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Showing posts from February, 2026

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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Home Assistant DIY, ESPhome, creating a Bluetooth proxy

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My Home Assistant (HA) server setup is  virtualized   with Linux KVM  and I needed a solution handling Bluetooth since the used Mac Mini just had a PCI connected one. HA recommends to use a  Bluetooth proxy (BTP) quote  " since Linux kernel updates have previously broken Bluetooth functionality and Bluetooth driver support Linux generally falls behind other operating systems for newer adapters. A Bluetooth proxy is particularly interesting to users who virtualize their instance, where the USB pass-through may cause additional problems ". So using  ESPHome  I will set up a BTP in this post !
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Home Assistant for beginners or easy start

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Updated 2026-01-01 ! What is the purpose of a Home Assistant(HA)  according to Wikipedia ? Home Assistant is free and open-source software used for home automation. It serves as an integration platform and smart home hub, allowing users to control smart home devices. The software emphasizes local control and privacy and is designed to be independent of any specific Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.  Even for me, as someone running Apple HomeKit and Homebridge, it is a fantastic piece of software that bridges almost everything and enables highly intelligent integrations.  Since it is widely used, there is a wealth of information available. However, I couldn't find a clear "bullet list" on how to get started. This post will primarily contain links to other sources rather than writing extensive explanations myself.
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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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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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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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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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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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Waveshare CAN hat with Signal K & OpenPlotter

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Updated 2024-07-08 To get information from the NMEA 2000(N2K) network, to the RPi, I have been using  Actisense NGT-1 , for a long time,  and later also the  Yacht Devices YDWG 02  but now it was time for a Raspberry Pi(RPi) CAN hat(CH) from Waveshare(WS). WS have 3 different models but I picked the 2 channel isolated one . It's recommended to use an isolated one which also is demanded for those interfaces which can be approved by the N2K group.
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IVT, Bosch heat pump easy integration, Home Assistant

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Updated 2025-10-16 ! 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. 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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SeaTalk1 to NMEA 0183 converter, DIY

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Updated 2024-08-30 !  !! Another SW solution is available for RPi 5 here !  using the same HW. Thanks to Thomas, (the guy with the nice marine interface board ) ,  it's now possible  to decode, one way, the SeaTalk1(ST1) sentences in a pretty simple way. You just  use OpenPlotter(OP) and/or SignalK(SK) and an  Optocoupler . The thing that made it, is that Thomas   has released a "how to" and  Python source code , that will read the data from a GPIO pin on the Raspberry Pi, (RPi), and format it so the standard parser in SignalK can translate it to SignalK delta format. It is then  available as NMEA 0183. It's even possible to send the data in to a NMEA 2000 network, with a proper hardware interface.
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