Following on from my last thread, some progress has been made over the weekend.
With 18G of spanky RAM in my Synology DS224+. I've jumped into the murky world of virtualisation and already eliminated the need for two Raspberry Pi's from my system.
Home Assistant: In theory they provide an OVA file which is supported by the Synology. I couldn't get it to work, however, so grabbed a copy of the .img file they supply, renamed it .iso and imported it as a VM. Restored from my full back up and that all seems fantastic.
Minidnla Music server: Trivial. Grabbed a Debian .iso for Bookworm and copied that onto the NAS. Created a new machine which mirrored the specs of the Raspberry Pi, booted from the ISO then did an expert install. Once that was all stable with a basic core of stuff and networking, I've made a copy of that as a good base system. Then fired up minidnla on it, mounted my media and that's also woking. Not bad for a short weekend's work.
Still not sure about the main NUC though. I'm thinking of buying a new USB stick so I can mess around getting it working on the Synology before I do anything drastic.
Once that hurdle is sorted I'm torn between:
Using a brand new install of Bookworm, re-installing Z-way server, OpenLuup, AltUI, MSR and HA bridge, then restoring across or Making an ISO of the current system, importing that and upgrading in place (which will be pretty risk free since I can snapshot everything before I make any changes.)Decisions, decisions.
C
Hi everyone. Thanks for all your input recently on the topic of local notifications. I think we got some really interesting solutions 🙂
Back to more prosaic matters. Most of you will know that I've been messing around with this stuff for some years. My last major change was when I migrated from Vera, which was something like 4-5 years ago.
While my system has grown, it's not really altered very regularly, although I try to keep most of it kind of up to date.
Current set up:
Intel NUC that runs:
Bare metal install of Debian
Z-way server with Z-wave.me USB stick
Openluup
Altui
Multi system reactor
HA Bridge
Mosquito
Raspberry Pi
Running Home Assistant
About 40 varied Z-wave and Wifi devices
I also have a Synology DS224+ which may inform some responses.
Home Assistant recovery is pretty simple. I get a full backup of the system every night dumped onto my SAN and I know from experience that it would simply be a case of booting up a new install and feeding it the backup.
The NUC on the other hand....
Coming from a commercial IT world, I am becoming more and more conscious that I don't really feel I have a suitable disaster recovery plan, and my core system is running on hardware heading for 10 years old.
My initial thought, which I've kept putting off as it's awkward would be to grab a nice SSD, reboot the NUC into Mint or something similar and simply do a dd copy onto a new drive. I can get a replacement NUC on ebay simply enough, and keep it in a cupboard if anything other than the hard drive fails on the existing one, but this feels rather like a stop gap. However one immediate question:
If I had to use the replacement NUC would all the Z-wave devices simply carry on talking to the stick, or would they all need to be re-paired?
How easy would it be to move everything the NUC does (as a start) onto the NAS? Create a VM and clone the disc onto it?
Should I move to Docker? Something else?
What are the hive mind's thoughts?
Apologies if we've done this before, but while it all just works...
Cheers!
C
Hi all. First post so please be gentle.
I have an Eachen two-gang smart wall switch wired no neutral (with capacitor) connected to existing bathroom lights which works perfectly. It's also wired to a Sonoff Mini R4 Extreme connected to LED lights. I want the LED lights to switch on when the bathroom lights switch on (and vice versa). The Mini R4 works separately on my phone via Ewelink as well as on the Mini R4 itself (physical button). The switch is installed inside the wall and the rest of the components are in the ceiling / attic / roof cavity. The Mini R4 is set to Edge switch mode which works in my example I wired.
How I wired it:
cb919874-6933-460a-8cd0-f063bac88674-image.png
I have a video showcasing the example I wired today works. I could share it if required. Ignore the white cable. I only used it to power the example.
77ebbc23-83de-48ee-a4bf-247bfd24f121-image.png
3827ede6-cf5c-47aa-8fdb-c75470101c4a-image.png
The wiring diagram I used for the mini R4.
485de912-e656-4da3-b6f6-81cb076e0261-image.png
I wired it together with the existing lights of the bathroom so that L1 switches on both the Mini R4 and the bathroom lights:
a3ea5c93-a9ae-4aaf-8dce-24018bcdb4d1-image.png
This is the wiring diagram for the Eachen switch:
b867a3c7-c1ac-428c-a90f-7f0f4b62a609-image.png
The Eachen's first gang (L1) doesn't trigger the Mini R4 in any way.
Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
R
Just bought a couple of generic smart plugs and set them up easily using SmartLife app in the house I then plugged one into a workshop over 100m away This workshop has a hardwired internet connection with a separate wireless access router (not mesh) after doing a reset on the device and pairing to the new router it actually works from the house when my phone is connected to a completely separate wifi network - how is that possible ?
I did read something about these devices connecting to a server somewhere in China similar to IP cameras but there is no lag
I need to replace about 15 traditional wall light switches (no neutral wire) to turn on/off all lights with one operation inside the warehouse. And still maintain the ability to control each light individually.
The preference is not to set up a Wifi for each switch to reduce the number of devices connected to the network, and also, they change the Wifi password regularly, so they do not want to change all 15 switches.
I am looking for some solution that will achieve this with either Bluetooth/RF or any other technology.
The warehouse dimensions are about 100ftx100ft with sheetrock walls.
Please assist.
I thought I had created a topic on this some time back, but can't find it to close the loop.
The issue was the lights on my drive appeared to be randomly switching on, with nothing from MSR logging and just a simple 'turn this on' in Openluup logs.
Finally got to the bottom of it this morning, which might help someone.
Turns out that somehow Alexa has decided that my drive lights are part of my Living room. If I tell her 'Living room lights on' the drive lights also come on. And if I tell her to turn them off, they also go off.
Which is madness because they are NOT in the living room group.
Current solution is to disable the drive lights in the Alexa app, which is fine as I never need to voice control them.
C
Hi All
Hopefully this place looks like a helpful forum as I’m quite new to all this!
I’ve had a few devices all working separately /through their proprietary apps but we’re just finishing off a large house extension and this has added to the list.
I’d ideally like to be able to view/switch a number of different devices on one screen/head end but have no idea where to start.
The devices we have/will have shortly are as follows;
Zigbee Smart Sockets
Zigbee smart switches (for lights)
Heatmiser Neo Underfloor Heating (this runs from a Samsung ASHP but that part is automatic)
Samsung VRF air conditioning (currently using Smart Things App)
Hive (2xLTHW heating circuits in the existing house and Hot Water)
Ring (doorbell!)
Hik Vision PoE CCTV
We have lots of appliances (Neff N70) which we can control remotely but not too fussed about controlling those at the
Moment)
Any help/recommendations would be appreciated!
Thanks
Adrian
I have a legacy home automation set-up running on Windows XP. the computer and software have now died.
I have written a very nice Excel VBA program to replace the software and it can run on any modern Windows system.
My only remaining problem is to output the correct signal to a USB port to trigger the wireless switches.
Has anybody done a similar exercise. Please help.
Hi All,
Kind of new to Home Automation. Started off Using Amazon Echo units and added a Samsung SmartThings hub. I have mostly been using plug in modules for turning lights on and off. I live in a very rural area where the internet goes out a lot. I eventually want to change to to a non internet Hub so things will work without needing an internet connection. But I will post with those questions at a later date.
So, the task at hand is this: I have flood lights at each corner of my house. They are currently controlled by switches at the front and back doors. I would like to add Security Cameras to each corner also. I can easily find small Wifi switches to put into the electrical box where the flood lights are located, then I can terminate the leads together behind the Decora switch to have constant power. Then I can use the constant power up at the lights electrical box to power the security cameras. I would also like to have a wireless switch to take the place of the Decora switch to be able to turn the lights off and on.
I cannot seem to find a product like this. It seems I can find the small wired in switch boxes that will also come with external smart wall switches, but the wall switches are an external box that does not fit in or cover the existing Wall switch electrical box. I can also find Wireless Decora switches that come with a remote wired in small switch box , but they all seem to be RF and do not integrate with a Smart Hub.
I am hoping someone here knows of a product that matches what I am looking for. Any help would be appreciated.
Also any recommendations for Wireless Security cameras are welcome.
Thanks for any help.
Dear Forum,
I am just starting a smart home system. I've wanted to do this for 10 years at most and really would like to get a start. What I have are a couple of SONOFF wifi relays, some 433 (Hz/mHz) switches ( not wifi ) a couple of wifi lightbulbs, and I'd like to expand wifi thermostat, leak/water detectors, garage door openers and what ever else I can think of.
In the SONOFF items I have it's a particular app, the wifi bulbs are another app, and if I do a thermostat there might be another app. My wife is not a Luddite but she damn sure doesn't want to have to trouble shoot if/why a particular app breaks down.
So in what I do understand about smart home things is that I need/want a HUB. I spent 15 years doing some programming so I do have some computer ability, though I'd prefer to stay away from HAVING to line command operate the hub.
I would like a list of HUB's that people have found to be the best. Even better are links to let's say Amazon for that hub.
Regards from Noob Smart Home,
Barry
Hello lovely people. Long time and all that. Hope you're all doing OK.
Bit of a left field one here, looking for extra eyes more than an answer and you're the most logical bunch I know 🙂
Part of our HA system is a Logitech Elite hub and remote control.
This is programmed to control my Cyrus Stereo, our TV, and HDMI switch and our Virgin V6 box.
I've been away for a couple of days. Got back this evening to (eventually) work out that the V6 box appears to be not accepting any commands from the Logitech.
Everything has been rebooted.
Logitech uses IR to control
Cyrus: Fine
TV: Fine
HDMI: Fine
Remote control uses Bluetooth to control Hub.
All commands from the Remote to the hub are executed (one might assume correctly) as the activity LED responds, and if you're controlling (say) the Cyrus, all works fine.
iOS App can be used to control Hub over the WLAN:
All commands from the App re executed (one might assume correctly) as the activity LED responds, and if you're controlling (say) the Cyrus, all works fine.
Native remote (that uses as far as I know bluetooth) to control the V6 box works fine.
V6 box refuses to acknowledge any command other than from the native remote. Remote or app provoke absolutely zero response from the V6 box.
This is annoying, but damned if I can think of any logical reason. One might assume a firmware update on the V6 box, but given that the Hub simply emulates the native remote, that seems unlikely.
I'm struggling to think of where even to start troubleshooting this, so any random thoughts would be appreciated.
My initial approach is to buy another hub in case there's a different radio set that's failed in the hub...
TIA!
C
I currently have an HVAC system in the attic - for heating and A/C. 120v is supplied to the unit to run the gas heating. A/C uses 240v. I have an ecobee thermostat...which sometimes goes offline....not often. When it goes offline, I need to turn the 120v power to the HVAC system off and then back on (the ecobee gets its power from the HVAC system). That resets the ecobee and all is fine. I spend the summer away from this house and if the ecobee goes offine..I have no current method to reset the HVAC 120v power remotely. My idea is to replace the current 120v plug in the attic with a smart plug...then I can remotely turn the 120v power off and the ecobee will reset and come back online. I use Wyze and Lutron Casita in the house currently and was hoping I could find an in-wall smart plug from Wyze or Lutron. Obviously, I don't need diming, etc...just the ability to turn the plug power on/off. I've seen some options...but one problem I have is the attic can reach up to 135F in the summer...many of the smart plugs I've seen are not rated for that temperature. Might any of you have any thoughts on a smart plug I might want to look at? I don't want to invest in anything that would require a new hub - so either WiFi based or Casita HUB based. I need 120v and 15amp ratings. Thanks in advance.
I am trying to run a reaction that turns on lights if a sensor has not been tripped for 2 minutes. Basically, when a garage door is open, turn on inside lights if nothing has been sensed for 2 minutes. My question has to do with the expression/variable for "Last Seen". The variable never gets updated over time since the last seen event never changes.
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191632.png
In the screenshot above, the reaction checks for any garage door as well as the variable called "GarageLastEntry". The expression for this variable is displayed below:
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191651.png
The problem that I am experiencing is that the variable never changes over time. I understand that this is because the "last seen" variable does not change over time when there is no activity. In this screenshot, the value shows 0.029... This can also be seen as the current value in the original reaction screenshot above. After 10 minutes, this value should be 10. However, when a garage door is opened, the variable does not get updated and thus the rule does not become true since .029 is less than 2.
When I go to the variable and click on the > icon, the variable then gets updated as expected as seen below:
Screenshot 2024-09-02 191711.png
So the ultimate question is, how do I use a rule that can use a variable such as "last seen"? Do I need to create another variable or reaction that multiplies this by 1 every minute? From what I read in the manual, a variable is evaluated every time it is included in a reaction. But this is not what I am seeing.
I also want to ask another question related to this variable. It seems like Reactor continuously deletes this variable and I have to keep recreating it? I have never experienced this with MSR so wanted to ask if this is a common problem or if my definition is causing this.
Any info is appreciated!!!
BACKGROUND
I have been using 4 x Yale Contactless Connected Door Locks for several years (they use either a rfid tag or code to enter)
I have also been using 1 x Yale L1 Door Lock on the main front door and this connects via Yale Software
Yale contacted me to advise the L1 Lock software was being withdrawn and I needed to install a Yale Access Module into the existing lock and a Wi-Fi Bridge to link it with the newly released software
ALL of the above was working just fine.
RECENT
Yale emailed to advise I should add a Yale Access Module to each of the 4 other locks as this would link with the updated software via the Wi-Fi Bridge.
They offered a deal of just £4 each for these Modules so I got them.
THE PROBLEM
I found that only 2 of these modules would slot easily into the locks - two of them bent the pins and one of those snapped the female part in a lock (I do have a spare lock but thats not the point).
Anyway, I began to set-up the two fitted Modules with the Wi-Fi Bridge and I eventually found (thanks Google, NOT Yale) that I now need 1 x Wi-Fi Bridge PER LOCK (£50 each).
QUESTION
Does anyone know of a compatible Wi-Fi Bridge which works with Yale AND can handle multiple connections (ie 5 all 5 of my locks) ?
THANK YOU
Some of you may know that I took at shot at building an alternate geofencing solution for Vera. The core of it was system agnostic, using the OwnTracks application and AWS lambdas to track devices and keep a central data, then disseminate that to the Vera via a websocket-based plugin. It worked with other apps as well, including Tasker and GPSLogger, but of the dozen people that were testing it, most used OwnTracks.
A lot was learned in the process, not the least of which is that the success of any such solution is highly dependent on the phone and its settings. Phone manufacturers love to set things up for the longest battery life, of course, but that's usually very anti-geofencing behavior. In the case of at least one brand, it was unusable and the settings could not be modified. It was also cost-prohibitive to maintain on Amazon, as AWS grabs a dime here and a dollar there and before you know it, it added $100/month to my AWS bill, which my wife deducted from my Scotch budget. Unacceptable.
But it's quite reasonable to use OwnTracks to a local endpoint, and I could pretty easily replicate the functionality as a local application, or maybe even as an additional endpoint built into MSR's API (still separate port and process, but in the package).
So the question really is... would you do it, or would you be too concerned about the security risks associated (e.g., dynamic DNS and NAT mapping in the firewall necessary for the phone to contact the service when not on LAN)?
Hello forum instigators.
Not sure who host/runs the forum software but a couple of challenges:
The chat is not currently usable, as the scrolling is all not right and it's not possible to read chats or send chats reliably.
There are a lot of female members that should perhaps be on another forum; where they can advertise their skills more appropriately. Note: I agree it's a job, like any other.
Whoever you are - thank you for your invaluable work.
I run a B&B and am looking for a way to turn the lights off whenever a room is unoccupied for X amount of time. The guest should still be able to turn the lights on and off manually, but should not be able to disable the auto turn off feature if the room is unoccupied.
I guess I am looking for a light switch with a built in presence sensor? I guess a presence sensor would be better as if it is a motion sensor, the lights may go off unwanted if the guest fails to make sufficient movement e.g. if the guest is lying down watching a film.
Are there any products on the market that would work for my application?
Hello,
I am in search of a device capable of using Bluetooth to connect with a smartphone and serve as its primary sound source on demand. This device should function similarly to conventional Bluetooth headphones, which automatically become the phone's sound output upon activation. However, this device should differ in that it transmits the audio signal to an amplifier via a jack, SPDIF, or similar connection. Alternatively, it could be an integrated amplifier that directly sends the signal to passive speakers.
The control of this process should be manageable through an API such as MQTT, REST, MODBUS, or similar. Are you aware of any devices that operate in this manner?
The concept is as follows: upon entering the bathroom, I would press a wall-mounted switch. This switch would send a signal to the Bluetooth device, prompting it to connect to my smartphone and seamlessly continue playing the audiobook I am currently listening to. Instead of using the phone's speakers, it would seamlessly start playing through ceiling-mounted speakers.
Many thanks 🙂
Hi folks,
I currently have some cheap Zigbee hub and some Amazon Alexas running my smart home which mostly consists of Zigbee power strips and Zigbee battery powered switches.
It all worked OK originally, but now whenever I press a Zigbee switch the light in the corresponding plug switches on then immediately off again.
If I ask Alexa to turn the light on it works fine. Likewise if I switch it on from my phone.
Any ideas what the issue could be?
I've tried unplugging the hub a number of times but that doesn't seem to fix it.
I was thinking about getting a Homey Pro 2023 to speed things up (tmas the Zigbee hub seems to be really slow now as well, for some reason) but I'm not sure about that either.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
New to the forum
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Hi!
I was tipped off about this forum while bitching about my Vera on the Vera forum, as I had grown accustomed to over the years. I know that's not very nice, but that thing brings out the worst in me (and has even driven me to drink on occasions
)!
Anyway, how about a little intro in case anyone is actually interested? I did odd jobs, saved up for and built my first PC from components by the time I was 15 (back when you had to know how to get around a DOS prompt and a 120Mb hard drive was a big deal). Within 6 months I had my own BBS up and running. The internet wasn't really a thing back then -- did AOL really count? I only really discovered home automation almost a decade later, again before it had really taken off. Back then I was using X10 because it was still one of the only consumer options and I had no electronics background. Over the years I have experimented with several home automation technologies, 90% of them ending up as useless scrap and a waste of money. Today I feel like not much has changed, but things are moving in the right direction (wide scale adoption -> more money invested in improving tech to try to get us to part with our money, am I right?). I've never really had the funds to go all out or to get the more expensive gear, but I've found some products that have been worth sticking with -- namely my Elk-M1G and one or two other obscure devices. I recently was "renovicted" during the pandemic and decided to move from my modest apartment in the city to a house out in the woods in the middle of nowhere.
So here I am, with an almost clean slate, looking to set this place up better than ever. The internet access sucks out here, but the house is mine to do what I will with it. I envision a keyless entry system even better than the last one I devised, walls that literally talk and eventually even roboticized structure & furniture (eg. Aquarium lids that rise for maintenance, hidden doors that slide open, a table that transforms into a bar, etc.).
For the moment, though, I'd like to figure out how to replace this *&$%ing Vera. Funds have been tight lately, but at the moment I have several pieces of hardware I can start with: The Elk (as mentioned), ~20 LIFX bulbs/strips, a handful of Amazon Echos, a few Zwave devices, some IR and audio stuff, the Vera, a few other odds and ends.
Ultimately, I'd like to set up a low-power system like a NUC or something that will always be on, running automation as well as handling audio (most likely multi-zoned). I built my last PC as a gaming PC, but I can use it to experiment until I'm ready to purchase an HA system.
Where do I start if I want to learn about OpenLuup? I skimmed through the forums, but they seem quite advanced and are a little beyond my abilities. I do CAD/CAM, not programming, unfortunately!
Thanks!! -
Welcome! The backstory is interesting, and not so far from some others here, I suspect. Your current situation sounds like a real opportunity (for many things.)
To the question of openLuup... it should be easy to get going and proceed in small steps. Forums are, of their nature, somewhat daunting, because of the range of interests and expertise discussed.
Most openLuup users run this under some flavour of Unix, but it does run, at least for some plugins, on Windows. It’s really easy to install, and the key one of its basic requirements is a Lua 5.1 system. Get this going first, then follow the install instructions in the openLuup user guide.
So, for a start, are you up for Unix/Linux?
Again, welcome.
AK
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Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can.
I've never touched Unix in the past, though I did have a dual boot system once with Ubuntu running. It wasn't too intimidating, but as someone that has been using Microsoft OSes for almost 20 years, I found it difficult to really get used to. I have some minor experience with Lua 5.1 scripting while I was using Girder for some years a while back (not sure if you've ever heard of it, but it was fantastic. Discontinued, unfortunately). What exactly do you mean by a "Lua 5.1 system"? Do you mean just installing a binary?
Windows would really be great for me since I only have one computer right now and it's running Windows 10. I use it a lot these days for web browsing, streaming, playing music and gaming. I suppose I could sandbox Linux so that I could jump into that system when I want to mess around with OpenLuup? The ultimate would be if I could set stuff up on this system, then transfer everything over to my HA PC once I'm able to invest in something decent. If it's better to use Linux, I'll make the effort.
Thanks again -
@quixote said in New to the forum:
What exactly do you mean by a "Lua 5.1 system"? Do you mean just installing a binary?
Yes, possibly some extra libraries too.
So let's give Windows a quick go. All the openLuup learning (and configuration) will be directly transferrable to a Unix system in future, if necessary.
User Guide is here:
openLuup/Documentation/openLuup User Guide.pdf at master · akbooer/openLuup
a pure-Lua open-source emulation of the Vera Luup environment - akbooer/openLuup
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@Quixote, Welcome!
Your story parallels indeed that of many of us here and I remember your post in the old place if (it is you).
You should be able to setup openluup and practically anything we discuss here on windows. There could be some differences in setup and command you need to use but it should work. -
Thank you both! That's great! Windows it is then. I will look at the user guide tonight and get started setting everything up in the next couple of days.
@rafale77, That was most probably me. I had a habit of addressing my Vera problems while sipping on beers, losing track of my consumption and then visiting the forum frustrated and angry. Apologies to anyone I may have offended or if I embarrassed myself. It won't happen here, I can guarantee that. For one thing, I am not being sold something that will cause more headaches than it fixes. I see this as a sort of video game, but a much more constructive use of my time.
I noticed that you mentioned the use of (local) AI in some posts. That stuff looks super interesting. At one point (about 15 years ago, I think?) I was trying to emulate AI with a chatbot called "UltraHal". It was super primitive -- written in visual basic if I recall correctly, but it could come up with some convincing responses. I had it set up so that I could converse with it, but also control my lights and control my TV, etc.. It would "learn" from your conversations somehow. The thing is, it creeped me out sometimes and I stopped using it after it told me that I "should not buy nice things in case my house burns down" or something to that extent. Anyway, looking forward to seeing what sort of experimental projects you come up with. I have a 2070RTX, so if you need any testing done, let me know (just don't fry my card please). -
It does sound like you
Yes I am very much invested in making everything work locally. It started from my video doorbell where I thought... if my phone can do face id, why can't my home automation system? So I ended up adding an RTX2070 to my NAS, forked home assistant to implement the best facial detection and recognition I could find and ended up also doing object recognition. I have an RTX3070 on the way to see if I can improve speed and lower power consumption. It's been a lot of fun and a lot of work for someone who doesn't code for a living and did not know python. Not sure what I will do next...
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"...see if I can improve speed and lower power consumption"
I'm just picturing this massive heap of discarded airconditioner heatsinks strapped together, surrounded by a network of greenhouse misting hoses and desk-fans, a Frankenstein-ish mad scientist (the doctor, not the monster) pounding a keyboard and screaming, "yes! YES! It IS A SQUIRREL!!!"
Joking aside, I have to say that is incredibly impressive. Over the years I've stumbled upon various similar projects that were inspirational, including one that was so good that some military (I think it was US or Israeli) swooped in and scooped it up, apparently. I wish I still had the name of it, but they were working with breakthrough image processing (including facial recognition) and then they just went completely dark. Excuse me, I just need to go check out what that noise was in the back yard... jk
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I hope it's ok if I ask a few questions while I read the documentation. Sorry if they're dumb.
-First and foremost, I see that UPnP is not supported and never will be -- out of curiosity, why is that, and out of concern, does that rule out DLNA as well? If so, is there some other standard that may be used to control readily available media players, including apps like Plex or J River Media player?
-Does using port 3480 HTTP mean that no traffic is encrypted, or is that only because all communication is strictly over the LAN? Do I need to start playing with firewall rules?
-Would installing a more current version of Lua (above 5.1) break things?
-Lastly for tonight, how can I completely wipe my Vera to the point of being a drooling Z-wave zombie? I mean, I have a Zwave lock that I need secure, so not a total zombie, but maybe like a zombie that just does what it's told without fail? I'd like no responsibility to fall on the Vera except as a mindless Zwave translator (ie. dongle style). Possible? -
All questions OK.
- UPnP – this is more a question of how you access, control, and trigger events in openLuup (or, rather, how you can't) it has nothing to do with what openLuup can do by way of interacting with other things. If there's a Vera plugin for controlling something, it probably works on openLuup (as long as it's not encrypted.)
- HTTP on port 3480 – openLuup's built-in server does not do HTTPS, but everything stays on your own LAN. Remote access is another topic (which has been addressed in several ways by others.)
- Lua 5.1 – openLuup uses Lua 5.1, because Vera does. Yes, using 5.2 or above, would break things, as it stands, because Lua changed the way that function environments were handled. However, all the dependncies arebuilt into on single function within openLuup that could be changed. I may do this in future as Vera compatibility becomes less of an issue, and to enable further developments.
- Vera a drooling zombie – That's exactly the goal of openLuup... and then, to eliminate that hardware entirely. A number of folk here have done just that. See, for example:
https://smarthome.community/topic/243/vera-or-not-vera?_=1607082180490
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Just unplugged mine as well, i held on to it for the geofencing, but the latest "update" to the app ruined it again.
Living just fine without it, z-way for z-wave, Zigate for Zigbee and RFXtrx for 433mhz. No need to look back!
@Quixote
I see you're considering using Windows to run linux native SW, and mye experience says "Just don't".
I tried this with Grafana, and practically all help on issues i had was for linux users, with the standard: "oh, your'e running it on a windows machine? Good luck with that" replies.
Linux is pure pain for people growing up in the DOS/Windows world like me (and perhaps you), but once you get to a certain point, its livable. And the open-source community is huge, full of nerds (using the word with absolutely no negative connetations) eager to help! -
That’s one of the nice things about this forum... we have a variety of opinions and experiences, and we’re happy to discuss the pros and cons. I actually think that you’ll end up with Linux too, but there’s no harm in starting in an environment you’re familiar with.
The PC-related issues seem initially to do with installing Lua, and then finally with specific plugins which expect to be running on Linux, rather than openLuup itself. YMMV.
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@catmanv2 said in New to the forum:
My vera is stuck in a cupboard. Ready for burning.
The Vera abuser formally know as CatmanV2.....
The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.
The last time my Vera crapped out on me, I was all set to make a video of myself, smashing the thing to little pieces with my sledge-hammer and posting the video on the Vera forum. Fortunately I'm very lazy so by the time I had it in me to get it done, logic and reason had crept in and I started thinking I might be able to find some use for it, even if just as an access point.Thank you akbooer for the clear explanations. I have to say, discovering this place is very exciting -- it's the first time in a while that I've felt like I'm exploring something new that I'm keen about, like when I was a kid and I was learning how to set up my BBS.
I'm mostly concerned about the whole Linux thing. As PerH mentioned, it can be a little bit of a learning curve and it often had me feeling pretty helpless. I don't have any aversion to Linux, but I won't be making it my main operating system. The reason for that is not because I'm stubborn, but rather because while I don't spend an inordinate amount of time on gaming, I do enjoy it from time to time and I've spent a small fortune on my gaming rig (especially when you consider that I spent Bitcoin on this damn thing before the price exploded. This is possibly the most expensive gaming system you'll ever come across.
) My experience in the past is that Linux and gaming do not mix. I know it's gotten better over the years, but it still can't touch Windows on that front.So I think the question I need to ponder now is, do I poke around with OpenLuup to familiarize myself with it while not getting too serious about anything, then do a proper permanent set up when I can work a HAPC into my budget, or do I just put the whole thing off until I can invest a proper amount of funds into hardware for this? I'm leaning towards playing around with it on my Windows system for now.
The reason I was asking about Zombifying my Vera was that I was hoping to make use of it in some way since it has the Zwave radio built in. If I could avoid shelling out another hundred bucks on a Zwave stick for the same functionality, that would be great. Otherwise, if I can gain some sort of advantage by doing so, I will.My initial goals as I see them at this point would be:
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To have a single, low-power consumption, always on system that handles whole home audio, all home automation tasks and coordinates all HA systems, including my alarm system (this is important because it's rock solid and I will be using it for mission critical tasks in the future, such as aquarium maintenance and garden irrigation)
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To be able to access and control my music (Local sources) using voice commands (using Echo devices), and possibly execute other macros in the same way.
So the second PC will be purchased at some point and it looks like it will have to be Linux. The thing that concerns me is the transition that will need to happen when that becomes a reality.
I purchased J River Media Center some time ago, and I believe they have a Linux version, so that's one less thing to worry about.
Hopefully I won't need to print out all of the scripts, etc. I put together until then and then re-enter everything when the time comes.
Forgive me if I've been prattling on -- I think I'm mostly just talking to myself here.
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If you just want to experiment, install windows subsystem for linux. My dev pc is a Windows machine but thanks to WSL I have a true Linux environment running side by side on Windows. That’s what I’m using to develop for openluup (and for my Linux dev needs in general).
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Great introduction. The background can really help when we’re giving suggestions.
It’s not the case that you need massively capable hardware to run openLuup. The most popular platform is, perhaps, Raspberry Pi, and even then it only uses a few 10s of Mbytes and ~5% cpu. But there are many options, and I’m about to follow a route that others have forged previously to run openLuup under Docker on a Synology NAS... so we’ll all be learning something new over the next few weeks.
Lua 5.1.5 is, indeed, ‘Lua 5.1’, and the best choice. Necessary additional Lua modules may come with your initial installation, or need to be added. There’s a list in the User Guide.
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Nice,
ok, well I installed the Linux subsystem, Lua 5.1 and the dependencies.
@therealdb thanks for the suggestion. It seems to be running alright. Any pointers on how I can have this start with Windows? The user guide only mentions scripts for Linux systems in the appendix. -
@therealdb Yes, I did that already. I'm just wondering if I need to open the Bash console and start OpenLuup every time I reboot or if I can set it to start with each boot.
Everything seemed to go alright, but when I open AltUI, I immediately get a message box that says "fail". The weather is showing Paris, and I can't control any of my LIFX bulbs that I imported from the Vera using VeraBridge.
Also, the app store is blank. I haven't finished reading the user guide yet though.
