DHT22 WiFi (ESP8266) temperature/humidity loggers (#P7)

Guess who was busy and also did not prepare a post in advance? Yeah, lazy me :mrgreen:

Well, let’s pick up some project that I’m deploying slowly around my flat. I intend to run five of these devices, one with some light meter and maybe other outdoor sensors, the others will be indoors. I’ve been running the early prototype for quite some while now, doubling as a Blynk gateway to some LED strips in the liquor cabinet (yeah, I called it Boozy McBoozeface for a reason). Accessing lights at home from far away isn’t that important to me, so once I have time to install some more touch buttons, that one will be no longer running Blynk, probably eliminating some timing/connectivity issues. […]

1st July 2018 1st July 2018 By Bzzz In 3 Comments

Supermicro Case and Rails (#P6)

Supermicro – the case manufacturer of choice for people with money. :lol:

This is not so much about Wan Hung Lo price ranged products, but rather about construction techniques. And it’s not even about “we made it this way because it’s the cheapest” – it’s about design that yields the most profit for the manufacturer. Vendor lock-in and all that stuff.

Well, I’m more of a Chenbro guy for reasons that I’ll explain in a bit, but I recently did a classic Dave Jones dumpster dive (with permission), from which I got not one, but four Supermicro cases. […]

3rd June 2018 3rd June 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Fake Akasa PCIe 6pin to ATX12V 8pin adapter (WHL #41)

Ah well, we haven’t been to adapterland for quite a while, have we? :roll:

I do have more pressing things to do as of now, but whatever. I bought an adapter cable for my new server setup at home, as basically all SFX PSUs with moderate wattage (sub-500, 600W?) do not offer more than one 4+4-Pin or 8-pin ATX12V/EPS12V power plug. Well, why should they, that’s not what they usually need to have. But most server boards, especially dual and quad processor boards, do “require” 2×8-Pin auxiliary power. On the contrary, there is no powerful GPU in that system, so the 6/8-Pin PCIe power cable would flap around in the breeze. […]

20th May 2018 20th May 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Mini-Type Self-Adjustable Six Mandrel Ratchet HSC8 6-6 Crimper Plier For Wire Terminal Connector 0.25-6mm2 Multi Hand Tools (WHL #40)

Software stuff aside, back to hardware. And by hardware, I actually mean hardware. Tools. Let’s check out some crimping pliers for wire ferrules. Automatik-Aderendhülsenpresszangen, as we Germans like to say. :lol:

The unit in review was bought late February on AliExpress for 14.94€ including shipping (which took only around two weeks). When I showed it at work, I needed to order another one with the same specifications (14.89€ in early April, delivery took 3 weeks) and one with four mandrels, but 10mm² capability (HSC8 family as well, 12.13€ mid-March, two weeks). […]

6th May 2018 6th May 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Let’s Encrypt! (#E7)

Just added a SSL/TLS certificate to the site, which once again is a breeze due to the very helpful commandline tools of my hoster uberspace. Works for me, at the moment, so let’s see how much stuff breaks in WordPress over the next few days and months. What could possibly go wrong :grin:

(Yes, I know HTTP logins aren’t state of the art, but why serve HTTPS to literally a thousand spammer accounts that never ever managed to sign in? Waiting for the first one to actually pass…) […]

2nd May 2018 2nd May 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Theme Font & Size Changer for Thunderbird (#E6F2)

Aaaand it’s finally available as a direct download for Thunderbird (and FF / FF ESR up to 56.x) – use the addon page in your TB/FF or have a look here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/theme-font-size-changer-fixed/

That only took 13 DAYS to approve, I’m impressed. Go Mozilla, you guys are awesome! (I kept one of the keywords for that fuckup, tyvm)

[Original post is here] […]

26th April 2018 5th May 2018 By Bzzz In 2 Comments

Mini PCIe Module QCA9880 WPEA-352ACN 802.11AC Dual Band Wireless WiFi network card support Linux (WHL #39)

While I’m in the “X doesn’t do Y, so let’s hotchpotch DIY something to get Z running” mindset, let’s release something else that I’m slightly bitter about. WiFi network cards. [scroll down to the first image to skip my rambly introduction]

I’m not a big fan of Intel for their business practices, but when it comes to Consumer/Prosumer network cards, Intel is basically the brand to get. I’m running a CT Gigabit (82574L) addon card in my AMD ZFS server, and my old Thinkpad has something similar (82567LM) built in. […]

22nd April 2018 22nd April 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Theme Font & Size Changer for Thunderbird (#E6) [update 64.3 #2]

[You’re late to the party. This crap has been fixed and is now available as addon directly from Mozilla. Click here for the addon announcement, or read the comments on this page for a secondary fix (64.4) for TB58+.]

You know what really grinds my gears? MORONS that “maintain” a piece of software.

This guy called Baris Derin has quite a lot of Mozilla (FF/TB) addons out there. Great stuff. I’ve been using the font changer for quite some time, as my Thunderbird looks a bit odd with default settings. So, what’s wrong with it? […]

9th April 2018 6th May 2018 By Bzzz In 85 Comments

Waveshare 400×300 4.2″ three-color SPI E-Ink / E-Paper display module (WHL #38)

Bit of an upmarket item for today, not the usual Wan Hung Lo…had the honour to make that thing display some demo content for a side project at work. So…why not take some photos, publish the code, and get ahold of a similar unit for use at home?

So this is an e-Paper / e-Ink display, actually a module that consists of the display unit itself and a base PCB that takes the flimsy flat-flex connector, adds some passives and presents a more sturdy interface to the microcontroller that will be handling the thing. Also, the PCB is large enough to offer mount points on each corner. […]

2nd April 2018 3rd April 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment

Easter break (#E5)

Well, everybody – have a nice Easter holiday.

Thanks for the long weekend, dude! […]

1st April 2018 1st April 2018 By Bzzz In No Comment