Project Description

I have a box room in the garage where I store all my precious mountain gear. This project aims to create a remote alarm system using a pair of MCUs (a RaspberryPi pico and a ESP8266) connected by a LoRa PtP link.

The RaspberryPi pico will be in the box room (garage, -2 floor):

RPI pico
      | <---------   Door Sensor (GPIO in)
      | <-------->  LoRa module (SPI)
      | ---------->  Light relay (GPIO out)
      | ---------->  Buzzer (PWM)
      | <-------->  RFID reader

It will monitor the status of the door sensor. If the door is opened the light will be turned on and if the RFID tag is not presented the alarm will be triggered. The buzzer will sound and will report via the LoRa link.

The ESP8266 will be in the flat, 4th floor.

ESP8266
      | <-------->  LoRa module (SPI)
      | ---------->  Buzzer (PWM)

It will be connected to the WiFi, and if the alarm is triggered it will send mail notification and the buzzer will sound.

In the case the bad boys use signal inhibitors to disable the LoRa PtP link or cut the power, both MCUs will use a heartbeat signal. If the ESP8266 does not receive replies from the other unit it will trigger the alarm on its own.

Goal for this Hackweek

  • Research ISM band restrictions about on-air time, avoid LoRaWAN service disruption
  • Test communication between the box room in the garage (-2 floor) and my flat (4th floor)
  • Develop software for both MCUs
  • Design PCB to power RPi pico from 220v
  • Install the system

Resources

Looking for hackers with the skills:

raspberrypi hardware diy

This project is part of:

Hack Week 20

Activity

  • over 4 years ago: scabrero started this project.
  • over 4 years ago: scabrero added keyword "raspberrypi" to this project.
  • over 4 years ago: scabrero added keyword "hardware" to this project.
  • over 4 years ago: scabrero added keyword "diy" to this project.
  • over 4 years ago: scabrero originated this project.

  • Comments

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      First day

      • Finally using two ESP32 boards and Arduino framework to speed up development.
      • Breadboard wiring
      • Test all peripherals
        • SX1278 LoRa module
        • Mifare RC522 RFID reader
        • Relay module to toggle light
        • Door switch
        • Active buzzer
      • Test LoRA link
        • Link quality is good, RSSI -90 dbm

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      Second day

      • Research
        • 220v power suppy
        • Varistor
        • Resettable fuse
      • PCB design
        • Order PCB to JLCPCB
      • Draw software flow chart

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      Day 3

      • Completed state machine diagram
      • Completed states flowcharts
      • Implemented the sender node
        • Authenticating only with tag UID for now

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      Day 4

      • Basic receiver code
      • Implemented LoRa link encryption
      • Start receiver flowcharts

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      Day 5

      • Implement mailer library
      • Implement receiver
      • Tests

    • scabrero
      over 4 years ago by scabrero | Reply

      Day 6

      • Cleanup and publish

      https://github.com/scabrero/RemoteAlarm

    Similar Projects

    Build a Single Camera 3D Scanner (Photogrammetry). by lparkin

    Description

    I want to see how fast I can develop a single-camera (pi camera module v3) rig with a stepper motor controlling a turntable that rotates the model being scanned. The trick here is not to be super fancy with 100's of sensors and data inputs, quite the opposite. I want to see how accurate I can scan objects into 3D-printable models using only a camera and as many fixed and known parameters as possible.

    Speed to be augmented with agentic AI coding companion. As it stands, I have a 3D printer, pretty much all the electronics I need.

    Goals

    • Design and print working/workable camera rig
    • Design and print working/workable turntable (considering printing my own cylinder-style bearings as well)
    • Assemble rig components into MVP assembly
    • Develop application that can hook into existing tools, or leverage a library like openCV, to process 2D images into a 3D model.
    • Iterate until models are good enough to 3D print.

    Resources

    • https://www.instructables.com/3D-scanning-Photogrammetry-with-a-rotating-platfor/
    • https://www.instructables.com/3d-Scan-Anything-Using-Just-a-Camera/
    • https://www.instructables.com/Build-a-DIY-Desktop-3d-Scanner-With-Infinite-Resol/
    • https://www.instructables.com/3D-Laser-Scanning-DIY/


    OSHW USB token for Passkeys (FIDO2, U2F, WebAuthn) and PGP by duwe

    Description

    The idea to carry your precious key material along in a specially secured hardware item is almost as old as public keys themselves, starting with the OpenPGP card. Nowadays, an USB plug or NFC are the hardware interfaces of choice, and password-less log-ins are fortunately becoming more popular and standardised.

    Meanwhile there are a few products available in that field, for example

    • yubikey - the "market leader", who continues to sell off buggy, allegedly unfixable firmware ROMs from old stock. Needless to say, it's all but open source, so assume backdoors.

    • nitrokey - the "start" variant is open source, but the hardware was found to leak its flash ROM content via the SWD debugging interface (even when the flash is read protected !) Compute power is barely enough for Curve25519, Flash memory leaves room for only 3 keys.

    • solokey(2) - quite neat hardware, with a secure enclave called "TrustZone-M". Unfortunately, the OSS firmware development is stuck in a rusty dead end and cannot use it. Besides, NXP's support for open source toolchains for its devboards is extremely limited.

    I plan to base this project on the not-so-tiny USB stack, which is extremely easy to retarget, and to rewrite / refactor the crypto protocols to use the keys only via handles, so the actual key material can be stored securely. Best OSS support seems to be for STM32-based products.

    Goals

    Create a proof-of-concept item that can provide a second factor for logins and/or decrypt a PGP mail with your private key without disclosing the key itself. Implement or at least show a migration path to store the private key in a location with elevated hardware security.

    Resources

    STM32 Nucleo, blackmagic probe, tropicsquare tropic01, arm-none cross toolchain


    VimGolf Station by emiler

    Description

    VimGolf is a challenge game where the goal is to edit a given piece of text into a desired final form using as few keystrokes as possible in Vim.

    Some time ago, I built a rough portable station using a Raspberry Pi and a spare monitor. It was initially used to play VimGolf at the office and later repurposed for publicity at several events. This project aims to create a more robust version of that station and provide the necessary scripts and Ansible playbooks to make configuring your own VimGolf station easy.

    Goals

    • Refactor old existing scripts
    • Implement challenge selecion
    • Load external configuration files
    • Create Ansible playbooks
    • Publish on GitHub

    Resources

    • https://www.vimgolf.com/
    • https://github.com/dstein64/vimgolf
    • https://github.com/igrigorik/vimgolf


    Backfire TV - Take back control of your Firestick by andreabenini

    Take Back Control of Your Amazon Firestick.
    Tired of Ads, a cluttered launcher, and buttons you can't change? BackFireTV is a project to liberate your Firestick from Amazon's walled garden and make it truly yours. They call it the firestick. To fight fire with fire, you need a backfire.
    BackFireTV

    That's the soul of BackFireTV. To truly liberate it and return back to its core capabilities this project uses a linux script, one Android app and ADB access against Amazon's restrictive policies. We leverage these internal tools to create a "backfire" against the incessant ads and locked ecosystem, transforming your Firestick back into the useful, customizable device it was always meant to be.

    The Problem

    The Amazon Firestick starts as an excellent, affordable streaming device. However, Amazon's aggressive Ad policies and restrictive ecosystem have turned it into an increasingly annoying and a less useful device. It comes with frustrations:
    - Messy interface. The less the better was probably the best slogan for the early device, its interface is now cluttered and chaotic when you probably need just a couple of buttons for starting your favorite applications.
    - Constant Ads. The default launcher is filled with commercials and sponsored content.
    - Bloated Interface. A cluttered and slow home screen you can't customize.
    - Locked Buttons. Dedicated buttons for services you don't use (like popular streaming providers) that can't be easily changed.
    - Lack of Control. A closed ecosystem that limits what you can do.

    I could overlook them all if the device was provided for free. But since you pay and you own it it should be legit to do whatever you please in your personal device and network.

    The Solution: BackFireTV

    BackFireTV hacks your Firestick to give you back control. It uses a clever system of DHCP hooks and ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands to remotely manage your device, block annoyances and customize your experience from the moment it connects to your network.
    The dhcp lease action starts a nohup command on the firestick and forgets about it, the daemon then manages running programs, hacks remote control features and keys. It can be paused or resumed, no rooting required.

    Features

    • Custom Launcher. Automatically replaces the default Amazon launcher with the lean and clean Wolf Launcher.
    • Ad-Free Experience:. Blocks annoying ads and sponsored content for a cleaner interface.
    • Button Remapping. Reprogram the physical buttons on your remote. For example, make the Disney+ button launch Kodi or your favorite application.
    • Works on every firestick 4K. Tested on: Firestick TV 4k (1st/2nd gen), Firestick TV 4k Max.
    • No rooting required. It runs on basic user permissions with standard privileges. It also works on standard devices: latest firmware, with or without external hw attached (usb storage, network cards, usb hubs, ...).
    • No banned apps. This hack relies on the linux subsystem underneath, no matter what Amazon does on the AppStore, this script can always be sideloaded and cannot be banned (no fingerprints on android app layer).
    • Toggle to default anytime. Standard amazon launcher can still be toggled any time for administrative tasks or just as a comparison. Feel free to manage it as usual and switch back to


    Capyboard, ESP32 Development Board for Education by emiler

    Capyboard is an ESP32 development board built to accept individual custom-made modules. The board is created primarily for use in education, where you want to focus on embedded programming instead of spending time with connecting cables and parts on a breadboard, as you would with Arduino and other such devices. The board is not limited only to education and it can be used to build, for instance, a very powerful internal meteo-station and so on.

    Hack Week 25

    My plan is to create a new revision of the board with updated dimensions and possibly even use a new ESP32 with Zigbee/Thread support. I also want to create an extensive library of example projects and expand the documentation. It would be nice to also design additional modules, such as multiplexer or an environment module.

    Goals

    • Implement changes to a new board revision
    • Design additional modules
    • Expand documentation and examples
    • Migrate documentation backend from MkDocs to Zensical

    Hack Week 24

    I created a new motherboard revision after testing my previous prototype, as well as a light module. This project was also a part of my master's thesis, which was defended successfully.

    Goals

    • Finish testing of a new prototype
    • Publish source files
    • Documentation completion
    • Finish writing thesis