The Home Sweet Home Automation Contest Is On! 🏠

Enter for your chance to win a $150 DigiKey gift card! [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, February 28, 2024 [Control Multiple Lighting Points From a Single Location >>]( Enter Our Home Sweet Home Automation Contest! 'Tis the season for spring cleaning, so why not automate your home while you're at it? Do something awesome by April 16th, [document it on Hackaday.IO]( and you could win one of three $150 DigiKey gift certificates so you can do even more awesome things. We've also got five honorable mention categories to inspire you, so go on and create some [creature comforts]( dial up the [efficiency of your home]( show us your [ad-hoc Rube Goldberg system]( tell us how you display and/or [gather all the data]( or wow us with your [retrofit of an older system](. [Tickets are still available for Hackaday Europe]( as of this writing, but they are going fast! And you have about a day left to [enter our extended call for participation](. Can't make it to Supercon all the way in Pasadena? Hackaday Europe is the next best thing! You'll want to bring something to show off, right? If you need inspiration, look no further than the projects below. Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [Personalizing a Zigbee Gateway]( Sure, you could just use a Zigbee stick, but that probably won't win you any contests. Why not build your own full-blown Zigbee gateway like [h4rdc0der] is doing? This board utilizes the EFR32MG1 and ESP32S3 chips along with a MAX98357A for audio notifications. It features MQTT support, and it's easy to pair with Home Assistant. [project thumbnail]( [Automating an Husqvarna Automower]( The Husqvarna 305 has no Internet, but it does have Bluetooth and an Android app. By reverse-engineering the protocol, [Alistair] is now able to control the robot lawn mower via Home Assistant. [Alistair] can both park and pause the mower using button presses. [project thumbnail]( [Taking Control Of a Storage Water Heater]( Sometimes you don't want to re-invent the wheel. [Keri] chose an ESP8266 evaluation board for its relay, button, and connector options, and went with existing software called Supla. Now they have timer control, MQTT status reporting, and remote control. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY [High Vacuum Hack Chat]( Niklas from Advanced Tinkering will host [next week's Hack Chat](. To the casual observer, there's not much that goes on in physics that doesn't require at least a partial vacuum. That makes sense given our thick, moist, and reactive atmosphere; all those molecules just wreak havoc on sensitive experiments. Getting rid of it all can be a technical challenge, though -- it takes a lot of specialized equipment along with a lot of experience and just a little bit of wizardry. If you've caught any of the action over at Advanced Tinkering on YouTube, you'll know that the channel's host host Niklas is all about the quest for the perfect vacuum, and that he's built a pretty nice collection of gear in the process. When he checks into the Hack Chat we'll have plenty to talk about, so drop in and embrace the suck. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Hardware 2FA TOTP Authenticator Stores Up to 32 Profiles]( [Open-Source STM32 Smart Watch Plays Games and Much More]( [Easy Voice Assistant Runs 100% Locally on Raspberry Pi]( [Digitizing a Sony Cassette Player for a Disabled Boy]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Trenton Computer Festival - March 16]( The longest-running computer festival in the world will return for its 48th year in 2024. We don't have a schedule this far out, but expect a full-day of talks and workshops, with a streaming component for those who can't make the trip to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in person. [VCF East - April 12-14*]( *We just got word that VCF East has changed their dates to April 12-14th. The Vintage Computer Festival East is an absolute must-see event for anyone with a love of vintage hardware. Themes for 2024 include the Rise of the GUI and Computer Art. [Hackaday Europe 2024 - April 13-14]( This two-day event is a must-attend for anyone in our European contingent who can't make it to Supercon in the States. The event unofficially begins on Friday, April 12 with drinks and socializing, so be sure to get to Berlin early if you can. Saturday is full of presentations and food, and Sunday rounds out the weekend with brunch and a bunch of lightning talks. [Los Angeles Maker Faire - April 6]( The Los Angeles Maker Faire is back at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Mark your calendars and fire up your soldering irons now. Don't you want to have something to show off? [OSHWA 2024 - May 3-4]( This year's summit will be held in Montreal, Quebec, both remotely and in person. The speakers include leaders from industry, academia, the arts, and the maker community. Talks cover a wide range of subjects from electronics and mechanics to related fields such as digital fabrication, fashion technology, self-quantification devices, and IP law. [HOPE XV - July 12-14]( Spread the word! The fifteenth Hackers On Planet Earth conference will be held once again at St. John's University in Queens, New York. Tickets are still available as of this writing, so please help support one of the most must-see hacker events to ever take place. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA