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    (Last Updated: 11 March 2021)
    • Short survey

      P

      Hi,
      I am a student and recently i am working on smart home project and writing a seminar paper about the way users handle and manage IoT devices. I you have 3 min, please fill below survey. Its really short.
      Thank you in advance, I really appreciate everyone's help.

      General Discussion
    • Need help in finding the right smart switch for my kitchen lights

      M

      Hello,
      I have a kitchen light that can be controlled by two switches, using either to turn it off or on. I have been slowly changing things over to be a smart home but this is the first switch I am attempting to install.
      I am in a double wide modular home (mobile) that was built in 1994.
      At first I thought I would need a 3 way switch but when taking the normal switches apart I realized that was incorrect because the wiring on my switches are different than anything I could find online.
      For one a 3 way smart switch requires 5 wires and there are only 2 wires going into the primary switch with 3 wires going into the secondary switch from the primary switch (at least I think the 3 wires connect the two switches together). Images will be attached of the wiring.
      There are two wires (one black and one white) going into the first switch and 3 wires (black, white, and red) going out of that and into the second switch (I assume). The odd thing is the red wire going to the second switch is connected to the white wire going into the first switch and the white wire going into the second switch seems to be a bridge wire or a traveler wire. Not exactly sure. You will see what I mean in the images.
      I need to know what kind of smart switch I can use in this set up with one remaining a normal switch.
      Note that for some reason the images got switched around when uploading them. The image with 2 wires on one side and 3 on the other is what I think is the primary and the image with just 3 wires is the secondary.
      Primary.jpg Secondary.jpg

      General Discussion
    • OT: Universal Remote

      CatmanV2

      You lot are more likely to have a view than most I know. Our much used Logitech Harmony is (not so) slowly dying.

      And Logitech have discontinued the entire line.

      And no one else appears to be making something similar.

      Was going for a Sofabaton X1, but no numeric keypad. Sofabaton U1, but no favourites.

      Anyone got suggestions?
      Needs to have those features, oh and not be only a phone app.....

      C

      General Discussion
    • The Home Automation Controller Pyramid

      rafale77

      Since one member asked at one point about the "front end" and "back end", I drew this showing the controller from the base to the tip along with what I have found to be the best options from my testing. Almost every controller will try to integrate all elements, especially commercial ones but... they all have strengths and weaknesses so if one can have a medley of the best ones...

      Screen Shot 2020-05-14 at 07.11.06.png

      General Discussion
    • Thread removed - why?

      Black Cat

      I was just going to add my support for a Update Button for the bare bones version of MSR and find the thread has been removed.
      I'm wondering what was so provocative that required it's removal?
      Have we become as paranoid as an owner of another forum?

      Anyway +1 for an Update Button.

      General Discussion
    • 3-way smart switches in separate buildings.

      D

      So, I think I'm in a bit of an unusual situation. I work at a camp & retreat center that has wifi throughout. I want to put a few switches in the office that can control outdoor lighting throughout the camp. We currently have switches in each of the buildings, but it is a particularly frustrating job to get all the lights on in the evening when it is brutally cold out or we are short staffed.

      Most of our staff is not very tech savvy (my boss literally has his wife print out his emails for him each day!!!) so, I'd love to avoid having to set up any sort of raspberry pi or new phone app.

      Is there type of 3-way switch that can connect to the wifi, turn on a light in another building AND turn on an indicator light in the office, without having any sort of wire running between the buildings? Hopefully looking for a simple solution without breaking the bank too.

      I greatly appreciate any input that you can give. Thank you!

      General Discussion
    • X-10 replacement for a new wall switch (HomeKit)

      G

      I have a X10 wall switch system and I want to get rid of it. What would be the easiest transition to something more modern and easy to use with either wifi/homekit capabilities? My current X10 controls 3 zones in my bedroom. All zones are dimmable.
      Zone 1 is 4 canister ceiling lights. LED bulbs
      Zone 2 is 1 canister ceiling lights. Halogen Bulb
      Zone 3 is 1 canister ceiling lights. Halogen Bulb
      I have an old plug-in remote from Radio Shack and a wall switch with 3 buttons, each controlling one zone. (images attached)
      My wall switch has one two wires from the wall. One black, one white.

      Is there any solution easy to install without the need of an electrician? Thanks for any feedback.

      ij455pd333061.jpg.jpeg ttsjhpd333061.jpg.jpeg

      General Discussion
    • Looking for alternative to Gcal3 in Vera for MSR and public calendar

      T

      Good morning all,
      I'm working on weaning myself off of being totally Vera dependent. I've installed MSR on my Fedora home server, and I've been migrating luup Reactor rules over little by little. My hope is to use Vera as a bare bones z-wave hub, until I replace it either with Ezlo (not so sure about), or perhaps Hubitat. I'm just tired of zero new development in Vera, empty promises of native device integration, and cloud services that go down and leave my automation hanging.

      In any case, I digress. I've attempted to use Gcal3 on Vera to integrate Public calendars, such as Federal Holidays, School Calendars, etc. It use to somewhat work, but more often than not, all I get from Gcal3 is "token error code: HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request". The developer no longer is active, and it's effectively not working anymore.

      I'd like to use these public calendars as Entity Attributes or Constraints in MSR. For instance, if it's a Federal Holiday, I don't have to work, and I may want to sleep in, which means lights may not come on as early, window coverings in the bedrooms may open later in the day, etc. Similar idea with a school calendar. If "closed" is in the event, my daughter may want to sleep in, and not want the window coverings opened as early.

      I'm aware that Ezlo has integration through NuCal to all sorts of web based services, including Google Calendar, but as I stated earlier, I'm undecided on going down that path. Is there anyway to do this on MSR through any of it's abilities, such as HTTP calls or MQTT ( not experienced in MQTT, so I don't know now it works really).

      Has anybody already done this?

      Thanks for any advice in advance.

      General Discussion
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    Not so quiet around here :)

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    • tunnus
      tunnus last edited by

      Got banned quite quickly from Vera/ezlo forum, without any warning. I was kinda asking for it, but still, they could have some sense of humour over there 🙂

      Using MSR on Docker (Synology NAS), having InfluxDB, Grafana & Openhab, migrating from VeraPlus to Hubitat C-7

      CatmanV2 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
      • toggledbits
        toggledbits last edited by toggledbits

        I am so sorry that happened. I recognized immediately that was going to be a problem, and I tried to moderate the post out, but they've taken away my moderation rights, even in my own categories. I guess they are making the new order of things for the eZLO brand, as they must. But they're being pretty draconian about it, and I think a lot of people have taken note and it is merely the chilling effect that keeps them from crying out. Many will vote with their feet just the same, if only because if it's not safe to complain when something doesn't work, nothing will get fixed, and if nothing gets fixed, there's no reason to continue on the product.

        Author of Multi-system Reactor and Reactor, DelayLight, Switchboard, and about a dozen other plugins that run on Vera and openLuup.

        tunnus 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • LibraSun
          LibraSun last edited by

          On the positive side (and I'm saying this in hope that @Sorin and @alecs are paying attention here at SHC?!), ezlo is moving in the right direction of engaging their own staff more -- FINALLY! -- on the ezlo Forum. Regrettably, nobody there has responded to my numerous requests to have my account reinstated, which means I can never participate even to edit my own content over there. Which I consider a loss to both parties, as well as all of our fellow Vera-using comrades.

          Really wish they had simply split ezlo-related topics into an entirely new Forum (perhaps even ezlo into an entirely new company) rather than cannibalize what was in place, operating quite smoothly, since 2009. Sad that one man can ruin an entire operation, when it would have been so much easier and more suitable for the owner to insulate end-users from his ego with several layers of good-humored employees. I don't see any other tech company's boss yelling at customers and booting them out right and left?!?!

          Sad.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • PerH
            PerH last edited by

            I've asked for them to delete my account, but they say "the jury's still out" in the case of the "SHC mutineers". 🙄 😉

            toggledbits rafale77 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • tunnus
              tunnus @toggledbits last edited by

              @toggledbits, no worries, as said I was aware that could happen. As I didn't have previous "offenses" I thought I would at least get a warning first, but that didn't happen.

              Well, it's time also for me to leave "official" Vera behind (already I've used your excellent decouple-script) and continue my journey in the world of home automation. MSR is one of those logical next steps.

              Using MSR on Docker (Synology NAS), having InfluxDB, Grafana & Openhab, migrating from VeraPlus to Hubitat C-7

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • toggledbits
                toggledbits @PerH last edited by

                @perh said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                I've asked for them to delete my account, but they say "the jury's still out"

                If you're in GDPR territory, there is no jury. Your request is ironclad.

                Author of Multi-system Reactor and Reactor, DelayLight, Switchboard, and about a dozen other plugins that run on Vera and openLuup.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                • S
                  sender last edited by

                  Yep, GDPR has a legal clause on the "right to be forgotten". Although this is about "personal data that can lead back to an individual". And since that is very broad and companies don't want to be fined they comply with such a request. But on the other hand... most companies don't even know what your talking about and leads nowhere...

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • rafale77
                    rafale77 @PerH last edited by rafale77

                    @perh said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                    I've asked for them to delete my account, but they say "the jury's still out" in the case of the "SHC mutineers". 🙄 😉

                    Did they actually use the term "mutineers" there?
                    Are they actually serious? Do they still think that we are properties/employees/soldiers they should have any sort of control over? I hope not.

                    They are booting the most loyal customers, ones who are willing to spend their time providing free customer support to others, sharing their fixes and findings to the community. Customers who are also providing them feedback to make their products better... He forced the creation of this forum with censorship then accuses people of all kinds of things and now is surprised that people are leaving? 😲

                    Trust me only a very small number of those who have left are here. Many more are on many other platforms ranging from Homeseer to Hubitat to Home Assistant. And the cold hard truth is, that everyone has been much better off after leaving, has a much more reliable and capable system and for those who rely on community forums, have a place to discuss and have fun learning again.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                    • PerH
                      PerH last edited by

                      hehe, no they didn't. Just me exaggerating. I said that i'd like a reason for the suspension, and a resolution to wether it would be upheld, and if so, to delete my account completely.. we'll see. 🙂

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • cw-kid
                        cw-kid last edited by

                        Hello

                        I've not read all your comments yet here but I will.

                        @tunnus I can't believe they banned you that is terrible, just for that? That's crazy.

                        I was lucky not to get banned myself then as I replied to you. 😲

                        Regarding the lost of our moderator rights for those of us that had them.
                        I have been told it was an unintended side affect of them introducing the new E badges for their staff and the new "Ezlo Response Team" group thing.

                        I asked directly if it was a company policy change?

                        Here is what I was told:

                        It was a side affect not policy

                        Anyone who has been affected by this issue can contact them (probably Sorin) for a fix.

                        I was also told that they wanted to make sure that anyone who was contributing to the forum as a moderator could continue their good work.

                        I have been restored as a moderator now and also had a power up with new badge titles to choose from.

                        However I am not sure if the list of users who where previously moderators is now lost to them ?

                        I have asked Sorin to confirm yesterday, but not had a response back as yet.
                        So you may need to contact him for a fix on your own account.

                        However it is very troubling that members are being banned for little to no reason and no warnings given. Its not good at all.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • LibraSun
                          LibraSun last edited by

                          WHO did you get those responses from? I've only heard (twice) from Tech Support (which the Forum Rules FAQ sends you to when contesting an account suspension) in which they merely said, "We're aware but are not in charge. Forward to the forum managers. Stand by." in essence.

                          cw-kid 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • cw-kid
                            cw-kid @LibraSun last edited by

                            @librasun said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                            WHO did you get those responses from?

                            Directly from the main man himself.

                            @librasun said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                            I've only heard (twice) from Tech Support

                            In which regard? Don't tell me you have been banned as well ?

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • LibraSun
                              LibraSun last edited by LibraSun

                              YES! Ostensibly for "Like"-ing someone else's reply?? (I was given no reason, and only found out by surprise the next day.)

                              In fact, the entire Leaderboard (since 2009) -- with a few key exceptions, mercifully -- has been banned. That's why it's so quiet over there.

                              And I wouldn't know how to get in touch with any of ezlo staff, esp. the owner, without being able to DM them on the Forum. Catch-22!!

                              Crille 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • cw-kid
                                cw-kid last edited by

                                Sorin has just told me Elcid is also suspended. Don't know what he's done.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • LibraSun
                                  LibraSun last edited by LibraSun

                                  I have the long list of banned Forum members but it has grown since Feb. 27 when I made it.

                                  It starts... "ElCid, HSD99, Matteburk, Mai_Pensato, Crille, eonnet, hienry_k9, Forzaalfa, TomD, LibraSun, Shoktronic, DesT, Catman, kfxo, Pabla, slelieveld, akbooer, rafale77, matsohl, tunnus..."

                                  I strongly suspect you get a pass because you author a tech blog.

                                  tunnus 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • cw-kid
                                    cw-kid last edited by

                                    Gees, I know a lot of those names, didn't know Pabla and Crille were banned and I certainly didn't know ElCid was banned.

                                    Well I always speak my mind and if something doesn't work I'll say it doesn't.

                                    Pabla 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • cw-kid
                                      cw-kid last edited by cw-kid

                                      😲

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • LibraSun
                                        LibraSun last edited by LibraSun

                                        I'm suspended until 2/27/3021 according to the Sign On screen.

                                        "Account suspended until February 27, 3021: Breach of forum rules"
                                        

                                        (FYI, I did not know this for 48 hours, because the login screen said nothing at all at first.)

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • CatmanV2
                                          CatmanV2 @tunnus last edited by

                                          @tunnus said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                                          Got banned quite quickly from Vera/ezlo forum, without any warning. I was kinda asking for it, but still, they could have some sense of humour over there 🙂

                                          Welcome to the new normal 🙂

                                          @toggledbits said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                                          @perh said in Not so quiet around here 🙂:

                                          I've asked for them to delete my account, but they say "the jury's still out"

                                          If you're in GDPR territory, there is no jury. Your request is ironclad.

                                          Ummm, not really unless the data is stored in GDPR geography ITYF.

                                          C

                                          The Ex-Vera abuser know as CatmanV2.....

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • cw-kid
                                            cw-kid last edited by

                                            Clearly they aren't using the forum platform software as intended. "Suspended" is meant to be a reasonable time based suspension rather than a permanent ban.

                                            Others who have been "Suspended" also. won't be back then if they have the same date of 3021 ?

                                            Appears there are no proper appeals process or procedures.

                                            Only thing you could do is contact Customer Care for what good that might do.

                                            Who is going to help me with Node-Red now? Is ElCid a member here ?

                                            Elcid 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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