My Local AI Model: 8 GB of VRAM, 9 Billion Parameters, Zero Insecurity
How far can you go with a local 9-billion-parameter AI model and just 8 GB of VRAM? Tests, reasoning, RAG, Home Assistant, quantization, and a few surprises.

Building things yourself, usually because buying the obvious solution would have been far too simple. Electronics, 3D printing, repairs, prototypes and whatever else ends up on the workbench.
How far can you go with a local 9-billion-parameter AI model and just 8 GB of VRAM? Tests, reasoning, RAG, Home Assistant, quantization, and a few surprises.
How refusing to spend €99 on a gateway dragged me into 433 MHz, SDR, rolling codes and encryption... only to end up pressing buttons with relays.
Why build your own Thread Border Router when so many devices already include one? What started as a simple home automation need took me much further than expected: Thread, OpenThread, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C6, RCP, external antennas, network diagnostics... This is the story of a Border Router I built, modified and broke several times before finally arriving at a solution I can truly understand, observe and maintain.
At first, I simply wanted to know how much noise the planes were making. Then came an ESP32, a €15 Chinese module, an API, MQTT, a BME280, some 3D printing and a few unexpected twists. In short, a project perfectly under control.
Living with a Weimaraner means discovering that a high-energy dog doesn't just need to run. You also have to find ways to keep what's between those two ears busy.