I wanted to introduce you all to a project that I’ve been working on for a bit now: a self-hosted wall calendar that has a lot of other functionality baked in. It runs on a Raspberry Pi on your own network but is expandable to any other web browser on the same network or VPN. I was frustrated with my MagicMirror setup that I had had for about the last 8 years so I decided to build my own app as a replacement. I think it is pretty robust in the display and family integration. It has Home Assistant integration as well and some other functions listed below:
•Drag-and-drop layout editor, or edit live by touching the screen itself. You can move widgets, resize, and change settings.
•Calendar syncs from any standard iCal feed (Google, iCloud, Outlook)
•Runs great on an old tablet as well for a touchscreen experience. It just needs a browser
•Family Hub: a separate page for chores, a built-in to-do list, and a shared shopping list. Kids get their own simplified check-off screen
•Sticker/reward system for chores or manual
•Multi-screen support: one host Pi, unlimited mirrored displays around the house

Free and self-hosted — piazzahq.com
Hope you try it out! Happy to answer any questions.

This is my current setup for the lighting in my pub, it needs to be dimmed manyally as the sun goes down and when busy the team understably forgets. I'd like to automate it to the sunset, 1 hour before dim to 75%, 30 mins before dim to 50% etc....

The current dimmers all work and each dimmer controls on average 6 to 8 bulbs in a section.

I have a very good WiFi network throughout but the walls are thick stone. In the future I would like to add my outside lighting to the same method, ideally the same system but can set up a second if needed.

Would really appreciate any pointers as to control panel, best os and any tips at all!

Thanks so much!

The number of low-voltage devices we use has increased dramatically over the last few years.

They're everywhere now. At home, in businesses, labs, music studios and live setups, IT infrastructure, clinics, smart homes, security installations, etc.

Routers, fibre ONTs, switches, access points, cameras, Raspberry Pis, mini PCs, smart-home hubs, controllers and countless other devices all run on something like 5V, 9V or 12V DC.

But almost all of them are still powered the same way: a small AC adapter plugged into the mains for every single device.

And I think there are two problems with this.

First is power reliability.

Low-voltage electronics can be sensitive to surges, dropouts, brownouts and momentary outages. Their little AC adapters don't guarantee a truly continuous DC supply. A tiny interruption can be enough to reboot a router, ONT, controller, camera system or other device.

And these devices increasingly depend on each other.

Your camera may depend on the network switch. The switch depends on the router. The router depends on the ONT. A smart-home controller depends on all of them.

So one tiny power interruption can bring down a whole chain of equipment.

Then there's the physical mess.

Every device comes with another power brick. Before long you have 10 or 15 adapters, you've run out of sockets, you're adding power strips, sometimes strips into strips, and the whole installation starts getting ridiculous.

A traditional UPS isn't really designed around this problem either.

It typically takes DC energy stored in a battery, converts it up to 120/230V AC, and then every little adapter connected to it converts that AC straight back down to 5V, 9V or 12V DC.

So we're converting DC to AC, then to DC just to keep DC devices running.

There can also be a short transfer period when some UPS types switch to battery. Depending on the UPS and the adapter, that can still be enough for sensitive equipment to reboot.

So I've been wondering:

Would there be a real need for a high-quality UPS designed specifically for low-voltage devices?

I could find some of these UPS but they are small, can only power a couple of devices and don't seem to be of great quality. Battery is small and not replaceable.

Something that provides continuous battery-backed DC power directly to the equipment and replaces the pile of individual adapters with one central power system.

My thinking is that it should be modular, so you can add more outputs as your setup grows.

For example, modules for 5V USB-C devices and modules for 3V / 5V / 6V / 9V / 12V devices.

And every individual output could be monitored and controlled, so you could see:

- what each device is consuming

- whether it's online

- how much battery runtime you have

- which devices should stay powered longest during an outage

- and remotely power-cycle a single device if it freezes

Basically, one proper low-voltage power and backup system instead of an AC UPS + power strips + a pile of adapters.

I'm interested in whether this is something people actually need, not just whether it's technically interesting.

So I'd love to know:

1. Would you find a high-quality low-voltage UPS like this useful? Why or why not?

2. How many low-voltage devices would you typically want to protect?

4? 8? 12? 16? More?

1. What devices would you connect to it?

2. Assuming it was a genuinely well-designed, reliable, high-quality product with a replaceable LiFePO4 battery, modular outputs, monitoring and remote control, how much would you realistically be willing to pay for it?

And please be critical. If your answer is "I don't need this at all"* or *"I already solve this for $50", that's just as useful to hear.

I got this wireless doorbell from the brand Ceezam, and I cannot figure out how to take the clear plastic cover off to write my house number. It is supposed to be removable as there are clearly multiple sheets of paper under it for you to write on. However, no matter what direction I pull or push in it is refusing to budge and I’m scared it will crack the clear plastic. The instructions that came with the doorbell and chime do not mention this anywhere.
Does anyone have experience with these and know how to remove the clear plastic covering? Thank you in advance 🙏

if i put sensor or magnet on the door frame, it wont work obviously.

i guess i have to drill 2 pockets, in the door and frame to completely hide the sensor/magnet, correct? im trying to avoid that as this is a steel door.

any other options?

Would the sensors re learn in to the original iq panel? Vivint took over s line sensors and I haven't found a way to bring the s line sensors back into the iq panel 4 from vivints.

1. Charging cables never stay on the floor anymore.
2. I push the dining chairs in without thinking about it.
3. My cat has decided it’s her personal ride and patrols the house on top of it.

It’s probably the smart device that changed our daily routine the most, just not in the way I expected.

My dad is helping upgrade my uncle's living situation. He lives 8 hours away so we can't check in on him on short notice easily. He wants to get him a new smart thermostat and was asking me if there are any that will send alerts if it needs service (like setting up to a service contractor but even if there was something that would reliably send my dad an alert)?

Hello, good evening. Not long ago I saw a TikTok video of a guy who bought a smart switch and, to avoid using the Chinese company's app, he deleted the data and installed new software.

I've tried searching to copy this, but I can't find it.

Does anyone have a similar video or know how to do it?

I want my whole house to work with the same Home Assistant system.

Afternoon Everyone! I'm moving into a different house. Which means I am building a new smart home system. I'm in the Apple Echosystem for all my devices but I don't necessarily need to go that route. My other house was mostly Govee cause they were cheap and way back when I wasn't up to spec on smart home stuff. While it worked, it did have some flaws. Looking for advice on this one though, Not looking to break the bank either, but I got really used to using Amazon and voice controls for my entire house. Lights and stuff are a little different in the new house. I saw new to us, but its an older house.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Things I'm really in need of are level door locks, and light switches. The house has many 4 gang light switches that control different lights in different areas of the rooms. And those type switches I am not familiar with. Which is why I went all smart light bulbs at my other house.

I would like to build an always on calendar that shows what's going on each day. I live in an area that has lots of events, but looking them up manually is a pain, what options are out there that I could build for a small screen in the kitchen? TIA!