It's time to upgrade the home to Matter and Thread

We have some simple home automation here. Lights come on at sunset and go off again later. Some lights we turn on or off by calling out. Nothing fancy. Mostly these were done with Wifi connected switches via whatever app they need which is hooked in to Google home and Apple Home.

In the past it's been a struggle to configure new devices, often having to try over and over again. Some of them tend to drop of the Wifi network at times. Zigbee based mesh networking is an alternative but requires a hub to link to your network.

Happily Apple, Google, and the manufacturers have come together and agreed on a standard for setup, status and control called Matter and a mesh network called Thread. My local electrical store didn't have any Matter + Thread devices but, guess what, the old stock is on special! I ordered some bulbs on line.

If you're buying, make sure you see these little icons on the box:

Adding the "accessories" to my Home was the best experience I've ever had. Open the Google or Apple Home app, scan the 2D barcode on the device, plug in the device and in seconds it had been found and added. There is a link to a manufacturer's app but there's no need to install it or use it for control. 

You might think that a Wifi to Thread radio hub might be needed but happily Apple has been quietly building Thread in to many of their products for years. Thread is in Apple TV, HomePods, iPhone 15 and later, iPads (M4 Pro, M2 Air), MacBooks (M3 and later). I was pleased to learn that starting with iOS 18 newer iPhones can directly control Matter devices over Thread radio locally without needing Wifi or internet. This makes the experience fast and reliable.

Google has been doing a similar thing and Thread routers are in the Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Hub Max, Nest Wifi, Google TV Streamer (4K), and is expected to be in the Pixel 10 phones. Android version 15 or later supports Matter.

3D printed box for USB-C CYD (Cheap Yellow Display)

I've been getting in to the CYDs which have an ESP-32 attached to a 2.8" touch screen. Recently I bought some new versions with a USB-C connector and wanted a case. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

The design is done in OpenSCAD which I now feel very comfortable with. The design files and STL for the box and lid are available here on Thingaverse. 

FreeDV net - poor conditions but a good roll up

Quite a few stations on the frequency this morning but only a few could talk to each other. Seen were: VK2AWJ, VK2BLQ, VK2CJB (who was heard while using a dummy load!), VK2DWG, VK2GMH, VK2VCO, VK3FAR, VK3FFB, VK3JCO, VK3KEZ, VK3KR, VK4APF, VK4YA, VK5ABE, VK5KHZ, VK5KVA, VK3PCC and me, VK3TPM.

Macedon Radio Club annual picnic with lots of radio

My local radio club, the Macedon Ranges Amateur Radio Club, held its annual picnic day and several of us brought along portable radios and antennas.

There was an interesting collection ranging from a uSDX up to a very new Yaesu portable radio.

I brought my trusty KX3 which has a great advantage in these conditions of having a very readable LCD display compared to the more fancy rigs.

Perhaps one day Electraft will update the KX3 or KX2 to add a USB port for audio and control so we can more easily do digital modes.

A lovely day in Victoria today.

Tech talk on ABC Radio - Consumer Electronics Show highlights

Every January the consumer electronics show takes over Las Vegas. The event of the year where tech companies flex their muscles and show off their line up of upcoming products and ready to buy ideas that feel as if they've been pulled out from the future. 

What will the latest tech trends be in 2026? Will we get a robot in our homes to fold the washing? Maybe not but at least home automation is improving with a torrent of Matter and Thread compatibile devices shown.

Peter Marks, mobile software developer and technology commentator from Access Informatics joined Philip Clark and listeners to Nightlife with the latest tech news.

 https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/nightlife-tech-talk-with-peter-marks/106226200 

Lauriston Reservoir

Haven't seen the water running before. Quite spectacular.

FreeDV net - very poor conditions

A small group today and many stations could not hear each other. Apparently there's a solar wind. Seen on frequency were VK2AWJ, VK2CJB, VK2GMH, VK2JAB, VK2UMZ, VK3FAR, VK3FFB, VK3GTP, VK3KEZ, VK3KR, VK3MS, VK5AG, VK5COL, VK5KVA and me, VK3TPM. 

Thanks to those who joined in, and hopefully propagation will be better next weekend. 

Happily untouched by fires in the area

Yesterday was being described as going to be a possibly catastrophic fire day here in Victoria. Hot and windy.

I live on a 5 acre bush block with a dirt road. On the other side of the road is state forest. The "fire plan" here is simply to get out if there's any danger. All seemed well for the morning but a fire at Taradale, about 23km away, had it's area extended in our direction.

(My location is where the binocular icon is). At that point we left for the refuge of nearby town Kyneton. Unfortunately when we arrived we found that the power had already been off for three hours - everything was shut - and there was not the respite of an air-conditioned bowling club we'd dreamed of. The power outage was over quite a large area and we were lucky not to have lost power here in Drummond already.

All power was out and this included the traffic lights which made it difficult for a queue of cars to get through an intersection so my visitor, VK2EMU, helped out by directing traffic for a while.

The pie shop had some warm pies still in the oven so we ate there, walked around the very hot town for a while and when the Taradale fire was downgraded we headed home.

Other areas were not so lucky and this included nearby Mount Alexander where our broadcast TV and FM is transmitted. Now we have no broadcast TV.

At this stage I'm not sure how serious the problem is. It could just be a power outage or the transmitters or towers might be damaged. We won't miss broadcast TV terribly much as we mostly stream.

We were lucky, this time. These fires are terrifying and I keep a pure wool blanket and water in the car. I'm also prepared with an amateur radio station that can operate from battery power if all else has gone.