USB Power from a Switch?

USB Power from a Switch?
Ever need to power or charge a USB device from somewhere that has no outlet, but does have a light? I had that issue recently. We have a shelf in the living room that has switches for the overhead fans and lights. I wanted to wire in a 3-gang box to add an outlet, but the existing box is in a brick fireplace structure that I did not want to modify. I was stuck until…

Meet my Rat Rod Ollama Server

Meet my Rat Rod Ollama Server
Putting unused GPUs and computer parts to work for a dedicated Ollama server. I had to use the laser cutter for a quick and dirty SSD array. ai-server 16-Core Intel i7-12700KF, 64GB RAM, 5TB SSD storage, RTX2080Ti and RTX4070, 2.5Gbps ethernet. This server hosts Ollama and Open WebUI, along with a MySQL Server.

Kasa Smart Devices and Home Assistant

Kasa Smart Devices and Home Assistant
When I moved into the new house, I decided I wanted to leave Philips Hue behind. The lights were too expensive and I wanted to incorporate more kinds of devices like switches into the system. At the same time, I wanted to reduce the number of Home Assistant integrations as much as possible. I chose Kasa because I saw a lot of people having success Kasa and Home Assistant. I have been here over 3…

Bring in the RTX4090

Bring in the RTX4090
I've been long in the tooth with the 2080TI in my main machine for awhile. I've been doing a lot more work training and using large language models lately, so I decided it was time for a serious upgrade to get more VRAM. I had to get a 1000w power supply as well, but it's a serious upgrade.

Google Coral TPU Card

Google Coral TPU Card
Today I added some AI processing horsepower to my Frigate server. This little chip can handle object detection on 15 cameras without breaking a sweat. I am using the m.2 variety, but you can get a few variants from Google. I originally experimented with the USB version before adding the PCI one.The PCI-card adapter is the Ableconn PEXM2150E PCI Express x1 Adapter Card with M.2 Key E Socket available from Amazon.

Home Automation Server – Tower 1

Home Automation Server – Tower 1
With the Frigate server complete, Tower 1 is officially out of space. Top to Bottom Home Assistant & Frigate Docker Server Ryzen 9 5900X, 64GB RAM, 8TB SSDs (2x2TB nvme, 2x2TB SATA), 16TB HDD RAID, Coral m.2 dual TPU Home Assistant Frigate Netdata Dozzle UPS Power Supply Cisco 24-Port Switch with PoE and 10GB SFP (10Gbps between house and shop, main PC and main NAS) Go bag HD for critical files Punchdown Patch Panel Keystone…

Pond BI

Pond BI
It started with "I should know the temperature of the pond I guess."

Dedicated Frigate Server

Dedicated Frigate Server
I've decided to use Frigate as the platform for AI object detection using my existing Amcrest IP cameras. It's working as a sidecar to Synology Surveillance Station as detection only. frigate-server 12-core Ryzen 5900X, 64GB RAM, 8TB SSD & 16TB HDD storage, Google Coral TPU, nVidia RTX3050GPU. Hosts Frigate and Home Assistant.