SCL Blog

Fixing WirePlumber High CPU Usage on Ubuntu 24.04

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I was experiencing a frustrating issue on Ubuntu 24.04 related to Bluetooth profile switching.

Local Failover for DigitalOcean Functions

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What started as a simple local development tool for DigitalOcean Functions quietly turned into something much more serious: a production-grade failover system that now runs across home TrueNAS servers owned by the operators of FilaMeter. Internally, we call it DOrunner. The original goal was mundane—test Go-based serverless functions locally without burning through API calls or waiting on cloud deploys. But as usage grew and traffic patterns became less predictable, that local runner evolved into a core part of our production architecture.

OpenSCAD trick - negative rounding

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Somehow, OpenSCAD has become my main 3D modeling program. It’s incredibly powerful for parametric models but it’s also brain-intensive. I speed up development with the BOSL2 library. Many BOSL2 objects have built-in rounding features so I don’t need to invoke minkowski().

A trick with BOSL2 is negative rounding. Instead of cutting a corner, it makes the corner stick out. This is very useful for smoothing sharp edges, tapering pin holes, and generally filleting odd shapes. Make an object with negative rounding/chamfer, then use it to cut another object with subtract().

How to Upgrade a Gen2 AC Infinity AirTap T4 or T6 ESP32 Module to Work in a Gen3 Vent

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Owners of the AC Infinity AirTap T4/T6 may be looking for a way to retrofit their older Gen2 ESP32 module so it can operate inside the newer Gen3 AirTap vent. The Gen3 design uses a different mounting layout and sensor position, which means the original Gen2 hardware does not fit or function without modification. To solve this, we created a simple upgrade path that lets you reuse your Gen2 module with full Gen3 compatibility.

Callbacks suck, async is easy

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’m using PouchDB lately, a JavaScript database that works in the browser. PouchDB for Javascript requires callbacks and I found myself stacking quite a bit of JS-specific syntax together. I haven’t written JS in quite a while so this was daunting. Lets go through all the pieces that add up to easy async database calls.

Synchronous PHP example

Here is a PHP sample of accessing a database.

Leveraging Tech Innovation: How One Buffalo Labs Supports SiloCityLabs' Vision

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Working alongside One Buffalo Labs, we’re excited to formalize a partnership that ensures SiloCityLabs’ projects have a clean, fast, and accessible home online.

Introducing FilaMeter

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve ever struggled to keep track of your 3D filament spools, wondering how much filament is left or dealing with a failed print due to an empty spool, FilaMeter is the filament tracking solution you’ve been looking for. Managing your 3D printing filament inventory no longer has to involve guesswork.

ESP32 Module for AC Infinity AirTap T4/T6.

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

At SiloCityLabs, we’re always working to improve our products, and 2025 has brought a number of exciting updates to our ESP32 Module for AC Infinity Airtap T4/T6! With new features and design enhancements, this latest version offers better smart home integration, improved usability, and customization options.

Filament Dryer PCB

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Are you looking to take your Filament Dryer to the next level? The Filament Dryer PCB is the ultimate upgrade, adding enhanced filament material support, a better display, and smart home integration to ensure your 3D printing workflow is seamless and efficient.

Getting Started with the ESP32MiniSD

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The ESP32MiniSD is a compact add-on board designed for Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32-C3, XIAO ESP32-C6 or XIAO ESP32-S3, enabling microSD card storage, battery monitoring, and USB charging capabilities. In this tutorial, we’ll guide you through setting up and using the ESP32MiniSD with an ESP32 XIAO module to read and write files to a microSD card.

Unlike Adafruit’s Xiao ESP32, the ESP32MiniSD is designed to get the most out of the ESP32’s capabilities, with a focus on storage and power management. The board features a microSD card slot connecting SD card to ESP32, battery monitoring, and charging circuitry, making it ideal for ESP32 SD card integrations including data logging, file storage, and portable IoT devices. Let’s dive into the setup and usage of the ESP32MiniSD with the XIAO ESP32 module!

PandaPaper turns malicious

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The “paywalling” of scientific research papers is an ongoing problem that hinders learning, hinders scientific research, and leaches profit from publicly-funded research. PaperPanda is a Chrome extension to download academic papers. Its intention is to find free links for published papers.

However what PaperPanda does under-the-hood tells another story. I’ve unearthed malicious code in PaperPanda’s Chrome extension and attempts to hide said malicious activity. This extension tried to modify my Amazon pages for unknown reasons - possibly a phisher or credit-card stealer. If you have this extension UNINSTALL IT. In this post I’ll explain how this extension is malicious and how it hides that behavior.

Introducing CraftRandom

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Are you a Minecraft enthusiast looking for a fun new way to spice up your gameplay? Whether you’re a casual player, a server operator, or just someone who loves creative challenges, we’ve got something exciting for you—CraftRandom!

Universal Joy-Con and Junglecat adapters

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Out of all the things the Cuttlephone can shape shift into, the universal controller adapters have been the most popular. The two-piece design can fit onto most phones and attach Nintendo Joy-Cons or Razer Junglecat controllers. It clamps on using a rubber band. This simple design expands the potential userbase far beyond the handful of phone models available. Universal adapters will now be a staple feature of Cuttlephone. Let’s take a look at the design and 3D printing of this adapter.

Smart Home Upgrades with ESP32 and ESPHome

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

At Silocity Labs, we’ve always loved exploring innovative technology and making the world of electronics more accessible. Recently, we’ve opened a new shop featuring some of our favorite creations: ESPHome-compatible smart devices built on the powerful ESP32 platform.

The Return of CODRCG

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We’re thrilled to announce the return of CODRCG, the Call of Duty Random Class Generator, now fully open source and hosted on GitHub! After shutting down in 2022 due to server costs and code maintenance challenges, we’ve reimagined CODRCG to thrive on a modern, lightweight platform.

Preparing for Power Outages in Buffalo, NY

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Buffalo, NY, known for its harsh winters, requires residents to be prepared for power outages. Generators are a crucial part of this preparedness, offering a reliable power source when the grid fails. This guide delves into the types of generators suitable for Buffalo, along with tips on fuel storage, maintenance, and installation.

Nurturing Your Garden the Smart Way

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In the world of electronics and software, innovation knows no bounds. As a senior software engineer in Amherst, NY, I’ve always loved to tinker with the latest technologies to create fun and exciting projects. One such project that I recently embarked on is an automated watering system that integrates seamlessly with Home Assistant, using sensors, Tasmota, MQTT, and an ESP32 4CH relay control board. In this article, I will guide you through the process of building your own automated watering system, step by step. Please note that having a basic understanding of Home Assistant and microcontrollers is recommended to follow this guide.

Crowsville

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:00:00 +0000

What is crowsville? An mmorpg 2d topdown farming simulator Why? I wanted an multiplatform game I can share adventures with my daughters. When? Not sure yet

Cleaning up NAS

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 13 May 2021 01:30:44 +0000

Updated in May 2021

Over the last few years me and my wife have been using the network server more frequently from its initial install and setup. We share 3-4 computers across the house and constantly move files onto the NAS. I have installed Nextcloud which I will detail in another post in the future. We have come across an issue that I have noticed with the network share. We moved all of our images and files over and ended up with tons of duplicates and a giant mess. I will show you what I am doing to clean that up. Our Nas is running on a ubuntu server. The following commands should work on most linux NAS servers.

Turn an Old Raspberry pi into an offsite backup

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:57:15 +0000

Why?

Lets start off with a few notes about how and why I would do this. I already have a fireproof/waterproof drive in my house. Sounds like im all set right? Not really.

Recover AMLogic Android boxes everytime

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:57:15 +0000

Theres a few ways on the amlogic chips to recover boxes, but theres also many ways to recover these units. I will talk about which I have used and others. In reality it is really difficult to fully brick one of these units permanently. I will start off with the basics and work my way up to the more advanced methods.

Arm 64bit vs Xeon x86_64 performance on AWS

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 22:36:25 +0000

The reason for this test was to determine if arm was a viable option on aws. I noticed that arm had higher network throughputs and faster disk speeds on the aws pages. So I decided I would compare their performance using golang tests. The entire test cost me $0.68 using a quick spot instance. The comparison was done on two very similar instances of aws servers. On paper they would almost seem to function the same but arm was just a few cents more, but lets take a look on how they performed.

Installing nano text editor on Android

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 23:30:40 +0000

After a while of playing around with my build.prop file in Android I needed a way to edit faster using a text editor via adb shell.

I found a way using a couple of online sources to get it going. You will need to be on a rooted device.

Opt out of spectrum SPAM

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 22:36:25 +0000

Recently I discovered a way to opt out of all spectrum spam mail, calls, door to door salesmen. I have filled out the form and will wait patiently for my spam to stop. Hopefully my mailbox will be empty in the coming weeks. To opt out of all spam online, mail etc just click the link below: Opt Out Spectrum Spam

Silocitylabs Blog

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 22:36:25 +0000

The blog when this article was written.

The Issue:

Previously on Wordpress we started noticing performance issues early on into the websites time on the web. Wordpress unfortunately is not very good with performance on high traffic websites.

The Solution:

We decided to try out a static site generator called hugo. After migrating we noticed extreme performance improvements. We made some more adjustments while the project was hot and decided to host on github public repo.

Quick Monitor and Restart in Golang

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Go Applications On my desktop I was running a processing script that would occasionally hang at high CPU, so I wrote a quick script to monitor it and restart it. You can see it below and change it as needed. Run it like so after compiling to a binary nohup ./restart & The code package main import ( "fmt" "io/ioutil" "log" "os/exec" "runtime" "strconv" "strings" "time" ) func getCPUSample() (idle, total uint64) { contents, err := ioutil.

Kafka Cheat Sheet

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 08:36:25 +0000

Throughout my time working with kafka I have developed great software to use with it. But while the software did many things there are other things I still resorted to this cheat sheet for. I have put together this list of commands which I will keep updated here as I find new links and commands that help. My kafka installtion was under /opt/kafka and you will need to change this to your path you installed kafka too. You can also create a symlink and just copy paste commands as they are after changing ip’s.

Geo Location Micro API Service

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 22:36:25 +0000

A micro api drop in service written in golang, Designed to quickly integrate into any system for any project. Uses very little resources and can handle millions of requests per second. The entire projects source code is posted on github.

You can include a package written for Golang projects to quickly get started with a simple function.

Golang IP Formatting Package

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 22:36:25 +0000

Package written in Golang to process and format ip Addresses to and from ipv4/ipv6. Can also take ranges in cidr notation. The entire projects source code is posted on github.

You can include a package written for Golang projects to quickly get started with a simple function.

Getting Started with Golang

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Go Applications A Go app can vary from 3 to millions of lines of code. They should also be written with one or multiple files with the extension .go You can use any text editor to write a Go program like nano, but our favorite and most supported is Visual Studio Code. Setting up a Go Environment For all of our tutorials we will be using VSCode to help us ease into the language.

Ultra minimal Raspbian Image for Pi Zero and Zero W

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 23:30:28 +0000

I wanted to make a ultra lite image that I can quickly drop Go programs onto. This image had a few requirements, be under 300MB, have less than 20MB ram usage idle, startup in under 5 seconds. I will post below everything I did to strip this down so that it can be replicated in the future. Currently with the steps below I have achieved 427MB/16MB, close to my goal for disk and memory usage is below the goal. As for bootup time, I am limited by network connection time 5+ seconds.

Install a fresh Raspbian Stretch Lite image into the SD card (source).

Configure headless SSH and Wi-Fi (if necessary) before starting the SD card (source).

What can golang do?

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 20:00:28 +0000

Nothing makes a developer crazier than a new programming language, right? So, I started learning Go about 6 months ago and now I am going to share with you my reasons for doing so.

Raspberry Pi Booting From USB on older models

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 03:56:16 +0000

Booting from USB is easy on a Pi1, Pi2, or Pi3. This can be useful in mamy cases to speed up the performance of your pi when using a slow sd card. It can also provide a reliable location where you operating system data resides. Sd cards are prone to data corruption from writes a operating system ussually does. Write the latest Raspbian image to an SD card and boot it.

Hobbyist 3d printer roundup of 2019

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:30:40 +0000

When we first entered 3d printing we started off quickly printing many and many objects. Slowly our printer started to die down once the printer began acting up. Our current printer the Robox rbx1 became the most pain in the ass printer we saw online. Everything was due to the proprietary software and the lack of 3rd party parts.

We started to try and simplify remote access by using Teamviewer and even went as far as to buy a CEL Root SD card. The CEL Root was even worse than our current methods. This is when we finally had it. We wanted an open source printer with a decent bed, 3rd party parts, and Octoprint support.

Together me and my team came up with the list of hobby printers under $2000. We’ll get a decent filament printer now and a small resin printer later.

Home Server Setup.

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 30 May 2019 23:30:33 +0000

Today I will talk about my server setup by request. I setup my server originally for Security cameras because I was tired of proprietary software that every different camera has. My setup right now includes 4 entirely different types of cameras. None of them officially support ONVIF. Every one of my cameras was free so quality was not something I cared for. Today, my server now has my Windows File share (Samba), offsite Sync, Software Raid, Crontab Network Speed monitoring and zoneminder.

Phone case gamepad, USB-C version

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 29 May 2019 17:19:34 +0000

Remember my Bluetooth gamepad project? It’s time for a USB-C version. I started with Bluetooth because I thought it would be easier to support multiple phones. However Hackaday and OSHPark are holding a flex PCB contest. This is a good material to make a gamepad with, and the perfect material for a gamepad that is supposed to resize.

Axis 2130 PTZ and Zoneminder

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 23:30:58 +0000

Axis 2130 PTZ and Zoneminder

Details:

This camera is very dated, also using a proprietary power adapter, no WiFi and very difficult to setup. Once you are on my network you have full viewing access to my camera. My router fortunately has network isolation so I am able to block access to it except via my server that has zoneminder nvr software installed. Unfortunately you will not be able to control the ptz from Zoneminder directly due to the age of the camera. But you can however give it a fixed position in the web panel it has built in. I would recommend setting its default fixed position after a reboot or power loss.

Speed Test internal WiFi

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 23:30:39 +0000

Many have heard the term speed test, the first thing that comes to mind is speedtest.net or google’s speed test tool. Many don’t know that speed on your internal network also affects you. When testing internet speed your device sends data to router then out to the internet, what if your router is the issue. Even worse, your device. I will show u a very handy utility I use to make sure everything in my house runs great. Its called iPerf.

Genius WideCam 320 and Zoneminder

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 23:30:35 +0000

Genius 32200318100 WideCam 320 USB and Zoneminder

Details:

Although I have this particular camera, any basic USB webcam will work the same way. The setup for this one was very simple and its the most stable camera out of my whole setup. There however is no nightvision. I counter this by trigger the lights to turn on if motion sensor is tripped.

How to get 400mbps for 3 years at $44.99

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 22:36:25 +0000

This is the process I found while setting up a new service for my brother at his house. This will only work for new customers. The address has to have no existing connections for this to work.

Step 1: Intro call, During this call you will call and ask about pricing to see if you are willing to activate a new service. You will need to seem uninterested and are willing to go without internet. Don’t make it brief. Keep it going to get more info. Ask about promotional pricing for 400mbps plans.

Nightowl BNC and Zoneminder

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 23:30:18 +0000

Nightowl BNC

Details:

These are just about every cheap camera sold in store. You can buy these at home depot, walmart, and other retailers. Your best bet is craigslist you can get them for like $10 each. They use a basic analog signal you can hookup to a TV with the right connector. The main connector is called a BNC connector. The downside to these cameras is that they usually cap out at 720p. You will also need a PCI or usb device to hook it up to your server. Unless you already have these cameras laying around, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND this setup for purchase. Its cheaper to get a 1080p camera on amazon for $20 with less wiring and no pci card.

Switching to Linux

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:30:20 +0000

I have just about had it with Windows updates being forced on me. Graphics drivers breaking. My settings getting reset every time I get on and many other reasons I won’t begin to rant about. I chose to go with a decently common operating system for better compatibility.

I have gone through the install process and have installed Ubuntu 18.04LTS. For less advanced Linux users you can go with a simpler Linux like Solus which is a little more GUI friendly system.

You can modify ubuntu to your likings using a tool called “gnome tweaks” and you can disable animations to speed things up by using a tool called “dconf-editor”.

In dconf-editor, browse to org.gnome.desktop.interface and set enable-animations=false.

You can also run this command to disable animations:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface enable-animations false

You do not need to log out and back in, it should take effect immediately.

After getting all settled and having all my software carried over. I had a few pieces of software that was not compatible and I still needed. Most of my software was available in Ubuntu application store. Everything left is listed below:

Chrome
Steam
Git -> installed from terminal “sudo apt install git”
Java 10 (64-bit) -> installed from terminal
AMD Driver
PC Games, Steam Beta Proton
SketchUp 2016 -> Windows VM
Origin
H&R Block Premium + Efile + State -> Windows VM
Microsoft office -> libreoffice

Ubuntu Get right click new documents back. Here is a link to a couple of templates we made.

File previews on file explorer:

apt install gnome-sushi

To get the Windows-only software running I installed Virtualbox and installed Windows 10 and started to hack away at all its imperfections to slim it down. This virtual machine won’t be used that often so its a compromise I’m willing to make. I can also set quick one click restore points just in case windows breaks. I have compiled a list for all to use:

RSCM-13101B and Zoneminder

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 23:30:35 +0000

Rosewill SHIELDeye RSCM-13101B and Zoneminder

Details:

This camera is not listed as officially supporting ONVIF, but it does have it. It barely works so I had to do a workaround to add it in. This camera is a OEM camera, Rosewill just re-branded them. Other models that will most likely work the same way. RSCM-13702B RSCM-13702W RSCM-13101B RSCM-15702 RSCM-121001W

BV Tech 4MP 2K H.265 IP67 and Zoneminder

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 23:59:23 +0000

Model: ca-ipbf-4mp-wifi-fba

This problem gave me a few issues I will go over briefly. This was fairly simple once I realized what I was doing wrong. I originally had it plugged in via an Ethernet cable to setup to WiFi like most cameras. But this camera actually just uses the microphone to transmit settings. Once I removed the Ethernet cable everything worked fine. I actually snipped off the Ethernet knowing I wouldn’t need it, saving space with the clunky cable.

Secure Backups without the cloud

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 17:30:03 +0000

I accidentally stumbled upon this solution while trying to find cloud providers to backup my 2TB’s worth of NAS backups. With every single cloud solution being out of price range for the size data I needed I had to look elsewhere. I came across the ioSafe Solo G3 enclosure. It boasts about being safe in every way possible, Fire Proof, Water Proof, and Theft Proof. I almost considered it too good to be true, seemed legit enough after watching some YouTube videos.

Wall mounted Google home free

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 03:08:14 +0000

I wanted to wall mount my google home mini for the kitchen since there is not really a nice place to set it down. I also didnt want to pay for a mount or 3d print anything.

You can use zip ties or bread bag ties to secure the cable in a loop like below.

After u have the 3 ties in place. Just plug it in and you should be set.

12v circuit for battery backup

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:48:54 +0000

My goal is to eventually run everything off a battery backup circuit. Most common systems run on a 12v battery. To start im start off with a few basic things and getting everything running from 12v.

Items needed:

12v power supply
12v to 5v dc to dc step down.

This controller came with a few negatives right off the jump. I dont want to link to a bad controller but ill still describe what I did.

Infinite, Free?, Small storage for electronics

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 00:32:07 +0000

Im a little dissapointed in myself for not thinking of it sooner. I tossed about 20 of these in the recycling bin before I realized I could reuse them myself.

Title is a little deceptive yes, but I still consider them free when you have a source. Baby formula containers!

Buffalonews.com

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 22:36:25 +0000

During my time working for the buffalo news I made many changes to the website. I handled and wrote the mobile api for applications to pull data for the website. I also made visual changes on the website including new styles, layout changes and more. I assisted staff on making changes required in a fashionable time. Other tasks included following up with customers about specific issues for troubleshooting. We used php as the main language for a system powered by wordpress. Also optimized and wrote code for wordpress plugins and other integrations.

Backup home internet

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 14:12:00 +0000

With new most asus routers you can use a feature called dual wan. I have the luxury of having a work provided cell phone I am using for this. Before having that I had a free service called freedompop.

Use cases (mainly mine):

Watching netflix withouth interuptions.
Backup internet for home security system.
Anything internet…

To start off we plugin a cell phone to the routers usb port.

3d printed wrist brace – WIP instructions

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:09:59 +0000

I won’t be able to finish my wrist brace project for a while. These instructions are very rough because they’re not actually finished.

Post in comments if anything needs clarification.

Scanning

requirements:

Windows
Kinect (with power adapter)
beefy CPU or an NVidia GPU (with CUDA drivers)
Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0
Skanect software
an assistant
a small open area

Here’s the Skanect guide I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cKb3oEM47E

Reusing Tile as car tracker.

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 06:36:37 +0000

Ever since I switched to Samsung smart things I purchased presence sensors and had no more use for my tiles after the batteries died. I retired them to a box for a long time. Today I figured out a neat project for the tile. I am going to turn it into a tracker for my cars. This is not real time tracking but can help find your car in larger cities.

Supplies/Tools needed:

Pry Tool
Hot Glue gun
Voltage Meter
Dead battery Tile
DC to DC Buck Converter or Linear converter (see update below)
Soldering iron
Wire stripper/cutter
Drill (optional)

3d Printer Filament box done quick

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 23:14:34 +0000

Keep your filament dry! Filament used for 3d printers will absorb moisture from the air and damp filament prints very poorly. With Buffalo’s high humidity and our printer being run in a basement, we absolutely need a dry box for our spools. We ordered parts ahead of time, slammed this box together in an afternoon, and then baked our spools to rid them of moisture.

We’re using a large plastic bin for storage, teflon tubing to run from the box to the printer, and pneumatic connectors to ensure the filament feeds smoothly into the tubing without snagging. A large pack of silica gel keeps the box dry over time. Our basement also has an additional air dehumidifier that we keep at 50% to prevent mold growing on our wood/mdf surfaces.

Supplies:

Sterilite Air Tight Bin, fits about 8-10 reels. (Amazon)
5-10 Meters of PTFE Teflon Tube OD 4mm ID 2mm (Amazon)
M5 Lock Nuts, 1 per reel (Amazon)
5mm Male Thread 4mm Push in Joint Pneumatic Connector, 2x per reel (Amazon)
Scrap Wood Strip
608ZZ Bearings, 4x per reel (Amazon)
DRY&DRY Silica Gel Desiccant Packet, Rechargeable (Amazon)

Tools:

Power Drill
5mm or 3/16" Drill Bit
1/4" Drill bit or larger
Sander/Sandpaper (optional)
Rubber Mallet, Optional but makes it easier to fit bearings
Oven

3D Prints

Filament Spool Roller - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2185015

Android - BN Blitz

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

Built from scratch and a team of 1. This app integrates build types and flavours to quickly create another version of the application. The code base for both The Buffalo News and BN Blitz app are one in the same with simple changes that change how they work in a single config file. This was designed to be allowed to integrate into wordpress api and resold to other news orginizations.

The News’ team has you covered, from training camp to the draft – and every snap in between. Mark Gaughan, Jerry Sullivan, Tim Graham and Jay Skurski lead the coverage with breaking updates and in-depth analysis through daily blogs posts, stories and columns. Plus, video reports and exclusive photos from every game. On game day, get real-time reports from The News’ writers at the game.

Android - BN Hockey

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

This application incorporates a Android Webview for display the website as an application.

The News’ team has you covered, from preseason to the draft – and every puck drop in between. John Vogl, Mike Harrington, Amy Moritz, Bucky Gleason and Jerry Sullivan lead the coverage with breaking news updates and in-depth analysis through daily blog posts, articles and columns. Plus, video reports and exclusive photos from every game. On game nights, get real-time reports from The News’ writers at the rink.

And The News’ coverage goes beyond Pegulaville. From the Cup final to the Scouting Combine, The News’ writers are on the ground at the biggest events of the year to take you inside what’s happening with your team and the league.

This app presents all of The Buffalo News’ coverage of the Sabres and league in a format that is optimized for fans on the go. In addition to current articles and blog updates, you will have access to photo galleries, stats and the best of The News’ Sabres archive.

The depth of The News’ staff is unmatched. John Vogl has been covering the Sabres since 2002-03. The award-winning writer is the Buffalo chapter chairman for the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Mike Harrington, a Canisius College graduate who began his career as a News reporter in 1987, has been covering the Sabres since 2007. He is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Amy Moritz, a native of Lockport, joined The News’ Sabres beat in 2013.

Android - Buffalo News Addon

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

Built from scratch and a team of 1. You can read paper copies of The Buffalo News through our Addon application that integrates seamlessly with the main application. The applications have internal authentication that happens between applications. The user does not even know he is bouncing between applications.

Android - COD Random Class Generator

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

“BO3 Random Class Generator” is now “COD Random Class Generator”. We’ve updated and upgraded the app to support generators for multiple games including:

Infinite Warfare
Black Ops 2
Black Ops 3
Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 3 (Coming Soon!)

A handy utility to generate random classes for multiple Call of Duty games. This adds a new level of fun to the game by generating random classes for you to try out and enjoy. Create classes and combinations that you may not have thought of yourself. Challenge yourself and friends with strange combinations and learn to use gear that you may otherwise ignore.

For desktop use checkout our website https://codrcg.com/

Android - Flappy Dino

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

Build using both Native java code and Game maker studio. This game was a trial of gaming for us. We wanted to push our bounds and get better at Android.

Navigate your flying dinosaur through treacherous obstacles and go for a high score!

-Collect eggs to purchase future upgrades. -Share your high scores with friends.

Dinos include: -Blue Pteranodon

Android - The Buffalo News

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:36:25 +0000

Built from scratch and a team of 1. Get the latest local news, sports and weather wherever you go with The Buffalo News Android Mobile application.

Buffalo News makes viewing and sharing the news easy. With a few clicks, you can read and watch the latest news or share it with family and friends by e-mail or post to Twitter and Facebook.

Whether it’s severe weather, breaking news or sports scores and entertainment news, The Buffalo News application keeps you in-the-know while you’re on-the-go.

You can also read paper copies of The Buffalo News through our Addon application that integrates seamlessly with the main application.

Changing DNS settings for Android Development

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 16:29:41 +0000

This relates to any similar development environment. This guide will help you setup your device to work for your development setup either locally or a remote server. No root required.

First I will describe the use case scenario where this is useful:

Using laptop IDE cables for 2mm pitch headers

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 08:50:09 +0000

My core51822 module has caused me a bit of headache. The headers are 2.00mm pitch rather than the typical 1" (2.54mm) pitch. This makes it incompatible with regular 1" pitch breadboards. Being double row makes it worse.

433MHZ More Things for Smart Things

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 22:30:22 +0000

Finally - off the breadboard and into a working environment. It’s currently working for 433mhz sensors, I will possibly be adding more frequencies later. For now I will continue refining the code to release it on github. Day 1: A few issues. I accidentally flipped the polarities on the siren. I will eventually implement a 12v regulator to up the voltage for the siren for the full 120db power. Day 2:

Dual AC Router Setup for $120

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 19:48:02 +0000

I will be using two Custom firmware routers to get full house coverage on a very old house with thick lead filled walls. The entire project took 6 hours due to some unexpected issues we faced. You can flash any device below as well to Merlin custom firmware but its entirely optional. This will work with the stock firmware.

433mhz testing

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:43:55 +0000

I decided due to the lack of community support I am not going to make a Zigbee 433mhz chip instead I will continue my efforts with the WiFi esp8266. Now that I have the 433mhz working with the esp8266 I will be performing some distance testing with a few receivers I purchased and different antennas I have. Update to: https://silocitylabs.com/post/2017/12/01/smart-things-433mhz/

Blocking exit intent popups

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 03:17:12 +0000

I hate “exit intent” popups. The kind that automatically open when your mouse leaves the page begging “please don’t go!”. They’re annoying. They’re irrelevant (I’m often following a tutorial, not closing the tab). They interrupt the content I’m trying to read. So I made a short Userscript to globally block them.

COD Random Class Generator

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 22:36:25 +0000

COD RCG is a random class generator that random generates classes for anyone who plays call of duty to enjoy. This provides new enjoyment for the game e.g. it may choose a gun the player has never used. It also brings more challenge because you never know what you’re going to get as a class, it could be good or it could put you at a huge disadvantage, but that’s where the fun comes in trying to win and do well in the game when you’re using this crazy class that you normally would not. We launched this website less than a week after call of duty came out. I created my own algorithms to randomly create a class based on the “create a class” system used in Call of Duty. It was a challenge because there are tons of possible class possibilities that can be created. So once I finished that I then had to go and make sure all the gun, attachment, camos, equipment, perks and score streaks were all named correctly. This site and app has been pretty popular with over 25,000,000 views and over 5,000,000 classes generated. The Android app has over 50k installs

Website Link

Android App Link

Flashing Merlin to TM-AC1900 or AC68U (Updated for 384 builds)

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 03:07:34 +0000

Very few people know that you can save yourself some money by buying a T-mobile router on Amazon. Downside is having to flash it to have the latest firmware free of vulnerabilities. In this guide I will show you how to flash a TM-AC1900 to a RT-AC68U then into merlin custom firmware. I have tested it myself and can confirm that it works.

Update: Asus began rolling back firmware on the stock setups. They are not providing Merlin with the source for Ai-Mesh so you need to be on stock to use it. I have updated the guide to provide instructions on how to prevent the rollback from happening. You can also use this guide to recover from a rollback.

Complete Smart Home Setup

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:00:51 +0000

I wanted to talk about my smart home setup from the ground up. I have many articles describing my setup in pieces but not everyone gets an entire overview of everything I have setup here. I don’t have a mansion or anything fancy like built in sprinkler/irrigation, so this will be more catered to your average city home.

The Assistant: r Google Home and/or Mini manage my random routines that aren’t part of a automation rule. Going to the basement to do laundry, or going to sleep at random times. I can just send a command and google home will handle it. Link your SmartThings account and Google Home together for best results. Give all your devices aliases to make it easier to command via Google. I want one located in every central room of the house, Kitchen, Living room, Master Bedroom.

Control Center:

What controls my entire setup and why I chose this hub vs others. My only hub is a Samsung SmartThings hub. This manages just about everything in my home minus the security cameras. I did heavy research on many hubs including Wink, IOT (hub-less), and Phillips hue. Why SmartThings?

SmartThings zigbee vs Dome light cover

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 17:55:48 +0000

For Christmas my mother got a full smart home kit. Samsung SmartThings, sengled bulbs, google home. After pluging everything in the hub was having issues. Finding all bulbs in dome covers. I removed the glass from the dome cover and tried again with no luck. Afterwards I removed the bulb from the socket and put it in a lamp. Detected and added to smartthings fine in the lamp. Readded it to the dome cover and it works now!

SmartThings + Vision Micro Switch [Update]

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 20:17:07 +0000

How to get a cheap smart home that actually works. Vision Micro switches lets you use the old fashion switch and also continue to use your old bulbs. Instead of paying $10-30 per smart bulb, you pay around $25 for a single or $30 for a 2 relay switch. 2 relay switches help you save a ton more money, you can use one for 2 gang boxes saving you 2x more money ($15/switch). If you think about it, most ceiling lights have 2-3 bulbs, Why buy so many bulbs when you can buy a single switch.

Phone case gamepad WIP

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 18:30:48 +0000

Here’s my primary project, a phone case gamepad. This has been on the backburner for a while and I’m finally going full steam on it. Major milestones will be posted here on the blog. For the week by week details follow my HackADay.io project. All project information will be open source and posted on Github.

SmartThings + Vision Micro Switch

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 19:45:08 +0000

I have found a neat little alternative to full price switches online. I gave myself a budget of $20 per wall switch for the house and until I found something around that I was not gonna buy any. I just think that $50 for a wall switch is a little ridiculous in my opinion. These switches are still over my max budget but at least I found a reason for one of the partners here to buy it instead [bana0615]. He has a double switch in his house and they do not sell double smart switches anywhere. This micro controller solves his problem. The double switch relays will put me under budget for some locations in the house though with the ability to work for two switches at once.

3D printed wrist brace WIP

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 19:21:01 +0000

This is a custom 3D printed wrist brace that I’m working on. I wear wrist braces to sleep for RSI / carpal tunnel but they’re not ideal. The fabric construction is hot, sweaty, and not supportive around the knuckle area of the hand. The velcro is noisy, sticks to bedding and lint, and is wearing out over time. I want something rigid, breathable, and quiet.

The design was inspired by this 3D printed cast I saw online. I scanned my arm with a Kinect using the Skanect program, then edited the model in Blender to make the brace. My plan a two-piece clamshell, probably held by o-rings or similar. I may add a hinge in the future.

New generators coming soon

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 01:05:52 +0000

Cant wait to show you what we have in store, new generators coming soon!

New print bed

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 01:05:05 +0000

We received our new print bed from eBay/China. Not a Lokbuild but at least its cheaper. First thing I noticed is that this sheet is thicker than a Lokbuild, 0.6mm thick instead of 0.5. When I followed the steps on calibrating I clicked 6 8 times to ensure proper spacing instead of the original 4.

Robox Instructions:

Launch AutoMaker software and navigate to Calibration button
Follow instructions until asked to insert paper between nozzles and build plate
Follow instructions and raise nozzles to point at which paper moves freely between nozzles and build plate
Set height 4 6 8 clicks higher than this point (i.e. 0.4 mm)
Proceed as normal

Automated water system?

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 20:20:16 +0000

A friend at work asked if I could help solve his issues with his water intake from the well. At first I was like um why? Living in the city I did not know anything about how country side water systems worked. Water pumped from a well has a chance that it may contain too much sulfur making the water smell. He wanted to pull rain water into a tank and use it as primary with the well water as a failsafe.

I am thinking about using a basic ESP8266 along with a couple of water pressure sensors and relays triggering the water pumps he already has. The code should be very simple to write and I already have most of the hardware here minus the sensor.

Phillips hue + smartthings

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 19:28:40 +0000

I’m not really sure why it started working all of a sudden. I’m glad I did not buy a Hue hub. I had a test bulb plugged in as a normal bulb when it randomly showed up to my SmartThings hub. This happened after adding Sengled classic bulbs to my system and a SmartThings hub update. I think maybe it had to do with Zigbee adding cross compatibility between ZLL and ZHA protocols.

Smart Things 433mhz

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 01:39:20 +0000

Going to be creating a receiver to translate 433mhz sensors to smart things, Most likely going to be using a esp8266 to make it easier to configure. I still have to figure out how to identify the smart things hub withouth manually entering in its ip, maybe upnp? I also bought a CC2530 chip for zigbee testing, Not sure what im going to do with that yet. Edit: I think I may have made a mistake buying zigbee chips.

Zips Wiseguys Pizzeria Website

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 22:36:25 +0000

This restaurant has had multiple locations open all under one new mobile compliant website.

Colocrossing Client and Admin control panel

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 22:36:25 +0000

A highly advanced control panel that manages multiple datacenters across the country. This control panel has management features such as users, switches, routers, virtual machines, DDOS mitigation, port monitoring, billing, support tickets, sales and many more things. The panel grew more and more everyday become fully automated in every aspect of a datacenter technicians work.

ATTO.com Domain Acquisition

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 22:36:25 +0000

After hearing that they have been trying to contact a company for the purchase of atto.com for 16 years, I figured I could give it a shot. I helped ATTO Technology locate the correct point of contact in a +10000 employee company to initiate negotiations of the acquisition for the 4 letter domain name. We acquired the Domain name by the end of July. You can checkout the other contributors for refferences.

4 Real Prints Website

team@silocitylabs.com (Silo City Labs) — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:36:25 +0000

This website is for my private on the side 3D printing sales. I run prints for customers but I decided I needed a website. I created this website with images, contact form and more in under a few mins. SEO ready and completely mobile. Some of our clients included ATTO Technology and other smaller customers.

ATTO Technology SEO Redesign