Pyssel

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.

We’ve been using Mobile Broadband for several years and have always been keen to measure the speed from our Internet Service Provider (ISP). I’ve posted several variants , mostly Node-RED(NR) flows and programs that often use Python. I’m now slowly converting to Home Assistant(HA), and was glad there was an integration,   Speedtest , to do the job.  But I couldn’t get it to work since HA didn’t like that the test took more than 10 seconds,  Then I tried a Speedtest NR node, but it didn’t install because it needed Python dependencies...... (NR was installed as a HA "Add-on")

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. 😉

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 2025-01-08 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.

Updated 2025-01-04 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.

  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.

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.

In my project to get data from the Swegon Casa HRV, FTX, i needed a new solution to distribute the MODBUS data from the CASA. The thing is that I have a Raspberry Pi(RPi) that is the central HUB for everything going on in our house, but away from the CASA, and the data is there  vizualized in a NodeRed dashboard. Since the CASA RTU is serial, using   Waveshare USB to RS 485 ,   and I didn't want to install a new long cabel to the central RPi I used another RPi which is near the CASA.

Updated 2024-11-06 ! Node-Red (NR) is  Flow-based programming for the Internet of Things This post isn't made as a complete install guide, there are several, just some links to the best information I have found. The best thing is that even if you don't are a skilled programmer, but like logic flows, you can make really advanced things. It's pre-installed on some Raspberry Pi(RPi) distributions. Running  Node-Red with  multiple instances  ?

Fresh air at home is very important ! For more than 15 years ago, at a major renovation of our house, we installed an HRV or in Swedish  FTX system . Since then there have been nice updates for FTX equipment so when one of the fans was a little noicy and when the motor for the rotor died it was time to do an upgrade instead of repairing the old one. So we purchased an  CASA R7 Genius (R7). For me its important to get as much data as possible, to optimize energy consumption in our house, so despite that the the R7 have a nice app we also added a SEM interface to get the data, via MODBUS , that is available.

Im using NodeRed together with  Speedtest by Ookla  but just the other day it wasn't showing the right data so it was time for "Bredbandskollen", the command line version. Bredbandskollen has always been a reliable source when testing internet speed.  I'm using their WEB-site and the iPhone app and it have always worked very well. This post will show how to plot data in a graph according to the picture.

If you are running the IVT Anywhere or the  Bosch Easy remote  app you probably also can  retrieve its data with for example NodeRed.  With the nice application  Bosch XMPP you can set up an integration with the cloud service supplied by your vendor.

Updated 2024-03-01 ! OpenPlotter(OP), a Boat Navigation application, is really a nice and simple installation of OpenPlotter (OP) OpenCPN (OC) SignalK (SK)  and other supporting applications for Your boat. An overall information about the OP package is found here . Install guide for the new stable OP, version 4, is found here .

Updated 2023-11-05 ! An introduction to the SignalK, Marine application, is given here . A very easy way to measure temperature with Raspberry Pi, RPi, is to connect one wire (1W) DS18B20  (DS)temperature sensors direkt to the RPi GPIO. Here You find a post where the temperatures are transfered via WiFi

 Updated 2023-10-30 ! OK with Bookworm ! New simple install !  For a new project I needed a small wireless temperature sensor, there You don't have to change battery so often, and this gave the RuuviTag . Having used Node-Red(NR) on Raspberry Pi before, the first application was this dashboard.  Tested and works with with Node.js V18 !