BattyBirdNet-Pi

Its 7 or 8 years since I last did any bat monitoring.

 

To be honest, I got a bit bored with it.

But now I've set up a BattyBirdNet-Pi system ...I'm back!

The Swifts are coming 2026: BirdNet & BirdWeather

A slow trickle of swifts are returning to Britain

but by the end of this month, it will be a flood.

So its time to switch on our swift-caller & keep an eye on our 3 nests!

MG S5ev: battery matters

 Most people that worry about EVs (usually non-ev owners) are concerned about range

...and therefore its the traction battery that comes under scrutiny.

But, possibly rather surprisingly, its the 12Volt system battery which seems to cause most breakdown issues.

MG S5 ev: using the API #4

 I've enjoyed the journey but...

I'm unlikely to reach my planned destination.

I don't think the infrastructure is ready

MG S5 ev: using the API #3

Does my S5 stop maintaining the 12V battery when ev battery SoC drops to 20%?

There seems to be a lot of 'chatter' about electric vehicles based upon supposition.

Opinions posted on the net often get repeated, then eventually get peddled as fact.

MG S5 ev: using the API #2

 OK, so I got distracted...

...and I've been using api access to investigate the 12V system battery

but I often drift off-piste on projects like this!

MG S5 ev: using the API #1

 MG have an api for accessing car data

but it has not been made public

so if you want to use it, you have to hack it!

Electric Vehicles: and other related mysteries

 A few months ago we bought our first ev

Its an MG S5 and we bloody love it!

But after 55 years of driving a variety of petrol & diesel powered cars & vans, there are quite a few new things to learn.

Swift Bricks

Our swift nesting capacity is increasing...

as we've just added a couple of bricks.

It wasn't completely straightforward.