Medion Wireless Rear View Mirror - Revisited

Purchased this from ALDI in August 2015 and earlier this year it stopped working. I have been dealing all year with the left eyeball and poor vision so like many other things it had to wait - until now.

Got it working... read on.

So much cat food?

Last time I did a head count we had two cats.

Al's Kitchen - Tikka Masala

Sunday family working bee - Part 1

I have been solo prepping last week for tomorrow's working bee -  see my previous posts. This afternoon under shade I managed to lug the extension ladder through what we call the cottage garden and up against the tree that is being lopped tomorrow - yay

Finally after lopping smaller shrubs last week the extension ladder is in the right starting position.

Looking for the Wi-Fi Chicken Doors?

Stay tuned... over the next few days I will be catch-up posting the Wi-Fi chicken Doors.

Oh... and my Wi-Fi Bird Feeder.

I'll be back...

Side-by-side pictures template

Side-by-side pictures.

       

1. Open Test-1 and copy the above..
2. Open a new post and paste.
3. Continue creating the new post.

Where is Bailey?

Disappearing lately and only by accident we found his new spot.

New Lenovo system

This will replace the AIO Lenovo we purchased in 2016 - see the last pictures.

Test-1

 Side-by-side pictures.

       

When retired policeman Geoff Gauci packed up his old life and moved to an over-50s gated community on Melbourne's northern fringe, he pictured his next chapter as peaceful.

Remembering Holly

2006 - 2021 RIP

Wi-Fi Chook Shed Light

Been meaning to do this for a while and because of Rosie's weird going-to-bed behavior of late we moved it to the top of the job list. For some reason instead of going up the ramp to the roost she's hanging around on the floor and going into a corner under the nesting box table?

We are using a Wi-Fi Switch which requires a ZigBee hub which is already setup and configured on the network.

Release the beasts

They are usually on the corner perch... waiting.

Remembering Holly

She left us on the morning of July 2021.

Wi-Fi Chicken Door - Demo

Ruby & Rosie - Auto chook shed heater

Auto chook shed heater temp controller currently set to turn on if inside temp drops below 10°. The square neon light indicates it's on (y)

Ruby says... hurry up!

Ruby left waiting for Rosie to finish egg business.

Bailey in his very plush igloo

 

Bailey & Zia random photos

USB LED Bulbs

Purchased off Amazon for various projects including a night light in the chook shed.

USB Lights by Night, Mini LED Bulb, Plug-in, Warm White, Compact, Ideal for Bedroom, Bathroom, Nursery, Hallway, Kitchen Car USB Atmosphere Light (4 White Light).

LED Floodlight repairs

Erratic operation and then the lights would not turn on when power was turned off and then on.

The PIR sensor must be faulty.

Bailey & Zia sleep-in

Bailey & Zia - Sunday morning sleep-in.
The cat tower is directly under a ducted heating ceiling vent.

Driveway edging

Chooks have discovered a morning sun period along the edge of the driveway and grabbed the opportunity to do some dusting with the sun on their backs. Most of the excavations end up on the driveway so we need some edging too keep things tidy.

Found some edging that was left over from a job at my older daughters place.

Jumbuck BBQ needs a new tamer

Purchased in 2015 as a floor special from Bunnings for $75 this BBQ has served us well.

Bailey and Zia on cat tower

Bailey and Zia on the upstairs cat tower.

There is another tower downstairs in the entry foyer.

 

Cyberpower UPS battery replacement

During the recent storms and power outages the Cyberpower Value600ei UPS failed to keep the Lenovo AIO desktop running so disconnected the black brick and took it to the workshop for repair at a later date.

Bailey & Zia

 

Bailey toppling igloo

   

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Update

I found two metal cat food bowls which got me thinking about how to keep the scratched out food separated which would also make it easier to clean-up.

The food id now contained and the metal cat food bowls sit flush with the bottom making it easier to simply brush the food back into the bowls.

Daytime feline intruder!

This morning this first-time stalker has come up from the backyard and through the carport. Ruby and Rosie are in the (elevated) front yard. Things have been quiet for a while but now with this perimeter intrusion we need to prepare for a joust.

I just put my two Garden Sentries' (Motion Activated Sprinkles) on charge - what is that?

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Update

While reading the morning news (this morning) with a cuppa Ruby & Rosie passed through the carport on their way to the front yard so I opened the feeder for them.

They were there for a while so the camera video is edited, when Ruby leaves they really move in on Rosie! The solar panel is leaning against the brick pier (for overnight) and the white box on the right contains the solar controller and SLA battery.

Next job is to get rid of the box and locate those items on the back of the feeder.

Solar Panel 30W - Part 1

Building another 12V solar panel.

This one cost $15.59.

GENBOLT GB213K Outdoor Camera - impressive!

Found a DIY stand from another project so mounted the camera on that for initial testing.

Zombie chooks are waiting!

Zombie chooks are waiting... and any human will do!

 

Ruby & Rosie another check on them

 

I know they are good out there but I'm driven by habit. During awful hot days like this they spend morning time patrolling the front yard and hang around the front porch and carport areas and during that period the missing pole is cooling down the back yard cottage garden area and is then turned off via a programable tap timer.

As expected here they are busy doing the usual thing with wings tucked in and yeah... so much cooler in here.

Ruby & Rosie having a rest

Ruby & Rosie having a rest after helping me to prune the Ivy that runs along the top of the rock wall along the front porch and up the driveway.

Ruby & Rosie hot night

Cooled down nicely in 3150 for so just remotely  turned off the USB fan.

 

Solar Charge Controller 30A 12V/24V USB Controller-

This is the one supplied with the '250W Solar Panel Flexible 12V 30A Caravan Camping Portable Solar Panels Kit' that I purchased. 

Solar Panel 250W - Part 3

Did some more work including refinements and additions.

Modified the MDF box for a tilting display.

Ruby & Rosie after hot night

After a very hot night Rosie & Ruby relaxing and waiting for me on the front door mat waiting for me to come out and do the morning rounds.

Solar Panel 250W - Part 2

We need to package all the components so doing that in this session.

Found a flip-top storage box that will do nicely.

Chicken misting pole

For hot days and there's one coming up tomorrow this helps to cool down hot chooks. After many years of abuse being thrown like a javelin over high shrubs and dragged along the ground it's needs attention. Some of the mister nozzles are blocked and one is missing plus hole in the tubing on the inlet side. Also swapping over to a straighter length of electrical conduit.

I have already cleared the blocked brass nozzles with a spray bottle and removed the section with the missing nozzle.

Solar Panel 250W - Part 1

 250W Solar Panel Flexible 12V 30A Caravan Camping Portable Solar Panel Kit-

This is for my workshop projects and related gadgets in particular to power my wi-fi bird feeder and wi-fi chicken feeder.

Delivered the next day.

WiFi Switch Escam - Part 1

I ordered this towards the end of last year and since then been trying on and off too pair the bloody thing!

Finally yesterday after app and firmware updates managed to do that!

Purchased from Amazon.

Zia back home from vet

 

Zia back home from vet after vacannation jab and also had those deadly claws clipped!

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Update

Replaced the plastic barrier mesh with a plywood cover.

That's working OK

Ruby & Rosie angle parking

Ruby & Rosie angle parking 

 

Notice - Backyard chicken visitors

You are likely looking for my poultry projects and related gadgets.

Here are some keyword search examples:

wi-fi chicken door

wi-fi chicken feeder

wi-fi bird feeder

bird bath

and

wi-fi valve, amazon, alexa, echo show, zigbee,.

 

Ruby & Rosie another morning

Another morning Ruby & Rosie being released and it's going to be a very hot day!

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Part 3

Video clips from the Part 2 session.

These days I have problems just holding and seeing my phone so the clips are pretty shabby.

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Part 2

We finished Part 1 with making a cover frame and mounting the servo motor.

This is where we left off.

Ruby & Rosie off to bed

 

All three of us had a busy day gardening.

Wi-Fi Chicken Feeder - Part 1

Suitable for use in the chook run where there is 240V power for the 12V power supply or powered from 12V SLA battery (also solar panel) for controlled feed sessions the yard or further out within wi-fi range.

The feeder is controlled with the Smart Life app in conjunction with Amazon Alexa. For example to remotely open the feeder 'Alexa... Open Chicken Feeder'. You can also press the button on the feeder itself to manually open and close.

Timber is very expensive so for the prototype I am using timber from the previous coop roost.

Camera Photos backup-

Just finished a backup of the Camera Photos folder.

When I say backup it's actually a file copy using the xcopy command which.

xcopy "c:\camera photos\*.*" /v /d /i /s /r /y

The above ("c:\camera photos\*.*") is the source and the destination is the current location which on this occasion is D:\Camera Photos, a 500GB USB drive. I have four of them and rotate so there is always four complete backups!

Amazon Alexa for Windows

This is Amazon Alexa running on a Windows 10 Pro desktop and linked to the Smart Home app

I asked 'Alexa...Show me the Chicken Shed  Camera' which then appeared in another window.

That's Ruby &  Rosie.

Amazon Alexa demo

This is Amazon Alexa running on a Windows 10 Pro desktop.

Via the Smart Home app-

I asked 'Alexa...Show me Chicken Shed  Camera'

She responded 'OK'

And another window opened displaying the chook shed camera.

That's Ruby &  Rosie.

Chook Shed Water Mister - Part 1

For hot nights and hot chooks here is something for backyard poultry people which should allow the chooks to remain out there and avoid or at least reduce the prep work time and effort to bring them inside - everyone stays cooler. 

Came across this in ALDI and immediately thought of chickens 

Bailey just chillin'

 

Sprocket going home today

As usual he's been a good boy and very easy to look after as he spends most of the time in a horizontal position. All we need to do every so often is check for a pulse 🙂 The kitties are used to him and Zia sleeps next to the boy.

Velcro is good

 

I am fortunate to have a good supply of Velcro so I use it everywhere for lots of things.

This sensor light is from the front porch and is stuck to the brick wall.

First chook food delivery for 2024.

  

That will keep them going for a while.