Scargill's Tech Blog

More precisely called the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Global Version Smartphone this phone came late last year from Banggood – and Maureen still absolutely loves it.

Wonderful – because though lovely and reliable, her little, inexpensive Cubot X19 was not in the same league as the (budget) Note 8, which has (for starters) a 48Mpx camera, all-in 4 lenses, fingerprint recognition, face recognition, compass, Intrared remote control (unless you have our 4K TV, the Aldi special who’s brand name is not recognised by Xiaomi – yet) and a list of acceptable features including 4GB Ram and 64GB storage, I’m not going to go through the lot here as you can get them from the link above. I will mention that the Note 8 release date was September 2019 and that the phone currently has Android 9 and MUIU 11 – pretty much the same software used in my Pocophone F1 (all that is about to change). This update is a “spare moment” job as right now I’m on holiday.

The 6.3″ display on the Note 8 is 2340*1080 Corning Gorilla Glass 5, it has dual SIMs and (I said I was not going through all the specs so I’ll stop in a tick). Nearly all of the top surface is screen but for a tiny central camera cut-out for selfies – but (as Maureen will tell you) the MOST important feature is – it is LOVELY – a shimmering purple/blue in our Note 8… see my photos in here.

As soon as the weather picks up – I’ll go take some pictures (48Mpx as well as night shots, HDR and panoramas) – and maybe some 4K UHD video. Oh and if the storage isn’t enough you can have 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and up to a 256B microSD. This could well give my Pocophone F1 some competition.

The obvious next thing to do here is show example photos and video from the NOTE 8 – the only issue there is the weather we’ve been having this winter, not exactly ideal for Kodak moments. Photos will have to wait until things pick up. I’ve also just noticed our mistake – the idea was to have the Note 8 PRO – who’s cameras are even better – that is on the way. On the other hand, the Google Pixel camera app that I fitted to the Note 8 when I started this entry was (late 2019) apparently NOT available for the Pro.

I mention the Pro merely as I have THAT on the way BECAUSE my Pocophone battery won’t last forever and I like to be prepared for change. Look out for an entry in February 2019 on the Note 8 Pro.

Initial outdoor shot on the Note 8 – a photo which at 48Mpx ends up as a 10MB JPG image – you’re looking at a shrunken version of that… anyway, here it is..

And night shots – completely unprocessed and in rubbish weather

Note 8 night shot including moving person.

Of course, you can’t really tell here but take my word for it that the originals were massive. I DO think that Xiaomi could have included a screen protector – we bought one from Ebay and the people who make these things need to gain some skills – too big for a curved-edge screen like the Note 8. Already asked Banggood to help out here. I would expect the Google Pixel 4 camera app (v7) that I’ve added to the Pocophone AND the Note 8, to benefit the latter, not that there is anything wrong with the native app but, well, you just must have astrophotography mode to feel complete.

The PLAN was to go out and test the phone camera to death but I’m afraid it is just too cold and miserable outside so I’m staying indoors working on my Nod-Red Dashboard instead.

January 2020 Update: I’ve scoured the web and it LOOKS like we can expect Android 10 on the Pocophone F1 in February, the Redmi Note 8 Pro anytime now though I still have no dates for the Note 8 upgrade. Will the updates be a big deal? Probably not but then I do like to have the latest updates just in case I’m missing something – and now we are into a new decade, before long who will want to admit they “only” have Android 9 PIE:-) – The Pro also gets new spiffy orange colour option soon.

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After visiting family in Chicago for much of January – I’ll be back to working on the blog hopefully this coming weekend. So very much to catch up with as well. You would not believe the things that have gone wrong remotely while I’ve been here in freezing cold Chicago, a failed router and by the look of it, failed Raspberry Pi (if so the first time EVER in both cases and both in the same location) in one of my installations. The router and cameras are back up and running, the PI should hopefully be resolved within the week thanks to helpful neighbours.

I also have a shedload of new toys for 2020, despite being an avid Alexa user I’ve never touched the Google Home stuff but the price of Home Minis (last generation) was so cheap at (my favourite store) Wallmart last week (15 dollars each) I just could not resist buying a couple. Meanwhile I’m expecting delivery of a new Xiaomi phone, new Blitzwolf power controllers, a high power breaker, new smart bands and lots of other new toys to write about in order to get the new year off to a flying start.

More soon…

The post New for 2020 – Coming Soon appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

I’ve been waiting for the Redme Note 8 Pro Smartphone (Xiaomi – Global version) for quite a while now, ever since Banggood sent off a Bakeey cover for the Redmi Note 8 Pro phone when all I had at the time was the original Note 8 (there IS a difference – both great phones at the price but this one starts to make my Pocophone F1 look dated) and I realised I just HAD to have this improved phone which was released in September 2019 and which at the time of writing features a customised Android 9.

Having just returned from a trip to Chicago, before I start I should politely point out for the benefit of died in the wool Apple and Samsung enthusiasts I met or know over there as well as the “comms expert” at Wallmart who seemed confused by my reference to a “Chinese phone – the Pocophone F1” and refused to believe my Pocophone was unlocked (i.e. not tied to any particular cellular provider like AT&T etc) – yes, there ARE other decent phone manufacturers, no they are not all cheap and no they aren’t all spying on us In my experience Xiaomi make pretty good phones at a very reasonable price – please bear that in mind when looking at these specs.

In the photo above I’ve shown the Note 8 Pro in the Bakeey case. Below I show the phone without any case so you can see the actual colour of my model. Available in a range of colours, the Xiaomi (pronounced something like a soft “SHOW ME”) Note 8 Pro sitting in front of me is the “grey” version (a description which fails to get across the beauty of the phone). Here’s a quick list of important features which I think are important, to start the ball rolling. If you want the full list I’ve provided links at the top but I will also go into some detail later on in this entry, no doubt adding as I go along.

64MP ultra-high resolution camera (total 4 cameras including ultra-wide and macro lenses).
6.53″FHD + dot drop display 1080×2340 px – Gorilla Glass 5, HDR
High performance Helio G90T processor
4500MaH battery with 18w fast-charge
6GB RAM and 64GB storage (variations are available)
Dual SIM or 1 SIM + SD
MIUI 11.0.3.0 – Android 9(Pocophone F1 has MIUI 11.0.5.0)
Dimensions 161.4 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.35 x 3.01 x 0.35 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz)
Video quality – up to 4K at 30 FPS, slow motion, time-lapse
Image quality – up to 64Mpx ultra HD, AI, HDR, 0.6x, 1x, 2x (highest resolution 9248×6936)
4-sided curved back
Multifunction NFC, Bluetooth 5.0
USB type C and 3.5mm jack

The Mi Note 8 Pro, like the Pocophone F1, has it’s rear cameras running along the centre (unlike the Mi Note 10 which has them running down one side. You have to wonder why the change).

As many of you will know, phone cameras can’t do the wide range of adjustments that some “proper” camera lenses handle so having multiple lenses seems like a sensible alternative and the Note 8 Pro has LOTS of options – more than my Pocophone F1 by some margin and THAT was (is) impressive). All that is needed now is a WORKING, reliable port of the GooglePixel camera to get 4K at 60fps – or maybe that’ll some in the PIE update.

The Note 8 Pro comes complete with an optional transparent back-case but oddly, no screen protector (I chose instead to use the Bakeey case I bought from Banggood months ago and that includes front and rear protection). I make it a rule never to use a phone without some kind of protection – it is easy to scratch any phone but nigh on impossible to un-scratch one – better safe than sorry, hence the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro full flip cover protective case (Bakeey).

Did I say I am pondering moving on the Pocophone F1 in favour of this new phone? It is midnight on a cold, miserable UK day – as soon as all of that changes I’ll be outdoors with the Note 8 Pro putting the camera lenses through their paces – as for the actual phone – well, it just works as expected – beautifully.

Note: Some of you with early experience of inexpensive Chinese phones may be hanging onto memories of unreliable GPS and/or WiFi- I’ve not seem that in years.

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I recently wrote about the Sonoff RF-Bridge – a great device for transferring RF signals from various gadgets to WIFI – well, first things first, I put Tasmota on the RF-Bridge so now, using the free Tasmota Device Manager on it, I can receive information from devices and that gets turned into MQTT by the RF-Bridge.

But which devices? Well, as well as getting to test Itead Sonoff RF products, I somehow I ended up with with two rather nice 433Mhz wireless smoke detectors from Banggood. No brand name that I can see, but they look nice and appear to work perfectly. Each puts out a unique code when tested (i.e. the central button held for a second until the green light on the detector illuminates).

These devices run on a standard 9v battery – the manufacturer claims a year battery from a decent alkaline with audible alarm if the battery oltage dips below 6.8v.

So, the alarms come with a twistable base and by removing that base (no screws) you can change the battery. There is only the briefest green flash in normal operation, when testing or in the case of fire, there is a full-on green light, the usual audio alarm and telemetry data including a unique code for that device is sent back to RF-Bridge – as far as I can see however, no regular telemetry is sent during normal operation of the smoke alarm.

If there is no-one in the building it would be nice to know that the fire alarm is actually working – but there it is. The RF-Bridge of course does send regular telemetry but that does not include status for the fire alarms.

I also received an eWelink 433Mhz Wireless Water Leakage Sensor and a Sonoff DW1 433Mhz Door Window Sensor from Banggood – unlike the smoke detector which uses a pair of AAA alkaline batteries, these use 23A 12v miniature batteries – both come complete with adhesive pads and instructions. I have 5 batteries for under £3 from Amazon on order – when they arrive I’ll test the sensors.

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Ok, I know this isn’t strictly high tech – but I promised Maureen I’d get her a new vacuum from China and here it is – the Deerma VC20 Ultra Light Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

This neat cordless vacuum just arrived, having been (almost) delivered at the start of January JUST after we went off to the USA on holiday – for reasons beyond me our local post office sent it back to Parcelline and I had them re-deliver today. I like it and so does Maureen with the caveat that it does not seem well suited to THICK carpets and cat hair. For the ceiling however (cobwebs and spiders), wood floors and around the side of cookers, bathroom cupboards etc, Maureen is already in love as she has a little trouble with her thumbs and this lightweight vacuum is no problem to point up at the ceiling, especially with one of the smaller heads. It does a cracking job and the 2-speed motor is relatively quiet. The unit costs around £61 sterling

There are plenty of high quality photos on the Banggood site (link above) so instead I’ll give you my less than perfect but certainly not staged images. I hope this is of some interest.

Setup and operation is self-explanatory – just as well as the manual came in Chinese. The ad claims it can be used in the car. That’s next as soon as it stops raining.

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The R2S is more fully described as NanoPi R2S: A Raspberry Pi alternative that incorporates two Gigabit Ethernet ports. That’s not strictly true, it is nothing like an alternative to the Raspberry Pi 4, for example, but with 1GB RAM it runs OpenWrt (the FA version) a TREAT – I set it up last night and it works perfectly – I need to test my Spanish Raspberry Pi whidh is on a different subnet to my UK installation and this will do the job perfectly.

The R2S arrived as a small boxed unit that looks remarkably like one of those inexpensive Mango mini-routers. I have an immediate use for this device using the FriendlyArm supplied rk3328-sd-friendlywrt-5.4-20200118.img.zip image – check their WIKI.

This lovely little yellow box was ready to go, needing only for me to download the above OpenWrt image onto an SD (I had a 16GB microSD handy) and power up with a usb supply (not provided). As you will see in the photo, the microSD sits in the corner of the board, opposite the Ethernet blocks. I connected the Ethernet leads, USB and plugged in an SD – that’s it.

My need in this example is for a router with WAN input and one LAN output (for the Pi which has to sit on subnet 192.168.1.x) – my internal network as it happens is 192.168.14x so I simply plugged the WAN connection into my network. That’s it.

Well, not quite, the software by default sets the LAN to 192.168.2.x and it took all of 30 seconds to change that to 192.168.1.x – and add a passord (default none) to user ROOT.

The R2S is based on a Rockchip Soc and has 2 Ethernet ports. It comes complete with 1GB RAM but no eMMC or SD. It also has a USB type-A port as well as the micro-USB port.

Regular readers will know I’ve set up LOTS of FriendlyArm boards with various operating systems but in this case all I need is the stock OpenWrt software. You might be interested in their FriendlyCore (Ubuntu) software if you want something more ambitious.

The post NanoPi R2S OpenWrt miniRouter appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

If like me, you are aware of Blitwolf (actually the name often takes me back to “Wolfensten”) you will probably think of battery packs or even WIFI-controlled power sockets or adaptors…. but here we have a Blitzwolf BW-HL2 WATCH.

A classy looking job with “leather” look strap, default classical-looking analog watchface and a host of nice features including but not limited to:

Blood oxygen monitor
Blood pressure monitor
Continuous heart rate monitor
Sleep tracking
Bluetooth 5.0
Waterproof to IP68
5-7 days working time
1.3 inch colour touch screen
Multi sports modes
Step counting, calories and stopwatch

The reason I said “not limited to” is because you can read the full spec and get lots more info on the link I provided (Banggood) or even Blitzwolf’s own site – it’s all there. So the point of this watch is? Well, i is’ not going to blow away the mighty Samsung Gear, but then again the BW-HL2 is only £28 (36 dollars) or thereabouts. Horses for courses. And I’ll just interject here – yes, it does look good – the strap is nice, the case looks solid and it all comes in a very nice box. My only gripe so far is that there are 5 watch faces available – all built-in and all very nice. A shame most of these manufacturers could not use Xiaomi and Samsung as references when designing their watches – there is no reason to have a fixed number of faces (with some camera artifacts, sorry about that).

However, the faces that come with this watch are not bad at all – you can switch between them with a long-press on the home screen on the watch. In the top photo you can see the default face.

Here are just two of several screens above and below. The APP for this watch is called FitCloudPro and is of course freely available on the Android and Apple Play Stores.

Checking pulse rate is easy – I was a little confused however, having tested my pulse on the watch and having SYNC’d the watch and app, that initially the app did not seem to be aware of the results – however, on closing and re-opening the app, my 66bpm result appeared, no problem. Next, blood pressure (104/78) which seemed a little low, then blood oxygen came to 96% which seemed reasonable. I dare not say how many steps I’ve not done today.

The charge lead that comes with the BW-HL2 needs a USB supply (or wall/car/plane socket) to function. As well as the Banggood link I provided at the top of this artcle – you muight want to check Blitzwolf’s own site for tech details.

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I just received a nice package from INSTAR Deutschland (Germany) GmbH – an IN-9008 Full HD camera (1920×1080). I’ve had several emails from Mike Polinowski of Instar – and this is the end result – the “first ever” MQTT IP Camera. I have to say it LOOKS good – rock-solid in fact…. not cheap though.

But can you compare Chinese cameras that look similar but 25% or less than the cost of this beast? Not realy as they are not like for like. The IN-9008 would I imagine be ideal for a commercial environment – it dow tha job smoothly and without issue so far. Is it overkill for domestic use? Hopefully and most likely over time I’ll attempt to answer that question. Read on…

The box is in German with some English titles – don’t ask why – I don’t know – the camera is made in Germany (most other cameras I’ve come across so far have been made in China).The manual looks excellent – 2 part with one part in German, the other part in English. The mounting kit looks solid and comes complete with Allen key and screwdriver. A WiFi antenna is included and again that looks solid. You get lots of scrwes and 3 different seals – i.e. this is a complete package. A variation of the unit can also manage power-over-ethernet. Amazon sell this at £249.00 (pounds sterling).

To start the ball rolling I used the supplied screwdriver to remove the back and put in the single 12v power cable. Easy. The board inside is held in a frame with a single screw for ease of access. Looks like it was built by engineers for engineers – I like it already.

I then powered the unit up and looked to see what to do next. At this point we had a power cut. Bloody useless electricity company, if only their service was as solid as this camera. To set up the camera I went off to the INSTAR website and was asked to rate the camera on one of two sites – in order to get a free licence for their InStarVision 2.0 software. I guess that is now on its way. Lovely. as well as the web UI, there are Apps for EVERYTHING including IOS, ANdroid, PC and more.

For my next trick I figured I’d set up the camera using it’s wireless access point and my phone – that all worked but I thought that maybe the camera had been tested at the factory as I could not get any usual default passwords I know to work, so I tried the Ethernet route. 192.168.14.143 according toAdvanced IP Scanner on my PC (INSTAR Deutschland GmbH). As it happens I didn’t need that step – the user is “admin” and default password is “instar”.

Much more on this shortly, I have an MRI scan today along with mandatory shopping while in town – but I wanted to get something down in writing. I have the camera showing video simultaneously on my phone and PC and left it on overnight just to prove the point. Not tested MQTT or the actual alarm zoning yet but I WILL soon. Meanwhile I hope this is interesting including my pretty awful snapshot showing simultaneous App and WebUI views on the PC..

Before anyone comments about my dress sense – this was a REALLY early morning effort to get some feedback to you guys quickly.

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I LOVE getting new toys – and this time I think Maureen likes this one too. Clips straight into the tap in the kitchen or bathroom to provide proximity-controlled water supply.

If you are on a meter or just environmentally-conscious – this battery powered (USB rechargeable) device might just be a winner for you. The Xiaomi Zajia comes with a range of (plastic so no rusting) tap adaptors and takes seconds to slip onto the bottom of any mixer tap. I now don’t bother to turn off the tap as the device has zero leaks, instead, I just leave the tap mixer set to the kind of temperature I usually need for handwashing etc.

The Zajia has proximity sensing on the underside for a short burst of water as required and another on the back (or front as you prefer) for constant on or off. Just put your hand, toothbrush, razor or whatever underneath the Zajia and out comes the water. It’s all very intuitive – so that I could not tell you if it came with instructions or not – certainly didn’t need any.

When the device arrived last week I lifted the grey flap and plugged in a USB supply to give it an hour’s charge – and that’s it, the device has been in constant use ever since. Now that I’m used to it, I hate using taps that don’t have similar devices. I fitted this in the kitchen to test initially then into the smaller of our two bathrooms – the only thing wrong is that I now need two more for life to be complete again. The Zajia doesn’t seem to get in the way and doesn’t get dirty as of course you don’t actually touch it. Needless to say it is waterproof.

If I were to improve the device I’d add a temperature sensor and third proximity sensor to somehow detect how hot or cold I wanted the water to be – but I guess that’s stretching things a little.

The post Xiaomi ZAJIA Auto-sense IR Induction Water Saver appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

The full title of my latest toy is Bakeey E70 IP68 Waterproof Wristband ECG+PPG Heart Rate Blood Oxygen Monitor Smart Watch and it looks lovely. First impressions, the steel strap looks a cut above some other inexpensive smart watches.

This morning I opened the package and was pleasantly surprised to see a better than average package (for the price range) and high quality watch finish. Everything works – but as always the next thing to check is the free “Da Fit” APP to see how well that works. I’ve used that APP before without any problems. Oh, the watch came complete with screwdriver – a nice touch though I didn’t need it.

Other points to note – (ignoring the triangular QC PASS “qualified certificate”) is a sheet (in English and Chinese) including a description of the ECG test conditions and test method (you don’t get that in most of the watches and bands I’ve checked in the last couple of years) – suggesting resting for 5 minutes before taking the first test and not eating, drinking or smoking for 2 hours before testing. There is more detail but I have to leave you something to discover if you go for this model.

The link at the top of this page has Banggood’s price – £28 – $36 or equivalent where you are – but way more importantly a complete list of features, photos etc so I won’t replicate them here. Of course you’ve seen this stuff before – but up to now, yes I do recommend this one especially now I know I can change the faces.

The manual has information in several languages including English – 5 pages each and it tells you that the watch steel ring is the front ECG electrode whereas the back has the other electrode as well as charging contact points (USB lead supplied magnetic). You can get this watch with steel or leather strap – I went for steel for a change.

On initial opening, I found I had to charge the watch for a couple of hours. That’s pretty normal as it came all the way from China. After 24 hours testing, the battery was at 93%, suggesting 14 days of use on a charge.

In common with other watches of this type it has a good range of features and the included faces are not bad at all. The BIG deal with this watch is that like Samsung and XIAOMI (and unlike MANY others) – you can download new watchfaces. Wheeee.

Here are some specs:

Bakeey E70
BT 4.0
Full touch
IP68 waterproof
ECG+PPG+blood oxygen
Sleep monitoring
Multi-sports inc pedometer
Call and message reminder
Notifications for Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, WhatsApp and more
Auto-light-up
Stopwatch, alarm, calendar, sedentary reminder, camera remote
G-sensor, heart rate sensor
1.2″ TFT – 240x240px
200ma battery, 30 days standby, 10 days use, 4 hours magnetic charge

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I’ve just been watching a video by Andreas Speiss – and I agree with him, USB boot on the Raspberry Pi has taken FAR too long and we are NOT a tiny minority in favour of USB boot, contrary to comments in the Pi forums.

The PI3 had USB2 boot and so it was/is entirely reasonable IMHO to expect a product touted as the next generation of Raspberry Pi to boot from USB3 (which now has enough speed to make it worthwhile) and yet the Pi team apparently consider this a low priority – many months after launch.

As Andreas quite rightly points out, SDs are well suited to cameras where they get read often but over-written to rarely (photos tend to stay put and new photos tend to occupy new space) whereas computers write constantly – often over-writing the same location. In addition, SDs are somewhat prone to failure if power is lost – and last month for the first time I lost my setup over in Spain while I was in the UK, thanks to dodgy mains power which also took out my router. Thankfully I had a backup on USB but this meant a friend over there in Spain bringing back the Pi (as he was visiting the UK) and posting it to me so I could thoroughly check the setup using the backup USB. The Pi4 itself was and is fine, the SD was irretrievably ruined. The backup, thankfully was fine and once again everything works.

Whwn my friend Antonio pointed out that Andreas had posted a video with a solution, I was all ears.

At this point I’m not sure if this applies onto to a new installation or if we can include existing installations (a new-only route would be useless to me). It always amazes me how often people (including the Pi team) concentrate on new installations as if nothing we already have in place is relevant. I have spent a lot of time upgrading my home control to the latest versions of everything without starting from scratch and I don’t intend to start now.

However it seems all academic as this does NOT looks like a true SSD boot scenario, I guess we will just have to wait for the RPI team to finish the job.

The post Raspberry Pi 4 and SSD – Miracles at Last? appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

This is a quick writeup about the Bakeey R16 music control IPS screen smart watch with heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen monioring as well as the usual sports mode, sleep monitoring and more. It is a winner and I’ve no idea why I didn’t blog it when I received it – but as they say, better late than never. Really easy to use as well.

Why now? Well, . I have no record of writing about this watch which (I’ve just checked) is currently available yet which I received some time ago – but I’m just about ready to let my grandson have it as a gift and the box has no mention of what the make or model is. No problem I thought – I’ll consult my blog (which will have the watch name andd app name – no chance.

So, I told the freely downloadable Android APP (Da Fit) to forget all the watches it knows about and go looking for new watches – that did me no good – so next, having charged the watch I reset it (easy – touch the screen once – then long-touch it to get a submenu which includes reset) . The next thing I knew, the app had found an “R16” watch – so off I went to the Banggood store to find an R16 – turns out it is the Bakeey R16 – I checked by changing watchface on the APP and sure enough the new watchface appeared on the watch itself. A roundabout but very easy way to set things up – I have no idea why this is the first record I have of it, but it is a very nice device and at the time of writing, around £25 from Banggood.

I suggest if you find this interesting, you take a look for a complete set of photos on the site link above – and if somehow you manage to find an earlier entry in the blog for this watch – my apologies for the repeat.

The R16 comes complete with English instructions and a USB charging lead

You can get the specs from the link above – but for quick partial reference… IPS true colour screen, scratch-proof metal frame, sports pedometer, calories, heart rate, blood pressure, incoming calls, bluetooth camera connection, sleep monitoring, alarm reminder, music control, find phone, weather, blood oxygen, water resistant.

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Some time ago I wrote about Blitzwolf battery packs and mentioned the Blitzwolf BW-SS1 – a small mains power controller. Well, it seems the company has a RANGE of such controllers including the BW-SHP6 and BW-SHP7 Smart Plugs. I have samples of all three in front of me..

Having owned several Blitzwolf battery packs over the years, I have high hopes for these controllers.

BlitzWolf® BW-SHP6 10A EU Plug Metering Version WIFI Smart Socket — http://bit.ly/33zZq1E (it seems that the SHP6 is similar – other than branding – to the Gosund SP111). The SHP-6 claims it can handle 2300W (as many of you will know, this means 2300w non-inductive load – i.e. lamps and some heaters, not motors or other highly inductive loads at this power. The device has a manual override button on the top (which also doubles up for programming)..

BlitzWolf® BW-SHP7 16A 2 IN 1 Remote Controller with one manual control overide button on each side — http://bit.ly/2NZCRg6 – the device claims capacity up to 3860w. Though not clear on the unit, I suggest this will be the total for both sockets. On custom software, putting Tasmota onto these units ands the SS1 with Tuya-convert is quite easy.

Unlike the tiny BW-SS1 which is an inline controller suitable for, say use in a cupboard, the BW-SHP6 (single, 10A) and BW-SHP7 (double, total 16A capacity) are (in this case) compatible with the main EU wall-plug-socket standard as found for example in Spain – also with every EU wall adaptor I’ve come across in the UK up to now.

Many users will find the standard software suits their purposes (in both cases the free “Blitzwolf” app) available for both Android and IOS.

For those who want more local control, I highly recommend “Tasmota”. Of course, where the BW-SS1 is easily opened up to add Tasmota software with hardware (an FTDI – or serial convertor), the BW-SHP6 units are somewhat different as, to add such custom software, you would need to remove one screw with a PH1 screwdriver before soldering wires onto 5 pins (to then attach an FTDI (serial adaptor) for programming. We decided to use Tuta -convert on all three.

For Tasmota setup of the devices, the relevant Tasmota Github page is as good a place as any to check. But here I’ll show you what Antonio and I just did – flashed all three boards without a soldering iron in sight – using Tuya-convert on a Raspberry Pi. We also happened to have a Node-MCU board lying around so that this could act as a virtual OTA server to start the ball rolling.

To replicate what we did:

Download and “flash” the “donor” bin file from here: https://github.com/digiblur/Tuya-Convert-Donor
on a nodemcu to have something connecting to the “vtrust” ssid network
direct link: https://github.com/digiblur/Tuya-Convert-Donor/raw/master/tc_donor_mini.generic_1M.bin

Start from a fresh install of raspbian LITE, then create an empty “ssh” file in the boot partition (the fat32 one)

Login via ssh (on, say a PC) and run “sudo raspi-config”, go to localisation, wifi country and BE SURE to select your country, otherwise “tuya-convert” will fail to bring up the wlan0 (WiFi) interface – this is important…

Download the latest tuya-convert from here: https://github.com/ct-Open-Source/tuya-convert

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/ct-Open-Source/tuya-convert
cd tuya-convert
./install_prereq.sh

Download all needed software… be patient… once done, I suggest downloading the latest tasmota-wifiman.bin file, so you’ll already on updated firmware

cd files
wget http://thehackbox.org/tasmota/tasmota-wifiman.bin
cd ..

Start the flash process:

./start_flash.sh

and follow instructions… you’ll see the blinking led on the DONOR device (in our case NodeMCU board) turns solid blue once it connects to the vtrust ssid, then you can put the hacking device (in our case the SHP6 or 7 board) in fast flashing mode and press ENTER in the Tuya console

.Once the 1st part of the hack is flashed, a menu will pop up, select the option with “tasmota-wifiman.bin” for the latest version, or the “tasmota.bin” for the stock (older) one shipped with tuya-convert…

That’s it…

Templates used:
 https://templates.blakadder.com/blitzwolf_SHP6.html
 https://templates.blakadder.com/blitzwolf_SHP7.html
 https://templates.blakadder.com/blitzwolf_BW-SS1.html

To have Amazon Alexa support, you need to update to latest FULL tasmota.bin file from http://thehackbox.org/tasmota/

Remember to select the BELKIN emulation (for 1 relay devices), or HUE for >1 relay devices

More on this later – (I’m still having issues with one of my SS1 devices (my own fault) – but the SHP6 and 7 work perfectly – and one of the two SS1 devices is done and dusted).

The post A Blitzwolf Blitz with Tasmota and Tuya Convert appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Today’s project for the day is the “Sinilink WIFI-USB Mobile Phone Remote Controller” – which handles up to 5 amps and can use a USB connection of from 3.5 to 20v (I’ve only tested 5v).

Later I will describe how awful the APP for this device is… until you install Tasmota on it – but first..

At this point I’ll send you off to the AliExpress site in case you want to investigate their claims for the free APP. Just plug the unit in, fire up the APP and you are good to go? – RUBBISH – the APP can be set to English but at least one of the dialogs comes up in Chinese – which I for one cannot understand AT ALL. Not only that but I followed the instructions perfectly – only to find that the unit would not connect. No matter what I did, it would not work.

After trying both the version of the APP on the Android Playstore and their APK (both of which are utterly useless), I send off a nastygram to the seller on AliExpress and was about to give up and throw the lot in the bin when Antonio (Mr Shark) reminded me that I ordered this to use with Tasmota.

The image above is from the website (I have NOT tested 20v at 5 A. I just thought you’d like a nice headline. Here is the template setup directly from the Blakadder templates site – you really need a note of this if you are interested in this gadget.

At this point you might be thinking just as I did – “but how do I use an FTDI (serial adaptor) to program Tasmota into such a tiny unit?” – Maureen’s sewing box to the rescue. I must admit this is the first time I’ve thought about using PINS to make such tiny connections. Before I connected USB2 on my PC (and the TASMOTIZER program) to the little Sinilink, I connected the FTDI to pins by simple wrapping the (thin) wire around them and then pushing (tight fit) the pins into the Sinilink. I then connected the USB to the FTDI and fired up TASMOTIZER with the DEVELOPMENT option which automatically picks the right version of Tasmota.

Note: connections are RX to TX, TX to RX, ground, 3v3 and GPIO0 (for programming),. honestly even though the holes on the Sinilink are so close as to make them almost impossible to focus on if you have less than excellent eyesight, the pins made this really easy. I’ll use this trick in future. See the top image for details of hole layout. NO connection to reset is needed it you don’t power up the USB until you are all wired up (a good idea anyway)

So here’s a thing – I had this all set up and working perfectly with Tasmota on my WiFi – then plugged the unit (USB male end) into a USB3 connector – and it immediately lost the lot – well, the settings, not Tasmota – I had to go back to using my mobile phone as an access point and re-enter the info. That’s annoying but the reset after USB3 plugin might be related to somehow triggering the “normal” Tasmota device recovery, which indeed does a “factory reset”. So what I did next after advice from subscriber “sfromis”, was to use “SetOption65 1” in Tasmota console (which is a non-volatile setting) and I’ve had no trouble since – on the same USB3 hub.

I need to buy another Sinilink or two so I still have one if I blow it up. I must have more, after all this has to be the cheapest (boxed) way to remote control up to 5A of low-voltage? I’ve gone full swing from HATING the Sinilink and wanting revenge on AliExpress – to needing more of the units – NOW! I just need to understand why it doesn’t like USB3. No doubt someone will enlighten me.

At the end of the day, when the Sinilink powers up, expect a blue light. When you turn on the output, whether by a short press on the button or by remote access, you will see a red light come on – and power will be available on the output connector. By default, Tasmota remembers the output state on power cycle – you can always change that in the Tasmota config. That applies to all devices controlled by Tasmota, not just this one.

I must say I am itching to trying this out – higher voltages and higher current than my PC USB connector can manage. This image is taken from the AleExpress site – to test the Sinilink they are using a BEICH CH9720B/9720C Programmabile DC Electronic Load. I do have several power supplies which do not have WIFI output (USB female) control so if the ratings claimed are realistic (20v, 5A) I can see a bright future for the Sinilink. I’m hoping they are not trying to control such current with the very thin wires in the photo above – or maybe the seller thinks we are all a bit dim and won’t notice.

Meanwhile I’ve made a short video to accompany this blog – my first attempt, instead of using a fully-blown PC package, to do the whole lot on my mobile phone. Here’s the video on my YouTube channel. If you want more information, just comment or ask in comments in the YouTube channel. Are you aware of this unit being sold elsewhere? Under a different name? Cheaper?

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The GOOD news is – the makers of Raspberry Pi have now more or less abandoned the 1GB Raspberry Pi 4B 1GB version and made the 2GB version the minimum and dropped the price accordingly – Pi Hut are doing them for £34 in the UK which I believe is still more than some American pricing but there you are. Seeed Studios in Shenzhen want $35 BUT they insist on using a courier which kills the price advantage (I note others quote this price but ignore the postal costs which can be significant).

But here’s a thing.. if the RAM is much cheaper than before, why is the 4GB version still £54 in the UK? All good stuff – but some techies may well ask, why are we still waiting for true USB BOOT? The SD remains the weak point of this otherwise excellent device and some of us are still waiting not so impatiently for true USB boot as we have on the RPI3 which unfortunately only has USB2. True USB boot (i.e. SSD) would be wonderful on USB3.

You may well ask why I’m in a rush for USB boot? Well, for the first time EVER, I had a Pi go down on me – and sure enough, bust SD. Others complain of odd SD incidents also. Other than that, the PI seems to be completely reliable and I put that to the test on a daily basis.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation claim that the new board is now 40 times faster, has eight times more memory, 10 times the I/O bandwidth (Gigabit Ethernet), four times the resolution (4K vs FullHD), support for dual-screen setup, and dual-band wireless networking. Personally I just want it to boot and calculate with more speed, with as near to 100% reliability as is possible.

For younger readers the phrase “much cheapness” comes from a package holiday ad from sometime last century.

The post Raspberry Pi 4 Much Cheapness and More appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Recently I’ve been catching up on my backlog of reviews and you could be forgiven for thinking that’s what I generally do. Far from it, today I’ve had a quiet day refurbidhing. A couple of weeks ao in order to do some testing before sending some kit off to Spain, I bought an Itead tiny router (and wrote about it).

I also bought a second-hand Draytek router from Ebay (the Vigor 2820). At first sight you’d think this not inexpensive (new) modem was worthless and beaten up but this morning, armed with litle more than kitchen roll, some of my all-time favourite cleaner (Servisol Foam Cleanser 30) and a blade, Irestored this venerable but perfectly functional ADSL2+ Security Firewall router (DAL, WAN2 and 4 Gigabit ports) back to “the showroom shine”. £25 second-hand – can’t complain. Seriously, it looks like brand, spanking new. Not the WiFi model but I didn’t need WIFI in this case. I have been a fan of Draytek modems for many years,

Then I started on an old Lenovo all-in-one PC that my friend Aidan had pulled out of one of their offices during an upgrading session. Firstly I used my Servisol spray on the PC and it’s keyboard (which initially LOOKED absolutely awful) – then took it apart for an internal clean-up. It turns out that it had already had a series of upgrades so this (old) PC is in fact running an AMD 20Ghz chip with 10GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive – not to be sneezed at. Once I replaced a fairly lacklustre Ubuntu with Windows 10, now it looks and works A TREAT. Seriously you would never think it had ever been used,

Good use of a cold winter morning I’d say.

The post A quiet refurbishing day appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Recently I received several IOT units from a company called Meross (designed in California, made in China I noted on one of the boxes) including the UK version of their MSS310 power-monitoring Smart Plug, their Smart Radiator Thermostatic starter kit and othe items.

Now, before I launch into this, I must say that it is my current understanding that this equipment does NOT use ESP8266 and hence is not hackable with Tasmota – if that is correct (and I believe it is), this article may not be of much interested to those interested in hacking – so don’t say I didn’t put that up front. HOwever, the equipment I received is high quality and works out of the box, I had minor issues setting up the thermostat and Merros tech support came back immediately – as it happens I figured out what I was doing wrong.

Setting up the UK MSS310 Smart Switch was easy. Out of the box, ths smart plug went into my wall socket and lit up immediately – no button pressing. I downloaded the Meross APP to my Android phone and created an account with nothing more than my email address and a new password. The next thing to do was hit + on the APP and tell it what kind of Meross product I was setting up. The APP then asked for my WiFi password and that was it. I didn’t have to inform my phone to use a temporary access point.

I plugged a lamp into the MSS310 and turned it off using the button and then the APP to test. I then used the APP to upgrade the firmware on the MSS310 – no skill, patience or expertise needed at all. The unit also works with Alexa and Google Home. I noted on the box reference to IFTT but didn’t progress that one .Easy – if you don’t mind using the Meross cloud that is. In the APP I could see power consumption and voltage and there is also the option on the device for timers including sunrise and sunset. If you want custom configuration (tasmota) you’ll be disappointed – if you want EASY, this device has you covered.

With the above in mind, Meross sent me 5% discount links who’s usefulness ends on March 9, 2020:

MTS100H thermostat with hub
https://amzn.to/2TD6Tt4
code :FQ5XEMPC

MSS310 smart plug with energy monitor (2 pack)
https://amzn.to/3cxvR5O
code :VZC8284X

MSS420F smart power strip
https://amzn.to/2wqMWxz
code: Y37PT4F9

And now, the Meross MSS210 which does NOT do power monitoring but is otherwise the same visually and otherwise. It took less than a minute, most of that with me sitting doing nothing, for the new socket to come online. Simple. At the start the unit LED (which you can switch off if you want) was flashing orange and green, the flashing stopped once the MSS210 was set up. I set up two of the MSS210 adaptors and the only thing I found odd was that on removing the first MSS210 and installing the second, the App pointed out that the first was no longer available, yet made no comments about the MS310 being unavailable. Weird. The UK version of the above all handle 13A.

The Meross MSS420F (above) is their 4-way Smart Surge Protecting extension. That powered up with 4 socket lights on solid green and an on-off button flashing green. I opened up the APP to add the device. Configuration amounted to pressing OK a couple of times. The APP has 5 buttons for this device, one is all on and all off, the other 4 are individual on-off controls. As far as I can tell there are no timers – nothing – just on and off. The manual does refer to Google Home, Amazon Alexa and IFTT control of course. In total the 4 outputs can handle a 10A collective load.

I’m waiting to progress the Rrdiator thermostat and rapidly running out of time before our travels but meanwhile above is a picture (note – clearly you don’t get the phone with this – the App is the same one used with their other products. I got the kit comprising the little hub and an actual battery powered stat (with adaptors for different setups).

The post Meross Home Control appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Just a brief mention of the Geekcreit 3.5″ TFT LCD Touch Screen+Protective Case+ Touch Pen Kit http://bit.ly/2qydycW – Banggood sent this to me a while ago – if you are planning to use an RPI3 and need a small screen this is a good an option as any and saves messing round with bezels etc.

LCD TFT resolution is 320*480 and an SPI driver id provided (works with Raspberry Pi directly). The case is a 6-piece PMMA enclosure that snaps together around the Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3. The whole thing is inexpensive.

I ordered this without thinking that my two main RPIs are actually model 4 but if you want to extend the usefulness of the earlier model 3 then this might be helpful.

The post Geekcreit 3.5″ LCD Touch Screen, Case and Pen Kit appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Wireless Video Camera Doorbell for Home Security or to give it the full title from the Banggood website, Wireless Camera Video Doorbell Home Security WiFi Smartphone Remote Video Rainproof. I love it (March 2020 update).

Late in 2019 I received this wireless (433Mhz for the bell, WIFI for the app) doorbell and to my surpise, setup was amongst the easiest I’ve done for some time. The doorbell itself came minus 18650 (standard rechargeable Lithium) batteries – iwhich I fitted and it seemed at first obvious that the claim of 6 months charge life was over-optimistic – a few days and the batteries were going down, anyway – I fitted fully charged batteries and turned off the PIR which I don’t need – the batterieswere still on full after 3 days and the actual doorbell wored a treat. (While I’m here updating I noticed the cost of the “RING” branded doorbell that on the face of it looks identical – on Amazon – horrendous price – so glad I spotted this).

This one is interesting in that even with postage it is less expensive to get from the USA than China though how that affects any duty will be down to where you live. In the UK it seems to be that most low-value packages from China escape duty.

Ok, so I plugged the actual bell into the wall (via a US to UK adaptor (I HATE American plugs with their two-bits-of-tin connectors – but then I hate bulky UK plugs as well. Give me a nice, solid and small European connector any day). It buzzed perfectly first time.

I then turned on the camera which said in a friendly voice that it was ready for pairing. I pressed the volume control on both camera and bell and the two units connected – now for the App. In the little booklet that came with the camera/bell combo, they suggest you scan a QR code depending on which phone you have. I picked the centre Android Play Store code – and within seconds I had the app (XSH CAM) loaded and running on the phone.

With the camera next to the phone, I told put in the name and password of my WIFI access point into the app (no sign up or other nonsense) and that was it.

Now as you can see the main unit is mounted outside the front door at home in the (wet) UK (2 small screws and plastic rawlplugs) – the bell is just behind where that car is – garage direction so good range – and at the BACK of that out-building is where I just took this screenshot – could have just as easily taken it at the local pub.

I’d love to write loads about this gadget but it’s just very straight-forward, I picked a suitable spot for the bell and mounted the waterproof camera on the front door. The postman loves this (he knows me) – “more gadgets from China, Pete?” – and strangely enough, JUST after I fitted this.. I was on my own for the day in my (far end of the building) office and DPD delivered another new gadget – so this doorbell is coming in VERY handy.

Yes, I know I don’t photograph well… no need to remind me. Good gadget though – and cheap.

It’s all working – all I have to do now is figure out how to get the camera to alert me to a visitor when I’m out and about and the phone is in my pocket.

As for mounting – the camera itself has 4 small mounting screws AND double sided adhesive options.

Did I mention USB and micro-SD options hiding in the top of the unit and a security bolt in the bottom (which I immediately lost). You could of course use cloud storage if you wanted to (or none). For charging, you could feed the unit with AC (16-24v). Thinking about it if the batteries only last a matter of months without charging (no PIR as this eats current) that could be problematic so if you travel a lot, consider AC.

The manual (or booklet – it is all in English and comprehensive) doesn’t suggest this but of course if you have a handy DC supply on the other side of the wall able to put out the same voltage as the Lithiums you could always use that. Thinking about it, leaving a Lithium battery running the show with a slow very slow Lithium charger feeding through the wall might be another way around the 6 months battery charge life.

Having said all of this, last month I put in a set of NEW (as against old reclaimed) batteries and a month later the indicator is still absolutely on FULL. I’m impressed.

Good gadget. My idea of waterproof might vary from the standard Chinese definition so I may consider a little silicone around the back.

I’m looking for tech info on using the video stream if anyone has this (the link at the start points back to the product). Right now, I have the spec for the camera including: 166 degree angle, 1920*1080 resolution, IR LED, 2-way audio, motion detection.

Good, inexpensive gadget.

The post Wireless Video Camera Doorbell with APP appeared first on Scargill's Tech Blog.

Update March 2020: Back in 2018, I bought this low-cost Mini-router (Mango) without having a clear idea of how to use it, other than to somehow try to get past the RIDICULOUS GEO-restrictions that providers such as the BBC and others put on their TV content. My MT300N (Mango) is yellow incidentally, like the photo. After very carefully reading the instructions and comparing to other routers, I realised what a winner it really is.

But first, the point. I was in Spain when I originally wrote this article in 2018 and on the one hand I could see why the BBC may not wish the Spanish or any other Europeans who don’t pay the BBC tax we call a license, to watch UK content, on the other hand I was and am a UK license paying citizen with the necessary username and password to use the iPlayer. Why then do for example the BBC attempt to prevent me from using their service when I’m in Spain? They should offer instant refunds to those who can’t access the content plus extra for the inconvenience.

As it happens NowTV and Amazon have the same ridiculous restrictions, despite protecting their content behind username and password systems. For far too long these powerful organisations have had it their way and to hell with convenience for the paying customers.

Even the Roku 2 Box has no VPN capability (I didn’t know that when I bought it) though my little Android boxes do. Traditional Android options make Android box VPN very inconvenient for this purpose as you have to use PIN protection when using VPNs (not much fun with only a mouse), however by putting the VPN into the router and using that to feed a traditional 5-output TP-link router which ONLY feeds these two boxes, I hoped to forget about the hassle while NOT slowing down the rest of my network.The unit seemed to work sometimes showing the VPN IP range, other times reverts to it’s 192.168.8.x internal range. I didn’t at the time know why it was doing this. At best I managed 2 days solid connection to the UK VPN, then lost it. There was nothing wrong with the VPN as I could put it on the Android box if need be but that did not help the other boxes. Ultimately I used PiVPN on a UK-based Raspberry Pi to give me UK access, putting a client for PiVPN onto the Android box in Spain.

Finally we have Netflix. That in my case originally needed the Roku box as Netflix won’t stream to a TV from Android for reasons beyond me. As it happens there are shows on the Spanish version that do not appear on the UK version but I figured I’d happily lose that for the convenience of always-on VPN for the TV.

Remember I’m not suggesting here that anyone attempts to use what you see here to get free TV and movies. As someone who pays for all of these services I object HIGHLY to being told I can’t use them when away from home –especially as a somewhat unwilling BBC license payer.

There was a time when a simple trick with DNS got around these restrictions, not any more. Nor do block-purchased, shared VPNs work well any more, especially on Netflix and the last thing I want is my entire network slowed down with a VPN.

Combining my little sub-£20 Mango router (sitting inside my network here in Spain) with a streaming, dedicated VPN I felt I would be able to, without inconvenience, watch all of these services just as I would in the UK – but as noted above, not reliably. Ultimately I set up a VPN server of my own in the UK after putting in a new Vodafone Fibre high speed always-on solution over there. I found the best solution in the end was to use a Raspberry Pi which was already doing house control, together with PiVPN to access the UK from spain.

For those who panic about power use, none of this stuff uses more than a few watts. I use wired connectivity wherever possible and the Mango also has wireless facilities. The router was in 2018 $18 from Amazon.com, £17 from AliExpress and £20+ from Amazon.co.uk.

You may be interested to know that CBS have brought back Patrick Steward as Jean Luc Picard in a (relatively) new Star Trek series.

Also in case you have been living in a cave, Amazon produced a 3rd series of Man in the High Castle which came out in Autumn 2018 and appeared on Amazon Prime.

I wonder how long it will be before USA-based services get taxed to death in Europe in retaliation for the somewhat childish taxes Trump is imposing on foreign imports – but that’s a whole other conversation and this is a technology blog.

Meanwhile, although ultimately the Mango router (V2) was not needed in Spain, I found it useful back in the UK to simulate the Spanish network – using the latest OpenWrt updates avalable on the web. Works a treat and of course a replica of my Spanish Raspberry Pi working on the Mango and using my UK broadband as WAN, provides access to this “virtual” Spanish setup without actually interfering with the real setup before I get back there.

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