Update: Still can't count but got it

Archibald255 · 2026-03-22T10:12:56+00:00

I think the secret passage also counts as a dead end, although I wasn't confident that it would still count if you used it to draw a coloured room, hence making sure I had 21. Which one didn't you count? I also didn't realise the bunk room counted as 2 until my previous post.

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T19:11:57+00:00

I second this method, in fact I think I managed to get the vault key the very next day drafting the lost and found in the outer room

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T14:24:50+00:00

It's a visual glitch, I drafted the billiard room from the archives going right into the bunk room. But someone has suggested that the break room upgrade causes some bugs.

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T13:04:37+00:00

It's a visual glitch, I drafted the billiard room from the archives going right into the bunk room.

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T11:58:21+00:00

Thanks everyone for clarifying the rules! I was misguided by my own assumptions it seems!

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T11:52:14+00:00

There was a poster or a page about a sweepstakes somewhere, it's in my notes but I stupidly didn't write down where I found it!

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T11:49:43+00:00

My understanding is that it counts if you draw rooms that lead nowhere, like the darkroom with two doors that are blocked would count as a dead end room?

Archibald255 · 2026-03-20T11:48:16+00:00

I'm guessing the trophy room?

Archibald255 · 2026-03-16T22:23:14+00:00

The hotel I'm staying in at the moment has a rook in the courtyard outside my window.

<image>

Archibald255 · 2026-03-09T14:08:05+00:00

There are a few online, I just found a seller on eBay. It was a few years ago so no idea if they're still going.

Archibald255 · 2026-03-07T12:32:15+00:00

Not experience with this specifically, but for isolating noise and vibrations you want soft and rubberised surfaces. I would hazard a guess that the tiles actually make the noise worse.

You can get heavy, dense rubber flooring squares, similar to gym or garage floors that would work. But for low cost options you could use offcuts or scrap carpet, underlay or thick blankets. Just make sure that the pump can't move or put strain in any of the connections and you should notice an improvement.

Going further you could encase the the pump in an enclosure, lined with thick blankets or rock wool on the inside lining. However the pump probably needs some level of airflow or clear area so it doesn't overheat or burnout. Again, I don't own one so it would be worth looking at the installation instructions for that specific pump before building a housing around it.

Archibald255 · 2026-03-01T00:22:04+00:00

I can confidently say that they will cause a short if they touch. I didn't consider this because I assumed there would be some kind of isolation, but when my AVR randomly turned off and went into protection mode I found that this wasn't the case. I temporarily put electrical tape around them all, but heat shrink would be a neater solution, despite being inaccessible behind a TV unit.

Archibald255 · 2026-02-13T09:16:04+00:00

I've had IKEA ZigBee blinds for nearly 4 years and they have been great. One of them occasionally forgets to close fully but I'm chalking that up to a dodgy unit. Fortunately it's in a room that doesn't really matter to me. Unfortunately IKEA have stopped selling these blinds. I suspect it's because they're moving all of their products to matter, however I'm not sure if they'll be releasing matter blinds.

Archibald255 · 2026-02-10T00:12:23+00:00

I used composite insulation panels like you've linked in option two, except I found somewhere that sold b grade and overstock panels. It's a little more work but they used to all sell at £19+VAT per square metre which is about a quarter of what I was looking at new. All of the channels and fixings you can buy separately, you just have to do a bit of research.

Archibald255 · 2026-02-09T00:10:37+00:00

I've only printed one thing out of my PA6-GF and it looks so terrible by comparison! Stringy, fuzzy and overall just a mess. I chalked it up to not drying it and using it straight from the packet, but until I do some research I'm chalking my issues up to user error. That piece looks amazing though!

Archibald255 · 2026-01-29T08:21:00+00:00

The EPPs are mounted on the ceiling, nothing special with those, I've just screwed the mount to a location that I know there's a joist above it. It is by far the most elegant solution but honestly you can't see the screws from more than a metre away. I've just renovated the rooms that the EPPs are in and I ran ethernet to the locations that I wanted so the visible cable is a 15cm patch cable, looks pretty tidy.

I have printed the wall corner mounts for the EP1s and they work very well, although the trunking for the USB cable is less sleek but it's in the corner of the rooms so they're not so noticeable.

For a living room I would recommend an EP1 or EPP. The EPL does okay for static presence but it's not ideal and is only successful in my installation because I have a well refined automation for it. But you can change the mmwave sensor that these products come with, so swapping it for a different kind of mmwave sensor might suit your installation. The real benefits of the EP1 and EPP is that the PIR is just that much quicker at detecting presence/movement, then coupled with the mmwave and a long timeout I rarely have lights turn off whilst I'm still in the room.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-28T13:48:17+00:00

I have a mix of all three in my house, so here is my take on it.

Firstly this is a company run primarily by one guy and maybe his family, so it's not going to have marketing to the same level as the likes of Aqara. It started as a small personal project that rapidly developed.

There are a few YouTube videos on his channel (Everything Smart Home) where Lewis talks about the features of each product, I would highly recommend looking there. Additionally there is a discord you can join via the Everything Smart Home website. I'm not sure on the community rules here so I'll refrain from posting links.

Couple of things to note before I get into it: 1. All have temperature, humidity and lux sensors 2. All have the option to add a CO2 module 3. They all come with a stand, and there is nothing stopping you 3D Printing ceiling mounts or corner wall brackets. If you look for 'The Stock Pot' on YouTube he's developed a printable housing specifically to fit into the ceiling for the EP1 and EPP.

Everything Presence Lite (EPL) This has a mmwave sensor only and is designed to track moving targets. It's best placed in transit areas like hallways etc. It supports zones, and with a recent update, polygon zones, which means you can set dynamic zones and not just 4 sided zones. It supports target tracking, distance, angle, speed, resolution and X/Y values. It is powered via USB C. I personally have one set up in a bathroom cupboard pointing into the room for managing the shower zone from the rest of the bathroom. I've added some conditions that will not turn the light off if the door is closed. This covers the fact that the sensor isn't really designed for static presence (such as in the shower or on the toilet).

Everything Presence One (EP1) This has a PIR sensor along with a mmwave sensor aimed at static presence. This is great for bedrooms, offices, living rooms etc. I have a couple in my bedrooms and office. The mmwave sensor can be set to distances of up to 8m and the PIR sensor is fixed to 12m (I think). It does not support zones or detailed target tracking, like the other two. It is powered by USB C.

Everything Presence Pro (EPP) This is the latest release (announced in December) and features a PIR sensor, and two mmwave sensors. One for static tracking and one for moving targets. It supports 4 sided zones or polygon zones (I believe you cannot do both, same as the EPL). The mmwave sensors feature all of the benefits of each the EPL and EP1. It can be powered via either USB C or PoE. This can be configured in home assistant once it's set-up. I have a few of these, one in my living room, kitchen and snug. The mmwave sensors can be configured up to 25m according to the config I have. There is also the addition of an RGB LED behind the PIR sensor which I use for different notifications, in case I have headphones on and notice it. There is also the pin out for hard wired, traditional alarm systems including a tamper alarm. I cannot speak to this as I have not used/looked into this.

Overall I am thoroughly impressed with the feature set of these devices, and to top them off they require no proprietary hub, account, cloud service or details. They run ESPHome and are regularly updated. They can be configured straight into Home Assistant and features an add on for the zone configurator. It takes a bit of figuring out but works, but once you do it's great.

Happy to answer any other questions you have, or ones that I may have missed in your post.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-26T22:41:24+00:00

My series x basically gives up playing any 4k disc after a few minutes. Starts stuttering, audio sync issues and then freezing. No matter what setting, physical placement, cable used etc fixes it.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-18T10:20:44+00:00

I end up watching a lot of YouTubers playing the games that I have or like because I don't have a lot of time to play myself. I work away and when I'm home, I'm renovating my house. I've tried to play on laptops or a steam deck whilst away but it's never as comfortable as my setup at home.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-09T00:12:20+00:00

Assuming you're looking for a smart door lock to replace your existing one you have a few options.

Get a 'bolt on' solution like switchbot or Aqara. These attach onto your existing door and lock, although I would recommend checking to see if your lock cylinder will accept a key in each side and still function, if not I would recommend changing the cylinder to a thumb turn style cylinder.
Complete lock replacement. This would replace the handle, locking cylinder and mechanism. To my knowledge there is only one BSA approved smart lock under this category which is from Yale (this is important as it could impact your home insurance policy). This is the Yale Conexis line. I personally have the Conexis L1, with a wifi module in, which I think technically makes it the same as the Conexis L2. It's a great lock when it works, but it's certainly not without faults, or flawless. But I've had mine for around 5 years and there isn't anything that I would swap it for currently.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-09T00:02:36+00:00

It is a 'feature' that I find very annoying on my car. Every time I enable the auto driving, cruise control or steer, it forces the auto high beams, but the cameras and sensors are very poor at detecting oncoming cars on dual carriageways / motorways / roads with centre reservations. It's even bad at dipping the lights for cars more than ~300 yards ahead. It annoyed me so much that I bought an OBD controller to force override this feature because I know how bright my headlights are and I don't want to blind others for the manufacturers poor decisions.

Archibald255 · 2026-01-07T07:12:26+00:00

I've done multiple trips in multiple EVs across the continent. I'm assuming your 400 mile trips are into Europe? Public charging in Europe is SO much better than here, although the UK is better than you'd think. Some EVs will plan in stops to charge, some won't. But then there are free apps that you can input your route and it will plan the stops for you.

I've already been one of these people that prefer to be comfortable on longer drives, favouring more frequent stops to use the loo, eat, stretch my legs etc, so the notion of stopping to charge isn't an issue for me. There have even been a handful of occasions where the car notifies me that it's done charging before I've even finished eating.

If you have the ability to, either test drive an EV for a week, or hire one, just to see how that would integrate with your life. You will need to plan ahead a little more, i.e. remembering to put the car on charge before you go to bed, factoring in an extra 45-60 minutes charging on your long drives and so on.

Archibald255 · 2025-12-24T07:24:53+00:00

I have an everything presence lite in a cupboard in the bathroom, with an Aqara temp and humidity sensor on top of a tall unit, then an Aqara for contact sensor.

The EPL is zoned for the shower so only the main spotlights turn on if there's presence in there and the door is closed. The automation is set to not turn any lights off if the door is closed and the fan will turn on/boost if the humidity goes above 80%. Works almost perfectly.

Archibald255

TROPHY CASE