iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

#HomeAssistant and especially #ESPhome make so many useful projects possible. Instead of taking a week to stand-up a new embedded development board, I installed ESPhome on an ESP32 relay board in about 15 minutes using the new IDE and build server! The […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Home Assistant interface screen shot showing a drop-down list of heat pump SmartGrid modes, currently set to Free Running.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026

Instead of spending £450 on a Daikin HomeHub and Modbus to control the SmartGrid mode of my Altherma 3 heat pump, a £15 ESP32 module with two relays, #ESPHome, and 6x wires now gives #HomeAssistant LOCAL control. #ESPhome has a new IDE which is really good, displays documentation, makes […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/08/2026

#ActiveTravel in action - #Brompton personal teleport cycle, then a train to #MakerSpace Newcastle. Around here, 1950s cycling infrastructure seems better than 2020s, likely as designers still rode, wheeled, and walked.

Green folding bicycle on a railway station platform, with a Hitachi 80x set approaching at high speed on the ECML.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026

After spotting a new #openstreetmap `amenity=post_box type` `post_box:design=digital_drop_box` in the wild, I've [uploaded a picture to the wiki](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:post_box:design) . It is like a post_box:design=parcel but with a large overhanging black solar cap (complete […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/07/2026

Well, that was an unexpectedly excellent evening - thanks to the organisers of the #HomeAssistant meetup in #newcastleupontyne ! Sort of anticipated techy conversations, but not the range of subjects and depth of interest. 😁🤯 Really enjoyed the company, and community discussion. Great thanks to […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/03/2026

Don't be tempted to use ESP32-C3 SuperMini modules. I found out too late that the WLAN PCB antenna is utterly mince on some very cheap copies. Out of 5x modules, not one would reliably broadcast a visible AP, nor connect. Even this promising antenna hack only got one on the network […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/03/2026

After finding #BitWarden doesn't have an "Export Folder" option, I've written some Python to process an unencrypted JSON vault and extract ONE folder to a new file. github.com/FloatingBoater/bitwarden… This is enough to extract creds to share, without setting up organisations (my […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2025

#Android16 is now so clever that if you have a calendar event, it switches Modes to Event. This silently blocks incoming calls, which is a problem if the event WAS AN INCOMING CALL! 🤦 #UserError #RiseoftheRobots

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2025

For #OpenStreetMap mappers in the #UK seeing #LoRaWAN back-haul transceivers appear on utility_pole and street_light infra apparently, they are apparently operated by #ConnexinLTD and used by several water utilities for remote metering. I've according added […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

LoRaWAN communications kit boxes with a solar panel and antenna on top of a 6m high wooden pole in a street scene.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2025

For #OpenStreetMap mappers in the #UK seeing #LoRaWAN backual transceivers appear on utility_pole and street_light apparently, they are apparently operated by #ConnexinLTD Newly created Wikidata:Q135981913 entry! communication:lorawan=yes […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2025

#OSM tagging conundrum for LoRaWAN remote utility meter reading base stations (Part 2) Add-on to an existing street light pole. This is a bit harder as it is both a street light, AND a base station: highway=street_lamp lamp_mount=straight_mast lamp_type=LED […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Metal LED street-light pole with a radio antenna, equipment box, and mains power connection in a residential street.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2025

#OSM tagging conundrum for LoRaWAN remote utility meter reading base stations (Part 1) Dedicated wooden pole, radio base station, solar power. Best I can come up with is: height=5m man_made=utility_pole material=wood utility=water communication:lorawan=yes […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Wooden utility pole with a radio aerial, solar panel, and equipment box on a residential street.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2025

@gazza-d.bsky.social Looks like the South Shields coast road is getting lights: www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyrndl… I'll look out for them when peering South from Newbiggin Sailing Club! We can often see Marsden, Souter, and car headlamps on the cliff road (even at 26km) from the bar.

bbc.co.uk

South Shields: Lamp-posts approved for coast road near The Leas

Street lighting will make it 'safer and more accessible' for cyclists, say South Tyneside Council.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/05/2025

Interesting article on #TheVerge about #openstreetmap 🗺️ encouraging gamers playing transport simulations 🚋 for fun to contribute back: www.theverge.com/games/672035/opens… Creating open-licensed data has always surprised - from flight simulators to these transport […]

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/04/2025

The combination of a #Brompton #bike and the #NorthumberlandLine train is rather good. Personal teleport that runs on fat, and a £1.60 train journey for the longer section. Almost perfect - just need active travel links to Ashington Station, and […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A green Brompton bicycle partially folded, resting on Newsham NWS train station with a two-car train in the background.

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James Derrick @jamesderrick.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/03/2025

Upgrade your #Zigbee coordinator firmware occasionally! After a month of testing with various #HomeAssistant #Zigbee hardware and #ZHA, my conclusion is #ZHA + Yellow (SilLabs = ZBT1) + #Aqara kit does not work without a firmware update. A test rig with a Sonoff 3.0 worked, but the factory […]

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