My phone rings. It’s my wife. “The heating is on, but the living room is freezing. What do I do?”

I’m 500 kilometres away, trying to operate an oil boiler over the phone. A boiler I only understand because I’ve been cursing at it every autumn for years. “Do you see the orange thing? No, the other orange thing. There’s a dial …” Anyone who has ever had a call like this knows how it ends: both sides are exhausted, and the living room is still cold.

That’s exactly why our house now has house documentation. A digital manual for our home that explains how the heating, the pumps, the water softener, the network and everything else work. And above all: what to do when they don’t. I built the whole thing with BookStack, a free wiki software I host myself at home. And the best part comes at the end: QR codes stuck right on the devices.

The knowledge lives in my head. And my head isn’t always at home.

In IT there’s a term called the bus factor: how many people have to be hit by a bus before a project grinds to a halt? In many households, that number is exactly 1. In ours, it certainly was.

This isn’t just a business-trip problem. You can get sick, end up in hospital, or something more serious can happen. Nobody likes to think about that. But that’s precisely when your family shouldn’t also be standing in front of a heating system only you know how to operate.

It gets especially critical when you run your home the way many of us tech enthusiasts do:

• Docker containers for home automation, DNS, media servers, and things whose names nobody but me can pronounce
• Custom hardware: sensors, actuators, controllers, a Raspberry Pi hidden somewhere behind a cupboard
• Custom code: automations, scripts, and rules that are “actually perfectly logical” if you’re the one who wrote them
• Networking: VLANs, static IPs, router configurations

For me, it’s a hobby. For my wife, it’s a black box that occasionally refuses to turn on the lights. If you build something like this, you’re responsible for the people who live with it. A smart home that only one person understands is, in an emergency, dumber than a perfectly ordinary one.

BookStack: a wiki that feels like a bookshelf

BookStack is open-source documentation software. You host it yourself, it costs nothing, and it runs in the browser, on a PC just as well as on a phone.

What sets BookStack apart from many other wikis is its sense of order. Instead of an endless tangle of pages, it uses a structure everyone understands instantly, because it comes straight from the real world:

1. Shelves – the big topic areas, e.g. “Building Services”
2. Books – one device or topic, e.g. “Oil Heating”
3. Chapters – an optional way to split up a book
4. Pages – the actual instructions, e.g. “How-To: Oil Delivery”

My wife didn’t have to learn a new system first. Shelf, book, page: you know that from the library, from your living room, and, if all else fails, from the IKEA catalogue.

What BookStack can do, and why it’s a great fit for house documentation

Free and self-hosted. BookStack is open source and runs as a Docker container on my home server. The data stays in the house: no subscription, no cloud service that changes its pricing one day.

An editor anyone can use. You write pages in a WYSIWYG editor, just like in Word. If you prefer typing Markdown, you can do that too. Images go in via copy-and-paste or drag-and-drop. That matters, because a photo of the right switch replaces three paragraphs of description.

A search that actually finds things. Full-text search covers every shelf, book and page. Type “salt” and you land on the water softener. Type “cold” and, hopefully, you land on the heating troubleshooting page.

Tags. Pages and books can be tagged, for example with “heating”, “pump” or “maintenance”. That way you can find related content across shelves.

Revision history. Every change is saved. If I “improve” a guide at one in the morning and realise the next day that it was better before, the old version is just one click away.

Users, roles and permissions. My wife has her own account. I decide who can read and edit what, right down to individual pages. Not everyone needs to be able to change the network configuration.

Diagrams. The built-in draw.io editor lets you draw network plans or pipe layouts right into a page. Admittedly, I haven’t tried that myself yet.

Export. Every page and every book can be exported as PDF, HTML, Markdown or plain text. My tip: also print out the most important emergency guides and keep them next to the device. Because house documentation running on a server isn’t much help when the power is out.

Works on your phone. The interface adapts to small screens. Nobody takes a laptop down to the boiler room.

What our house documentation looks like

Our house documentation has three shelves:

• Building Services – heating, pumps, controllers, actuators, home automation, alarm system
• IT – internet connection, cabling, network services, configurations, troubleshooting
• Maintenance – things that need doing regularly throughout the year

Every shelf gets a real photo. Sounds like a gimmick, but it helps enormously: one look at the orange boiler and you know you’re on the right shelf.

On the Building Services shelf, every device has its own book: the rainwater pump, the water softener and, of course, the oil heating.

The descriptions are allowed to sound human. The water softener “descales drinking water and needs salt regularly”. That’s all you need to know at first. And the oil heating? “Converts oil into heat. Like Jesus.” Theologically daring, but you’ll remember it.

The Oil Heating book then holds the actual guides:

• How-To: Oil delivery (spoiler: switch the heating off completely before the tank is filled)
• How-To: WINTER – switching the heating to heating mode
• How-To: SUMMER – switching the heating to hot water only
• How-To: Checking that the heating works (flow and return temperatures)
• Troubleshooting: No or wrong room temperature even though the heating is running

The pages follow a simple pattern: How-To for things you do on a schedule. Troubleshooting for things that are broken right now. Troubleshooting pages always start with the symptom, meaning what you see or feel: “The heating is running, there’s no error message, but the rooms are still cold.” That’s exactly how my wife would describe the problem on the phone. So that’s exactly how it’s written in the docs.

Also worth having: “Where is…” pages. They answer time-critical questions in the very first line, with a photo. For example, “Where is the main water shut-off valve?” when a pipe has just burst somewhere.

The clever bit: QR codes right on the device

The best documentation is useless if you have to go looking for it. When you’re standing in front of a system in the basement, you don’t want to click through shelves. That’s why every documented device has a QR code stuck on it.

An example: in spring, my wife is standing in front of the rainwater pump in the big garage. She pulls out her phone, scans the code and lands straight on the page “Starting up the rainwater pump”. No searching, no phone call, no “Which pump do you mean?”.

Here’s how it works:

1. Every page and every book in BookStack has a fixed, human-readable URL.
2. I turn that URL into a QR code, using any QR code generator.
3. The code is printed out, ideally laminated or on a weatherproof label, and stuck somewhere clearly visible on the device.
4. Next to it, a short note says where it leads, e.g. “Guide: rainwater pump”.

A tip: link to the book rather than a single page. That way you land on all the guides for that device, and the code keeps working even if you rename pages or add new ones.

Important: our BookStack only runs on the home network. So the phone has to be on the Wi-Fi for the code to work. If your basement has no signal, check your Wi-Fi coverage before you start cursing the technology. And if you want access from outside, set it up properly through a VPN instead of simply opening a port.

Eight tips for house documentation people will actually use

1. Write for the person who’s going to read it. Not for yourself. “Check the flow temperature” is clear to me. For my wife, “The left thermometer on the boiler should show more than 50 degrees” is clearer.
2. Photos, photos, photos. Every switch, every valve, every display. A red arrow in a picture is worth more than the finest wording.
3. Think from the symptom. Nobody searches for “mixing valve position, heating circuit 1”. People search for “living room cold”.
4. Clear page types. How-To for planned tasks, Troubleshooting for faults. That makes the documentation predictable.
5. Document your contacts. Heating engineer, electrician, oil supplier, internet provider, with phone numbers and customer numbers. Sometimes the best instruction is: “Call this number.”
6. Document the tinkering too. Which container does what? Where does it run? How do you restart it? And what happens if you just leave it alone? The honest answer, “Then the lights still work, just not automatically”, is incredibly reassuring.
7. Test with your audience. Have the guides read by the people they’re meant for. Every spot where they ask a question needs rewriting. No review is more honest.
8. Docs for the mastermind, too. A central knowledge base doesn’t hurt for my own topics either: VLANs, routing, IP addresses, subnets, VPN configs. Better organised in BookStack than in 14 different Word and Excel files.

Conclusion: the best smart home project is the one that works without me

The house documentation wasn’t a weekend project you finish once. It grows with every device, every fault, and every “Oh, I really should have written that down”. But the effort is manageable, and BookStack makes it genuinely easy: one container, an intuitive structure, an editor with no learning curve.

The real payoff isn’t technical. It’s the good feeling on a business trip that nobody at home is standing helplessly in front of a cold radiator. And the even better feeling that my family will manage even if, one day, I can’t be reached at all.

If you run Docker containers, home-built hardware and self-written automations at home, I urge you: document it. Not for yourself, but for the people you live with. Your house may be smart. But only with good documentation is it family-proof.

And if the phone does ring after all: “Just scan the QR code on the boiler.” The best sentence I’ve ever said on a business trip.

Der Beitrag The House Now Has a Manual erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Whenever we arrive at a hotel, holiday apartment, or rental property, one of the first things I unpack is the travel router. I connect it to whatever internet connection is available — hotel Wi-Fi, an Ethernet jack, or, if necessary, a 4G modem.

A couple of minutes later, all of our devices are online without me having to configure every single one.

The reason is simple: the router provides the same Wi-Fi network my devices already know from home. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, Apple TV, and other devices connect automatically.

Ubiquiti UniFi UTR router wireless Gigabit Ethernet Dual-band [2.4 GHz/5 GHz] Bianco (Ubiquiti UniFi Travel Router - UTR)*

• Herstellernummer: UTR
• EAN: 0810177163589

90,11 EUR

Amazon

Taking Your Own Wi-Fi With You

I usually carry an Apple TV in the same bag as the router. At the hotel, I simply plug it into the TV via HDMI, and it immediately connects to our own Wi-Fi.

No setting up the hotel Wi-Fi on the Apple TV, no logging into Netflix or other streaming services on some unfamiliar smart TV, and no wondering afterwards whether I remembered to sign out everywhere.

Turn on the TV, start the Apple TV, and that’s it.

It becomes even more useful with devices that simply do not work well with hotel Wi-Fi networks. Baby monitors, Wi-Fi cameras, IoT devices, and similar hardware often cannot deal with captive portals — those login pages where you first have to enter your room number, surname, or accept terms and conditions.

For these devices, the hotel Wi-Fi effectively does not exist. They simply see the Wi-Fi network they already know.

An Extra Layer of Security

Another important benefit for me is isolation from the host network.

Our devices are not connected directly to the hotel, apartment, or public Wi-Fi. Our own router sits in between, providing its own firewall and NAT.

On top of that, I tunnel the traffic through an encrypted VPN connection back to my home network.

From the hotel network’s perspective, it mainly sees the travel router. The individual devices behind it and the traffic they generate are largely hidden. The operator of the local Wi-Fi cannot simply inspect which websites we visit or what data we transfer. What they primarily see is an encrypted connection between the travel router and my home network.

The best part is that nobody in the family has to think about it.

No “remember to turn on your VPN.” No VPN profile that needs to be configured on every device. No difference between a phone, tablet, Apple TV, or Wi-Fi camera.

Anything connected to our travel Wi-Fi automatically takes the secure route back home.

Your Home Network, Wherever You Are

There is another major advantage: I can access local services at home from anywhere.

My NAS, servers, surveillance system, and other on-premises services are available almost as if I were sitting at home on my own Wi-Fi.

I do not have to expose individual services directly to the internet or manually establish separate VPN connections on every device.

In a way, the entire network travels with us.

Couldn’t You Just Use WireGuard?

Of course.

On a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, you can install a WireGuard client and establish a VPN connection back home.

But for me, that only solves part of the problem.

First, there are devices such as streaming boxes, cameras, and various IoT devices where running a dedicated VPN client is either impossible or unnecessarily complicated.

Second, you then have to manage the VPN connection on every individual device. Especially when travelling and constantly switching between mobile data, hotel Wi-Fi, and other networks, that can become annoying. Always-on VPN connections can also increase battery consumption and occasionally behave unpredictably on unfamiliar networks.

With a travel router, all of this happens in one central place.

And Then There Are Hotel Wi-Fi Networks…

Some hotels make things even more inconvenient with captive portals, short session durations, or access that needs to be re-authorized every few hours.

This is another situation where the router is extremely convenient.

Instead of five, ten, or even more individual devices having to deal with the hotel network, exactly one device does: the travel router.

As long as the router remains connected, our own Wi-Fi stays available. I return to the hotel room and everything simply continues to work.

So Why Use a Travel Router?

For me, it is not really about carrying yet another router around.

It is about taking my own network with me.

Connect the router once to whatever internet connection is available, and everything behind it works the way I am used to:

My family’s devices connect automatically. Apple TV and IoT devices work without being reconfigured. Our devices are isolated from the foreign network. Traffic can be securely tunneled back home. And my own local services remain accessible as if I were connected to my home Wi-Fi.

That is why a UniFi Travel Router has become a standard part of our travel setup.

Internet at the destination goes in. Your home Wi-Fi comes out.

Der Beitrag What Do You Actually Need a UniFi Travel Router For? erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

We apply the changes and now call up this new link.
The window should now open in dark mode.

I now recommend adjusting the light font colours once under File/Settings/Colors so that they are easier to read. I have highlighted all fonts in black.

Der Beitrag Use WSJT-X in Darkmode erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Der Beitrag EQSL ADIF import error “DATE/TIME outside profile – Login to different account” erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Der Beitrag Germany missing in LOTW registration / certification DXCC entity list erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

I was amazed when I used an MX Keys from Logitech * for the first time at work. I connected the device to my tablet and two PCs via Bluetooth, and using the quick keys on the keyboard, I can directly select which of the devices I want to use for text input. Switching between the devices is done within milliseconds without me having to constantly re-pair a device.

Logitech MX Keys Kabellose Tastatur | Bluetooth & USB-Empfänger, USB-C, 5-Monate Akku, Easy-Switch, Tastenbeleuchtung, PC/Mac...*

• Tasten mit perfektem Anschlag: Die kreisförmigen konkaven Tasten sind auf Ihre Fingerkuppen zugeschnitten, für ein durchgehend...
• Komfort und Stabilität: Tippen Sie mühelos auf der auf Komfort, Stabilität, Präzision und Strapazierfähigkeit ausgelegten...

59,99 EUR

Amazon

This makes for a tidy desk and high ease of use. I use this keyboard on the iPad or iPhone, for example, or alternately with my Windows computer and MacBook. Another benefit: The keyboard has a high-quality white backlight, as known from the MacBook or other high-end notebooks. The feel and feedback of the keys are very pleasant, but that is certainly a matter of taste.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of purchases made through them. Nevertheless, our recommendations are honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Use one keyboard for three devices at the same time: MX Keys by Logitech erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Fortunately, there is an open feature request on Microsoft’s User Voice forum to add a person picker function to Microsoft Forms. This feature would allow users to select the people they want to share their form with from a list of contacts, rather than having to manually type in each email address. This would make the process much more user-friendly and efficient, especially for users who need to share their forms with a large number of people.

The person picker feature would also be beneficial for users who are creating forms with sensitive information or confidential data. With the person picker, users can easily control who has access to their forms, without the risk of typos or accidental sharing.

It is important to note that Microsoft actively listens to the feedback from its users and has a history of implementing new features based on user requests. By voting for the person picker feature on Microsoft’s User Voice forum, users can help prioritize this feature and make it a reality.

Here is where to vote for it: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/f43a5bf4-c2b2-ed11-a81b-000d3a0450e3

To vote for the person picker feature, simply visit the Microsoft Forms User Voice forum and search for the feature request. Once you find it, click on the “Vote” button and add any comments or suggestions you may have. Sharing the feature request with colleagues or on social media can also help garner more votes and increase the likelihood of it being implemented.

In conclusion, the person picker feature would be a valuable addition to Microsoft Forms, making it easier and more efficient for users to share their forms with others. By voting for the feature request, users can help Microsoft prioritize this feature and make it a reality.

Der Beitrag Vote for a people picker function for Microsoft Forms erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Thermo-electrical ventilators are typically small, fan-like devices that are placed on the surface of a fireplace or oven. They work by harnessing the heat generated by the fireplace or oven and converting it into electrical energy, which in turn powers the fan to circulate air around the room. The aim of this process is to improve the distribution of heat, making the room feel warmer and more comfortable without the need of an external power source.

To test the effectiveness of thermo-electrical ventilators, we conducted a series of experiments using one fireplaces – once with a thermo-electrical ventilator and once without one. We used a thermometer to measure the temperature at various points around the room and timed how long it took for the room to reach a comfortable temperature of 20°C.

For our test we used two fireplace ventilators from manufacturer Boiphek *, which we could integrate into our oven, as they are only 19cm high.

Ofenventilator mit 5 Flügeln, Kaminventilator Ohne Strom Geräuscharmer Betrieb, Hitze Powered Kamin Ventilator, Ofen Ventilator...*

• ✨【Upgrades 5 Blättern Kaminventilatorsr】 Der 5 Blättern Heißluft ofenlüfter kann mehr warme Luft erzeugen und die...
• ✨【Energiesparen Ventilator】 Keine Batterie oder Strom erforderlich. Es wird durch die vom Kamin oder Kaminofen erzeugte Wärme...

Amazon

In our first test, we used our traditional wood-burning fireplace without a thermo-electrical ventilator. It took approximately 60 minutes for the room to reach the desired temperature, and the temperature was not evenly distributed throughout the room. Some areas of the room were noticeably cooler than others, indicating poor heat distribution.

In our second test, we used the same fireplace but this time with a thermo-electrical ventilator attached. The results were impressive – the room reached the desired temperature in just 45 minutes, a full 15 minutes faster than without the ventilator. You can even feel a slight wind from the ventilators. Furthermore, the temperature was evenly distributed throughout the room, making it feel much warmer and more comfortable.

In conclusion, our tests have shown that thermo-electrical ventilators can significantly improve the efficiency of fireplaces and ovens especially in smaller rooms. By increasing air circulation, they improve heat distribution and help to heat up a room faster. If you have a fireplace or oven in your home, investing in a thermo-electrical ventilator could be a worthwhile purchase to improve the comfort and warmth of your living space.

If you want to heat up larger rooms with more volume, you will feel the benefits in the nearer area around your fireplace, but do not expect the fans to reach the last corners of very large rooms. The harvested thermo-electrical energy is not high enough to power the fans in such a way that a very strong airflow will blow through a large living room, even if it helps to warm up the air a little faster.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of purchases made through them. Nevertheless, our recommendations are honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Test: Do thermo-electric fireplace fans really work? erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

At the same time, however, we want to remain reachable under our mobile numbers and therefore don’t want to constantly swap the SIM cards of our iPhones. That’s why we use a small router that fits in any pocket and supplies our iPhones with non-EU Internet via WLAN.

We decided at that time for the TP-Link M7200 * , because it is small, handy and equipped with an integrated battery. Nevertheless, we did not find an answer to some of our questions at the time and hope to be able to help others with our experiences here.

Special offer

TP-Link M7200 mobiler WLAN Router (4G/LTE bis zu 150Mbit/s Download/ 50Mbit/s Upload, Hotspot, 2000mAh Akku, kompatibel mit Allen...*

• Arbeitet mit allen gängigen europäischen SIM Karten: Telekom, Vodafone, O2 m Swisscom etc. Wenn Sie es im Ausland verwenden möchten...
• Support des Mobilfunkstandards 4G/LTE mit bis zu 150 Mbs im Download und 50 Mbs Upload Geschwindigkeit. Das WLAN ist 300Mbit/s in...

−14,97 EUR 34,92 EUR

Amazon

How to enter the SIM PIN?

For example, when I buy a SIM card in Albania, it comes with a PIN. But how do we enter it into the router? Or can the router only handle PIN-free cards? That would be bad, because then I would always have to insert the foreign card into my cell phone and deactivate the PIN there.

The answer is simple. When I connect my smartphone or tablet to the mobile router, I can access the router controls via web interface. Here I can simply enter the PIN for the inserted SIM card.

Which SIM card sizes (Nano-SIM, Micro-SIM, Standard-SIM) fit into the router ?

An adapter is included with the device. All SIM card formats fit into the router. So you don’t need to worry about the form factor of your SIM card when you’re abroad.

How many devices can I connect simultaneously to the router?

Up to 10 devices can connect to the router at the same time. More than enough for our travels.

How long does the battery really last?

Our router is permanently powered in the Defender because we have it connected to our battery storage. However, when we move away from the car, we can take it with us. Thanks to a built-in 2000mAh battery, that’s no problem. But how long does the battery last under real-life conditions?

If we sit in a café somewhere with two connected devices, edit photos and upload them to the Adobe Cloud, write our blog in parallel and upload photos there as well, the battery lasts about 6 hours. That is OK because the mentioned application areas really already consume a larger amount of data volume.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of purchases made through them. Nevertheless, our recommendations are honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Mobile Internet abroad – tiny router accepts any SIM card erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

The electrical component that is connected to the circuit board of a rotary control is called a potentiometer (or poti for short). Over time, moisture, abrasion and other influences can cause oxidation to form on the components, which then leads to values no longer being able to be set accurately, or to scratching when operating the potentiometers on hi-fi equipment, for example on volume controls. Perhaps you have observed something like this before.

Lösen kann man das Problem oft durch ein Kontaktspray. Ich benutze immer “Kontakt 60” aus der Sprühdose *. Dieser Reiniger ist unbedenklich für elektrische Platinen und oxidlösend. Dieses Zeug braucht ihr.

The problem can often be solved with a contact spray. I always use “Kontakt 60” from the spray can *. This cleaner is safe for electrical circuit boards and dissolves oxide. You need this stuff.

Kontaktreiniger Universal 100 ml, KONTAKT 60 ist ein oxidlösender Kontaktreiniger mit (973977013314)*

• K60-100ML
• Kontakt 60 starker oxydlös. Kontaktreiniger 100ml

10,98 EUR

Amazon

But how do we get the noble juice to our knobs? Relatively simple: We remove our controller from the heater, unscrew it, take out the circuit board and then spray some contact spray into the potentiometers. But step by step. However, there are two crunch points (if you are not careful in the truest sense of the word) when disassembling and reassembling the controller. I will mark these for you in the following (YELLOW).

We remove the controller from the heater and (ATTENTION) turn both temperature regulators to the far right. Then we pull the regulators forward out of the controller. On the back of the controller housing there are small lugs that we can press in with a screwdriver to open the housing.

We can now see the circuit board. The circuit board has two levels. We loosen all the small screws with which the boards are screwed into the housing and then carefully pull out the first board so that the board with the display remains in the housing. On the front we now see the potentiometers.

We give a short spray (like nasal spray) from below into the holes of the potentiometers. Then we put everything back together:

(CAUTION) When we put the control board back on the display board, we have to be careful not to break the fine contacts of the large, wide connector. This requires a delicate touch. Then screw both boards back on.

Now we close the case again by pressing the back with the lugs back into the front of the controller.

Now we put the knobs back into the controller from the front. (ATTENTION) We had turned them all the way to the right, so put them back in with the pointer position all the way to the right.

Now comes the most important part. You now move each cleaned knob back and forth several times (about 20 times – but more is better) so that any oxidation and abrasion in the potentiometer planes away.

This will most likely solve your problem. If that doesn’t save your potis because they are already too dirty, you can simply desolder them and replace them with new ones. But as a rule, contact spray should be enough.

Der Beitrag Temperature controller on Viessmann Trimatic jumps between values erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.