Using ESP8266 as an IoT Endpoint with Encrypted MQTT Transport A while back, I purchased a few SparkFun Thing Dev boards (featuring the venerable ESP8266 WiFi chipset) and SparkFun Beefcake Relays with a plan to use them in a cloud-free IoT setup. After some investigation, I settled on using the MQTT protocol as a lightweight way to send and receive messages between my Linux server and any number of IoT endpoints throughout my house.
Enabling Simultaneous AP and Managed Mode WiFi on Raspberry Pi Zero W (Raspbian Stretch) I recently purchased a pair of Raspberry Pi Zero W boards, and plan to use them for some home automation / IoT-type work. One of my requirements is that the WiFi on this board be able to run as both a “managed” device (also known as “client” mode) and as an access point, preferrably at the same time.
What’s with TheWalrus? This one’s easy. I was looking for interesting words that end with ‘us’ that could be purchased as cheap domain names. I picked up a few and so far have only maintained TheWalrus and TheCactus. I have no personal attachment to either one yet, but I’m sure I can retroactively drum something up if I can dedicate some time to this blog. What’s with this blog? Ever since – ohh… – high school, I’ve been meaning to keep an online journal of sorts, before the word ‘Blog’ was a thing.