Posts

Maritronix, wireless yacht remote control systems

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I have been looking for e remote control to our 41 foot boat for years but they have been a little to expensive. I have even tried to build one myself but the Volvo Penta engines buzzer was very active 😎 and the instruments indicated errors.  So when I found the Maritronix remote (MXR) I was pleasantly surprised. (From 2 500 € net) We have 2 Volvo Penta(VP) engines D6-310 from 2006 and both a bow and sterntruster,  Side power SP125Ti and an anchorwinch which all are conected to MXR. Other, then VP, supported controls is  found here .
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Apple Time Machine backup targeting Linux or Proxmox LXC

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My old AirPort Time Capsule will not work with the new version of Mac OS 27 and since I really would like to have a local backup, besides iCloud, the tinkering started. It ended up with a Linux solution and an external USB disk, 2 Tb. In this post will show "how to" create a target for the Time Machine(TM) backup with a standard Linux host or with a Linux container in Proxmox.
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AIS receiver and dispatcher ! The best ?!

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Updated 2026-05-11 I found this amazing application,   AIS-catcher , just scrolling around on Youtube and  it includes "all" you need for an AIS receiver staying ashore or installed on a boat. It is compatible with a wide range of Software Defined Radios (SDRs). These include RTL-SDR dongles (such as the ShipXplorer AIS dongle and RTL SDR Blog v4), AirSpy (Mini/R2/HF+), HackRF, SDRPlay, SoapySDR, and file/network input (ZMQ/RTL-TCP/SpyServer). 
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Signal K quick install, Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu

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Updated 2026-05-03 ! I have got some questions installing, just,  Signal K (SK) so will do a summary with links. Signal K is the hub to receive data, from different devices in different data formats, and send it on to different equipment, or databases, in different formats. Most common for standard marine equipment are the old NMEA 0183 and the newer NMEA 2000 protocol which is also handled.  Besides the SK "hub" function developers  have  created  plugins  for different purposes. This is due to that  SK is open-source ! Sharing is caring ! In this post you can check the devices I'm using connected to the SK server and also my setup.
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DYI Weather template with data from Davis Weatherlink using Claude

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I have been very fond of our weather website with the  Weather34 application (W34),  but there is an end to everything..... Doing an upgrade of the server it collapsed and showed a blank screen. I'm no programmer but I had to test if it was possible to update the app using ChatGPT and Gemini. Burt several hours later I gave up !!
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DYI Weather template with data from Davis Weatherlink, Gemini, Claude

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I have been very fond of our weather website with the Weather34 application (W34), but there is an end to everything..... Doing an upgrade of the server it collapsed and showed a blank screen. I'm no programmer but I had to test if it was possible to update the app using ChatGPT and Gemini. Burt several hours later I gave up !!
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IVT, Bosch heat pump easy integration, Node-RED

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Updated 2026-03-30 ! If you are running the IVT Anywhere or the  Bosch Easy remote  app you probably also can  retrieve its data with for example Node-RED. With the nice application  Bosch XMPP you can set up an integration with the cloud service supplied by your vendor. Please note !  that this app, 2026-03, doesn't work with Node.js V24 but there is a "work around". Check below.
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DMI forecast API for atmosphere, ocean and sea ice, free !

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Updated 2026-03-28 ! DMI is the Danish Meteorological Institute and the   Open Data API provides free and open access to DMI’s data.They are covering a pretty big area not just Denmark . I'm maintaining the weather station for Domstens yacht club and have become really interested in weather "issues". The actual use case for me is that I have to change the mooring, of our boat, if the water level exceeds 60 cm from normal.   For several years I have been searching for a free forecast API so I can get an early warning when the water level rises. Node-Red is used.
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IVT, Bosch heat pump easy integration, Home Assistant

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Updated 2026-03-27 ! In search of the optimal solution on how to interface our IVT Heat pump,   first try here , I stumbled over   a nice integration   for Home Assistant(HA). A first quick setup is shown at the right. Please note !!! This integration stopped working with HA 2026.3.4 and the XMPP protocol(IVT) !!! But this one still works and can supply HA with data. The first obstacle was that it was HA which I knew about but never used.  So it was "back too school" and doing  a blog post  about a HA Core install.
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Popular posts, last 30 days

iCloud drive sync, or mount, with a Linux, Ubuntu, device

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Updated 2025-01-23 ! With my project to keep a MacBook Air 2011(MBA) alive , Ubuntu installed, i searched for a solution where my iCloud drive(iCD) was  continuous synced with my MBA. This must work both ways so even a file change made on MBA should be replicated to iCD. rclone now, 2025-01, works with iCloud !! Setup below !! Before "rclone" was working with iCloud I solved my sync between iCD and MBA with Syncthing (ST). Check below. ST doesn't sync with iCloud so the work around here was to use my MacMini, Mac OS, as the "Middle man". It's always on and synced with iCD.
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Raspberry Pi OS Lite with GUI, RDP, VNC, Chromium

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Updated 2025-10-02 ! I like the Raspberry Pi(RPi), with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no Desktop is included), headless operation, and then adding the software You need. Until now I haven't had a use case where I needed a Desktop but now was time.  Why don't use the Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop ?? In that package there is a lot of software I don't need and I really want to optimize the RPi. I think that the less software You install the happier RPi will be... 😉
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Home Assistant with VirtualBox or Proxmox or Linux KVM ???

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Updated 2026-02-24 ! After testing Home Assistant (HA) for a while, I’ve realised it could improve my home automation, despite that I'm using Apple HomeKit. When I tested HA with Node-RED and some other "Add-ons", on a Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi), I found that its resources wasn’t enough. The following setup could be any computer but I recently bought an Apple Mac Mini M4, replacing my 2018 (M18) model, so the M18 was really a great candidate for my HA setup. The preferred method running HA is through the  HA Operating System (HAOS), which makes your "life" easier. 😉
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Installing Ubuntu 24.04 or 24.10/25.04 on an old MacBook Air(2011)

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Updated 2025-05-20 ! I have done several posts Blogging about how to keep an old MacBook Air(MBA), mid 2011(A1369), with SSD disk "alive". I have used the fantastic software package OpenCore Legacy patcher to upgrade the Mac to the latest Mac OS.  A while ago i tested Mac OS  Sequoia (15.3), on the mentioned Mac, but I had to admit that it was to much for the 14 year old companion. I really like the Mac and everything works, after a battery change , so it ended up with installing  Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS  or if you want the latest scroll down and get Ubuntu 24.10/25.04. Ubuntu on  Mac Mini (2018) and MacBookAir (2010)  ?
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Clone the Raspberry boot disk

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Updated 2024-02-20 ! A very nice way to fix a backup is to make a copy, bootable, of the actual SD card You are using on the Raspberry Pi(RPi). This will be done even when the RPi is up and running ! This application can also be used to make a bootable SSD or USB drive !! You clone from the command line so You don't need the standard GUI, Pixel, and the " SD card copier "  function. It is also possible to set up a a scheduled job, cronjob explained later, which for example makes a clone every night at 1 o'clock.
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NetworkManager UI and access point, hotspot

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Updated 2023-10-12 ! In a former post I shared some thoughts about how to start using NetworkManager (NM), on a Raspberry, and here I will continue with additional examples that can help with network setup. NMTUI is NetworkManager text UI which can handle the most common tasks in a easy way. An access point or hotspot will be configured. " sudo nmcli connection edit xxxx " is a command that guides you throw a change of parameters.
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Raspberry Pi 2, 3, 4, 5 USB SSD or USB drive boot

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Updated 2024-06-06 ! After having tested several methods creating a bootable USB SSD, or other USB drive, for Raspberry Pi(RPi) 3 4 and 5, I finished with this simple method Create the setup you want on a ordinary SD card(Or use existing) Make a bootable backup/clone of the SD card saving it to the USB SSD Remove the SD card and boot from the USB SSD Having a RPi 4, 5 ? Use this post on how to write the OS direct to the SSD.  
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Home Assistant core install, Raspberry Pi and Python 3.12 & 3.13

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Updated 2025-06-02 ! This will soon be a deprecated installation method !! Another post with Linux KVM and HA easy start . The best way to start with Home Assistant (HA), and Raspberry Pi(RPi), is off course to use the ”Raspberry Pi imager” and in the menu select " Other specific-purpose OS => Home Assistant and home automation => Home Assistant ". This will install the HA operating system. It works very well and here are the install instructions .  On the other hand if you want to add HA to a RPi which you already have up and running, without Docker, you need to install something which is called " Home Assistant Core ". Please check the " Remarks " below before you start. New version for Python 3.13 ! Below info is not updated but just change from 3.12 to 3.13 
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AIS receiver and dispatcher ! The best ?!

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Updated 2026-05-11 I found this amazing application,   AIS-catcher , just scrolling around on Youtube and  it includes "all" you need for an AIS receiver staying ashore or installed on a boat. It is compatible with a wide range of Software Defined Radios (SDRs). These include RTL-SDR dongles (such as the ShipXplorer AIS dongle and RTL SDR Blog v4), AirSpy (Mini/R2/HF+), HackRF, SDRPlay, SoapySDR, and file/network input (ZMQ/RTL-TCP/SpyServer). 
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