The QNAP TS-435XeU NAS can run containers, can we set it up to run Home Assistant?
Continue reading QTS running Home Assistant
Aan de slag met ESPHome en HomeAssistant
Practical information for my Aan de slag met ESPHome en HomeAssistant workshop at Fri3d Camp 2022. Still a work in progress…
Continue reading Aan de slag met ESPHome en HomeAssistant
Pin DHCP WAN interface to LAN for pfSense CARP/HA
Setting up High Availability on pfSense is not that difficult. It consists of configuring the state and settings synchronization (pfsync), creating virtual IPs (CARP) and changing the settings for DHCP, DNS and NTP so that you clients use the virtual IP. But things get tricky if you have only 1 IPv4 WAN address and it is assigned via DHCP by your ISP. If CARP is not an option for the WAN interface, how can we make sure we get the same public IP address on both firewalls?
Continue reading Pin DHCP WAN interface to LAN for pfSense CARP/HA
IPv6 with pfSense and Telenet
Telenet is an ISP in Belgium that provides its customers with IPv6. Everywhere I looked on the net I read that you should configure your firewall with a /56 IPv6 prefix, but I could not get it to work with my modem in bridging mode. I got it working after changing it to /60. Read along for the full explanation
Continue reading IPv6 with pfSense and Telenet
Restart unregistered VoIP phone via PoE
Have you tried turning it off and on again? Sad but true, it really helps sometimes. In my particular case I have this Gigaset Maxwell 10 VoIP phone that sometimes loses its SIP registration on my FreePBX server. Manually rebooting the phone remediates the problem, but let’s automate that…
Continue reading Restart unregistered VoIP phone via PoE
Remote control KODI over Bluetooth with a Harmony Hub
You can use your Logitech Harmony Hub to remote control KODI on a Raspberry Pi over Bluetooth. You do not need an IR receiver on the Raspberry Pi. The Harmony website does not clearly explain how to do this, so read on for more detailed instructions.
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Making replacement bulbs for a car dashboard
My Opel Vivaro had a broken dashboard light for the back-light of the ventilation and heating controls. The right side was OK but the left side was dark Continue reading Making replacement bulbs for a car dashboard
Synology DSM to NUT (Network UPS Tools)
If you have a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), it is likely that you are running NUT (Network UPS Tools) on a Linux host to monitor the UPS and shutdown the host when the UPS signals a low battery condition. It is relatively easy to add a Synology NAS as a UPS monitoring slave. Continue reading Synology DSM to NUT (Network UPS Tools)
Mackie SRM150 repair
I received two Mackie SRM150 amplifiers that had the same problem: both powered on but did not reproduce any sound apart from some louder than normal hiss and a very noticeable pop when turning up the volume. The problem on both units turned out to be a defective linear regulator component on the preamp/mixer board. Read further if you want to learn more about the repair… Continue reading Mackie SRM150 repair
Philips PerfectCare Aqua does not pump [SOLVED]
The PerfectCare Aqua is a steam generator iron made by Philips. My model GC8620 had a strange problem: it would heat up the iron and I could hear the steam chamber heating up also, but when I pressed the trigger on the iron (after the steam chamber made no more noise and it was at the right temperature), the pump would not work. No water being pumped to the steam chamber meant no steam 🙁
Let’s dig deeper and try to find the culprit and repair this… Continue reading Philips PerfectCare Aqua does not pump [SOLVED]