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  I really like the products on AliExpress and Alibaba, but in most cases the documentation is very simple and to short. So when I bought a combined tracker and a burglar alarm, to our boat, I really tried to get the best. One important thing was that, if possible, getting a lifetime app support. The purchase went well and 14 days later it arrived in Sweden.

It's almost become a sport to revive old Macs..... 😉 This short post will address some obstacles found during install of a new OS. The Mac Mini:s WiFi controller wasn't found ! The MacBook Air didn't manage to do a USB boot with Ubuntu !

Updated 2025-06-28 ! Are You searching for a solution where You want to create graphs and gauges from SignalK(SK) data ? Use NodeRed(NR), installed as a SK plugin , with the standard dashboard and it's easy to create info as seen in the picture. And this is without a database as InfluxDB and tools like Grafana. You use the WebSocket interface , or SK subscribe nodes, to subscribe to changes in data from the SK server. 

Updated 2025-06-23 ! 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.

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 computational power 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 of running HA is through the  HA Operating System (HAOS), which makes your "life" easier. 😉

Updated 2025-06-02 ! This will soon be a deprecated installation method !! 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 

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.

Updated 2025-05-18 This post is for both Windows and Mac users !   I have been running Linux, Raspberry Pi OS , since several years but almost just the Lite version (without Desktop). But when my old MacBook Air "gave up" , with Mac OS, it came naturally to use Ubuntu Desktop since it's also based on the Debian Linux distribution and the most used Linux distribution. So it ended up with installing Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS (UOS) or the later 24.10 !

Node-Red (NR) is  Flow-based programming for the Internet of Things. I have in the past  written a lot of posts  for Node-RED and the   HA implementation  makes it easy to interact with HA:s entities. The best thing is that even if you don't are a skilled programmer, but like logic flows, you can make really advanced things and it really complements the logic that could be made within Home Assistant(HA). In this post I will do a quick introduction to what is possible with NR together with HA.

Updated 2025-03-23 ! Sometimes it's really nice to reach your applications, secure and quick, at home when you are somewhere else.  There are several applications but this post will be describe a really quick setup with remote.it  on a Raspberry Pi(RPi) or another Linux platform. Of course there also is a Windows version. The most used services are; http, ssh, vnc, rdp, SAMBA(smb/cifs) ..... and  or non-commercial use, with up to 5 devices, it's free ! I'm using it to access Home Assistant , display  NodeRed dashboard , access servers with "ssh" and file sharing with SAMBA there all applications are running on RPi:s at home.

Updated 2025-03-14 ! 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.

Updated 2025-01-10 ! Dimming not dimmable LED, IKEA Bäve, produced before 2019-11 and a new idea for later products ! In former post I used a  Fibaro Z-Wave RGBW controller  but in this post I will use an IKEA original or an external dimmer ?!

Updated 2025-01-09 PHP 8.2 ! If You want Your Private Weather Station(PWS) Davis Vantage Pro2, or other Davis products that use WeatherLink, to provide data for the template we use at Domstens Båtklubb just follow the instructions below.  T his is made  without  additional software such as Cumulus, Weather display or the Meteobridge product. This application is updated !! , to use the v2 API. Check   this post  !!

Updated 2025-01-08 OK PHP 8.2 ! This post is an update from a former post which handles on how to set up a weather WEB-site with data from Davis Weather Link(WL) but here adapted to the latest WL API v2. Any product that reports weather data to WL can be used as a source for this weather template. T his is made  without  additional software such as Cumulus, Weather display or the Meteobridge product.

Beeing forced to use a hearing aid(HA) is not that fun but on the other hand it's always exciting with new electronic gadgets and to better participate in conversations with other people.  In this post I will just summarize some points gathered when setting up the HA with the ReSound Smart 3D (S3D) in an Apple enviroment. But of course there is also a Android app These hearing aids are compatible with the mentioned app and I'm using Resound Nexia 9 RIE .  

Updated 2024-12-13 ! When starting up a new project with Raspberry Pi I like to start up fresh and with a minimal OS.  Therefore i always use Raspberry Pi OS(ROS) Lite and then adding what I need .  Doing it right You don't have to use an external display, keybord and mouse, just a " ssh "  client. Flash to a SSD ? Check this post .

  Updated 2024-12-01 ! In my underfloor heating project, using Node-RED, I have to have one sensing thermometer per room/zone, seems to be 8 in total, so therefore it would be nice with a wireless battery sourced device with good resolution and frequent updates. During the test phase I used a Z-way device but the resolution was pretty bad. Another device mentioned is  the  Ruuvi tag  but since it's a bluetooth device the transmitting range could be better. After some googling I went for 433 MHz devices.

Updated 2024-11-14 ! In a former post I did some hacking/checking how our underfloor heating control system handled the valves, actuators, regulating the heat.  Now it was time to do some tests with Node-RED(NR), with a PID controller ,  and a Shelly 1 (S1) connected via WiFi and driving the actuator. The actuators are in my case controlled by 24 VAC and the S1 accepts 110 - 240 VAC, 24 - 60 VDC and 12 VDC. So in this case it was simple to just add a rectifier and a capacitor, to the 24 VAC, to get approx 36 VDC to source the S1.

Matter is a smart home standard currently being developed by a consortium of over two hundred companies, including big players such as   Apple ,   Google ,   Phillips ,   Amazon   and   Samsung . Many new devices have Matter implemented, from the beginning, but devices, such as most of Shelly devices don't. On the other hand many hubs can be upgraded to Matter support. For example an Apple TV. With a Matter bridge  you can solve the incompability. This post will use  Matter bridge plugin Manager and the Shelly plugin  but it could be other devices shown in the picture below.

Updated 2024-11-14 ! The installation of a CTC heat pump(HP), EcoAir 600 , and the indoor module, Eco Zenith i360 , was not optimal from the beginning, so to monitor it closely I checked how to retrieve data.  The newer CTC HP:s are always shipped with a MODBUS TCP interface, without any additional hardware, which solved the issue. MODBUS was new to me but after some reading and checking I found that there is a NodeRed node which solves the interface dialog.