DIY Smart Water Meter: Monitoring Water Consumption with LoRaWAN and an Inductive Sensor
A LoRaWAN-based water meter monitor using an inductive proximity sensor and a circular buffer algorithm to track water consumption with minute-level accuracy.
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Reading Belgian Smart Meters via P1 Port and Transmitting Data over LoRaWAN
An Arduino-based system that reads a Belgian smart meter’s P1 port and transmits aggregated electrical data over LoRaWAN every 15 minutes, with over-voltage detection aimed at catching solar inverter shutdowns.
Managing the Growth of the `cdk.out` Folder in AWS CDK Projects
The cdk.out folder can balloon to 15GB+ in large CDK monorepos. Instead of wiping it entirely, a small cleanup script removes only unused assets — keeping deploys fast while reclaiming disk space.
Connecting ThinkNode G1 LoRaWAN Gateway to AWS IoT Core
Step-by-step guide to connecting the ThinkNode G1 LoRaWAN gateway (~100€ on AliExpress) to AWS IoT Core using LoRa Basic Station mode, including a workaround for uploading the client certificate via SSH.
Speed Up Your Lightroom Workflow with an Xbox Controller
Turn your Xbox controller into a Lightroom culling tool on macOS; no paid apps required. A small Python script maps the buttons to pick, reject, and navigate photos for a more ergonomic editing session.
Make Silhouette Studio run faster on Mac OS
Silhouette Studio freezing on your Mac? A simple tweak in the display settings ;disabling anti-aliasing; can make the software dramatically faster and more responsive.
Connect Browan Femto Lite to AWS IoT Core
The Browan Femto Lite (now MerryIoT Hub) is an affordable LoRaWAN gateway that connects to AWS IoT Core via Basic Station mode. This guide covers the two main steps — registering the gateway with the right EUID and uploading the CUPS certificate — including the key gotchas that trip people up.
Rename USB port on Debian and Raspberry pi
Managing multiple USB devices on Debian or Raspberry Pi gets messy when port names shift on every reboot. Using udev rules with device serial numbers, you can assign permanent, predictable names like /dev/anchor1 that survive reboots and reconnections.
Repair no power on Electrolux home appliance
Electrolux appliances — dishwashers, tumble dryers, washing machines — share a common failure: a blown resistor next to the LinkSwitch AC-DC converter on the main board. Instead of paying €200 for a full board replacement, swap a €5 component yourself. This post shows exactly how.
Get rid of "FRSRAM" error on Zoul platform [Contiki]
Running out of RAM on a Zolertia Zoul/CC2538 with Contiki OS? The .stack will not fit in FRSRAM error means you’ve hit the default 16 KB limit. A single macro disabling Low Power Mode unlocks the full 32 KB — here’s the fix and the battery trade-off you need to know before applying it.
Laser cutting
First experiments with the laser cutter at the FabLab of Mons — from cutting 30 ceiling mounts for embedded systems to engraving a decorative plate for the lab’s kitchen wall. A quick look at what’s possible with a few hours of machine time and a bit of creativity.
Marion - Odile - Foire - 2019
A portrait session with Marion and Odile at the Fair of Mons, capturing the warm glow of fairground lights and the energy of one of the region’s classic annual events. A mix of candid and posed shots from an evening that made for naturally cinematic backgrounds.
Florie - Harry Potter - 2019
A Harry Potter-themed portrait session with Florie in an autumn forest — wand, cape, and Time-Turner included — with Photoshop-composited Patronus wolves blended from real wolf photography. A creative challenge in both shooting and post-processing.
Émilie - 2019
The third portrait session with Émilie, this time with an urban theme — iconic buildings of Mons as backdrop, mixing architectural context with natural light. A blend of wide environmental shots and close portraits across the city streets.
Specific slotframe in TSCH [Contiki OS]
Need deterministic, congestion-free communication between specific nodes in a Contiki TSCH network? This post shows how to hard-code a custom slotframe by overriding tsch_schedule_create_minimal(), with working code for a 3-node topology on Zolertia Zoul hardware.
Parkside PBH 1500 Carbon Brushes replacement part
The Parkside PBH 1500 hammer drill doesn’t list carbon brush references in its manual — but a quick teardown reveals they’re an exact match for a standard Bosch part. This post gives you the exact dimensions and Bosch part number so you can source replacements on eBay for a fraction of a repair shop quote.
Charlotte - 2019
A creative portrait session with Charlotte in Mons (Belgium), where compact discs held in front of the lens create iridescent prismatic reflections across the frame. The experiment produced some striking results — a video at the end compiles the full session.
Noémie 2019
A portrait photoshoot with Noémie at the Parc Mariemont in Belgium, experimenting with a technique inspired by German photographer Jonas Hafner — shooting through delicate lace to create soft, dreamlike textures. A video at the end of the post gathers all the shots from the session.
Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, France
A research conference in the idyllic village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse (southern France) became a photography retreat between sessions. This gallery covers panoramic hilltop hikes to Roca Dansaïra, dramatic storm clouds over the pool, and a historic riverside pump house from the early 20th century.
Milky Way from France
One clear night during a conference in the south of France was enough to set up a star tracker in a vineyard at 2 AM and photograph the Milky Way. The result is a composite blending a long ground exposure with a tracked sky shot — the brightest ‘star’ in the frame turned out to be Jupiter.
Montreal
A research conference in Montreal turned into a photography opportunity across one of Canada’s most photogenic cities. This gallery covers the Biosphere museum, panoramic views from Mont Royal, and the mix of modern and historic architecture that makes Montreal so visually rich.
Canal lift and bridge
Strépy-Thieu boat lift is the second-highest in the world, and at golden hour it becomes something worth photographing. This short post captures the lift and the nearby Pont-canal du Sart at Houdeng-Goegnies at sunset — industrial heritage bathed in warm light.
Malta
Malta is small but full of surprises — from the stunning sea caverns of the Blue Grotto to the wilder coastlines of Gozo and Comino. The return flight offered an unexpected bonus: a long sunset over Corsica, the Alps, and Mont Blanc, captured from the perfect window seat.
Milky Way & Perseids
Seeing the Milky Way for the first time in Slovenia was a perspective-shifting moment — far from Belgium’s light-polluted skies, the universe suddenly felt real. This post shares night photography from that trip, including star trail composites and a time-lapse showing the Earth’s rotation.
Ireland
Two trips to Ireland — one to Dublin’s vibrant streets and centuries-old Trinity College, another to the wild green landscapes of Galway in the west. This photo diary captures the contrast between lively city pubs and coastal nature reserves that make Ireland so endlessly worth returning to.
Italy
From a mountain sunrise in the Vallée d’Aoste to the colorful seaside villages of Cinque Terre, this Italian road trip delivered breathtaking scenery at every turn. The gallery captures the Matterhorn views at 2620m, the iconic Riomaggiore breakwater, and the light that makes Italy so hard to leave.
Slovenia
Slovenia lives up to its reputation as one of Europe’s greenest and most beautiful countries — crystal-clear rivers, forests, and the iconic Bled Lake shrouded in a dramatic storm. This photo diary captures the landscapes, a Milky Way sky, and the magic of a country that felt both wild and welcoming.
My travel and daily camera: the Fuji X100F
Dreaming of a compact camera after lugging a Nikon D810 across Europe, the Fuji X100F was love at first sight — but there was a catch: severe near-sightedness. This post covers how to hack a Nikon DK-17C correction eyepiece onto the X100F viewfinder and make it work for -5 diopter vision.
Fuel injectors test
Car trouble on the side of the road sparked an unexpected DIY project: building a homemade fuel injector tester with Arduino Nano and a MOSFET for under €10. This post walks through how fuel injectors work and how to diagnose them without removing them from the engine.