Category Archives: Computer

Computer, Photography

Immich is amazing

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I’m running this Google Photos alternative for a week now, and I am pleasantly suprised.

  • Face detection : spot on
  • Responsiveness : fast!, even with a large library
  • Android uploads : it just works! (I used Nextcloud before)
  • Movies : plays smoothly (there is a cast button for movies and images)

The face detection had only 1 mismatch in my library.

Negatives?

Well maybe album management, it could be better or more flexible

Some search tests:

  • Food – indeed found food
  • Rum – found drinks
    (I changed search query to OCR, and it gave me images with the word RUM on it) !
  • Dog – First ones are dogs indeed, after that other animals
  • Smiling / Kissing works
  • Hair/red/computer/music

Amazing results!

Features (some)

  • Docker instance for simple upgrades
  • Facial Recognition
  • Hardware Transcoding
  • Hardware-Accelerated Machine Learning
  • Reverse Geocoding (see below)

Lets copy the rest of my photo libary to this server.
(Storage is on a 10Gbit fiberoptic iSCSI device)

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Raspberry Pi 5 Projects

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Again … out of SBCs
Where are all these things in my home. Someone is stealing Raspberry Pi’s, ESP32 and other sensors.
(Probably me)

So I’ve got multiple projects running on one RPi.

  • Dual Camera’s on top (brown ribbons), these are for VR streaming project.
  • Dual Camera’s on top. these are for a Red Light Green Light game. (Using motion detection on both camera’s for two players.
  • Below a INMP441 Mems microhone. This is a test for BirdNet recording.

All of the above are partially working. Code follows.

INMP441 is a tricky thing. I needed to do some bitbanging to get it working.

Loads of INMP441 info will be posted

Computer, Music

New own-hosted spotify alternative

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I’ve tested many opensource tools to have a personal own hosted spotify.
Now I have migrated to navidrome.

List of alternatives i’ve used:

  • …. to be filled in

I can access this with a browser or an android app named amcfy music.

Why?

  • I like self hosting stuff
  • I’ve got a lot of obscure music, which can’t be found on main streaming services
  • Our folkband stuff is for personal use only (Tapsalteerie/NaeBother)

I don´t have time posting other stuff, I’m balancing almost 10 projects at the same time ….

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

STM32 Nucleo-64 development board

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I’ve been playing with all kinds of MicroControllers, but not this one.

Something new to learn.

The STM32 Nucleo-64 board provides a flexible way to try out the STM32 microcontroller. The Arduino Uno V3 can be connected as a shield.

STM32 excels in high-performance, deterministic industrial control with better real-time capability, lower power, and rich peripherals, using ARM Cortex-M cores, while ESP32 dominates IoT with built-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, lower cost, easier Arduino/PlatformIO access, and strong community, but with higher power and less precise real-time control (Xtensa cores), making ESP32 great for connected projects and STM32 for industrial/precision tasks.

STM32 (STMicroelectronics)
Strengths:

  • Performance: Superior real-time processing, deterministic behavior, efficient for complex control.
  • Power: Advanced low-power modes, excellent for battery-powered devices.
  • Peripherals: Rich, precise analog (ADC/DAC), extensive interface options (USB, SD, LCD).
  • Reliability: Strong for industrial, medical, and automotive applications.
  • Tools: STM32CubeIDE/MX, HAL/LL libraries.

    Weaknesses:
  • Higher cost and learning curve.
  • Requires external modules for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth.

ESP32 (Espressif Systems)
Strengths:

  • Connectivity: Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (BLE).
  • Cost & Ease: Cost-effective, easy entry with Arduino IDE/PlatformIO, great for rapid prototyping.
  • Community: Strong open-source community.
  • Features: Dual-core (often), built-in OTA updates, good for audio/AI.

    Weaknesses:
  • Less deterministic/real-time performance than STM32.
  • Higher active power consumption, less precise analog.
  • Can have complex debugging/compilation.
  • When to Choose Which
  • Choose STM32 for: Industrial automation, precise instrumentation, medical devices, complex motor control, low-power wearables, general embedded systems learning.
  • Choose ESP32 for: IoT devices, smart home products, Bluetooth beacons, educational projects, rapid prototyping, audio/voice applications.
Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Fireworks LED addition and modifying Arcade buttons

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I’ve given people on the street control over my Xmas/Fireworks lights last month. (This month it is going to be converted to an interactive game)

Giving people ability to control my Xmas lights

I saw some LED strip dividers on Aliexpress, next year it’s going to have a star on top.

Like this….

Another LED related project I started today is a Whack-A-Mole game with multiple levels.
For this I need to convert a simple arcade button to a programmable multicolor version.

From single white LED to multi color, programmable.

Computer, Tech

Analog Meters to display CPU and memory load

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While this is a old project from 2019, I decided to make a more responsive one, after my friend Tyrone mentioned a project somewhere on the internet (forgot where).
Time to dust off this project!

2019 version

Above version worked but was slow.
I used a python script to send values to de controller.

Memory setup was the same.

Below my new schematic, using an opamp to drive the analog meter.

Untested design .. Yeah I got bored on new year’s eve

Utilizing a MCP41000 digital potmeter and a LM358 signal amplifier I hope to get a more responsive setup.

Input to display MQTT and maybe Serial.

Old version
Computer

Added group control to my Mobile Pong game.

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Two player mobile pong using secure mqtt I made a few months ago.

Mqtt Pong

Today I tested my group playing mode while at family to celebrate xmas.

I was filming during testing to get responses. I can’t post this because of everyone being in the shot.

What worked:

  • Response of multiple mobile phones was good
  • Measuring average movement worked great
    (3 People moving up and one down? – going up)
  • 8 Players tested

To do:

  • Iphones have a problem sending tilt, I’ve got a problem with Iphones in general 🙂
  • Screen timeout, I have to add javascript to keep the mobile device screen on. No problem
  • Number of players on the left and number of players on the right visible in the screen. Do-able
  • Timeout for disappearing phones! ..
  • QR join code on the play screen
  • Starting ball futher away from paddle, to give player more time to react

Nice to have:

  • Muliple games at the same time. Now hard coded.
  • Manual
  • ?

Computer

Too many services/ports/ip numbers in your network to remember?

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Use a web server with a simple php script.

<?php
$host = $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];

$redirects = [
    'torrent.local'     => 'http://192.168.1.1:9091/',
    'nzb.local'     => 'http://192.168.1.1:8080/',
    'squeezebox.local'  => 'https://192.168.1.2:9000/',
    'squeeze.local'  => 'https://192.168.1.2:9000/',
];

if (isset($redirects[$host])) {
    header("Location: " . $redirects[$host], true, 302);
    exit;
}

http_response_code(404);
echo "Unknown host";

Add your webservers IP number to your local DNS server or hosts file

192.168.1.4 torrent.local
192.168.1.4 nzb.local
192.168.1.4 squeeze.local
192.168.1.4 squeezebox.local

Now you can use http://nzb.local in your browser and you will be redirected to http://serverip:port
No need to remember IP numbers or ports

Art, Computer, Tech

Made a JavaScript plugin for Hydra

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Control your effects using MQTT.

You can add anything to control your effects using RotaryEncoders, sensors and other data values.

I’m fixing the code to make use of free MQTT servers on the internet.
Then I’ll post the JavaScript in the Hydra forum or discord.


Calling the JavaScript in https://hydra.ojack.xyz/ website

https://gist.githubusercontent.com/fashice/2098d1301117b86caed94aca8f2101ff/raw/7d2a7300e7ddf42d4f1793f693dbb517e09bd2d8/gistfile1.txt
change mqtt server and add to hydra using
await loadScript("https://domain/script.js¨);