archived the channel

Cool way to “retrofit” existing smoke alarms
So you get alerts when it picks up the audio from an alarm. Probably works with any alarm type signal.

https://a.co/d/9r8jme3

I have the X1C but if you are only doing PLA or PTEG the P1P is cheaper. The A1 is well reviewed but it just came out

Bambou X1C, P1P, or A1

Any 3d printer recommendations? $500-1500

Happy New Year, folks! I’m circling back to this thread to update on my fiber+mesh status…and to share my tears of joy and pain as i cry into my beer. 😅

Phase 1: The Install
Fiber install went well. The installer was going to put the router in the garage but knowing how bad the transmission is through the walls, I opted to have it installed in my kitchen. I encountered strong feedback from the Mrs on that one but its since become part of the landscape and no one notices it.

I kept my DSL router in place and migrated clients to the fiber network over the next month, starting with things that folks wouldn’t notice but might appreciate with faster network like smart TVs. I wanted to wait to move personal devices over until i had a mesh in place.

Phase 2: The Mesh
I waited about 25 days from install to buy a mesh solution. I saw the need for it because the devices further away from the router (upstairs and in garage) were indeed experiencing slower speeds.

I really wanted the UniFi Express but they were out of stock until who knows when so I opted for the TP Link AX4300 Pro.

I picked it up on New Years day from Best Buy. Nice kit and was super easy to install. I got three APs with one placed downstairs, one upstairs, and one in the garage. At that point I started migrating all clients from the DSL router and the fiber router to the mesh network.

I renamed the fiber router’s SSID and adopted the legacy name and password for the mesh network’s SSID. Some advice suggested turning the fiber router’s wifi off but I wanted to still be able to connect to it wirelessly. Using the legacy SSID name made the migration of most clients fairly easy. A few devices didn’t like the switch and needed to be manually moved over. The devices in the garage took more time because they were on an entirely different SSID which was being provided by a network extender and another wifi router and SSID.

The most yak-shaving move was the Ring doorbell. Changing the wifi requires an access code from the back of the device and I didn’t make a record of it during the install. So i had to remove it (after finding my Ring toolkit (which i did save)), capture the information, and then go back to the app to change the wifi network.

I finished my migration last night and I’m happy with the way things are working.

Then this morning I woke to find that the UniFi Express is back in stock.
😭 🍺

Phase 3: Moving On
I’m trying to make myself feel better about the situation by knowing my network is way faster than it used to be and the TP Link solution is a good one. I also decommissioned two wifi routers and the power-line network extender i was using to get signal into the garage. In the end, everyone in the house is happy with their streaming and all is well.
🥹 🍺 .

Some time ago, someone shared https://esphome.io/ and I didn't quite get the purpose of it. I realized I just hadn't come far enough on my journey. I just bought a few ESP32 boards, and programmed them with https://esphome.io/components/bluetooth_proxy.html. It's so cool! I can have blue tooth devices hundreds of feet away but in wifi range. This will proxy all bluetooth packets over the Wifi directly to Home Assistant.

I just put in an order for AT&T Fiber installation. The install comes with $350 in rewards...last time I had an install I got a Visa or MC cash card with the reward.

I’m looking for ways to reinvest the reward to get the best bang for the buck of switching to fiber... maybe a new router, extender, smart device, etc.

If you have fiber (or could get it) and had a $350 budget (going over by $100 or so is OK), what would you add to your setup? 🤔

I've recently ordered a bunch of ecowitt moisture sensors. Working on home assistant automation to auto enable/disable rachio zones based on actual soil moisture.

It’s been a while since posting here. Recently I got my HomeAssistant Yellow and got it setup. I must say I love it.

I am curious to know what devices everyone is integrating with.

@Himanshu has joined the channel

@Eric D. Berg has joined the channel

I've recently set this up to modernize a 20 year old ADT (honeywell 20p) alarm system. Lots of satisfaction getting it up and running. Then exported via HomeKit so I can control it via my apple watch/phone. https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/envisalink/

Home Assistant has been in the top 20 most active projects on GitHub for 3 years in a row.


To put that in perspective, it's in 4th place after #kubernetes.


https://ossinsight.io/2022/#the-most-active-repositories

@Steve has joined the channel

@Frank has joined the channel

My next 2 projects:
• Setting up Hayward AQ-CO-HOMENET AquaConnect to manage my pool/spa with HomeAssistant → HomeKit
• Setting up Ambient Weather WS-7078 Smart Weather Station w/ WiFi with HomeAssistant and Rachio, to cut down on unnecessary watering.

@managedkaos has joined the channel

@venkata has joined the channel

for those of you that want to connect your homelab over wifi ( esp if you got a pi cluster) - I use the https://smile.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-MR3020-V3-Portable-Wireless/dp/B078GXZJHP/
TP Link tl-mr3020 as an AP, and i pair that with the https://smile.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Gigabit-Ethernet-Managed-GS108Ev3/dp/B00N2JPKEC/ Netgear GS108E managed switch

@Jim has joined the channel

Aside from Zigbee, Zwave, Bluetooth radios, what are some other interesting physical USB devices do you have hooked up to your Home Assistants?

@Mahi C has joined the channel

@Solaiman Mansyur has joined the channel

@bradym has joined the channel

@Rohit S has joined the channel

@ballew has joined the channel

For me, I prefer a powered hub like this one - https://www.amazon.com/Splitter-Charging-Individual-Switches-Extension/dp/B07G8CMR18/r
where I can inject power, and the current draw doesn’t have to come from my PRI

I love this thing https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K0P8GJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you have a lot of radios (zigbee, zwave, Bluetooth, etc) it gets them off of the built in ports on the RPI.

I went ahead and pre-ordered the Yellow with PoE. I finally was able to find a Computer Pi 4.

@Dave Gregory has joined the channel

@Sono Chhibber has joined the channel

@David Karlsson has joined the channel

@Ralf Pieper has joined the channel

I want to get the PoE version but also having a hard time finding Raspberry Pi 4s 😂

Hey @Brian Pauley - Jeff Geerling actually did a vlog about the yello a while back - i'm looking at getting one too