Author Archives: John Hagensieker

Sonoff RF With Tasmota Firmware in Homeassistant

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If you have dabbled in Home Automation you’ve probably heard of Sonoff.  They make all manner of home automation devices.  I’ve been largely ambivalent towards them as I prefer Z-Wave devices and hackable outlets to power most of my home automation needs.   But I kept READING ABOUT THEM.  Everywhere you turn on the Home Automation sites people are talking about Sonoff and something called “Tasmota Firmware”.

I decided to see what all the fuss was about and ponied up the requisite $11 for a Sonoff RF from Amazon.  I’ve been on a 433 MHz device kick lately and I like the fact that radio controlled devices can work even when the network goes down.  As long as a Raspberry Pi is on that delivers that radio burst…….BOOM……the lights go on and off.

So I got one just to play with.  The interesting thing to me is that not only is it 433 MHz radio controlled it also works with WiFI and if you flash it with Tasmota Firmware it will do MQTT as well.   Okay, I’m getting slightly impressed here.

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Configuring Inexpensive 433 MHz Motion Sensors for use with HomeAssistant

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Last week I showed you how you can capture the remote codes for cheap radio controlled electrical outlets and this week the theme is MOTION DETECTORS.  With a properly configured motion detector you can then trigger that outlet.  For example……..when you open the pantry door the light comes on………when you walk in the laundry room, the light comes on……..when someone presses the smart doorbell, the lights come on.  Pretty handy stuff.

Most home automation motion sensors send TWO signals. One when they are tripped and one when they reset.  Most of them will stay tripped for a predetermined amount of time.  Usually for 2-4 minutes or so.   Good idea to know the state of the motion detector BEFORE you buy it.

For example I have a motion detector with a 4 minute reset on it in my garage and laundry closet. That means that both of those lights that get triggered are staying on for 4 minutes whether I like it or not (unless I write some crazy code).

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Connect an RF 433 MHz Transmitter and Receiver to a Raspberry Pi

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I’ve been dabbling with 433 MHz devices over the past few days and tying those devices in with my home automation software named HomeAssistant.  A decent transmitter receiver kit will set you back a whopping $10 or so.  I opted for this one.

It performs extremely well in a home environment and has great specs.

One of the gotchas of this device though is it comes with ABSOLUTELY NO DOCUMENTATION WHATSOEVER.  You’d be hard pressed to find much useful on line as well. So that’s where I come in.

Fortunately the wiring is pretty basic and the pins are clearly marked on the back side of the circuit boards.

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RpiTX Replay Attack on GE MySelectSmart Remote Control Outlet

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Was walking around Target and saw an inexpensive remote outlet which I was pretty sure I could perform the Replay Attack on.

The Replay Attack  is when you record a signal from something and transmit it back to perform the operation.

These devices typically transmit around 433 MHz and have no encryption of any kind whatsoever.  Just a simple transmit burst for on and off functions.

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Swiss Army Knives – The Emotional Side

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If you were to do an exhaustive search online regarding the subject of Swiss Army Knives (SAK) you would be prone to find lots of historical and technical details and there is a plethora of “What Is The Best Swiss Army Knife?” web lists out there.  If you are a collector, or in my case a new collector, all of that information is GREAT!  But it doesn’t explain  WHY there is a connection between a boy or man and his pocketknife.

First and foremost, it is a tool which grants you independence.  I got my first knife (that I can remember) when I joined the Cub Scouts probably around 8 or 10 years old and in fact it is still in a drawer at my parents house.   Man oh man was I proud of that knife.  I’m sure as a Cub Scout I used it for whittling or to sharpen sticks when playing in the woods or maybe even used the screwdriver on my bicycle to tighten things up.

I truly get the emotional connection when a young boy gets a hardened steel knife. It’s DANGEROUS and by golly you were entrusted to operate it responsibly, and to use it as a TOOL and a LIFE SAVING DEVICE as any good scout is taught.  You are MAN ENOUGH to have something hazardous, maybe for the first time ever.

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Swiss Army Knives and Cameras and Tethering and Shit

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Hobbies are fun.  Hobbies are hard.  If you have a hobby you somehow or another want to document it for posterity.  If you own widgets such as Swiss Army Knives, Coins, trinkets, whatever then still photography is probably your medium of choice to preserve and document your collection.

But, let’s face it.  Most of us suck at photography.  If only there were a way to use a computer to improve your photography skills…….oh wait, there is.  It is called “Tethering” and tethering is nothing new.  I can’t provide a history lesson but I know I’ve been doing it since the late 90’s or so and it probably came along right with the advent of digital cameras, whenever that was.

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Spyserver on Raspberry Pi

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What’s a Spyserver?  And why would you want one?  Spyserver is a program for a Software Defined Radio (SDR) that allows you to access that radio from anywhere.  It also allows you to share your radio from anywhere and you can likewise share other people’s SDR radios.  Why would you want to do that?

First when the word “radio” comes to mind we tend to think of AM or FM radio only.  An SDR device is so much more than that.  It can literally listen to things from 0 kHz to 2 GHz or so.  That’s EVERYTHING that you can think of that uses a radio signal.   Short Wave, CB, Ham, pagers (yep they still use pagers), Police, Fire, EMS, the Space Shuttle flying overhead (not kidding), the tire pressure monitor sensors on your car, tracking aircraft, tracking ships, tracking weather balloons…………the list is almost endless.

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