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Pi-Home - Inteligentní dům svépomoci

Pi-NAS

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Pi-TV - KODI na RPi
By Michal Novotný on October 28, 2024

Nextcloud - VPN without public IP

Sooner or later, you may want to access your Nextcloud remotely from the internet. Whether it's to share photos with loved ones, back something up during a vacation, or retrieve a contract stored in the Wiki, directly publishing Nextcloud to the internet might not be the best choice. Here, we’ll show you how to set this up using a secure, end-to-end encrypted connection. We’ll outline two options utilizing the Wireguard VPN protocol.

By Michal Novotný on October 27, 2024

In this tutorial, we will upgrade our Pi-NAS to a Pi-Cloud. We'll add Casa OS to manage our application containers, and install containers with a MariaDB database as well as with Nextcloud. This setup can be expanded with additional applications, such as various VPNs, PiHole, OpenHAB, Home Assistant, and many others.

By Michal Novotný on October 22, 2024

Pi-Cloud is a home open-source storage system, designed as an alternative to commercial cloud services and NAS systems. It is based on the Raspberry Pi 5 platform, ensuring performance, compact size, and low energy consumption. It allows storage expansion up to 16TB, providing plenty of space for your data. Raspberry Pi runs Open Media Vault (OMV), which provides robust network storage management, and is complemented by Nextcloud, offering simple data management, viewer and backup, including photos, videos, and documents.

By Administrator on October 21, 2024

We’re sharing a guide on how to build and install your own open-source NAS step-by-step. For less technical users or those who are busy, we offer a pre-installed open source NAS solution. Compared to many commercially available NAS devices, open source offers a significantly better price-to-performance ratio, allowing you to invest in high-quality storage without excessive costs.

That's why we've prepared the third version of Pi-NAS. As of summer 2024, it’s exclusively built on SSD drives. Pi-NAS is perfect for anyone looking for a reliable way to manage their data, complete with a detailed tutorial and a quick video guide to walk you through the initial setup. We’re here to make your journey to efficient data storage easy, without the need to understand every technical detail.

By Michal Novotný on August 29, 2024

One of the main reasons for NAS is - in addition to the convenience of having everything together - a backup of data. We prefer to use "automatic update" of second disc with RSync services. This allows access to deleted files for some time period and protect against cryptovirus.

By Michal Novotný on August 27, 2024

The basic configuration is really simple. You learn how to change your default password, language and attach the discs where you want to store your data. We will also set up users to access NAS. The last and most important part is dedicated to replicating data to the next disk using the RSync tool - it protects your data from damage and lso provides protection against cryptoviruses by preventing access to the backup disk for any account.

By Michal Novotný on August 20, 2024

Step by step guide to install Open Media Vault on your hardware, primarily Raspberry Pi 5. You will learn what exactly you need for your own home NAS, how to extract the image of the operating system to the SD card and perform basic settings of your NAS.

By Michal Novotný on June 30, 2023

In this section, you will find procedures and guides on how to install and use a Linux distribution on your device, step by step.

By Michal Novotný on June 30, 2023

GNU/Linux Permanent Live

The ideal starting point is the safest way to familiarize yourself with a desktop Linux system directly on your PC from a USB flash drive. We have prepared a slightly modified live persistent distribution of Ubuntu MATE for you to download. You will immediately see how compatible the distribution is with your computer. You can confidently try out a web browser, multimedia player, or install an application from the Snap Store. You can work with the LibreOffice office suite or simply explore the environment. Save anything you need, and then you can come back to it later—a portable, versatile system that you can plug into any computer.

By Michal Novotný on June 30, 2023

GNU/Linux is a versatile open source operating system suitable for a wide range of uses, from kiosks and routers to personal computers, laptops, servers, and supercomputers. In this article, we explain why it is beneficial to move to a Linux distribution and we will share our experiences of using this system on a personal computer.

By Michal Novotný on November 3, 2022

The following guide will show you basic sensors compatible with our project Pi-Home. We are sharing our skecthes which collects information from temperature, humidity (DHT22,DS18B30) and motion sensor (HC-SR501) and communicating via MQTT with OpenHAB.

By Administrator on October 31, 2022

In the Pi-Home project, you can use any standard buttons and switches for 230 V or special ones for 24 V or 12V. In smart homes, instead of switches (classic off/on positions) the buttons are preferred (return to original position after pressing) . The reason is obvious, we can attach more different functions to the button (repeated pressing, holding, etc). In our realizations we have a very good experience with classic 230V buttons from Hager/Berker, but of course it is possible to use any other brands.

By Michal Novotný on October 29, 2022

Switching power circuits - sockets, lights, blinds, pumps and other devices under 110-230V is one of the essential functions of an intelligent house. At Pi-Home, we are using Arduino Mega boards with Ethernet Shield, which control Arduino's compatible SSR relays connected with high power relays of the switchboard. More information and detailed scheme can be found in the article.

By Michal Novotný on October 26, 2022

In this article, we look at the rules in OpenHAB 3. The rules are rensposibles for entire ecosystem of actions responding to different states. In OpenHAB 3, the rules can be created manually via the user interface or via the .rules files. For our model house, we provide examples in Main UI. Same can be done via .rules files or copy-paste in Main UI.

By Michal Novotný on October 25, 2022

The article will guide you through the basic setup of OpenHAB 3 on our model example of a smart house. We will explain what Things and Items mean - basic building units in OpenHAB. We will show some tips for bulk editing in Mian UI and how to "clicking" your house or apartment in this environment. An integral part is the setup of the link with MQTT commands, which is the basic communication protocol in our Pi-Home application project.

By Michal Novotný on October 24, 2022

The heart of the intelligent house is the OpenHAB project, which runs on Raspberry Pi board. In this article, we will prepare image, launch OpenHAB and set up basic services. This will give us a stable base whether we use wired sensors, relays or wireless standard like Z-Wave, etc.

By Michal Novotný on October 23, 2022

Model House Project Home Atuomation

We have chosen the step by step tutorial of setting up a smart home as the best learning option. In this guide you will find how our model house looks like, how rooms are labeled and what we will control in our model house. If you learn to set up a model house, it will be easy for you to adjust the number of lights and their labels so that the setting fits your real project. Let's go!

By Michal Novotný on July 5, 2021

A preview of solutions based on open source software. Here you will find various references with a description of the scope of the implementation and the scheme.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

Pi-TV is an open source alternative to commercial media center or built- in TV media center. It is based on Kodi - the well-known and successful open source system. It supports applications such as digital TV (with Raspberry TV HAT), Netflix, Skylink TV and plays all the content from your NAS - photos, videos, music or local attached disc.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

Section will show you how to install and configure one of the best media player on the market - KODI.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

TBD

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

You can find here a series of article how to build, install and configure your own Networked Attached Storage.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

Pi-NAS is an open source alternative to a commercial NAS for your home or small business. At low operating and purchase costs, it can handle all the basic functions as well as its certified commercial rivals. All without commerce, openly and safely. See this article for everything you need.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

This section describe how to build your smart home on Raspberry and OpenHAB.

By Michal Novotný on November 11, 2020

Smart Home system name's Pi-Home is based on Raspberry Pi microcomputer (RPi) with installed central powerfull software OpenHAB. RPi is powered and also connected to the Arduino Mega boards. Communication between RPi and Arduino is through the MQTT protocol. You can find more information and wiring diagram in full article.

By Michal Novotný on November 10, 2020

Pi-Home is an alternative to commercial home automation systems, or "smart home" in family houses, apartments or small commercial objects. It consists of a simple application of open hardware and software in a switchboard for controlling electrical circuits, collecting data from various sensors and controlling the logic of individual elements. For more information, pros and cons, see the full post.

Newest articles

Tailscale - remote access without public IP
Tailscale - remote access without public IPRating: 
90%

The Tailscale service solves access between individual devices if you don't have a public IP address. It's free for one user with support for up to 100 devices. We'll show you how to install Tailscale on a Raspberry Pi that you'll have at home and on a client (Android, iPhone) from which you'll want to access the home Raspberry Pi. Our example will be remote access to OpenHAB running on a Raspberry Pi. However, the same setup applies to many other applications - home NAS, PiHole, Home Assistant, Domoticz, NextCloud, and others.

Shelly OpenHAB MQTT
Shelly vs OpenHABRating: 
90%

The Shelly brand is known for its products that primarily communicate over WiFi, including smart plugs, relay switches, blinds control relays, and many other devices. One of the advantages for deployment is the ability to both read and control these devices using the universal MQTT protocol. Across existing add-ons for both OpenHAB and Home Assistant, we will demonstrate how to use Shelly devices without installing any additional extensions.

Victron & OpenHAB
Victron vs Smart HomeRating: 
0%

In this post, we will show you how to retrieve information from a photovoltaic power plant by Victron. We will connect to the Cerbo unit via MQTT. Based on these values, we can control various appliances (heating, boiler, etc.) and prevent the battery from being drained when they don't need to be.

Smart Home GoodWe inverter
Smart Home vs GoodWeRating: 
50%

In the post, we will demonstrate step by step how to communicate directly with the GoodWe inverter in a smart home setup and obtain real-time information (unlike the SEMS portal). This information is essential if we want to react to current parameters in a smart home, such as activating additional cooling or controlling a socket with a various load.

Voice control smart home
Voice control of the houseRating: 
60%

In this article, we will connect the Amazon Echo Dot voice assistant with open source home automation. We won't be using OpenHAB Cloud, so everything runs locally. In this case, a few additional settings are necessary, but the result is worth it!

MikroTik - Winbox, DHCP, Ranges
Basics - Winbox, DHCPRating: 
68.8%

In this series, we will look at the step-by-step setup of MikroTik devices for home users or a small business (up to 25 people). In the first article, we will focus on the initial setup - we will download Winbox and set up DHCP for the primary network and guest network. Similarly, we will also adjust the WiFi settings.

Alarm Smart Home PIR
Alarm from existing PIR sensors in a smart home.Rating: 
0%

In a your smart home, PIR sensors may not only be used to switch lights on and off based on motion, it is possible to utilize these sensors to detect the presence of motion in a particular room. This information can be used to create a relatively reliable uncertified home security system. In this guide, you will find the logic for how this can work in the OpenHAB software in our model smart home.

NFC Tag Example in Smart Home
NFC tags in smart homeRating: 
80%

NFC (Near Field Communication) tags are small plastic or paper stickers that can be used to automate various functions in the smart home. In this article, we will show you examples of use and a guide on how to write an action on an NFC tag using a mobile phone.

WireGuard iOS
WireGuard on iOS devicesRating: 
88%

In this article, you will find a detailed guide on how to connect to WireGuard VPN from iOS.

WireGuard on Android device
WireGuard on Android devicesRating: 
80%

In this article, you will find a detailed guide on how to connect to WireGuard VPN from Android.