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Category Archives: Electronics
Repairing a Ridgeflow Conservatory Vent Fan
The Ridgeflow conservatory vent fan is no longer manufactured. Here I describe my experience of repairing one. Continue reading
Piper Autocontrol III Wing Leveller Fault Finding
Recently I had the chance to investigate a Piper Autocontrol III (which is a rebadged Century II) 2-axis autopilot. The unit was installed in a Piper Cherokee and had been placarded “Autopilot inop”. The owner reported that avionics shops considered … Continue reading
Posted in Electronics, Light aircraft avionics
Tagged autocontrol III, avionics, Century II
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Home Energy Management System Part 4: Characterising the Hypervolt Current Transformer
The Hypervolt EV Charge Point is a UK-manufactured 7kW single phase unit. It is one of the smartest looking EV chargers on the market. It has no controls on the unit and can only be controlled via a smartphone or similar via the cloud server. Continue reading
Home Energy Management System Part 3: Planning the hardware
In order to meet my objectives without running wires from one part of my house to another, I will need at least the following WiFi-connected units for control and monitoring. Continue reading
Home Energy Management System Part 2: Hacking the iBoost+ protocol
To monitor and control the iBoost+, one option would be to fake the sender current transformer input, and add a current transformer to measure the power being fed to the immersion heater. But if we can decode the RF protocols, it would be simpler to fake the sender RF transmission, and read the messages sent by the main unit to the Buddy. Continue reading
Home Energy Management System Part 1: Objectives
This series will record my adventures in building a home Energy Management System, to monitor and control solar PV generation, battery storage, EV charging, hot water heating, and grid import/export. Continue reading
Dangerous failures
Sometimes, equipment that is supposed to be designed with safety in mind turns out to be unsafe. Here’s an example I came across a few years ago: a mains-powered smoke alarm installed in a top-floor flat:
Five things I never use in Arduino projects
I’ve been using Arduino for a few months now, and designing electronics and embedded systems for a lot longer. In reading the Arduino forum, I’ve seen a few areas that Arduino users often find difficulty with. It seems to me … Continue reading
Prototyping small embedded projects with Arduino
Recently I needed to design and build a small battery-operated device with 4 outputs sequenced at a variable rate. After playing with a 555 timer IC and some CMOS flip-flops, I realised that the modern way would be to use … Continue reading
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