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Obsolete While Working
Somewhere in a cabinet, a drawer, or a rack, there is a piece of consumer electronics that still works. It powers on. It still does the thing it was bought to do. Its capacitors and connectors are perfectly healthy. And yet it is finished. Not broken. Not worn out. Simply no longer allowed to become anything more than it already is. That’s a stranger kind of obsolescence than the one we’re used to talking about, and the real question isn’t whether it’s happening. It’s who…
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Wolf CGW-11-100 eBUS: Decoding Boiler Data with ebusd
I have a Wolf CGW-11-100 and there are zero public eBUS definitions for it. Here’s how I built them from scratch. Without any cloud service, without modifying the boiler, and without sending a single control command. The result: live boiler data flowing into Loxone and Grafana for under €30, entirely open-source. I thought this is… Read more
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Softub energy efficiency
Have you ever wondered how energy efficient a Softub is, or how long it takes to warm the water up? Unlike most hot tubs, Softub has no dedicated heating element. Instead, it uses waste heat from the pump motor to warm the water, which is in a sense very clever design. On the other hand,… Read more
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Softub water treatment: chlorine, bromine, or PHMG?
A practical, real-world look at Softub water chemistry after testing chlorine-free PHMG and returning to dichlor. Covering maintenance, smell, pH stability, liner impact, and what actually works in a hot tub. Read more
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Local Weather Service Emulator
Loxone’s official Weather Service is convenient, but it’s a paid and closed system. People typically bundle the purchase together with the Weather station, but that wasn’t the case back then. If you’re happy to manage your own forecast source (for example from a public API like MET Norway’s Locationforecast), you can emulate the official service… Read more
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Fengtu WQX7 Ultrasonic Weather Station
In my previous post, I shared the challenges of finding a suitable replacement for my aging mechanical wind speed sensor. This post will share my experiences with the new ultrasonic sensor, including my observations, technical details, and insights that might be helpful if you encounter a similar situation. Comprehensive Weather Data with the WQX7 WQX7… Read more
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Looking for ultrasonic wind speed sensor
Traditional mechanical anemometers employ moving parts, which are susceptible to wear and tear, potentially leading to sensor failure. In contrast, ultrasonic wind sensors operate without moving parts, ensuring reliable and stable operation over the long term with minimal maintenance requirements. If you are considering an upgrade from a mechanical anemometer to an ultrasonic one like… Read more