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I know these have been mentioned, but I'd like more info if people have used it and what they're experiences are: Tasmota https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Getting-Started/ Any recommendations for cheap outlets and such that are easily flashed to it? How does it compare to something like ESPHome? https://esphome.io/index.html I figure, if I can re=flash some of the cheap devices on Amazon that would be awesome. I'm really wanting to keep everything as local as possible something like these smart wifi plugs I picked up a NodeMCU esp8266 micro controller and started coding it... and now I feel like I am all in on that little chipset. MQTT broker is set up, holy cow is that cool. I think there's a competing chip called the ESP32 or something, is that better? Hearing opinions and experiences would be awesome... I currently have almost no automation but want to build out some cool stuff.
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Oct 13, 2020 00:42
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namlosh posted:I know these have been mentioned, but I'd like more info if people have used it and what they're experiences are: ESP32 is the newer chip. It will probably start replacing the 8266 over the coming years but for the most part just buy whatever is cheaper or has the form factor you need. I personally use Tasmota on all my stuff; several custom 12v/24v MOSFET based LED dimmers, temperature and humidity sensors, or flashing cheap Sonoff modules I have spliced inline on extension cords. Everything is controlled through OpenHAB and telemetry is stored with InfluxDB/Grafana. I personally prefer Tasmota over ESPHome, because I don't have to mess with file-based configuration using YAML. Tasmota has a easy flash tool called Tasmotizer that will flash the latest release and let you configure the device's name and WIFI ap/password before deployment. Most common hardware that you might flash will have a preset, or you can configure I/O easily through the web config interface.
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Oct 13, 2020 02:12
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ickna posted:ESP32 is the newer chip. It will probably start replacing the 8266 over the coming years but for the most part just buy whatever is cheaper or has the form factor you need. Thanks for the reply... So Tasmota and ESPHome are both frameworks you use so you don’t have to write your own code? Can you write your own C to execute? I’m a software developer but C/C++ aren’t my specialty at all. But having started using Arduino Sketch and then quickly moving to Platform IO in vscode, I may want to write some of my own stuff, unless the frameworks are really configurable. I hate YAML as well but if not that, what does Tasmota use? Thx for the tip about ESP32 being the future. I want to make sure I start with the latest to get the most out of any hardware purchases and learn the right platform. Have you used the D1 Mini? That seems to be the new hotness ESP32 package. I’ll have to look into Sonoff modules... I’m at the point of realizing that all the interesting stuff you’ll want to do involves mains voltage but I don’t want to die and/or burn the house down. Do they solve the dying/burning problem? Thx again
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Oct 13, 2020 03:31
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The D1 Mini is an ESP8266 board. ESP32 vs 8266 really comes down to CPU needs and I/O needs; the 32 isn’t a replacement, it’s a higher end, more capable part. For cheap stuff (atmospheric multi sensors, e.g.) an 8266 is plenty; for cameras you’d need a 32, or for more complicated things with active control systems where you might want the increased processing power (and iirc actual hardware timers).
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Oct 13, 2020 03:36
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Oops, you’re totally right... for some reason I was thinking the D1 mini was ESP32. It definitely looks like a next-gen when compared to my much bulkier dev board I got from a kit. Roger on the performance being the main difference.
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Oct 13, 2020 03:54
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esp8266 is way more powerful than an arduino, but it's still pretty limiting, you're going to be fighting to get everything to fit on the onboard flash memory etc. If you're playing around with micropython etc it's going to be very easy to blow out that 128kb of program space. I remember having to manually trim fonts out of the display library I was using to make my program fit esp32 has significantly more memory.... 4mb, or 4096kb of program space, which allows you to be way more sloppy with your prototyping If you're running the esp8266 it's a lot more gentle with batteries, you can get a couple of weeks out of an 18650 using the advanced sleep modes. If you're going to have this thing plugged into the wall full time, just buy the ep32 for an extra $6 The other advantage of the esp32 is it has real bluetooth support.... esp8266 was groundbreaking when it was released, a wifi capable "computer" for just $4? in 2014? Hell yeah! Had it not been released first, the esp32 would have been the go-to device, as it's about double the capability in every way than the esp8266
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Oct 13, 2020 03:58
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namlosh posted:Thanks for the reply... So Tasmota and ESPHome are both frameworks you use so you don’t have to write your own code? I use the D1 mini specifically for all my homespun projects. Tasmota and ESPHome aren't really frameworks for coding so much as firmware replacements with more customizable features. Kind of like replacing the firmware on a Linksys router with OpenWRT. Obviously you can write your own stuff in PlatformIO / Arduino if you want to make a more self-contained control system but that wouldn't involve Tasmota or ESPhome. Tasmota stores configuration on the flash chip but I am not aware of the specifics, but it does not require file-based configuration to deploy. I just pop by the web config page to set everything that wasn't already configured when I flashed the firmware initially. Sonoff modules are a ready-made ESP8266 + relay module with rectification to power the ESP circuit from the mains input. I haven't cooked one yet out of the 10 or so modules I have used, nor have I seen anyone post about one burning up. The circuit layout has beefy traces and decent isolation between mains voltage and the low voltage section.
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Oct 13, 2020 04:01
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Awesome, that makes more sense. A lot of this stuff seems like the wild-west, everybody copying and cloning each other, so it's hard to see what the standards are and how they work. For example, here's a link to why I thought the D1 mini was an ESP32 chip: WeMos D1 MINI ESP32 Not sure what's up with that, but it's confusing. I suppose form factors, chips etc. are now being re-used or attempts are being made to standardize? Thanks to all of you again for helping me sort through it. Very helpful.
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Oct 13, 2020 04:20
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In terms of outlet switches, I've had decent success using re-flashed Sonoff S-31 outlets with the Tasmota firmware. I didn't have to touch any code to get it integrated into my HomeAssistant setup, which was pretty convenient. You do need a separate board to actually do the flashing though. An alternate option I've seen as well is using a relay board controlled via an ESP32.There are a ton of options, but basically anything targeted at Arduino hardware will work. (I'm got one of these things that works ok: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HCFJC0Y/) They take a bit more work in terms of actually setting up some code to run on it, but it'll let you control mains voltage or other DC stuff if you're doing more then just general appliance control. I would agree that the Sonoff stuff seems decently beefy in terms of not catching on fire, so I wouldn't be too concerned about using those if you want to avoid the more DIY route using relay boards.
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Oct 13, 2020 06:41
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Ok cool, I actually bought one of those relay boards, an outlet and faceplate and single gang box to put it all in. But then I thought that there had to be better constructed solutions that are less risky than what I could put together, even if I am comfortable doing it. Then I noticed that some of them have energy monitors as well, which is awesome! I guess I’ll look into flashing Tasmota on a board to check it out. If it doesn’t suit my needs or I really want to code, I’ll just contribute to the open source project.
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Oct 13, 2020 14:43
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I'm thinking of getting a Eufy smart doorbell, but it doesn't seem to have a Windows desktop application. Ideally, I'd like to be able to view a live video feed from my PC when someone rings. Is there a third party solution?
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Oct 13, 2020 15:37
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Secx posted:I'm thinking of getting a Eufy smart doorbell, but it doesn't seem to have a Windows desktop application. Ideally, I'd like to be able to view a live video feed from my PC when someone rings. Android app running in Bluestacks?
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Oct 13, 2020 15:40
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Secx posted:I'm thinking of getting a Eufy smart doorbell, but it doesn't seem to have a Windows desktop application. Ideally, I'd like to be able to view a live video feed from my PC when someone rings. Does it not just provide an RTSP stream? Maybe that would work... you could watch it in VLC or something?
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Oct 13, 2020 15:55
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Are there any window sensors on sale that are any good? My wife is always worried we left a window open and that cats are going to escape in the middle of the night.
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Oct 13, 2020 16:36
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Now that IFTTT isn't free, is there an alternative if I want to issue voice commands to Google Assistant without a lead-in? That is, I want to be able to say something like "hey Google, [keyphrase]" without having to say "hey Google, [keyphrase] with [appname]" or "hey Google, let me talk to [appname]".
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Oct 14, 2020 10:02
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I think the open source IFTTT solution of choice right now is huginn, but I haven't used it https://github.com/huginn/huginn
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Oct 14, 2020 15:00
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This has probably been covered but coming in green I don't even know what to search for. What are some self hosted solutions in terms of IP cameras that don't need cloud access? I have a pretty robust home network with virtualization and VPN connectivity but never messed around with cameras and don't even know what to start googling to find a dumb device that speaks some sort of standard open protocol. If someone could just blindly shout some solutions I can go from there.
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Oct 15, 2020 01:37
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cr0y posted:This has probably been covered but coming in green I don't even know what to search for. What are some self hosted solutions in terms of IP cameras that don't need cloud access? I have a pretty robust home network with virtualization and VPN connectivity but never messed around with cameras and don't even know what to start googling to find a dumb device that speaks some sort of standard open protocol. If someone could just blindly shout some solutions I can go from there. Reolink, on their own internet jail VLAN, dual NIC'd Blue Iris VM to do all the DVR stuff. One NIC in your chinese camera vlan jail, the other one somewhere useful so you can configure remote access if that's what you want.
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Oct 15, 2020 01:58
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Anyone have a recommendation for a doorbell camera? We have an Abode setup and their camera has been "coming soon" for what seems like forever. I'd like to avoid the Ring or Nest or any others that are happy to give away the video to anyone who asks, if such a thing can even be avoided these days. Integration with Abode would be preferred, but I'm also running Home Assistant so I can work through that too.
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Oct 15, 2020 16:15
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Those of you who have Alexa or Google equivalent, are you worried about your privacy at all? I feel like a growing number of people are fine with the companies recording and using your data, but I am still a bit torn about the whole idea. On the other hand, I feel like the convenience that comes with the automated systems would be worth it. But on the other hand, the idea that I will have this machine that will record and transmit what I say in the privacy of my home is something that I still haven't made my peace with. Literally talked myself out of getting a Google mesh network set up because of it. I use Google assistant on my phone, and I know they record it, but using a button to record feels different from knowing my phone was recording 24/7. I'd love some insight from those who don't have a problem with it.
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Oct 15, 2020 17:11
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Bioshuffle posted:On the other hand, I feel like the convenience that comes with the automated systems would be worth it. But on the other hand, the idea that I will have this machine that will record and transmit what I say in the privacy of my home is something that I still haven't made my peace with. I mainly use an Alexa to turn lights on and off, set timers, check time and weather etc so if they want to use the data they get from that then I don't really care too much. If it turns out they're actively recording and sifting through all other data, then they're going to get a lot of garbage from me as it sits next to the TV and I live alone with the dog. Also I find I have to ask the drat thing twice to do what I want it to, so it blatantly doesn't understand me that well anyway. There's so many services now where the user is the product, I'm not sue that eliminating a home assistant from your life is going to change a huge amount in the long run. I'd rather have Homekit stuff from Apple as I trust their usual mantra of wanting my money not my personal details, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work natively with SmartThings still, and it's a good chunk more $. Maybe one day.
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Oct 15, 2020 17:19
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Bioshuffle posted:Those of you who have Alexa or Google equivalent, are you worried about your privacy at all? From a logical standpoint, the signal to noise ratio of content on actual hot mic being streamed somewhere would be almost useless. It would more or less require a single person listening to a single speaker non-stop to really mine all the content out of it since sometimes voice recognition isn't perfect. Additionally, it's fairly well documented that they keep a rolling buffer of the last 5 seconds, but are constantly throwing that buffer away. The moment the wake word for the specific speaker is detected (which happens in hardware, not in software), the software then gets access to that buffer and is able to act on it. There's a reason why the wake words are so finicky and custom arbitrary wake words (ignoring the potential issues with branding, someone makes their wake word a slur, posts a dumb video on tiktok, stuff like that) will never actually be implemented as much as people want , it's because it's relatively hard to tune the wake word once it's configured in hardware. The reason "Hey Google" works is more of a happy accident than intentional. It's looking for those harder consonants, and "hey google" from a consonant standpoint looks almost like "okay google" eta: I'm never buying fully into Apple ecosystem, so I'd never buy Homepod/Homepod Mini, and then when I look at Alexa versus Google, I trust Amazon a lot less than Google when it comes to keeping my data safe, so I've always been a Google smart speaker person. Raymond T. Racing fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 17:50
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Just remember that Amazon wants to sell you something. Google wants to sell you to something.
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Oct 15, 2020 17:51
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ickna posted:Just remember that Amazon wants to sell you something. Google wants to sell you to something. For the most part this is why I use Alexa over the others. I mean, there are no good answers really, but at least Amazon just wants my data for themselves so they can sell me more of their own poo poo while google just wants to sell my data to as many other people as possible.
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Oct 15, 2020 18:02
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We're not buying into the Apple ecosystem either so that leaves Amazon and Google Amazon is all wrapped up with law enforcement and sharing private video with the police, that's a hard no from me Google claims to not share video footage with law enforcement, and although they might be ( Verdict: Google, I guess  If a reputable company sold a voice activated light system that also let me set timers and view the front door cam from my phone, without dialing out to the At some point, somebody will write a Google Home/Nest open source equivalent that runs on raspberry pi well enough to not piss me off, but that product doesn't exist yet
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Oct 15, 2020 18:10
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Bioshuffle posted:Those of you who have Alexa or Google equivalent, are you worried about your privacy at all? Once you understand that if you have any sort of online presence your privacy is already gone, you don't worry about 1 service anymore really. There's so much stuff going on in the background these days it's truly scary and short of just not using the internet there isn't much you can do about it.
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Oct 15, 2020 18:21
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Hadlock posted:If a reputable company sold a voice activated light system that also let me set timers and view the front door cam from my phone, without dialing out to the *cough* apple *cough*
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Oct 15, 2020 18:23
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There's even a homepod mini coming out next month!Hadlock posted:We're not buying into the Apple ecosystem either so that leaves Amazon and Google You're not buying into the one ecosystem that does exactly what you want. Speaking of lights Hue needs to hurry up and get the adaptive lighting update out it's like the one thing I want more than anything. I have so many timed automations to essentially do the same thing I can't wait to get rid of them all. Happy Noodle Boy fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 18:28
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Bioshuffle posted:Those of you who have Alexa or Google equivalent, are you worried about your privacy at all? For reference I have six Google Homes, a Pixelbook, have used nothing but Google Nexus/Pixel phones, use Google Wifi, and have every privacy tracking option set to "Spy on me" in Chrome. I do however block ads on phone and computer and don't allow third party cookies. My logic was this: You can't avoid tracking by everyone without just being offline all the time. I don't use Facebook, so the next logical choice is Google because I know they don't sell my information but are acting as a gatekeeper for others to advertise to me. In other words they may be invasive but they will likely keep my data secure while at the same time offering me a mostly functional, mostly complete ecosystem in which to operate. As for the home assistant stuff, I figured they already have all of my data anyway. I bought one Home to see if we'd use it and me and the wife liked it a lot. It made turning on the lights or monitoring the laundry or making a shopping list easy and as we used more features it became more useful. So we just accumulated them to listen to music in some rooms or make timers in the kitchen or set alarms in the bedroom or control the entertainment center in the living room. I'll admit I don't see the appeal of smart home features that aren't voice controlled as to me the only thing that makes them convenient is the fact I don't have to use a switch or a phone or controller of some sort to do what I want. Lastly, the reason why I didn't fight the tracking and such is that it didn't seem like a winnable war and losing was going to be costly in terms of time and money. Sure, I've used and liked Apple products but their ecosystem was too small to be useful everywhere and you only have to read this thread to remind yourself the lengths people go to have to have a smart home that doesn't use the cloud. The alternative that never gets talked about is "plug it in, it just works and you never have to do any maintenance at all". In the end I chose the private surveillance entity least likely to leak my information to everyone else and most likely to cover the entirety of my needs and thus far I've experienced no downsides for doing so. I've never understood the counter of what you're asking: Why fight it? What is to be gained by doing so? Also for what it's worth, at least with Google Home you know when it's listening and also you can review everything it's ever recorded. In my personal experience it's pretty good about only listening when it hears the wakeword. Google has better voice recognition than Amazon or Apple (though the gap is narrowing) but that contributes to how much "accidental" listening it does. ickna posted:Just remember that Amazon wants to sell you something. Google wants to sell you to something. Figured I'd edit to address this, but this is wrong. Amazon does want to sell you things, but Google wants to sell access to you. Selling your information reduces the "value" (lol) in what they do to nothing. They have a strong incentive to do the opposite of what you claim. As they say, you're the product so they only maintain their position as a middleman by restricting third party access to you by ensuring that all advertising they send your way comes only from them. Whether Google's advertising to you is intrusive is something for you to decide but in my experience it's a lot less than the equivalent from other options, most notably Facebook. ClassActionFursuit fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 18:32
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Bioshuffle posted:
Others have already touched on making peace with Google/Amazon's illusion of privacy, and my opinion isn't particularly different, but I did want to point out that the first-gen Google mesh router (I think branded as Google WiFi?) does NOT have a speaker in it. Of all the Google things and doodads we've gradually added to our smart home, the Google WiFi pucks have been the most reliable and maintenance-free.
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Oct 15, 2020 19:01
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Yeah, it's a very subtle difference, but Google doesn't want to sell your data, they want you to trust them as much as possible so you give them as much data as you possibly can. Selling or leaking your data means you won't want to give Google data. Amazon has all the awkward law enforcement interactions to keep in mind, and no critical business interest in keeping your data safe and secure since that's not necessarily where they make money from.
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Oct 15, 2020 19:24
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LastInLine posted:
Uh, what did you think I was claiming? You just restated my point that you are Google's product in more words
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Oct 15, 2020 20:48
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Hadlock posted:I think the open source IFTTT solution of choice right now is huginn, but I haven't used it I'm trying it but it doesn't seem to really be as close to IFTTT as it may at first seem. User friendliness aside, in this context I can't really find any Home Automation relevant event handlers. You could build them with webhooks etc but it's kind of excessive. Don't get me wrong though, I see this as a powerful tool.
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Oct 15, 2020 20:50
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Heners_UK posted:I'm trying it but it doesn't seem to really be as close to IFTTT as it may at first seem. User friendliness aside, in this context I can't really find any Home Automation relevant event handlers. You could build them with webhooks etc but it's kind of excessive. You might be looking for something more like Node-RED
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Oct 15, 2020 20:59
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DaveSauce posted:Anyone have a recommendation for a doorbell camera? We have an Abode setup and their camera has been "coming soon" for what seems like forever. I haven’t used it myself, but I am tending towards this one once I get Ethernet run to the right places. https://blog.quindorian.org/2020/08/the-video-doorbell-that-does-home-assistant-nvr.html/
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Oct 15, 2020 21:21
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ickna posted:Uh, what did you think I was claiming? You just restated my point that you are Google's product in more words You seemed to be claiming that Google gives your data to others when you said "Google wants to sell you to something". Plenty of companies actually do this--collect as much data on you as possible then sell it to a third party--so it's not a distinction without difference. I feel like Buff explained it quite well: Buff Hardback posted:Yeah, it's a very subtle difference, but Google doesn't want to sell your data, they want you to trust them as much as possible so you give them as much data as you possibly can. Selling or leaking your data means you won't want to give Google data.
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Oct 16, 2020 02:12
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If the HomePod Mini has halfway decent sound then I’m chucking all my Echos and going all in all the Apple ecosystem, cost be damned. Also Amazon has an advertising network as well, they the #3 largest advertiser on the internet and show ads on 3rd party sites. I’m not sure if they retain the data themselves or sell access. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Oct 16, 2020 |
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Oct 16, 2020 05:57
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ickna posted:You might be looking for something more like Node-RED Sod it! I'm trying it tomorrow. I'm enjoying myself nonetheless.
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Oct 16, 2020 06:01
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FCKGW posted:If the HomePod Mini has halfway decent sound then I’m chucking all my Echos and going all in all the Apple ecosystem, cost be damned. Yeah I've gone HomeKit for my automation ecosystem and there are definitely less items available but I've been happy with it. Now with the homepod mini I'm trying to decide what Sonos play 1s I have can be swapped out for one.. It'll be interesting to see what the difference between them, audio quality wise.
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Oct 16, 2020 06:04
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priznat posted:Yeah I've gone HomeKit for my automation ecosystem and there are definitely less items available but I've been happy with it. Now with the homepod mini I'm trying to decide what Sonos play 1s I have can be swapped out for one.. It'll be interesting to see what the difference between them, audio quality wise. Once I figured out how to setup Homebridge and bring my non-Homekit devices (mainly my tp-link switches) into the Apple ecosystem things have been much smoother.
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Oct 16, 2020 06:09
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