Friday, 28 February 2025

Crimping large lugs

 I ordered a cheapo lug crimper to do a 50mm2 lug. The seller turned out to be a scammer. Got my money back, but I still needed to crimp the lugs. I looked at the tool and decided that my vice would give enough force. I ordered the jaws for 3€ and made a small jig


The small bit of 0.5mm sheet steel shrinks the die a bit, as it's a 50mm lug and 1 awg cable (43mm2)

Tuesday, 25 February 2025

Generic Tuya thermometer module

direct match https://www.elektroda.com/rtvforum/topic4098816.html

Desoldered the battery to get at the programming pads.

Flashed with open beken.

No voltage regulator. Chip BK7231N is rated 2.3 to 3.6V max





{

  "vendor": "Tuya",

  "bDetailed": "0",

  "name": "Full Device Name Here",

  "model": "enter short model name here",

  "chip": "BK7231N",

  "board": "TODO",

  "flags": "1024",

  "keywords": [

    "TODO",

    "TODO",

    "TODO"

  ],

  "pins": {

    "6": "CHT83XX_SCK;1;0",

    "9": "CHT83XX_SDA;1;2",

    "16": "dInput_n;0",

    "17": "BAT_Relay;5",

    "20": "dInput;43",

    "23": "BAT_ADC;40",

    "26": "WifiLED_n;37"

  },

  "command": "// start some drivers\r\nstartDriver CHT83XX\r\nstartDriver battery\r\n\r\n// hold button 20 to get into safe mode\r\naddEventHandler OnHold 20 SafeMode\r\n\r\n// battery\r\nBattery_Setup 2350 3000\r\nBattery_Measure\r\n\r\n//cal temp sensor, temp then humi\r\nCHT_calibrate -5 19\r\n\r\n// 20s timeout to deep sleep for 600s if following events never complete\r\naddRepeatingEventID 20 -1 1337 DeepSleep 600\r\n// wait until wifi is connected\r\n//waitFor WiFiState 4\r\n// wait for MQTT to connect\r\nwaitFor MQTTState 1\r\n\r\ncancelRepeatingEvent 1337\r\n\r\n// wait 5 seconds\r\ndelay_s 2\r\n\r\npublishChannels\r\ndelay_s 5\r\n\r\n// Deep sleep (shut down everything) and reboot automatically\r\n//DeepSleep 30s\r\n//temp diff, ignore humi, sample time, fault q\r\nCHT_Alert 0.5 0 60 2\r\n//20 min sleep. should wake up if large change as above\r\nPinDeepSleep 1200",

  "image": "https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/YOUR_IMAGE.jpg",

  "wiki": "https://www.elektroda.com/rtvforum/topic_YOUR_TOPIC.html"

}

 

Monday, 24 February 2025

LSC wifi socket

Well, this would have been an easy convert from Tuya to esphome, but just as I was taking the programmed wb2s off the test rig I think it got fried. I had previously put the device in the scrap bin and replaced it with a ESP-05. However, this wouldn't play - I've had problems with all of these devices in that batch.

Aliexpress had a compatible looking ESP-02s for 1.65€ so that got my vote. Usual gp0 to 0v, reset, program with esphome.

button 14

relay 12

led 4

The pcb is marked with these numbers, even though a wb2s was fitted (wb2s IO was P26/P24/P7 respectively)

Friday, 3 January 2025

CPI update

 It's funny how decisions you make linger, when you should have bitten the bullet and just changed it.

For years I've lived with a PCB I made with a scrap of copper clad, some really old ferric chloride, some clanky software that limited the size, a inkjet and some veggy oil. It housed a 8 way 1W mux master and the corresponding 8 way IO 1W device. It worked just fine until a few years ago when 1 channel in the 8 way IO reset itself randomly. Then the mux played up. I changed that but the replacement never worked. I'd also had to patch opto couplers around spare IO on the ESP32. It was starting to look a mess



On top of that I had various UPS and regulator designs that had used a toroid which also gave a Vref to AD power meter, then a modified 12V psu to waste minimal energy whilst keeping a lion battery charged weekly.

Finally I'd had enough and bought a MCP23017. That matured for a couple of years then it got to the top of the development pile. That was straight forward. But the UPS function lacked a lot. The battery was now too old, and I could only monitor the battery current through 1W. Enter the INA3221. I'd used one for a quick and dirty UPS for the RPI and I'd found that a single 3.7V lion cell could happily sit on a cheap usb charger, and be boosted back to 5V with really very good efficiency.

Now I have a PCB that I made as a UPS and 4 way IO, but could be cut to provide the remaining 4 IO.




That's better. I also tidied up the wiring, but not that much. Krone blocks are so useful.


Monday, 25 November 2024

New washing mahine Bosch WAN28209FR

The Haier hw60-14829 drum bearings failed about 2 months ago. It was nearly 7 years old. I've heard some bad ones, but this approached a jet engine. Couldn't be in a room with it. I would have replaced them, having replaced the brushes in the last year. About 3 hours work. However, it's not particularly well made and has no out-of-balance detection. This means it slams around the kitchen units and we're not always in the house to sort it. There is also the mystery leak. Never found it despite a lot of investigation.

After a lot of looking around 6kg machines it transpires that only no-name or non-EU made brands are 6kg and nearly all of those are 1200 spin. The Haier is 1400 and that makes a difference in winter drying outside.

Finally plumped for the Bosch WAN28209FR which is 9kg & 65 litre, made in Poland. 9.1 on repair index and 380€ It's massive by comparison going from about 450 deep to exactly 600mm. This meant recessing some worktop brackets and moving the power and water. Drainage was fine. The only other problem was the control knob which they omit from their side elevation. The door is shown and I'd planned to remove that (easy - 2 screws). I ended up hacking the door frame. Thanks Bosch. Let's hope you do know how to draw and, well, follow the drawing to build your products.

It really is quiet, and the door opens almost flat. It leaked on the floor below the detergent drawer on the recommended drum clean, and it looks like either it over-foamed or it's condensation coming up the filler pipe from the drum. Other candidates are too high water pressure, but ours is pegged at 3 bar. Apparently quite normal. A run at 40C/1 hour wash later on was dry.




Saturday, 23 November 2024

12V PD car charger

 This is a really nice bit of work. Simple, using mainstream chips, and largely works as advertised







Thursday, 7 November 2024

CO emissions

 Using on-line calculators

1 flight from Tarbes to London 226kg (920km)

1 person drives 1000km in a diesel car 5l/100km 234kg

In a year we use 2MWh and buy 1MWh.

To buy 1MWh in France, typical emission is 45g/kWh or 45kg (45kg) 

Put another way, I can fly or drive 180km (45/226) with electricity that we generate/save

The return journey to the supermarket we use is 26km, which is 6kg of CO. After 38 weeks of just food shopping our carbon emission is the same as a flight to London.

Our ISP reckons we use 3.8kg of CO per month = 45kg/year, which is about 8 shopping trips.

Internet globally 3-4% https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2024/05/the-average-internet-user-spends-3230-hours-online-every-year-heres-the-carbon-footprint-of-that/

cement accounts for 8% of global emissions. The IET 9/24

World-wide military operations >5% France 2 climatologue 19/11/24

World-wide tourism 9% of global emissions,  11% of France's. France 2 climatologue 9/1/25

Agriculture 19% France 2 climatologue 4/12/24

Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment. The IET https://eandt.theiet.org/2024/11/29/car-tyres-shed-quarter-all-microplastics-environment-new-research-reveals