in your home and have it kick off an automation or scene?  Home Assistant has supported the use of NFC tags for multiple years now.  This article provides supporting information for building your own NFC card reader for use in Home Assistant.  It is recommended that you first watch the YouTube video of this project.

Local Automation for a Window Air Conditioner

 

I recently added a window air conditioner to keep the bedroom cool at night.  This air conditioner was a "smart" unit, with built-in wifi.  But like most commercial smart devices, it required installation of a (poorly reviewed) mobile app, creation of a cloud account and Internet connectivity (with reports that the unit routinely dropped off of wifi).  While I did want to use automation for control of this AC unit, I wanted that control to be local like most of my other devices.  So that's what I set out to do. 

Adding Local SiriusXM and Touch to the DIY Amp

 

This is a continuation of the DIY amp project.  This enhancement covers creating a local SiriusXM server for streaming music directly to the amp, along with adding new touch controls for selecting a SiriusXM channel... without the need for any other device or interface.  Although I'll show adding an optional Home Assistant interface for Sirius XM channels as well.

Moving Home Assistant to Proxmox

 

This article is a companion piece to my YouTube video that walks through the entire step-by-step process of installing Proxmox and moving your current Home Assistant install to a new Proxmox virtual machine.  This entire process can be done in under an hour with less than 5 minutes of downtime for Home Assistant and doesn't require any specialized Linux or Proxmox knowledge.

Adding MQTT to the Arylic DIY Amp with an ESP32

 

Arylic Up2Stream DIY Amp v4

The Arylic Up2Stream DIY Amp is a feature rich, great sounding amplifier that can be used to add all sorts of "smart" features to an old pair of speakers you have sitting in a closet or the attic.  By default, access to many of these features require that you install a mobile app and use a cloud server. But of course, as always, we want to focus on completely local control.  This article will cover using both local options via some of the features of the amp itself, but more importantly substantially expanding these options by using a connected ESP32 to provide MQTT access to nearly every option.

Standard Wiring Diagrams

 

This is not a normal step-by-step how-to guide.  Instead, it is a consolidation of some of my most requested wiring diagrams.  This is in response to repeated requests for copies of wiring diagrams from my YouTube channel.  Many of these diagrams have alternate versions, additional optional components, etc. so I decided to create a single article with most of these diagrams that can easily be referenced.

A New Parking Assistant using ESP8266 and WS2812b LEDs

 

Need a higher tech, but inexpensive solution DIY solution to assist with parking in a consistent location?  This project uses a low-cost ESP8266 and a strip of WS2812b LED pixels to replace that old tennis ball on a string you have hanging from the ceiling now!  And if you have Home Assistant or another automation system, you can optionally enable MQTT to use the system as a vehicle presence system.

An overview of the project can be seen in this YouTube video.

Home Assistant for the masses.... but should it be?

 

So, this post is going to be a little off-script for me.  Consider it an editorial piece.  It's not a 'how-to', but something I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while now.  Where is Home Assistant headed?  What are the strategic goals and who is the target audience?

TM1638 7-Segment Display with ESPHome or MQTT

 

Often, viewers of my YouTube channel or the readers of this blog will let me know if new devices that might improve or add new features to my existing projects.  I've used this information to make upgrades to my stair lighting system and my garage multi-sensor.  But occasionally, they will share a device that I haven't used... but it is so cool, I just make up a reason to use it.  The TM1638 is one of those devices!