The IoT Bar - Off-Topic Discussion

Clareman

Sorry if I shouldn't be starting 1 of these, but I think I might be bringing the alarm thread off topic so I thought an off-topic thread might be useful.

I'll start the randomness discussion with mentioning how "easy" everything is now, I've been a geek a very long time and have loads of qualifications like MCSEs and CCNAs, the 1 thing that jumps out at me about a lot of the new IoT tech is how easy it is to setup. I got the Nest Wifi and had waited until the kids were out of the house for a day to give me loads of time to set it up, after all it's a central hub and 3 nodes, there'll be loads of configuring to do as well as setup of devices, getting the ISP router to work with it, etc. etc. I installed the app, plugged in the hub, connected the hub to the router, then turned on each of the nodes, all setup and done in less than half an hour.

bk

Yep, very true. It isn't like a lot of this home automation stuff is new. Home Automation has been around for more then 20 years, think X11, etc.

The difference is how relatively easy and quick it has become to install and setup. Most of it is pull out of a box, turn on and install the app, log in and your set to go.

And that is the way it needs to be. It helps make it all more accessible to more people then.

Wireless devices and big improvements in battery life of wireless devices has helped a lot. Of course apps, better software, cloud services, etc. all help make this easier too.

Interestingly I think it will get even easier due to the new standards body being created by Apple, Amazon, Google, Philips, etc. bears fruit. Hopefully we will see even quicker setup times and better cross compatibility between the different ecosystems.

The one downside, it is almost too easy. I know for improved security and privacy I should really use a home powered hub like HomeAssistant, but the cloud stuff is so easy, it makes me too lazy to bother trying!

xckjoo

The flip side is that if it doesn't just work it can be nearly impossible to look under the bonnet and try and fix it. Bought a smart weighing scales recently and took nearly an hour of try-fail-repeat to get it connected because I had to do it through their app :rolleyes:
Speaking of things getting easy though, I went to flash a new WiFi plug with Tasmota and discovered I no longer had to solder wires and get out the serial-to-usb adapter. tuya-convert does it over the air. Supper handy (assuming you have a RPi or similar lying around)

spaceHopper

My kids are like all kids since lock down, noisy and addicted to youtube. I've some refining to do but basically,

Set raspberry pi default version of python to 3, check
Install Sony Bravia TV remote python library, check
Prototype script to poll the Tv's volume and lower it if to loud, check
Feeling smug happy and old, check

Right now it runs from 6am to 7 pm I only check the hour and and bed time is 8

The Black Oil

Swear to God I've seen so many Ring ads on Youtube I'm starting to think it's cult.

The Black Oil

Is there something I could buy that would boost wifi in the garden, something I could have in the shed? I had to do 2 hour Zoom yesterday in the garden (house repairs under way at the moment) and wifi was patchy so I switched to data for a hotspot which hammers the battery.

Clareman

The Black Oil wrote: »

Is there something I could buy that would boost wifi in the garden, something I could have in the shed? I had to do 2 hour Zoom yesterday in the garden (house repairs under way at the moment) and wifi was patchy so I switched to data for a hotspot which hammers the battery.

Is the shed wired? If it is running a powerline adapter would probably be the quickest, cheapest and easiest solution. If it isn't some kind of mesh solution with a node as close to the shed as possible might work. How far is the shed from the house? As there patchy wifi I'd say that would work (assuming that the router is the other side of the house away from the shed)

The Black Oil

The freezer is out there, yeah. Shed is maybe 3-4 metres away. Router is at the front of the house, well away.

Clareman

If you can move the router closer try that, if you can't move it I'd probably say try mesh, chances are you'll be adding more and more devices so won't be wasted, cheapest solution would be a powerline that you can plug into whatever you want to use out there

The Black Oil

Mesh being a new type of router or..? Only have Vodafone's one at the moment.

I have some TP link yolks, but think they're unsuitable. Don't have anything running ethernet and it's not feasible to run it to the shed. Can't move the router as there are no other phone sockets other than the front room.

Clareman

The Black Oil wrote: »

Mesh being a new type of router or..? Only have Vodafone's one at the moment.

I have some TP link yolks, but think they're unsuitable. Don't have anything running ethernet and it's not feasible to run it to the shed. Can't move the router as there are no other phone sockets other than the front room.

Mesh is a few routers that all talk to each other to create a net (or mesh) network, instead of just taking a signal and sending it on it gets them all talking to each other to boost signals. You could have 1 node at the router, then another as the point nearest the shed and another somewhere else.

That's very high level, the folks in the mesh thread will point you in the right direction, I'm on my phone so can't link sorry

xckjoo

The Black Oil wrote: »

Mesh being a new type of router or..? Only have Vodafone's one at the moment.

I have some TP link yolks, but think they're unsuitable. Don't have anything running ethernet and it's not feasible to run it to the shed. Can't move the router as there are no other phone sockets other than the front room.

Ya mesh is a method of communication between wireless router devices. So basically you get a couple of them, dot them around the house and they appear as one wireless network. Generally you'd be better off with a wired connection between the mesh devices but you can worry about that some other time if needs be.


TP Link Powerline adapters? Try them first. It might not work but it's the easiest fix if it does. Also don't underestimate just running a long ethernet cable for now. Even if it's just running over doorways and through an open window. It would save you a lot of headaches with networking. Your router should have ethernet ports on the back and hopefully your laptop does too. If theres none on the laptop, you can get a dongle. Should be a matter of plug and go if you do. It might not be the most elegant solution but it would be quick and painless.

Clareman

Has anyone used Switch Bot (https://www.switch-bot.com/), Mrs. Clare is looking to get new curtains so I'm thinking of getting some of them, have blinds on more windows but they don't seem to do controls for those.