Category Archives: Computer

Today some lasercutting for Home Assistant Spotify RFID

see:

Lasercutting a case and the playlist selectors.

Close-up RFID stickers I’m using.

Below is a test with different methods.
I like reading the booklets, so a CD i cool, and I don’t need a CD player.
(The RFID tag is in the case)
The little cards are for bought audio files I don’t have a physical CD for.

Wooden case with RFID reader being powered by external powerbank

What am I gonna do?
Cube as I had? Wooden playlist selectors as in above movies?
The cards I’ve printed?
Maybe a small record player with an RFID reader inside?

3D printed like this? https://makerworld.com/en/models/66671
UPDATE: 20240327 – Little Record I 3D printed with little groves.

Home Assistant code for Playlist and Album automations
(B.t.w. The method is still using an Arduino and MQTT topics, as mentioned before)

# ALBUM PLAYER
alias: SpotifyAlbum
description: ""
trigger:
  - platform: mqtt
    topic: spotify/rfid/id
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: "{{ trigger.payload in playlistkeys.keys() }}"
action:
  - service: media_player.play_media
    target:
      entity_id: media_player.spotify_fashice
    data:
      media_content_type: album
      media_content_id: spotify:album:{{ playlistkeys.get(trigger.payload) }}
mode: single
variables:
  playlistkeys:
    "71719674": 20TANs4iXVeLp387zjgmec
    "71260666": 5325ECcBhnIysoqyENGCYi
    "71457530": 7wyOeD9HcUuMFMO8pTflap
# PLAYLIST PLAYER
alias: SpotifyCube
description: ""
trigger:
  - platform: mqtt
    topic: spotify/rfid/id
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: "{{ trigger.payload in playlistkeys.keys() }}"
action:
  - service: media_player.play_media
    target:
      entity_id: media_player.spotify_fashice
    data:
      media_content_type: playlist
      media_content_id: spotify:user:spotify:playlist:{{ playlistkeys.get(trigger.payload) }}
variables:
  playlistkeys:
    "69229050": 0SOay3RkjojjevrF5lHMON
    "69491194": 5f8w3UHlD9Ozz6Y4VHs6kF
    "69753338": 0bJvpsn0TDZwIDUjz4d75S
    "70015482": 37i9dQZF1DX9HwI3Crikcm
    "70277626": 37i9dQZF1EQmK1rjZuPGDt
    "70539770": 2KeRLMmGMxI5UgzE7m0iCp

In the past, Aloha and I made a simple solution like this using barcodes in < 2000s.
Due to the many obscure recordings I have, I am thinking about creating something like this for Picore player and my local Squeezebox server.

Logitech Squeezebox / Media Server Solution

alias: squeezealbumplay
description: ""
trigger:
  - platform: mqtt
    topic: spotify/rfid/id
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: "{{ trigger.payload in playlistkeys.keys() }}"
action:
  - service: squeezebox.call_method
    target:
      entity_id: media_player.squeezebox
    data:
      command: playlist
      parameters:
        - play
        - "{{ playlistkeys.get(trigger.payload) }}"
mode: single
variables:
  playlistkeys:
    "71719674": /tank/celtic/Celtic/M/Martyn Bennett/Bothy Culture/
    "71719675": /tank/celtic/Celtic/D/Davy Spillane/Atlantic Bridge/
    "2159056458": /tank/celtic/Celtic/M/Michael McGoldrick/Arc/

Several things in progress, help me if you can.

I used MCE to control some Windows VMs and programs running in it in the past. (Below link and a web interface engine which on the backend converted BWW/BMW (bagpipe music files) to PDF automated comes to mind)

Now, I implemented this:

https://iotlink.gitlab.io/

Controlling a Windows VM using MQTT, very nice!
(Use HA mqtt or mosquitto_pub in bash)

Question: anyone got a better solution to control programs within a VM? Let me know.

Next:

I’m creating a new case for my Wemos, LCD16x2, button, Led, Buzzer project (see other post)

I’m redesigning my previous case in blender.

But I really miss something like a generator function for different cases, like the one I made using Openscad.
Question: Anyone know a tool/add-on to generate cases?
I used a model of a wemos to get the usb connector/screw holes in place.

My spotify rfid case I will create using wooden lasercut cutouts.
https://www.henriaanstoot.nl/2024/03/06/revisiting-the-spotify-cube/

Next one:

In the past, I’ve controlled some blender lights using python and MQTT. But now I’m trying to control it using DMX.

Example of lighting in our living using mock-up couch and tables.

I found a cool add-on called Blender-DMX.
(B.t.w. wled can also use DMX)

Looks cool but, can I make a floorplan with this?

Blender add-on configuration

In Home Assistant I used a HACS add-on called : Art-net LED Lighting for DMX

Configuration can be done in configuration.yaml

light:
- platform: artnet_led
  host: BLENDERHOSTIP                   # IP of Art-Net Node
  max_fps: 25                           
  refresh_every: 0                      # Resend values if no fades are running every x seconds, 0 disables automatic refresh
  node_type: artnet-direct              # Which protocol to use
  universes:                            # Support for multiple universes
    1:                                  # .Nr of Universe (see configuration of your Art-Net Node)
      send_partial_universe: True       # Only send the universe which contains data
      devices:
        - channel: 1                    # first channel of dmx dimmer
          name: dmx_dimmer_rgbw         # name
          type: rgbw                    # type
          transition: 1                 # default duration of fades in sec. 
          channel_size: 8bit            # width of the channel sent to DMX device, default "8bit", "16bit", "24bit" and "32bit" 
          channel_setup: Wrgb           # This is the magic to get colors correct

It works, but I’m not happy, anyone got a better solution?

And I have to check out GDTF profiles for fixtures.

At a later stage I’m going to 3d print a white floorplan about 1cm high, with LEDs and buttons. A floorplan you can hang on your wall.

Adding a VGA terminal to my 6502

Using a LilyGo TTGO ESP32 VGA32, I’m connecting my breadboard 6502 to a serial vga terminal with its own keyboard.

Due to a lot of moving around, new places, new homes I dumped a lot of terminal hardware.
Also are those old terminals too big and use too much power.

I’m going to use this DIY screen.
https://www.henriaanstoot.nl/2021/03/24/broken-or-slow-laptop-screen-still-works/

Using the Libraries from Fabrizio Di Vittorio, named FabGL, you can transform this device into a dumb terminal, game device, VIC-20, a 8086 pc and more.
There are even some projects to turn this into a C64.

But the main thing I want to do: A simple terminal.
(I probably revisit the other options again at a later stage)

My Wozmon bios has bare minimum support for serial communication, so i have to do some bitbanging.
(6502 is using a 6551 ACIA)

Sound from the ESP32 VGA board.

  • Chipset: TTGO Micro32 (ESP32 240Mhz dual core processor)
  • Flash memory: 4MB
  • SRAM: 520KB
  • Built-in Bluetooth
  • Built-in Wi-Fi
  • Supply voltage: 3.3V DC or 5V DC
  • GPIO voltage: 3.3V*
  • USB to serial converter: CP2102 or CH9102F (drivers)
  • VGA connection
  • PS/2: keyboard connection
  • PS/2: mouse connection
  • Built-in Li-ion/Li-Po battery charging circuit: TP4054 chip can charge up to 500mA

Home Assistant and Harmony Hub Scripts

I’ve got a Logitech Harmony Hub to IR control devices.

When adding this to your home assistant, you initially only get the Activities.

But I want to add single button presses.
I was going to re-visit my IR remote project.
(The IR blaster and the IR wemos, see previous posts)

Thanks to Duncan I had a second look at this solution

Check the files using the file editor.
Search for /homeassistant/harmony_xxxxxxxx.conf

It will show the Hub devices and their capabilities.

Short example below

{
    "Activities": {
        "-1": "PowerOff",
        "42652474": "Watch TV",
        "43054933": "Squeeze",
        "43054959": "Watch Netflix",
        "43072690": "Switch",
        "43073688": "Spotify",
        "43557114": "Kodi",
        "49494467": "Tv on",
        "52476284": "Boxon",
        "52476285": "Boxoff"
    },
    "Devices": {
        "Google Chromecast": {
            "commands": [],
            "id": "67134460"
        },
        "LG TV": {
            "commands": [
                "PowerOff",
                "PowerOn",
                "PowerToggle",
                ".",
                "-",
                "0",
 -----------8<----------------------------- SNIP SNAP
               "SportsMode"
            ],
            "id": "67134658"
        },
        "Onkyo AV Receiver": {
            "commands": [
                "PowerOff",
                "PowerOn",
 -----------8<----------------------------- SNIP SNAP
                "VolumeLevelUp5Step"
            ],
            "id": "67134459"
        },
        "arcadyan DVR": {
            "commands": [
                "PowerToggle",
 -----------8<----------------------------- SNIP SNAP
                "TV"
            ],
            "id": "67134775"
        }
    }
}

Lets create a Script for this

See the IDs above to refer to commands below.

alias: Netflix
sequence:
  - service: remote.send_command
    target:
      device_id: 7e82a825decabedbc98a0b5ce2ac5d78
    data:
      num_repeats: 1
      delay_secs: 0.4
      hold_secs: 1.2
      command: PowerOn
      device: "67134658"
  - service: remote.send_command
    metadata: {}
    data:
      num_repeats: 1
      delay_secs: 0.4
      hold_secs: 0
      command: InputStb/Dvr
      device: "67134459"
    target:
      device_id: 7e82a825decabedbc98a0b5ce2ac5d78
  - service: remote.send_command
    metadata: {}
    data:
      num_repeats: 1
      delay_secs: 0.4
      hold_secs: 0
      command: Netflix
      device: "67134658"
    target:
      device_id: 7e82a825decabedbc98a0b5ce2ac5d78
mode: single

Add these scripts to buttons

type: entities
entities:
  - script.allmediaoff
  - script.netflix
  - script.tvon

Some nice google matching tests.

Step one, change your main DNS resolver to that one from your provider or 1.1.1.1 (cloudflare)

Goto https://www.hawking.org.uk/ in your browser

Check youtube, facebook and more.

Set you DNS to 8.8.8.8 (google)

Do the same (even in a incognito browser).

I haven’t seen a Hawking recommendation on YT for ages, I just checked a website with information on another machine.
And my YT stream showed …. Stephen Hawking!

Kodi camera stream push playlist

Below is a solution when you want to stream IP camera’s in Kodi/Libreelec .

You can push these commands using Nodered, Bash script or whatever.

First make some camera scripts in your profile directory.

Examples:

# Kodi on Linux/Raspberry
# Place a file cam1.m3u in .kodi/userdata/profiles/(kodiprofile)/playlists/video/
rtsp://admin:secretpass@192.168.1.123:88/videoMain

#and another one in cam2.m3u (another example mjpeg example)
http://192.168.1.124:8000/stream.mjpg

#For windows it is in
C:\Users\(Username)\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\userdata\profiles\(kodiprofile)\playlists\video

Enable http access in Kodi and run the playlist using curl

curl -i -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"Player.Open","params":{"options":{"shuffled":false,"repeat":"off"},"item":{"file":"special://profile/playlists/video/cam2.m3u"}},"id":"1"}' http://KODISERVERIP:8080/jsonrpc

A bash loop script

while true; do
curl -i -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"Player.Open","params":{"options":{"shuffled":false,"repeat":"off"},"item":{"file":"special://profile/playlists/video/cam1.m3u"}},"id":"1"}' http://KODISERVERIP:8080/jsonrpc
sleep 10
curl -i -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"Player.Open","params":{"options":{"shuffled":false,"repeat":"off"},"item":{"file":"special://profile/playlists/video/cam2.m3u"}},"id":"1"}' http://KODISERVERIP:8080/jsonrpc
sleep 5
done

Three channel mixer for ay-3-8910 is almost done.

At the back the 8 pin single channel lm368 amplifier.
At the front the 3 channel setup.
I still have to tweak the resistors, and potmeters.
Then I can make a permanent PCB, and figure out the connections to the 6502.

At the moment, the Arduino Nano is playing some real sound samples by using the registers of the sound chip.
The music is being played by sending the register dumps directly to the chip.

Much like i’ve been using SID register dumps to play songs in another project.

This is version 0.1 .. do not use.
If its wrong, or can do better please mail me.
Oh it needs a 1k resistor from the 20K’s to ground I think.

What to do when waiting for your ribs on the smoker. (Programming some python)

This time I used a rub with the following ingredients:
Seasalt, garlic, brown sugar, mustard seeds, paprica, cilantroseeds, black pepper, red pepper, oregano, thyme and cumin.

Doing a simple 3-2-1 smoke session, so .. what to do in dose 6 hours?

Lets make something using a Sense hat and Python.
Same HAT I used for my xmas ornament thingy in our tree.

  • Generate a large maze (80×80 for now)
  • Paint the maze using colors on the SenseHat
  • Read joystick movement and scroll the maze accordingly, keeping the player in the middle

Now I have to paint my ribs with BBQ sauce, and leave it in the smoker for yet another hour. (Nice glazing)

Next steps for the maze:

Use a better way to generate (reverse backtracking as I made for my other maze thing)

Wall collision detection is nearly completed.

Better placement “birth” of player in the maze.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 

# R D . . . . . R D . . . . R R D R D # 

# D L . . . . . U D . . . . U . R U D # 

# D . . . . R R U R D . . R U U L . D # 

# R D . . . U . . . R R D U . . U L D # 

# . R D R R U . . . . . D U . . . U L # 

# . . D U L . . . . . D L U . . . . . # 

# . . R R U . . . . . R R U . . . . . # 

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# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 

Big media button V2

Back in 2019 I made a volume/mute button using an ATtiny85.
(Digispark/trinkey thingy)

Same device as my password paster

It’s USB connection is perfect for this password paste thingy, but not for a big button like this. (even with a ugly usb extending cable)

2019 Version using digispark ATtiny85

Button is 3D printed (found on yeggi)

For my big battlestation i’m using:

The old way of flashing using Arduino IDE (for digispark)

Install Boards using : preferences, add board URL
http://digistump.com/package_digistump_index.json

Note: There being no regular USB device, you need to add some udev rules.
cat /etc/udev/rules.d/digispark.rules
SUBSYSTEM==”usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==”16d0″, ATTR{idProduct}==”0753″, MODE=”0660″, GROUP=”dialout”

When compiling and uploading the program, you get a message to plug in the device. See below screenshot.

Now the 2024 change.
Reason to change:

  • Want to have USB-C
  • Python to get a more flexible setup
  • I want to use more pins, so I can add LEDs and more buttons.
  • I wanted to play with my Waveshare RP2040 Zero.

This is the first setup, with same functionality as before.

Now I can add more stuff!

Putting the code on the RP2040-zero

Press boot button and insert into your pc.
Download uf2 file from here and save in RP2 drive.
https://circuitpython.org/board/waveshare_rp2040_zero/
Open Thonny, and configure interpreter to:

Download the zip file from https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_HID
And copy only the subdirectory adafruit_hid to the drive in subdir lib

Open the file code.py from the device, and remove example hello world code.
Paste in the following code.

import rotaryio
import board
import time

import board
import digitalio
import usb_hid
from adafruit_hid.keyboard import Keyboard
from adafruit_hid.keyboard_layout_us import KeyboardLayoutUS
from adafruit_hid.keycode import Keycode
from adafruit_hid.consumer_control import ConsumerControl
from adafruit_hid.consumer_control_code import ConsumerControlCode

but = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.GP4)
but.direction = digitalio.Direction.INPUT
but.pull = digitalio.Pull.UP

cc = ConsumerControl( usb_hid.devices )

encoder = rotaryio.IncrementalEncoder(board.GP5, board.GP6)
last_position = 0
while True:
    position = encoder.position
    if int(last_position) < int(position):
        #print(position)
        command = ConsumerControlCode.VOLUME_DECREMENT
        cc.send(command)
    #last_position = position
    if int(last_position) > int(position):
        #print(position)
        command = ConsumerControlCode.VOLUME_INCREMENT
        cc.send(command)
    last_position = position
    if not but.value:
        command = ConsumerControlCode.MUTE
        cc.send(command)
        time.sleep(0.5)

Above code is the bare minimum, I’ll add more functionality soon.
(LEDs and more buttons)
Next and Previous Track and mode change.
From Audio to Navigation for example.

Well, learning every day

Some quotes I like to refer to:
https://www.henriaanstoot.nl/aboutme/

One of my websites was slow after the whole neighbourhood was without power for a few hours.
My lab using dual power, and a UPS went down for a few hours.

After that incident, one of my websites was slow, and it got worse with time.
But I never took the time to really look into this problem.
Until it was too much .. 8 seconds to TTFB

I’ve checked in the last month:

  • Hypervisors
  • Memory
  • CPU load
  • Docker instances
  • Reverse proxy
  • Bind DNS server
  • Iscsi storage
  • 10Gbps fibre connections
  • Database server
  • iotop latency

So, I was planning to rebuild my WordPress setup.
Meanwhile, let’s check some sites for information.

Then I came across WPCast on YouTube.
( How To Fix A Slow WordPress Site – WordPress Speed Optimization Tutorial )
Let’s watch this, while rebuilding my website.
All suggestions were in vain.

Until Query Monitor was mentioned.

I soon discovered that the resolving within my docker container was messed up!

2 http api call’s taking a long time.

Rebuild the docker container with my DNS nameserver and a second as fail back.

Fixed.

What did I learn, check all components!
Start close to the problem source.