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35 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
35 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: "The pi cluster, home automation & kickstarter monitoring"
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date: "2014-09-27"
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template: "post"
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category: "Homelab"
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tags:
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- "python"
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- "raspberry"
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- "pi"
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- "home automation"
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description: "Today's blog is about home automation."
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disqusId: "7"
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---
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Some of you might be wondering "why doesn't he write more blogs about the cluster?" and I wouldn't blame you. I have a pretty good reason for not blogging about the pi cluster (even though I promised sample code). That reason is "home automation". As some of you might know I'm big into home automation, and have done quite a bit already. But it's always fun to try something different!
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I usually use single or double relay boards which you can control with an arduino or a Raspberry pi. This time however I ordered an 8 relay board instead of a double relay board. I got the board from China at a store called "Sainsmart", here's the link to the exact board I got: [http://www.sainsmart.com/8-channel-dc-5v-relay-module-for-arduino-pic-arm-dsp-avr-msp430-ttl-logic.html](http://www.sainsmart.com/8-channel-dc-5v-relay-module-for-arduino-pic-arm-dsp-avr-msp430-ttl-logic.html)
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So what does that have to do with the cluster you ask? Well, I used to have a Raspberry pi to experiment with.... But I used that in the cluster to save some money. (here I was, thinking to be smart!) So I had to "disassemble"(taking the top off) the cluster to connect the relay board. In the next blog-post I'll have a couple of pictures showing off the relay board and the pi cluster.
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## I donated a pi!
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While talking on IRC with a friend[(Robbie Ferguson)](http://baldnerd.com) of mine I discovered that he had never used a Raspberry pi before. And to make matters worse he told me he had lost interest in them now. When I asked why he never got one he told me the following:
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> When they were new I couldn't get one here in Canada, and now it's been so long that I've lost interest.
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While discussing the fact he jokingly told me, if you'll send me one I'll try it out. A small problem arose though, me sending a pi to Canada would cost way more than actually buying one over there. So we decided that I'd just send him the money and he would order his own. I can't wait to see what he does with it.
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If you guys are interested in seeing what he does with it too you can check out [Category5.tv](http://www.category5.tv/)
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What Robbie doesn't know is that I wanted to do something for the show / him anyways. I was originally planning on just donating $20, but giving him the joy that comes from owning a Raspberry pi seemed like a way better plan! Besides, he's been working really really hard on the new Studio D so he deserves some fun!
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## Kickstarter monitoring
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I have once more decided to back a certain Kickstarter campaign and find myself checking the website **a lot**. I plan to change this by creating a little script (don't know which language yet) that will check it for me and report back. More info about this project to come.
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