| • Matt from Adventurous Way joins the show to discuss his experience with RV travel and automation
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| • He and his wife are building a smart home on 40 acres in Vermont from scratch
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| • Discussion about similarities between their projects, including use of Home Assistant and Victron
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| • Matt explains how he built his initial smart RV system using a Raspberry Pi and later upgraded to an Intel NUC
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| • They discuss how automation and self-hosting can make life more comfortable in small spaces
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| • Home Assistant is mentioned as the "gateway drug" for people getting into self-hosting and automation
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| • Details about their systems and experiences with boondocking and heating are discussed
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| • Challenges in boondocking and the need for power solutions
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| • Home automation priorities and implementing auto dump feature
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| • Using Victron inverter and Sonoff devices for smart RV control
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| • Integrating MQTT data from Victron with Home Assistant
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| • Collecting electrical system data in InfluxDB for long-term analysis
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| • Gaining insights into battery health and solar panel performance
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| • Adding solar power to an RV system and its impact on energy production
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| • Graphing location vs. power intake for optimal charging
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| • Sharing electrical data with Battleborn battery manufacturers for real-world performance insights
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| • Automating breaker tripping prevention using Home Assistant and Victron systems
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| • Using MQTT protocol to collect and utilize Victron system data in Home Assistant
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| • Discussing the potential for a Victron integration within Home Assistant
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| • Exploring open-source software and APIs from Victron, including documentation and coding guides
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| • Setting up MQTT and connecting to a ColorGX device
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| • Recommending MQTT Explorer as a tool for monitoring MQTT messages in real-time
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| • Discussing the use of Homebrew (Brew) on an M1 Mac for installing various applications, including Chrome and VS Code
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| • Experiencing difficulties with internet connectivity while traveling and using Little Snitch to block unwanted network activity
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| • Comparing internet speeds between a cellular connection and cable internet in an RV
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| • Discussing challenges of living in an RV and the importance of efficient online tasks, such as updating Docker containers
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| • Announcing that MQTT Explorer is available on multiple platforms, including Linux, Mac, and Windows
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| • The untrippable breaker has been the most impactful daily improvement
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| • GPS dongle connected to Victron system for location tracking and geofencing
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| • Integration with Node.RED, Home Assistant, and NQTT broker for data collection and automation
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| • Discussion of Linode's cloud computing services and its benefits for self-hosting projects
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| • Plans to self-build a house or live on the 40 acres in Vermont purchased by Matt
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| • Purchased 40 acres of raw land in central Vermont with specific requirements for a rural location with fiber internet
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| • Building process has started, including installing a driveway and laying groundwork for the house site
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| • Prioritizing self-hosting and incorporating smart technology into the new home
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| • Current RV is being used as a test lab for various technologies that will be implemented in the new house
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| • Planning to build a separate standalone mechanical building for utilities, noise control, and server infrastructure
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| • Aiming for a completely net zero house with passive design and Living Building Challenge requirements
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| • Inverters and electric grid tie-off points for a large property
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| • Running fiber as a backbone between buildings to support high-speed internet and server needs
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| • Future-proofing infrastructure with fiber installation
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| • Self-hosting servers and media services, including Plex, on-premises and syncing with Starlink
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| • Managing redundant systems and ensuring reliability when traveling or leaving a site unattended
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| • Determining "good enough" levels of redundancy and component quality (e.g. dual power supplies, SSDs in RAID)
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| • Planning for remote server management and redundancy
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| • Reviewing current setup on an old super micro board with Java-based IPMI KVM
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| • Considering replacement options, including Raspberry Pi and ASRock boards
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| • Discussing the importance of reliability and having a plan B in case of system failure
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| • Exploring technologies such as Karp for redundancy and load balancing
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| • Availability of show notes at cloudguru.com
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| • Social media handles: Alex (Ironic Badger), Chris LES, Self Hosted Show
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| • Episode reference: episode #53 on selfhosted.show/slash 53 |
