TomTom Map 2021 Update

Can't believe it's been over two years since I last updated my TomTom maps. To be honest, since the last update back in 2019, I've never used my TomTom PND even once.

Most of the time, I just use Google Maps on my Android phone. Cellular connectivity used to be an issue on long drives (depending on where you're going), but not anymore. And even then, you can download Google Maps for offline use.

In any case, let's see where things stand. Seems to be GPS Underground is no more. Good thing Navitotal is still around.

Got the latest 1075 maps here: https://www.navitotal.com/topic22415.html

And the meta codes here: https://www.navitotal.com/topic22420.html

Downloaded the newest 1075 map that is compatible with my v9.530 navcore.

Basically same upgrade procedure as before:

1. Make a backup of the TomTom drive.
2. Remove the old Australia maps folder and copy over the new one.
3. Copy over the street cam files (from the backup folder) or new ones if you have.
4. Run FastActivate (with the latest meta codes) to activate the maps.

In my case, activation was successful, but device was not able to detect the new map. Had to downgrade to an older map (one that is actually shown on the compatibility chart) for it to work.

Xiaomi Mijia Temperature and Humidity Monitor 2

Bought a few of these to place around the house to check the temperature once in a while.

Xiaomi has released different temperature and humidity sensors, but the ones I got are the LYWSD03MMC model. Instead of a AAA battery, these uses a CR2032 battery, which is included. Just pull out the clear plastic tab to turn them on.

First impression is that these things are deceptively small (43 x 43 x 12.5mm). The marketing pictures always make them look like they're as big as your hand, while in fact, you can probably fit 3 or 4 of these on your palm.

The square LCD display shows the temperature and the humidity and a smiley face and not much else. You can use the Mi Home app to view historical data and supposedly integrates with home automation hubs / IFTT to switch on humidifier when indoor humidity is too low or air-conditioner when indoors temperature is too high. Me, I just want to know the temperature.

Looks like these Xiaomi Mijia sensors are popular enough that someone took the trouble to hack them. Can use this to flash custom firmware on the device to unlock additional customization options.

The neat thing about the project is that everything is done over-the-air on a browser. No need to open up the device or make any hardware changes.

Everything is explained in detail on the Github page, but in summary:

1. Use a browser to access the webupdater page
2. Press "Connect" and pair with the target device once detected.
3. Activate, then flash custom firmware, which takes a couple of minutes.
4. Once flashed, reconnect to view or change configuration.

In my case, I do the following:

• Change device name, as I have a few of these sensors, so I name them differently - "Set New Name"
• Tick "Comfort," "Show batt," and "Clock" to make the LCD display cycle through the different LCD screens.
• "Set Time" to set the device to the local machine time

I thought of monitoring these babies by running Home Assistant on my Raspberry Pi Zero W, but I seriously doubt the Pi has the grunt to make it work. Oh, well.

Xbox - Alive and Kicking

 

Twenty years after it was introduced, my soft-modded Xbox is still alive and kicking.

Mine has been connected to the spare TV in the second living, and I haven't used it for years. Kids were playing the Switch on the main TV, so I thought I'd take the Xbox for a spin.

Booted up just fine. EvolutionX dashboard came up. Was able to connect to the network via DHCP. Tried out a few games. Switched to XBMC4Xbox. That also worked fine. Connected to my NAS via SMB. Songs like mp3, flac, and ogg - no issues. A bit of a hit and miss with videos. RM and RMVB files played audio, but no video. Same goes for some of my newer MP4 movies. Photo-viewing and slideshow work flawlessly.

Haven't updated XBMC for a while. Checked xmbc4xbox and the latest release is v3.5.3 (released on February 27th, 2016). Mine is just one release behind - v3.5.1. I used to download T3CH's binary builds from somewhere, but no amount of Googling is giving me any good hits this time. If you're interested in xbmc4xbox v3.5.3, go here:

• https://digiex.net/threads/xbmc4xbox-v3-5-3-download.14655/
• http://xbmcxbox.blogspot.com/2013/03/xbmc4xbox-build-download.html

The DVD tray doesn't work anymore though. Well, it has been 20 years. Looks like I'll have to start giving away all my Xbox game DVDs.