MQTT is, by default, not secure, and many MQTT deployments seem to have missed the fine print when it comes to using MQTT securely. So let’s exploit it.

Finnish software engineer [Toni] is on a quest to modernize his 1991 house, and his latest project was to automate the window blinds and control them using Home Assistant. Unless your blinds have built-in motors, most of the effort of such a project centers around how to integrate and attach the motor — and as [Toni] points out, there are tons of different blinds with all kinds of operating mechanisms. But once you solve that issue, half the battle is over.

These particular blinds require less than one turn of the control rod to go from fully open to fully closed, and [Toni] selects a 270-degree range-of-motion, 20 kg*cm torque servo motor to drive them. He really wanted to install the motor inside the window, but it just wouldn’t fit. Instead, each servo motor is mounted in a custom 3D-printed case installed on the window frame just below the operating rod. An ESP8266-based controller box is installed above the window, hidden behind curtains, and operates all three servos.

https://www.creatingsmarthome.com/index.php/2021/09/01/guide-diy-smart-window-blinds-to-home-assistant/

Make Fun Stuff created a DIY printer to send his wife notes from anywhere using an ESP8266, an Arduino Nano and MQTT — plus a “magic” quill.

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Offering local and remote control through web, MQTT, and REST API interfaces, this low-cost fan controller project packs in the features.