When I say 16GB, I mean 16GB of RAM. In the world of single-board computers (SBCs), it isn’t unusual to focus on the Raspberry Pi as probably the most well known SBC but in some ways, the Orange Pi Plus stands out as a compelling choice for hobbyists and makers. Orange Pi 5 Plus provides abundant interfaces, including two HDMl output ports, one HDMl input port , two PCIe extended 2.5G Ethernet ports, an M.2 M-Key slot that supports installation of NVMe SSDs, and an M.2 E-Key slot that supports Wi-Fi6/BT modules. In addition, Orange Pi 5 Plus has two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, and two Type-C (one of ..read more

For many years I’ve been using SSH sessions on my PC to talk to headless SBCs such as Raspberry Pi. I HATE monochrome editing and almost as badly hate 16-colour editor. Be wary before going further that 256-colours is not for every situation. Disclaimer out of the way – with Nano editor and my chosen PC tool Mobaxterm I’ve been stuck in that last-century mode for some time – and Mobaxterm documentation doesn’t help – I’m as good as anyone at finding solutions on Google – but wasted many an hour on this one – until now. Mobaxterm, only when creating or EDITING a session has the option to chang ..read more

So some of you know I’ve been dragged into using Docker for adding packages to the new(ish) Raspberry Pi 5 and Pi OS 64-bit “Bookworm” combo. Choices were – update my “the script” as the RPi 5 / Bookworm combo seems to break the odd part of the script – or start using Docker. So it’s a bit cheeky me calling this a tutorial but this is what I’ve picked up from my friend Antonio to date, in the process, migrating (successfully) in my case from from RPi4 (32 bit Pi OS “Bullseye”) to RPI5 (64 bit Pi OS – “Bookworm”). Using Docker – the “containers” can be migrated to any other host – for example ..read more

Tasmota and Autonomous Turn-off Thoughts Right now I’m in the process of rewview writing some of which can’t be released until product launch dates – meantime – one of the main features of the free, open-source Tasmota device control firmware is it’s ability to control various devices and monitor various sensors internally without resorting to “the cloud” – or “someone else’s server” for the cynical. Tasmota comes in rather handy if you don’t 100% trust your external provider Internet connection (something I’ve come to realise is very sensible here in rural Spain). So while I like to use Googl ..read more

This new Reolink solar IP WiFi pan/tilt camera features 2 lenses. One normal, one 2 optical telephoto. The website claims “4K 8MPX, pan-tilt and 6* hybrid zoom”. I took the Argus Track out of the box, plugged in the supplied solar panel (in the house so no actual sun) waited 5 minutes then turned on the camera with the on/off switch located alongside a microsd slot (for storage) under a small twin screw panel at the back of the camera. It turns out that the camera was 56% charged already. As you can see in the feature image – 2 warm and 2 cold lights. The camera also has IR lights and a blue i ..read more

I LOVE getting new stuff from Gl-iNet – I’ve been writing about them since the original OpenWrt-based MANGO router (which recently gave up on me after being dragged from house to house, country to country over the years). Foir years I was a Draytek fan but once Gl-iNet started to move upmarket from their cheap and cheerful travel router, I fell in love with their consistent interface and in the process dug into “advanced” and discovered the underlying OpenWrt with which I’ve since become very familiar and from which would now be loathed to switch. Thankfully that’s not a worry with the new Ma ..read more

With help from the Tasmota forums and my Italian friend Antonio, I’ve learned some very useful stuff in the last couple of days. Automatic router re-booter using Tasmota and Sonoff BASIC or Similar I have a 4G router which then feeds a normal router (we have no fibre option where we live but a good 4G signal). The 4G router is, say, 95% reliable… the main router higher – but from time to time, usually when I’m away from home – something goes wrong and I can no longer access stuff at home. I WAS getting the odd mains breaker issue but it turned out that our 2-year-old hot water tank had an inte ..read more

Back in early March 2023 I wrote about the Shelly Door/Window sensor and remarked on it’s use of twin CR123A batteries – I remember commenting about the size of them. At the same time I BRIEFLY mentioned the Shelley H&T – a pretty-looking but otherwise non-descript temperature and humidity sensor. I did nothing with it as I generally use Zigbee sensors around the house. Today I happened see a phone notification that the Shelly H&T has a low battery – so here goes… the H&T uses a single Lithium CR123 battery, the price of which seems to centre around €2 per battery depending on buy ..read more

Updated February 2024 This original article has been followed in here by many other articles on Sonoff devices and is preceeded by original Sonoff BASIC and other Sonoff articles again on this blog – but I’ve just learned something (new to me) so I’ll refer to it here – 12v operation (not on originl Sonoff but on the Tuta look-alikes I’ve received: Two things: Point 1: AliExpress in 2024 have Sonoff Basic rip-offs which mirror the bargains in the article below – I picked up some VERY cheap TUYA devices which look and function exactly like the original Sonoff BASICs but running under TUYA (Smar ..read more

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: The post Protected: SONOFF POW RING – What’s THAT? appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog ..read more