Useful Resources

ATTiny85 – Programming on Linux

So I wanted to start using the ATTiny85 MCU for making smaller projects where I only need a minimum of components and functionality. The cost of a single Tiny85 is much less than its larger ATmega cousins. The mcu offers a small footprint and will also run directly off a 5v DC source. I used […]

Read More
Projects

WiFi Time Machine – An Internet Connected Clock

Why? Because I can! I love building things with purpose. There are millions of clock kits out there, but I just had to do my own. The goals for this project were: Parts List To put this clock together, only a few parts are required. They are: If you don’t wish to source all of […]

Read More
Product Reviews

OrangePi Zero 3

What Is It? There are hundreds of small ARM boards and kits out there. I recently acquired and used the OrangePi Zero 3 (OPi Z3) in a recent project. The board is very small, but packs a LOT of power and capability into such a small package. Don’t let the size fool you. What I […]

Read More
Projects

OrangePi Zero 3 Internet Radio Player

For about $30USD you can build this network controlled internet radio player. I built this because it was dirt cheap and with the prices of raspberry pi boards still being much higher, for $30 you can’t go wrong with this project. Preparing The Board & OS I installed the Ubuntu (server, not desktop) image from […]

Read More
Projects

Weatherflow Tempest & HomeAssistant

Integrating the Tempest into HomeAssistant (HA) using NodeRed Having a private weather station is a nice resource for providing data to a home automation system or alerting neighbors when hazardous conditions may arise. I already had setup a weather watchdog for alerting neighbors, displaying it on my home brew weather tube, and now I wanted […]

Read More
Projects Useful Resources

Chinese Domain Blocklist

Why Did I Create It? As of late, China has become a real threat to our national interests and security. You may have heard how Congress has real and valid concerns about TikTok, what it’s doing to our culture, data harvesting, and more importantly, how that company is manipulating the minds of our young people. […]

Read More
Projects

Using NodeRED To Create A Weather Watchdog

If you own a Tempest weather station by Weatherflow You can use NodeRED to create customized alerts and send them to any destination you like. I had created python scripts to do this, but though it worked ok, it was not ideal. I hadn’t used NodeRED before and I always wanted to learn how I […]

Read More
Useful Resources

iPhone Passcode Theft: How To Prevent

Recently an emerging threat seems to be growing: when out at a bar, pub, or other public space, you enter your iPhone passcode to unlock your phone and unknowingly someone has seen you enter your passcode from over your shoulder or from a couple tables/seats away. Without warning, your iPhone is quickly snatched out of […]

Read More
For Sale

For Sale: Complete HF Ham Station

Ham Friends: I have the following equipment for sale: 1) Icom IC-7200 HF-6M all mode radio 2) Ameritron AL-811H (4 tube) power amplifier – Wired for 240VAC, but you can change to 120VAC if desired 3) LDG AT-1000ProII (WITH the M-1000)! all associated cables as well. Asking $2,000 even for the entire station. All equipment […]

Read More
Rants

Facebook Apps Drain Phone Batteries On Purpose, And In Secret

I always wondered why Facebook seems to use a lot of the battery on my phone even on days where I hardly touch the app at all. There have been as many as 5 days where I haven’t launched the app, or had it running in the background and yet when my battery reports it […]

Read More