Two Blinds, AES and Six Relays Later...
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.

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.
At first, I simply wanted to know whether my impression matched reality. A few searches later, an ADS-B station was tracking the planes flying over the house. And since they were there anyway, I might as well try to measure the noise they produce. One thing led to another: local tracking, a database and a homemade sound level meter.
What started as a desire to explore a technology capable of turning a file into a real object gradually became a tool for repairing, building, experimenting... or simply making things because they looked cool. From assembling my first Prusa to resin printing, from 3D modelling to painting, this project traces roughly ten years of experiments, a few successes, certainly a few failures, and a lot of things learned along the way. As for when it will be finished... Let's just say it will probably spend some time in `pending` every now and then.