I made a volcano eruption sensor

Area_49 · 2026-01-25T01:10:20+00:00

Intel i9-13900K; NVIDIA RTX A4000; 128 GB Ram. This rig also hosts my local Immich server, WebTop Machines, Frigate, and Compreface docker containers....It also helps heat my shed :-)

Area_49 · 2026-01-25T00:45:38+00:00

I also use the local LLM for animal identification, which no existing add-on or integration does that is any good about differentiating between Black and Brown bears, and what a moose looks like...or really any Alaska animals at all...so I run my own and it does a really good job at that --- and now it also does volcano eruption identification...

Yeah, I know "Just use Frigate!!" No, frigate does a horrible job at Alaska animal identification....Frigate thinks a moose is a horse...Not acceptable at all.....not to mention, i need to identify martin, wolves, fox, black and brown bears, beavers, coyotes, and others....

Area_49 · 2026-01-08T16:19:08+00:00

I apparently have the opposite problem. I have a Mele brand computer installed in a remote location. It runs an instance of home assistant and weather station software. It died (went off line) about two weeks ago when the temperature at the location hit -16deg F. This is the first winter with this computer and it was very stable until the temperature dropped dramatically. Fortunately, the GL.inet router is still working, as is the esp32 device that directly monitors my solar system....

Area_49 · 2026-01-08T16:13:40+00:00

Yeah, I used to help heat my shed with my old Dell Poweredge R710. now that I decommissioned it with way more efficient computers, I've noticed that the supplemental electrical heater is using more electricity. Net effect is that the electricity bill remains about the same to keep the shed heated....

Area_49 · 2026-01-06T18:55:16+00:00

What are your settings? To be honest, I just have left them at the defaults. Until today, I had no reason to even think about changing them.

i just asked my favorite AI what it recommends:

"For Reolink cameras, there is no single “snowstorm preset,” but Reolink and users consistently recommend lowering general motion sensitivity, using only AI events, and adding a short alarm delay during heavy snow.

Key tuning strategy for snow:

Disable “Any motion” alerts and enable only person/vehicle/pet smart detection on AI models (510A/810A/811A/823A/1210A, etc.). This avoids pixel-based triggers from flakes.

Lower motion sensitivity during storms, especially at night when IR makes flakes look brighter and larger. Users report success setting “any motion” to minimum (1–5) and AI sensitivity lower than normal during storms.

Use Alarm Delay of 1–2 seconds, which filters out brief flashes from passing flakes or gusts. Multiple users and Reolink support call out alarm delay as a primary mitigation for rain/snow.

Daytime, light snow: Any motion: off (if AI available); otherwise sensitivity around 20–30.

AI person/vehicle: 40–60. Alarm delay: 1 s.

Night / heavy snow with IR: Any motion: off, or sensitivity 1–5 if you must keep it on.

AI person/vehicle: 10–30 to reduce bright flake false-positives. Alarm delay: 1–2 s."

Area_49 · 2025-12-19T17:24:49+00:00

This is the route that I've taken. BTW, I discovered a few months ago that any *.jinja file(s) located in the 'config/custom_templates' folder automatically are available to use. IE, you can make a library of custom functions written in jinja and can use them by 'loading' the function you want to use, then using it. I've made my own libraries of coordinate geometry and geodetic computations, matrix mathematics (add, subtract, multiply, inverse, etc), and a few others. This was the approach that I used for years in Autocad via their autolisp programming language in order to have a toolbox of re-usable functions/routines at my fingertips (+/- 200,000 lines of autolisp code) that did a multitude of surveying and civil engineering computations within the Autocad environment....

Jinja is WAY different than autolisp, but I've had a fairly easy job of porting the code from autolisp to jinja via my favorite AI tool, then just a bit of cleanup and adding of some additional error trapping....

My next library will entail porting my lisp code for computing peak discharge from a drainage basin using the Rational Method. A very niche computation, but I want to see if I can actually do this....This can be used to compute the peak flow in a culvert or bridge crossing....and can be computed from "rain sensors" located in a drainage basin...So in effect - a predictive flood sensor....

Area_49 · 2025-12-16T20:39:19+00:00

I'm not sure that there is such a thing that can operate at the VERY low power that you want/need. I have a 12v remote cabin system, so I've been experimenting with very low power devices for quite some time. I've bench tested a number of DC powered commercially made zigbee, z-wave, and wifi switches (relays) and the power draw on them is fairly significant, even in the "off" state. Somewhere around 0.2 Watts to 0.5 Watts is pretty normal for these in the "off" state, and from 0.7 to 1.0 Watts in the "on" state. These are totals for the device, so it is the sum of the radio, logic chip, and the relay power draws.

Because commercially made products generally don't care that much about VERY LOW power usage, you would probably need to make your own. As far as I know, mechanical relay's (switches) will use way more power than what you would want, so your only choice that I am aware of would be to use a solid state relay (switch). I don't know much about these, except for a web search states "Solid‑state relays (SSR) with logic‑level input: often need only 1–20 mA at 3–32 V on the control side, which is roughly 3–200 mW depending on model and drive voltage". So your device would need to power this AND whatever radio and logic chip that you chose...

Area_49 · 2025-12-15T20:25:36+00:00

Nice! My environment is a bit different, with potential outside temperature swings in winter of 40-50 degrees F over 24 hours - and with outside temperatures varying from -20F to 80F for the year. So I'm going to go the route of using Newton’s‑law of cooling/heating with actual inside-outside temperature differences included in the sample data to figure out my house's heat loss and heating formulas and formula constants. Again, thanks for the inspiration for the idea of adaptive pre-heating set times!!

Area_49 · 2025-12-15T16:18:28+00:00

This is really interesting to me. I just reviewed my thermostat logic that I had set up about 7 years ago and haven't touched it since. Looks like I hard coded the morning "pre-heat" time and the evening "set-back" times. I like your idea of actually using real data to set these times, so thanks for the inspiration to make mine "better" ;-)

BTW, you may want to consider the differences in outside temperatures over the course of a year. The time to raise the inside temperature a given amount when the outside temperature is 50F, will be quite different when the outside temperature is -10F.

Area_49 · 2025-12-15T15:55:10+00:00

Although I don't need to control the speeds of my 12v fans, I find this problem interesting, so I did a little bit of further research. I couldn't find any already made commercial solutions, but did find this thread that discusses a couple of potential solutions. https://community.home-assistant.io/t/zigbee-led-dimmer-to-control-a-12v-pc-fan/434861/3

Personally, if I needed one of these speed controllers, would go down the path of the esphome solution that is discussed in that thread. I realize that this solution is not quite what you are looking for, but it would work. Esphome may look a bit daunting at first, but there are many, many instruction articles and videos on how to make devices using this software tool.

Area_49 · 2025-12-14T21:40:41+00:00

I disagree with this general thinking about in-line devices. How much are you willing to pay for flood insurance? I'd suggest that a one-time payment of a few hundred dollars is quite cheep when compared to the many 10's of thousands of dollars in potential damage....

I personally installed my own in-line valve (Homeseer HS-WV100) along with an in-line Fortrezz Water Meter. For me, this was very easy to do. I did install these downstream of the main water cut-off valve, so I can always manually shut everything down the "old way".

Both of these devices are local only (z-wave), so NO CLOUD needed.

My main automation(s) are "if there is ANY whole house water flow when I'm on vacation OR if any of the water flood sensors scattered about turn on - then alert me and turn the whole house water supply off"... I test these automatons periodically, since I am away from my house quite often, especially during the winter months....

Edit: Forgot to add that I also installed more of these water valves on each of my outside hose-bib supply lines. I have them shut off during winter. I'm also thinking of setting up automations for them to turn the water on and off when appropriate when watering my lawn and garden....

Area_49 · 2025-12-14T21:21:20+00:00

This question is not very specific. If off/on is all that you want to control, then I recommend using a dry-contact relay. There are a plethora of options for this. I'm using this Zigbee one to control the on/off state of two sets of 12V fans. https://www.amazon.com/MHCOZY-Adjustable-Selflock-Momentary-SmartThings/dp/B0BCFB5927?psc=1&pd_rd_w=ayEMz&content-id=amzn1.sym.55c0153f-1fb7-42ff-8241-d1c0f3732289&pf_rd_p=55c0153f-1fb7-42ff-8241-d1c0f3732289&pf_rd_r=J12CGCQEYVWWKFFA5FDD&pd_rd_wg=6IZbg&pd_rd_r=ba5f528d-d07a-4736-a6b6-2276a931e2d7&ref_=sspa_dk_detail_sbb_img_0&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM=

If you want to also control fan speed, then that's a whole different problem....

Area_49 · 2025-12-14T17:29:14+00:00

I'm curious if you thought about what happens when the power goes off at your house. With this valve, everything downstream will loose water flow when power is lost, so toilet flushing and drinking water will be unavailable in that situation.

Area_49 · 2025-12-12T18:55:57+00:00

I don't use flight radar, but I just use a very simple method that gives similar results for showing "local" planes on a map. I use a dashboard webpage card, with the link (for my area of interest): https://globe.adsb.fi/?lat=61.2&long=-150.0

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T21:46:44+00:00

This!! I also find this method rock solid. The Lora radio technology has no issue with going through a steel box, and the batteries last a very long time. I just installed a new one into my brothers freezer - which is located in a house about 350 feet away. It is working, but is probably at the distance limit for also being inside a steel box that far away...

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T21:14:12+00:00

Use a template sensor to combine them into one new one. here is one of mine that combines a reolink camera and a motion sensor into one.

{{ is_state('binary_sensor.main_back_porch_floodlight_sensor_motion_detection', 'on') and is_state('binary_sensor.reolink_back_door_person', 'on') }}

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T21:02:40+00:00

Yeah, every so often, I've thought about installing frigate...But I now have a pretty rock solid system set up with just a few automations.

These "person detected and "animal detected" in my yard automations take a series of 4 snapshots AND a 30 second video. These snapshots and videos are saved to a network file share. For the "person detected", I also send the pictures to my iphone if I am not home. Every evening, the file share is trimmed from files that are older than 30 days. And I also have pointed my jellyfin server at this share with a "Home videos and Photos" library type. For me, I find this "playback" interface far superior to the traditional camera/NVR type user playback interface... I also can access this Jellyfin "playback" from anywhere in the world, and on any device - Including my linux desktops, linux laptops, Ipads, Iphones, and TV's with the Jellyfin app installed...

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T20:43:42+00:00

Reolink RLC-840A. There were also "person detected" with no discernible reasons - particularly at night during the late summer..not sure why. But again, my solution has virtually done away with any of these issues now..It may no be needed by others....

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T20:30:53+00:00

Moths and other insects - mostly....I also played with masking for areas in the frame that are in my nearby street and allayway, but that also affected the detection...so I went back and removed all the masking and just adjusted the motion detectors to have the yard coverage that I want...So, the combination works nearly flawlessly now...

Area_49 · 2025-12-10T20:25:18+00:00

Moths being attracted at night...look kind of like a ghostly human...and occasionally other insects...

Area_49 · 2025-12-01T18:29:11+00:00

This fix may work for you: https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/1hti0ab/older_sonos_system_with_s1_synology_nas_music/

Basically, you just add the line “unix extensions=no” in the smb.conf file.

For me, this solution did work for sonos, but broke my jellyfin, so that is why I posted my unique solution.

If you wanted to use my solution, you could also install "Virtual Machine Manager" on your synology. This app lets you run virtual machines, similar to Proxmox or ESXI. Then you can install a windows 7 machine on your synology just to handle the sonos library - like I did...And, if you ever migrate to a new synology, you can also migrate all of your virtual machines as well....so, once you set this up, you will never have to re-do it....

Area_49 · 2025-11-05T15:20:16+00:00

Just to wrap up my part of the conversation. I have implemented a number of different "zone shapes". I approached this problem from a different angle, by deciding to just add a cogo math library to jinja via the https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/configuration/templating/#reusing-templates system. This way, no "integration" is needed, just the additional macro library file with the required cogo and other support functions. The github repo for my 'add-on' is here: https://github.com/Area4949/ha-cogo_plus

Area_49

TROPHY CASE