Pyssel

Updated 2023-05-04 ! This post focus on  Shelly 1 (S1), a really a nice automation device with great versatility, but much of the content is also valid for some of  Shellys other devices  using the gen1 API. Setup for the later version,  Shelly Plus 1 , is found here  !! S1 is a WiFi switch, 16 Amps, with dry contacts and t he function "without Internet" + that the S1 can use a 12V DC source makes it perfect for an "use case" in a  boat /mobile home. It's compatible with Alexa , Google  or HomeKit using HomeBridge  or as a "native" HomeKit device using  Mongoose firmware (Flashed via a standard WEB browser !)

Updated 2023-05-03 ! In a  former post I made a writing about Shelly 1 (S1) and this post will handle about the successor Shelly PLUS 1 (SP1)  but much of the content is also valid for some of  Shellys other devices  which uses the same software/API. To keep it simple, SP1 is a WiFi switch, 16 Amps, with dry contacts but compared to the S1 the hardware and the software is updated.  The function "without Internet" + that the SP1 can use a 12V DC source makes it perfect for an "use case" i n a boat/mobile home .

Updated 2023-05-01 ! I really recommend flashing, via WEB-browser, the device with Mongoose software to avoid Homebridge.   HomeBridge is used for this setup and to make it appear in the Apple Home app. The main advantage with the Shelly devices are that they are WiFi enabled and therefore You don't have to use a hub, this compared to z-way/zigbee and some other solutions.  First install Shelly1 (S1).

Updated 2023-06-11 ! The use case is that I had an old iMac, max OS is High Sierra, that crashed and it didn't work with an Internet or Time Machine restore. The other MAC:s I have are running Catalina or Big Sur and if you try to download and older OS , via app-store, you just get an error saying that the running OS don't accept the download of an old OS. The universal way to create an USB installer seems to be using the command " createinstallmedia ", requires OS X 10.7 Lion or later, but you need the respective OS install app ! A new, better ??, without Python dependences is found here .

In former posts, Big Sur (11.7) and Monterey (12.7),   I went through how to update an old MacBook Air 4.2, (mid 2011, SSD, 4 Gb memory) which has a Non-Metal GPU. In this post I will update a MacBook Air 6.2 with SSD, Mid 2013,  to Ventura(13.5) with the same patcher  but the latest version 6.2 !!  This is despite that  max OS  for this Mac is  Big Sur Awesome !! ! Supported models are found here .

Since I'm not a programmer, and probably never will be 😉, I really like Node-Red(NR). NR is also a nice way trying to learn some JavaScript via the function nodes. I also appreciate hardware, MCU s, like ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico but find it a little hard to code in MicroPython or C++. Somewhere ?? on the WEB i found some applications that can export NR json code to C++ and run it on several MCUs. As you understand I had to check it out... 

Uppdated 2023-10-28 ! I have been running a Raspberry Pi 2(RPi) for several years with Buster and the applications; Homebridge(HB) Razberry , Z-way interface CUPS , printer software Node-RED (NR) When I started with the RPi it was Jessie, then Stretch and Buster. Every time I upgraded the SD card to the latest OS and it just worked. It should been said that I always waited a year or so and  I'm using the RPi headless without any GUI. Now it was time to go from Buster to Bullseye !

Updated 2023-03-12 ! When we upgraded our WiFi to a Mesh solution, TP-link Deco M9 , our old printer, WiFi connected, didn't want to "play" with us anymore. This was due to stronger encryption which wasn't supported. Since the printer just have WiFi or USB connection, no standard Ethernet, I was looking for another solution. We have no computer running 24/7 except a Raspberry Pi, RPi, which is handling our home automation, Homebridge . So the solution was to use CUPS  on that RPi. On the web there are several posts/manuals how to install CUPS on a RPi so this post will refer to one of these and then some additional hints regarding, Apple AirPrint, Windows Network Printer, scanning....

Uppdated 2023-02-01 ! The use case, creating an offline NTP , was that I'm on our boat sometimes don't have an Internet connection but always have a connected GPS. The GPS updates time on a  Raspberry(RPi)  running Signal K . The actual issue is that there are other devices on the LAN that needs to be updated and then you need an NTP server. Of course this setup is also valid for a RPi/server, with a RTC , acting as a NTP server in an isolated LAN.