Let's Control It

ThomasB

Don't forget the diode That's an important public service announcement. BTW, I did a bit more reading and it's unclear what voltage the valve requires. It's suppose to plug into a timer that operates on three AA cells. So I assumed 4.5V valve operation. Reading through the reviews I learned that an...

ThomasB

Maybe more something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByxsbradSVM Nice find. I'll put it on the shopping list for a future upgrade. Mr. Bezos sells a 4.5VDC 3-wire sprinkler valve intended for a battery operated timer. Just need to add transistor drivers to the ESPEasy for operating its l...

ThomasB

Sprinklers? That's probably the best option. Now that I have intelligent camera detection a sprinkler is safe to use. It will avoid the water waste I experienced with a PIR activated sprinkler. . sprinkler.jpg . I might have a donor sprinkler in the shed. And/or I can visit Mr. Bezos' shop. He usua...

ThomasB

You still need something to scare them. So still use for the ESPeasy node :) Good point. I have to think about this. These feathered critters can be early risers. For example, they visited today at sunrise. And they ignore me when I yell at them; I practically have to hold their hand to escort them...

ThomasB

I got it working! Alexa is now telling me when the turkey invaders are in the garden. Works better than expected, so far zero false alerts. The solution was crazy simple. I used a different IP camera (Amcrest brand re-flashed with Dahua firmware). It works perfectly with my OpenHab 2.4 installation;...

ThomasB

It's lunch time and a turkey burger sounds good. I temporarily setup the new Dahua IP Camera at the intended outdoor location. This camera reports video motion, tripwire, and intrusion alarm events. The latter two "IVS" features are what make this camera special. As expected, the video mot...

ThomasB

Buying Nuraphones for my wife and neighbors is a budget buster. Yet another fine idea going to waste. The feathered monsters were a no-show today. No doubt they sense that I'm closely watching for their arrival. The Dahau WiFi camera I ordered last week was delivered today. I'm still thinking about ...

ThomasB

The Animal Bird Cannon is fantastic. I want it. But my wife (and neighbors) won't enjoy wearing the mandatory ear plug protection. And the noise might cause PTSD in the neighborhood kids. Seems I'm a very tough customer. Great ideas, all going to waste because of my unreasonably high expectations. -...

ThomasB

Amazon has it all. Even turkey planters. Unfortunately there's the WAF issue. Too bad this good idea will go to waste. A motion activated water sprayer *that works well* would probably chase away the turkeys. But human visitors might complain. BTW, I installed a cheap ($40 USD) motion activated hose...

ThomasB

What about building a camera into a turkey garden planter? Do you mean a garden planter that looks like a turkey? If Amazon has one then I'm in. Several years ago our next door neighbor placed a two meter long garden planter on their driveway. It was filled with yummy bird seed and nuts. Besides at...

ThomasB

I prefer your plans B - C. And if Biff could get my mail then that's nearly a deal maker. But something tells me that I would become the neighborhood villain if any feathers were harmed. The reason I'm interested in using a Dahua IP camera is because their AI motion detection greatly reduce false mo...

ThomasB

How about simply installing an ultrasonic animal repeller Thanks for the suggestion. I installed ultrasonic repellers a couple years ago. Similar looking to your Amazon link. Despite the advertised claims, these little battery operated devices did not scare away birds and other animals. I watched a...

ThomasB

When copying that .exe to the bin folder and starting it, that flash tool does show the list of files I'd expect.

Oops, my mistake. The .bin firmware does indeed need to go in the same folder as the flash tool.

- Thomas

ThomasB

directly attached the 2nd WEMOS_Pro to my PC's USB, but Easy_flasher does not find any active com-port, although at least one related port (com7) well visible in the Windows10 Configuration, and applied before to flash a WEMOS. The Wemos D1 Mini Pro does not work with Easy_Flasher. When I tried it ...

ThomasB

So, why did you order the HFS-DC06 and HB100 then? The RCWL-0516 is an effective sensor for typical motion detect applications. Perhaps the best value for the dollar. But it won't work in my application. The full story is found here: https://www.letscontrolit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8759 ...

ThomasB

Or is any motion sensor using 5.8 GHz for detection ill-fated and a bad choice? That would speak for the HB100 (10.525 GHz).

I would suggest using the RCWL-0516. Good for indoor motion sensing, no WiFi interference, not affected by ESP8266, very small size, low cost.

- Thomas

ThomasB

I didn't find the time yet to experiment with the HFS-DC06 (and HB100, which I have also), but my partner in crime and I intend to do so shortly. Please let me know if you have success when it is connected to the ESP8266. I'm using a Wemos D1 Mini Pro (I recall you use them too). My fear is a bit t...

ThomasB

Maybe you can wrap the (+5V) wire around some ferrite ring, or clip on one of those ferrite beads? That was one of the many EMI/RFI suppression tricks that I tried. The HFS-DC06 is suppose to be friendly with the ESP8266. But I suspect the interference issue is related to the 12V board design. Or m...

ThomasB

Long story short: I ordered a HFS-DC06 5V 5.8GHz Microwave Radar Sensor Switch Module from AliExpress for USD 3.18 (4.76 shipped) for testing. Curious to see how well that works. Any experience with that module? Were you able to get it working on a ESP8266? Any chance you tried it outdoors, far awa...

ThomasB

Could the alarm be triggered by literally hitting dew point in the morning? Could be something like that. During the false Turkey alerts my weather station reported the temperature was 62F and online weather data reported a 52F dew point. To add insult to injury, the turkeys visited an hour ago. Al...

ThomasB

Other solution is to poor some small RFid tags in the grass and put a sign in your yard stating the turkeys should register first at the RFid reader. These turkeys are extreme anti-taggers. Their feathered body, their choice. Alexa announced a few "turkey warnings" early this morning (bet...

ThomasB

Preliminary outdoor testing is complete. Results = No Joy. The RCWL-0516 microwave sensor is extremely sensitive indoors. In my lab I can trigger it from five meters by waving a hand. But outdoors the range is horrible; It ignores me unless I'm next to it. Apparently short range has been experienced...

ThomasB

Thanks for the information.

I'll be installing it today, so I'll soon experience the shortcomings. I don't need perfection, but I'm hoping the false alert issues are not going to kill the deal. Otherwise I'll have to go back to the IP camera concept.

- Thomas

ThomasB

Things did not go as planned. But every adventure needs an ending. So with that in mind, here's the conclusion to my journey. I spent a couple days attempting to upgrade my OpenHab2 installation from V2.4 to V2.5. This would allow it to support IP Camera motion detection. Alas, no joy; Too many func...

ThomasB

The mathematical equivalence of -Thomas cannot be calculated. Typically invokes a divide by zero error.

ThomasB

But maybe with core 3.0.0 where we can have an extra heap, then it might be workable on ESP8266.

+1

- Thomas

ThomasB

If you have something light/simple as a Raspberry Pi, you could run a simple mail server there, that can forward to your external host. Brilliant. I have several RPI's running 24/7. I did a quick online search and it looks like I have a lot of reading/digesting to do. If anyone has already done it ...

ThomasB

My email host now requires SMPT TLS. So all my ESP8266 devices can't send me any more love letters. If adding TLS is not practical then does anyone have a workaround?

- Thomas

ThomasB

For 433Mhz (which I have not in use) are you sure that there is fix cycle time to ping devices? My thought was that based on small cycle time the batterie usage would be also very high for 433MHz and isn´t used in this way therefore. Mine do indeed send periodic messages. The 433MHz sensors have a ...

ThomasB

I think periodically pinging all the critical wifi devices would be effective enough. The pings could be sent from a single ESPEasy device (a Ping plugin is available). If one or more important remote devices don't respond, then perform whatever action you need. BTW, my DSC residential alarm has jam...

ThomasB

I did a bit more digging and found that Openhab 2.5 has a binding for IP cameras. It supports motion/intrusion events, which is just what I need. So rather than create an ESPEasy plugin I'll upgrade my Openhab 2.4 to the 2.5 branch.

- Thomas

ThomasB

Thanks for the advice. I'll avoid the stream connection method and use common HTTP Get for the status queries. I am aware of Dahua's security issues. The network does not have any open ports to the interwebz, router does not permit UPNP, etc. If Chairman Mao does any video spying I doubt the turkeys...

ThomasB

I need a bit of advice for a custom plugin that will be used to query the motion detection status from an IP security camera (Dahua or Amcrest brand). Here's the basic details: The security camera's API accepts HTTP get commands for its various functions. I want to use its query command to read the ...

ThomasB

Driving a piezo using two out-of-phase MCU GPIO pins to make it louder is a real thing. There's plenty of discussion on the web about this drive method. For example, here's a Piezo library that does it: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/toneac-twice-the-volume-higher-quality-and-frequency-arduino-tone-libr...

ThomasB

My wiring : when it is flashed I just disconnect GPIO 15 and TX and RX and power again my board. Do I miss something? Also, after flashing the GPIO-0 boot pin must be logic high during reset/boot. The pin is typically pulled high by an internal pullup resistor; But check with voltmeter to confirm y...

ThomasB

The board has screws for calibration. Should i do this in espeasy or should i do it with the 2 screws (please a bit of explenation on the 2 screws.)

Calibration information for the two pots: https://www.botshop.co.za/how-to-use-a- ... nd-sensor/

- Thomas

ThomasB

Is it a problem to use the MCP-port as output (control the valve) & input (to publish the actual state) at the same time? Do you mean that for each optocoupler, the MCP's input and output pin is the same one? If this is how it is wired then the pin read isn't from the *latched* output state. In...

ThomasB

I suggest using an MQTT tool to confirm that ESPeasy can communicate with the broker. This will help isolate where the problem is occurring.

I use the MQTTLens app that is available in the Chrome browser. But pick your favorite to do the test.

- Thomas

ThomasB

If i change Controller Subscribe: homeassistant/sensor/%sysname%#
Then the HA Mosquitto does not accept the connection and the mqtt connection fail.

Change it to:

Code: Select all

Controller Subscribe: homeassistant/sensor/%sysname%/#

- Thomas

ThomasB

MQTT Controller Client ID: homeassistant/sensor/%sysname% Unique Client ID on Reconnect: Current Client ID: homeassistant/sensor/Garage_Door Note: Updated on load of this page Publish Retain Flag: YES Controller Subscribe: homeassistant/sensor/%sysname% Your Controller subscribe is missing the mult...

ThomasB

Nice find. Thanks a lot. You're welcome. Not a great outcome, but at least we confirmed that it was a hardware issue. Why’s the „• Rainsun“ imprint on the chip antenna in the second picture missing? Did it come off in the IPA bath? When I received the board the antenna was missing from the PCB. Fou...

ThomasB

I evaluated a couple D1 mini pros (received from Wookbert). One randomly failed to boot (about once every ten tries). When using external 5V the CP2104 USB chip is partially powered. So randomly it does not properly initialize the RTS and DTR pins, which control the ESP8266 Reset and Boot modes. Som...

ThomasB

Assuming your device is an ESP8266, please see this: https://espeasy.readthedocs.io/en/lates ... /GPIO.html

- Thomas

ThomasB

Besides the other recommendations, also try a longer switch debounce time. At least 100mS.

I'm using a sonoff 4CH with firmware mega-20180625

That's three year old ESPEasy firmware. A lot of changes have been applied since then. I suggest trying a more recent Mega release.

- Thomas

ThomasB

Try longer debounce times. And perhaps enable Safe Button to see if it helps.

- Thomas

ThomasB

Trouble is that the internal %sunrise% & %sunset% system variables don't seem to recalculate, after a manual Datetime reset. I'd say this is a bug. BTW, I found that tools->adv->localization settings have a similar problem too. Edit: I briefly looked at the source code. My best guess: Seems to ...

ThomasB

I tried another USB/Serial converter (FTDI and CH340). No difference. Borh converters flash ESP successufully but can't either post flash or open serial monitor. It appears that the flash tool is not closing the serial port after flashing. That sounds like a USB serial driver compatibility issue. I...

ThomasB

Question is: Any recommendations for less flawed D1 mini Pro clones from AliExpress? I trust authentic Lolin branded boards if purchased directly from their official store. Admittedly I haven't tried the Lolin D1 Mini Pro V2, but for $5 USD ($8.5 shipped) it is a fair deal. It doesn't have a cerami...

ThomasB

Follow up info: Adafruit's Feather is an ESP8266 board with CP2104 USB interface. Their design took a different approach to the device's power bus. Instead of a power protection diode on the USB input, it is on the external 5V input. That makes a big difference. With this arrangement the CP2104 is p...

ThomasB

Thanks for performing the test. Too bad it was a dead end idea. No need to reinstall the cap for now (but save it). I assume that everything will work OK if you bridge the diode on which it marked "SL" under the 5V pin and power it with HLK-PM01 (5V) I agree. There is a chance that the par...

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