DIY HomeKey locks via Reactor

[therealdb]

I'm currently struggling to get some dome, so sensors are getting dust. It's not a huge problem, since I have them indoor at the moment, but I wish I had more leftovers to thinker with

Thanks for the rules, I'll definitely add something to the docs in the next days.

[ArcherS]

Continuing an old thread, today I finished a Tasmota IR receiver and transmitter. I built it using the guidelines in the Tasmota documentation.

It is built from a Wemos Mini D1and some components for in total approx. €10. All soldered together and hot-glued into a 60x60mm encosure.
I must say it works quite nicely, I have tried it with a few of the remotes in the household and it seems to pick up and decode them so far.

Like all Tasmota devices it can be controlled via console, MQTT or web requests.
Via web requests you send: http://DeviceIPadress/cm?cmnd= and then append the command e.g. IRsend{...} or IRHVAC{...}.
The command needs to be url encoded via e.g. https://www.urlencoder.org/
The exact command you get by the help of the IR receiver, just press the appropriate button on the remote and look at the response in the console.

The idea I have with the IR unit is to be able to send some commands to the HVAC. Commands for HVAC units are a bit tricky since the remote usually send all config commands every time, but I think I got it to work as I need to.
I could also see this as an alternative to a Broadlink unit to control a TV etc. as well, all depending on the use case.

//ArcherS

[a-lurker]

I like the Tasmota stuff but the devices would probably become a management nightmare as time goes on, or as the number of devices is increased. However, is it worthwhile me having a look at supporting the Tasmota IR device with this plugin or maybe not?

The Tasmota interface is a bit lacking as it follows no standard. This list

"Protocol" or "Vendor" (select one of the following):
RC5, RC6, NEC, SONY, PANASONIC, JVC, SAMSUNG, WHYNTER, AIWA_RC_T501, LG, MITSUBISHI, DISH, SHARP, DENON, SHERWOOD, RCMM, SANYO_LC7461, RC5X, NEC (non-strict), NIKAI, MAGIQUEST, LASERTAG, CARRIER_AC, MITSUBISHI2, HITACHI_AC1, HITACHI_AC2, GICABLE, LUTRON, PIONEER, LG2, SAMSUNG36, LEGOPF, INAX, DAIKIN152

includes duplicates, as some such as LG, are based on NEC format. Formats have already been well defined here.

Also listing out working codes like this will become untenable in the long term. It's already been done here.

Perhaps the Virtual Pronto Remote plugin could also produce raw "Tasmota" codes, so they could be used through this Tasmota interface?

I don't have the hardware, so can't test it. Might also have to rename the plugin as it will do output more than pronto codes.

It would be easier to encourage the Tasmota people to allow Pronto codes to be sent, which is an extremely popular format?

[therealdb]

@a-lurker said in Tinkering with Tasmota sensors:

I like the Tasmota stuff but the devices would probably become a management nightmare as time goes on

I still have a sensor stuck at v5, because it's outside near the pool panel and it's a pita to mess with it, and it's working fine. I agree it's more management, but it's doable. I usually update them every now and them, manually, but I saw a couple of programs (this applies to shelly too) to manage them and update firmware centrally.

I still prefer Zwave, but it's too difficult to have reliable sensors for specific cases.

[therealdb]

@archers said in Tinkering with Tasmota sensors:

It is built from a Wemos Mini D1and some components for in total approx. €10. All soldered together and hot-glued into a 60x60mm encosure.

Great build! As I already said, I'm jealous of your enclosures. Mine are too wacky

[ArcherS]

@therealdb Thanks!
I did some searching before finding good enclosures, I eventually found a few nice ones at Conrad. They have a lot of different enclosures listed, many of them are not that expensive either. I notice that they also have an Italian branch, below I listed what I used on Conrad.it.

• enclosure for the IR node, I also ordered a bigger 80x80mm version

• enclosure for my Shelly Uni

//ArcherS

[therealdb]

Thanks @ArcherS! I just need the ventilated ones. They should fit temp, humidity and light sensors nicely. I’ll also build an air quality sensor soon, so it’ll be handy. I’ll place an order soon. Thanks again!

[ArcherS]

@a-lurker I am not that good at IR codes to be honest. A number of years ago I played around with a USB UIRT together with my UI5 VeraLite and Girder(?) on a PC. I was able to record some codes that I then could send from the Vera.

I agree that better Tasmota support for Pronto codes probably could be useful since it seems to be a quite popular format and available for a lot of devices. Also the hardware for the device I put together seems both quite capable and reasonable in price. One possible upside with Tasmota is that it does not suffer from the lock-in problems that I have understood that e.g. Broadlink does from time to time when the manufacturers want to keep the users in their cloud.

//ArcherS

[a-lurker]

@archers said in Tinkering with Tasmota sensors:

One possible upside with Tasmota is that it does not suffer from the lock-in problems that I have understood that e.g. Broadlink does from time to time when the manufacturers want to keep the users in their cloud

Yes - it's a problem and your solution is a good Broadlink replacement for IR. Tosmota also has a very capable IR send library, including some excellent Aircon drivers. The library that's being used, can send Pronto as well, so I'm unsure why it's not made available. May be it is but just not documented. It can also do Global Caché. Would be good to ask the question on that forum.

void sendPronto(uint16_t data[], uint16_t len, uint16_t repeat = kNoRepeat);
void sendGC(uint16_t buf[], uint16_t len);
void sendRaw(const uint16_t buf[], const uint16_t len, const uint16_t hz);

If you post some pronto codes that you know definitely work on your AV device/s (NOT aircons) and you say what they do and what manufacturer and type of device eg TV, DVD, etc than I could have a look supporting Tasmota IR. Assuming you are in position to test the result.

Learned codes are OK but you need to learn every single one of interest, which is a pain. If the codes are generated you can use what's already known.

IR database

It's just a matter of identifying the correct code set and using the associated pronto codes. Hope this makes some sense.

[ArcherS]

Some time ago I stumbled on some rather nice looking temperature and humidity sensors from Xiaomi and how to get them to communicate with a Tasmota ESP32 with BLE.

I ordered an ESP32 on Ebay and a three-pack of the sensors from Bangood. The sensors are quite cheap, you can find them for €4-5 in the usual sites.

The sensors are quite small, approx 4.5cm and run on a CR2032 battery. Time will tell how long the batteries will last. With the custom firmware you can change the reporting interval.

I have now been running this for little over two months and it works surprisingly well, bringing the temperature and humidity data into OpenLuup.

In short what you do is the following:

• Download the beta Tasmota for ESP32, flashing is a bit different from the regular Tasmota but pretty straight forward

• Enable bluetooth with setoption115 1

• The Xiaomi sensors can used both with stock firmware and flashed with a custom firmware that removes the encryption from the transmit of data, I flashed them with a Win10 laptop and it was super easy. You can even roll back the original firmware if you want.

The Xiaomi sensors will then be included by the ESP32 Tasmota device and can be sent to OpenLuup with rules, brought in with Sitesensor or now via MQTT.

[Buxton]

I've been waiting for something like this. Very cool. Thx for the post

[ArcherS]

@buxton yes it opens up new possibilities. On the Tasmota bluetooth webpage some other devices are listed, e.g. a soil humidity meter.

So far it has been quite stable for more than two months.
The Tasmota ESP32 is still beta, I assume it will get better over time.

I will also make the ESP32 to report over Mqtt now that OpenLuup has support for it, hopefully that will make the setup even more stable.

[Buxton]

@archers i didn't want to use a development kit for this, as in my environment they tend to get broken. So went searching and found the Sonoff Dual R3 with an ESP32 chip. Fits nicely in a switch box and runs on mains power. Can't wait to see what kind distance I get as soil sensors are next up after temp sensors.

[ArcherS]

@buxton yes I saw the Sonoff Dual R3, looks like a nice solution for getting an ESP32 into the house. The one downside is that some soldering is needed to get Tasmota onboard. I saw a good clip on this on youtube, should not be too complicated.

The distance for me is quite ok 7-8 meters with some walls inbetween, but it probably varies depending on what walls you have etc.

[ArcherS]

I have now completed two more CO2 meters. I used a similar enclosure as for the IR tranceiver, but this time 80 x 80 mm. I got it from Conrad, but you can get it from e.g. Farnell also. The enclosure is available in black and grey also.

The sensor contains a D1 Mini ESP8266, a MH-Z19B CO2 sensor and a BME280 temp/humidity/air pressure sensor. I have found the BME280 to be pretty good.
The temp reading from the MH-Z19B is however completely off so a separate sensor is required.

A tip is to add a switch for the power to the MH-Z19B, this is needed for switching the MH-Z19B off when (re)flashing the ESP.
I think the MH-Z19B requires too much power from the PC USB when flashing.

Another tip is that in Tasmota it is possible to adjust the sensor offset with TempOffset and HumOffset.

There are a few options for the MH-Z19B with the Sensor15 command. I have turned off auto calibration.

The plan is to push the data into OpenLuup from the sensors with Mqtt when I get this fully up and running.

[therealdb]

@archers I'm still trying to find a PIR enclosure, to securely mount the light sensor. Did you find one specifically? Thanks!

[ArcherS]

@therealdb I have not found any really good enclosure for that either.

For my outdoor sensor above I had to DIY a bit, I took the dome from an old PIR sensor I had laying around (similar to this one), drilled a hole in the enclosure and then hot glued the dome and the sensor in place.

It is possible to buy just the domes also e.g. here.

[therealdb]

@archers I'll probably try with a ping pong ball, since all this stuff takes ages to come from China.

[sender]

@archers

A tip is to add a switch for the power to the MH-Z19B, this is needed for switching the MH-Z19B off when (re)flashing the ESP.

Why is that?

[ArcherS]

@sender I discovered that the ESP does not flash with Tasmotizer when the MH-Z19B is connected. Why I do not know, usually it is no problem to flash ESPs with sensors attached.
I think it could be that the MH-Z19B draws too much power or something.

The solution I chose (since I soldered the MH-Z19B to the ESP) was to add a simple on/off switch to the 5V VCC connection. That way when flashing I can put the switch in "off" position and then when done I turn it bach to the "on" position.

When using Dupont cables you can simply disconnect the MH-Z19B instead.

Btw this is normally only an issue when re-flashing, I usually do the initial flash before attaching any sensors.