Category: DIY

IMPORTANT: READ THIS, before deciding to build something like this device. This device is connected directly to the mains power, which is potentially lethal to mess around with! I am not kidding you – the best scenario when subjected to electrical shock is that it hurts like h*ll, worst case scenario is that you DIE. You should not mess with mains power without a minimum of knowledge.

In the past three articles we have specified the requirements for the device. We have made some choices and prepared the Raspberry Pi for the context that we will need, and last article was about creating the hardware. Most important of all, I survived so far! No electrocutions, and software frustrations have not been severe enough to make me jump out the window. Success!

Continue reading “DIY-IOT: How to construct a device, that turns on/off other devices via the Internet – Part 4/4: The software”

IMPORTANT: READ THIS, before deciding to build something like this device. This device is connected directly to the mains power, which is potentially lethal to mess around with! I am not kidding you – the best scenario when subjected to electrical shock is that it hurts like h*ll, worst case scenario is that you DIE. You should not mess with mains power without a minimum of knowledge.

I have been shopping ingredients since last article, so now we’re going to bake a cake. The recipe is simple:

Continue reading “DIY-IOT: How to construct a device, that turns on/off other devices via the Internet – Part 3/4: The hardware”

IMPORTANT: READ THIS, before deciding to build something like this device. This device is connected directly to the mains power, which is potentially lethal to mess around with! I am not kidding you – the best scenario when subjected to electrical shock is that it hurts like h*ll, worst case scenario is that you DIE. You should not mess with mains power without a minimum of knowledge.

Last article was about specifying the gizmo that we’re going to build. Before we start making the hardware and software, the Raspberry must be configured to suit our purpose. This article describes the configuration, and the next two articles will be about the hardware, and finally the software.

Continue reading “DIY-IOT: How to construct a device, that turns on/off other devices via the Internet – Part 2/4: Installation and preparation of Raspberry Pi”

IMPORTANT: READ THIS, before deciding to build something like this device. This device is connected directly to the mains power, which is potentially lethal to mess around with! I am not kidding you – the best scenario when subjected to electrical shock is that it hurts like h*ll, worst case scenario is that you DIE. You should not mess with mains power without a minimum of knowledge.

One of my good friends, Dan, is behind a new cool collaboration tool, Skarpline (https://www.skarpline.com). A bit like sharepoint, only much better! During the season holidays while drinking some beers, we discussed Skarpline, and Dan mentioned that he is planning to implement new functionality, where Skarpline can communicate with and control external systems. For demonstration purposes, Dan needed something to be controlled, “…and you’re good with hardware and stuff, so couldn’t you …”. Before long, the conversation turned towards Internet of Things, and how to communicate with IOT devices from an open platform, like Skarpline.

Continue reading “DIY-IOT: How to construct a device, that turns on/off other devices via the Internet – Part 1/4”