Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.
To post in this sub-forum you must have made 100 posts or have Trust status or have completed our ID Verification



muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#272747 13-Jul-2020 16:37
Send private message

If anyone has one (or more) of these hanging around you don't want/need/love anymore, I'd be keen to take it off your hands!

 

 

 

Want to setup some dog tracking stuff so the house alarm isn't set off when the dofus dog is inside.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

- el muppo


Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
LennonNZ
2459 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #2522394 13-Jul-2020 18:45
Send private message

I asked a while ago as I could not find any in NZ at a reasonable price.

 

https://core-electronics.com.au/raspberry-pi-zero.html?src=raspberrypi (They have them at about 25 incl Shipping to NZ)

They come up on trademe once in a while but people want some horrible prices for them.

It seems that most of the sellers on trademe want rip off prices for anything arduino/raspberry pi related.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522462 13-Jul-2020 19:44
Send private message

Thanks @LennonNZ, sadly that's the non-W version.
I want the Wireless version for Beacon tracking.
I think I've found them on Amazon though.

LennonNZ
2459 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #2522467 13-Jul-2020 20:08
Send private message


Nate001
640 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #2522477 13-Jul-2020 20:45
Send private message

If you're desperate adafruit have them back in stock but the shipping is ridiculous ($25 usd), only worth if you are buying a few other things. 

 

Edit: Should also add they have a limit of 1 because I wanted to split shipping with a few people. 


ringbearer
114 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

  #2522587 14-Jul-2020 09:57
Send private message

I've got one in a drawer you'd be welcome to. Located in Hamilton. Feel free to drop me a message.


ShinyChrome
1575 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #2522592 14-Jul-2020 10:10
Send private message

I managed to get one on TM about 6 odd months ago from phoenix-tech for $30 incl. shipping, but they don't seem to have anything right meow.

 

Amazon would probably be the safe bet, but 25USD incl. shipping isn't exactly cheap.


openmedia
3325 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522639 14-Jul-2020 11:54
Send private message

For BTLE Tracking also consider and ESP-32 based device. I've got one running in the middle of our house and it can track all of our Xiaomi Temp/Humidity sensors and our smart watches.





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


 
 
 
 

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).
muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522641 14-Jul-2020 12:01
Send private message

openmedia:

 

For BTLE Tracking also consider and ESP-32 based device. I've got one running in the middle of our house and it can track all of our Xiaomi Temp/Humidity sensors and our smart watches.

 

 

You have my attention.

 

Can you show me what device it is you bought, and what software it integrates with?  I want something I can "just buy" that'll be able to join my wireless network and basically just needs power and an SD card or something to boot off.  I'm using Home Assistant.

 

I have a happy bubbles already living in my carport and it "sees" the car when it pulls into the carport (there's beacon in the glovebox) and that works great for a number of automations.  I want to put a beacon on the Dog's collar and be able to tell if he's in various rooms. I was going to use https://www.room-assistant.io/ which appears to be well setup for a Pi Zero W.

 

Cheers!


openmedia
3325 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522672 14-Jul-2020 13:21
Send private message

Hardware

 

Couple of guides

 

I'm using esphome with direct HomeAssistant integration/discovery.

 

One issue I've got is the BTLE support breaks OTA updates. Need a simple way to enable/disable BTLE for OTA to to work.

 

Make sure you use an ESP32 device as it has Wifi and BTLE built in. Just need to find a suitable case.

 

 

 

 

 

 





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522680 14-Jul-2020 13:45
Send private message

So your link is dead, but I can see nicegear sell a SparkFun ESP32 thing.  I like NiceGear, they're good people (person?)

 

https://nicegear.nz/product/sparkfun-esp32-thing

 

Would that work?

 

 

 

What do I need to program it? How do I set it up to access my Wifi network? Do I need a seperate programming board or something, or do you just plug it into your PC and program it that way?

 

Looks cute, but also makes me feel like a doofus.  If it's Linux I know how to drive it, if not, errr what do I dooooooo :)

 

Thanks!


openmedia
3325 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522895 14-Jul-2020 18:17
Send private message

You can find devices on Trade Me as well

 

 - https://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/other-electronics/electronic-components/other/listing-2693141432.htm?rsqid=6c03d49cf9354642a758e2f8ecaffd6e-001

 

 

 

You can program it using Arduino IDE or esphome on the command line, and it connects via a micro-usb connector.

 

Device doesn't run Linux, you treat it like an Arduino device. Took my 5-10 minutes to get it cabled up and have some demo / example BTLE discovery code running.





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2522915 14-Jul-2020 18:41
Send private message

Yea I've never had a Arduino device either, but I guess I might as well learn.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

 


tchart
2379 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #2523108 14-Jul-2020 21:18
Send private message

If you go for Arduindo and C isn't your thing then check this out. Can totally recommend it and it's free.

https://www.b4x.com/b4r.html

openmedia
3325 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2523249 15-Jul-2020 09:07
Send private message

The Arduino IDE has a lot of example code to get you started, plus some great online examples are out there for your use-case.





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


muppet

2568 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2523250 15-Jul-2020 09:09
Send private message

Yea I bought the last two SparkFun ESP32 things on Nicegear's website last night.

 

Had a play with the ESPHome app etc, looks pretty easy to figure out and get working.


 1 | 2
Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.