Katie, you are an inspiration to this old geek. Love your channel. I found it at YT's recommendation after watching another channel on home automation after searching on Alexa (that I use currently). Now I have to subscribe. I love your energy and the pace of content delivery is just about right to be able to deliver so much information without taking forever or going so fast that most of the viewing time is spent on pausing and rewinding. After watching this and one other video of yours, I feel I have to go down the HA rabbit hole. Thank you, Alice.
@@JohnVanderbeck then you should know it's not hard to build the housing. I just bought my first 3D printer a month ago and I have already printed several housings for Arduino based smart home items. Its a box with some holes in it, and a few mounting blocks inside, and then a lid. How is that hard?
Just changed my WiFi password, changed my esphome common.yaml file, one click, 79 devices updated with new password👍 Love the HA esphome combo. Fair to say I automate most things!
I combined T-sensors inside and a weather station outside to control a sizable fan sucking air out of the flat to have a kind of AC. The main motivation was that given a temperature difference of only 2°C between inside and outside I get an efficiency (Q/W_el) of 900%, 3x that of an AC. Ofc there are some limitations, notably that it only works when outside really gets colder than inside, you still have to manually open and close windows, and that the fan is louder, but in total I am quite pleased with my setup. For anyone trying to replicate that be consoled that the devil is, as always, in the details ;)
Hi Katie! I came to the comments to recommend a solution for testing USB cables, but by the time I started typing this, you showed the solution! Everone needs one of these simple USB cable checkers.... I gave 10 of them as xmas presents to everyone in my family. Best present evar! I know this is an older video; I'm revisiting it to work up the courage to try ESPhome again on my freshly re-installed Home Assistant Rpi. Last time I tried I had no end of troubles, eventually having to re-install. :( Cheers!
Absolutely, they're great little devices aren't they?? See how you get on and join my discord channel if any issues - loads of super brainy folk there who can help!!
Thanks for this great video! I bought a kit with sensors a while back, so this has been helpful for me to understand how they actually work lol. Also the cable tester thing looks super helpful. I was questioning whether my cable was actually transmitting data to my esp board today. Good to know there's an easy way to test it. Subscribed! :)
ESPresense would be an interesting subject for you to cover. I use it in conjunction with my Apple Watch to ensure the light doesn't turn off if I am actually in the room but not being detected by motion and many other fun things :)
Good one. Few notes. 1. ESP firmware installation works from some browsers, not all. E.g. it does work in chrome but not Firefox. 2. Before plugging in power to the sensor, check what voltage it works with. Might be 3,3V or more, but sometimes 5V might break one working with 3,3V. Logic voltage is another subject ;) Just check parameters of the sensor and connect to a proper esp32 pin 3. I used these moisture sensors but at least for me, they were not reliable. I need to give them another chance
Great points - I cut a lot out of this trying to keep the balance between detail and simplicity!! 1. I had in my notes, but forgot to mention! 2. another great tip (esp as lots of ESP32 chips have both!) and 3 - I've heard this before, but I've had loads - at least 5-6 running for years without any issues - hence I mentioned the capacitive point as I can certainly see the resistive types degrading pretty quick. Might be worth giving them another shot!
@@handsonkatie re 3, true. Resistive corrode and adds chemicals to your soil… don’t try this with basil :) I will try it with esphome, I was trying like 2 years ago with custom python script I prepared for RPI. But couldn’t find consistency between devices or even readings of a particular device. Few pumps are still waiting to be used and add water from air condition to the plants on the balcony while I sleep ;)
Another great point actually - indeed these resistive types just seem more silly the more I think about them!! Ah, that could be the difference - give it a go, I'm thinking of doing a dedicated plant/gardening video in the future, so might deep-dive a bit more!
The way I've been choosing to use my powers, is to convince my brothers new girlfriend who's just moved in with us, that our house in haunted, with lights randomly switching on/off, the thermostat turning itself up, random spooky sounds coming from a hidden speaker. Am I using my powers for good? Not entirely... Is it fun watching her freak out? Absolutely!
If you really want to freak somebody out go. To developer tools then services and type in "TTS" and choose the text to speech option. A list of speakers will show up if you have any Chromecast or other smart speakers. Then type in whatever you want it to say, unfiltered. The best part is it works on soundbars so it's fun having it say something while watching TV with my friend and his wife because they have no idea what's happening. I pretend like I didn't hear a thing.
Nice, quite helpful. I consorted with Home assistant some time ago but found no use for ... it and only last week came about the ESP Home. Now, having some unused RasPis around and a bunch of sensors from my recent compensatory shopping spree, it is time for some fun now. Tested HAOS in virtualbox, now it is installed on Pi3. Sluggish installs due to little Ram, but working. A small note: some boards (ESP8266) may not be happy with "D2" pin and will not compile - one needs to use GPIO reference ("GPIO4" instead of "D2" in my case). Also, the compilation may be terminated with error ... the cause of which may be insufficient RAM too. In that case, stop any unnecessary addons.
Great tip and yes as a general rule, if something isn't working as expected - always check the spec sheets of your device, there's sometimes peculiar features like this!
@@handsonkatie These are not straightforward clear, one is not sure if his cheapo ESP version is compatible or what it could be. It is waa matter of 5-minutes googling or a brief mention in an YT vid to find a suggestion, though.
@@liszcgsedt ah, well then there's certainly value in pointing out the more 'sensible' brands of these devices. Certainly all the ones I now use are very clear and well documented. I might add these to my site!
@@handsonkatie They very mostly do work, I would not worry. Certainly not as much as to dig deep into individual chips and boards specifications of dubiously reliable budget gadgets from Aliexpress. :D Besides, I have a bunch of these laying around.
I was wondering what source of electricity do you user for your chips? Do you just plug it in an general use electric plug? Or use any kind of batteries? Maybe LiIon batteries?
Everything! Mainly just usb cables and mains supply from my solar/batteries, but I use small batteries in places (eg just made a rocket cake for my son's birthday with flashing LEDs) and mini solar panels occasionally too (eg outdoors)
Great video. Can you help me with a thought? How do I build a temperature sensor automation that changes the colour of a smart bulb according to temperature change? Let's say below 20 degrees Celsius is a light shade of blue, as the temp rises the shade of blue gets darker and once the temp reaches 35 degrees, it becomes red, and gets redder henceforth. Any idea would be greatly appreciated.
I might do a video on this - this is a bit 'codey' at the moment, but it's not too tricky when you understand what each piece is doing. Assuming you have an led light and temp sensor already set up, you effectively want to 'pair' the temperature scale (let's say the range is 0-40C for ease) and the RGB scale you want to shift the light along - so 40C equals the highest RGB value and 0 equals the lowest. You'd need to create a data template in home assistant that does this pairing - something like this: action: - service: light.turn_on data_template: entity_id: light.led_strip rgb_color: > {% set temperature = states('sensor.temperature_sensor') | float %} {% set min_temp = 15 %} {% set max_temp = 30 %} {% if temperature < min_temp %} [0, 0, 255] # Blue for cold temperatures below min_temp {% elif temperature > max_temp %} [255, 0, 0] # Red for hot temperatures above max_temp {% else %} {% set red = ((temperature - min_temp) / (max_temp - min_temp) * 255) | int %} {% set blue = (255 - red) | int %} [{{ red }}, 0, {{ blue }}] {% endif %}
Hey. Thanks for all that info. I have quite a few sensors already using hubitat. I wanted to move over the home assistant for years but never found the time yet. You made me want to try other sensors I didn’t know so may be next winter would be the best time to do the move. Thanks again!
Thanks Katie. really getting into your channel. its very informative and easy to follow. But also fun to watch. I don't think I have found another channel this good and ticks so many boxes. Looking forward to the next Video/short.
Hi Katie. I'm not that familiar with smart sensors. But I'd love to learn more. When you mentioned the sound sensor, I got an idea that would be great for me to learn about sensors. Do you think it would be able to detect mosquitoes? And do you think that if I could connect many sound sensors in different parts of the room, maybe I could get an app to try to pinpoint its location?
Love it! Really creative idea - don't know mosquitoes well enough, but sounds very possible - indeed I'd imagine they've got a distinct sound pitch of their irritating whine! Having separate sensors would also let you locate as you say!! You'd just need to research/test different mics to make sure you got the right sensitivity - but could be a neat idea to have it alert you when one is detected!
Great Little overview of all of these available sensors. I’m always torn between tasmota and esphome, since esphome is often very cumbersome to get playing along
I have a need for a small device like these that would allow me to smoothly adjust the brightness of an LED. I have a microscope that I accidentally burned out the control board on and the company does not sell replacement parts. I've searched for the part number in loads of places and it seems it's a custom part so I can't find anything. And I'm not smart enough to build a new one myself. Any ideas?
If I follow you, then yes this could be a super simple use of something like WLED. Just get the led ring, strip or whatever you want and an esp32 and you'll be away. You can also buy pre installed packages where it'll work out the box
@@handsonkatie I'm sorry for posting a second thread but I realy had no answer in the first thread or I simply cannot find it so please give me that link in this thread
No problem, here's what I posted on your other thread: Quick google threw up this? Might be worth a shot? home-automation-india.github.io/esphome/cheap-reliable-pir/
Katie you have become a legend in our little DIY group. Just letting you know that you have a gaggle of gay men who are 3d printing, esp32'ing, Home Assistant'ing and drinking wine watching your videos (well except me, I drink grape juice). We all take shots at every riské joke or when the temperature suddenly plummets. 😂🍷🌈 One of our friends commented that he loved the fact that you are wielding your sensuality without a care what others say. One of our "feminist" lesbian friends nearly had a conniption though (the irony). Here's hoping your channel gets to 1 million subs soon. Edit: I have bought a pack of 20 ESP32Wroom boards with touchscreens and am currently embarking on a 30 day weaning my smart home from any kind of cloud dependency. Goodbye Alexa/Siri/GA and Bixby. I would like to see an in-depth tutorial on integrating HA with ESP32 if you can work that into your video releases or even a post on your site. My current issue is the disparate instructions that sometimes contradict each others. For example, I've been trying to find a GUI builder that is easy to use for nonprogrammers so I can replace my current WiFi light switches with ESP32 Touchscreens.
Hello Nelson! Well your comment made me chuckle and yes, I do life is too short for a sterile and conformist existence.... :) However, my mischievous side is now plotting, given you've revealed the rules of your game, so don't blame me when the next video is stale and dull for 19 minutes and then has 1 minute with 30 risqué puns in a row sending you all to hospital.... ;) Great to hear about your micro adventure, good luck de-clouding! And I'll definitely add it to my list (which keeps growing!!)
@@handsonkatie Lol, oh boy! I shall disseminate the news to our little group, there be many preparations to be made. Wine (and grape juice) for the toasting, pearls for the clutching and smelling salts for the occasional nip appearance (or for when one of our friends finally take a close look at your logo) 😁
@@legacyoftheancientsC64c > _"... the occasional _*_nip_*_ appearance"_ . "Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), also known as a Section 1 warning, is a warning issued under Section 1 of the Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988" 😜
"con - *nip* - tion", eh? 😆 You didn't choose that word by accident, right? \* 😉 Oh, how I love puns (intentional or not) and playing with words. Thank you for the amusing comments. 😁 . \* I was pretty sure you wrote it on purpose, after reading your next reply to Katie in which you say: _"... the occasional _*_nip_*_ appearance"._ LOL 😂
With all of those sensors it would be hard to sneak up behind you to put hands on. I am titillated with excitement to learn more about smart home devices with you. **Sitting up at attention in the back of the class**
how about sensing people in a room? Can RFID tags be used to identify who is where in your home? That way you could route personal calls, emails, etc. to the proper location in the house. Even provide a person to person intercom within the house.
You can have all different ranges of RFIDs, so yes - this is in fact how companies like amazon track items moving around warehouses and so on. So definitely could be done - more commonly though things like mobiles and smart watches can perform the same result!
Thanks for easy videos to watch. 'Cheap' components makes them sound like they will break rather quickly. 'Inexpensive' components makes the parts sound like they aren't made of Chineseium. Even if they are. Again wonderful videos.
Yes! At some point I'll need to deconstruct a bunch of commercial 'premium' devices to show how many simple sensors and chips are in them that are really cheap... or inexpensive ...😉
@@handsonkatie It is amazing how many inexpensive components there are in consumer products. On of the many reasons I got in to electronics. Thanks for your reply.
Honest question Katie, what is your logo? I’ve been trying to figure it out for a few videos now but I’m not sure… Also PHENOMENAL video I really love the way you broke this all down, and it made me want to try to more into individual sensors rather than prebuilt solutions!!!!!!! 😌😊☺️
The hackiest thing I've ever added to my smart home was a DHT22 to see when my refridgerator failed. It had a bad board or something but come back fine if you unplugged it for a few seconds. I hooked a DHT22 into a tasmota flashed 15A smart switch, got them both working in HA, and wrote a script in NodeRED to control the logic. I got another 15 months of life out of that fridge!
This is a great example! Love it! It's also a common thing I hear about that fridges temperature management is a bit ropey, so it'd be quite interesting to see how a temp sensor measures up to the fridge's perceived temperature! Plus how long it takes to re-chill the fridge every time you open it! Endless fun!
Have you looked into micro-power sensors from a German company called enOcean? They harvest power from the environment and can transmit their readings to a specialized transceiver. Their generators will derive power kinetically, from light, or from temperature differentials. They also have a wireless remote, powered by an internal piezoelectric generator (i.e. does not require a battery or super capacitor), that sends Bluetooth advertisements upon button press and release. These devices are a little pricey, but the lack of maintenance is priceless.
Ooh very interesting, hadn't spotted them - will have an investigation!! ☺️ These self powering devices are starting to get in range of consumer price points, so will get very interesting soon...!
Well you can use a laser - just google things like 'Laser Transmitter Module KY-008', but I think in most cases like yours people tend to use PIRs or ultrasonic sensors - so have a google for them too!
@@handsonkatie Can you make a video explaining how to make it? It might be good to out it in a mailbox to see if there is something in it or not. Or combine it with a motion sensor to count how many people entered the room and if they have left or not even if there is no movement.
One type of sensor I'd like for ESPHome is an inductive driveway sensor. I've actually got such a sensor buried next to my driveway but it's part of a Dakota Alert setup which is fairly analog and limited. I'd like to see a more modern version which is maybe hybrid solar powered and can signal battery condition as well as vehicle alerts.
@@handsonkatie The bigger picture here - I've currently got a Dakota Alert vehicle probe buried next to my driveway which has a wireless transmitter on a tree nearby. On the receiver side I've got a Simplehomenet (company out of business) receiver which then transmits an Insteon signal. I then have an old Insteon device which I monitor with code I wrote in Java which sends a MQTT notification. My smarthome code gets a MQTT notification of a vehicle in the driveway, requests an image from the camera overlooking the driveway and stores that image for review, but it also sends that image to the Sighthound service which tries to determine the vehicle type/make/model/color and possibly even the license plate. My smarthome code then gets the vehicle specs back and recognizes the vehicle, it then sends notifications to display devices around the house as well as push notifications to my Android phone. All of this is custom stuff I wrote. The Dakota Alert/Simplehomenet/Insteon part is the weak point. I'd like to replace the controller in the tree with something solar/battery powered which can send a digital notification (ideally MQTT) that my smarthome can react to, but also indicate things like a low battery.
Oh I see, so you just want to detect any car - I'd personally take all that out, just install a camera, connect to Home Assistant and use image recognition on that feed to do everything and more. There's lots of approaches, but things like: www.home-assistant.io/integrations/doods/ will let you run image recognition - so it could recognise cars (and number plates etc). It'd also let you train to recognise YOUR car, the postman's car vans vs cars plus you could add anything you want - eg recognise people and take photos of them. I could do a little how-to video on this in future if helpful.
Well.....once again a stunning performance 👏 🎉 and since watching this, I've made my first esp32 device! PIR, light level, temperature and humidity, and....I've designed up a case to put on my 3D printer (A BCN3D R19, that I made from the ground up off open source plans, even the motherboard) so Im very greatful for your videos. Ive even managed to learn python to flash the esp32 as my HA is core edition so I have to do the flashing outside..... of HA environment lol 😂😊 Once I've printed my case and proved it, I'll put it on my grabcad channel.
Hi Katie ! Great video,very informative and you are such engaging presenter ! Quick question : What hardware are you using for your home Assistant server ?
"Damn Katie, since I watched your first video about Home Assistant, I bought like 100 sensors, 20ish microcontrollers, and a lot of electronics. I still haven't found the right hardware for Home Assistant. I wanted to buy a Raspberry Pi 5; do you think it is overkill for a beginner? Also, I ordered LoRa modules, and I have no clue how to use them, but I will figure it out. (What have you gotten me into? 😄)"
😄😄😄Well you're clearly a convert! Hardware for Home Assistant - I run a Rpi4 and it's super smooth, so a Rpi5 will give you years of future-proofing - I'd probably go with a Rpi 5 anyway as cost wise they're pretty much on par and excellent value for the extra grunt!
Thank you for getting me into this. Love your videos. Clear and articulate. Can you recommend housing for these sensors so they look a bit more aesthetic?
Thank you! Oh goodness, there's millions - I usually actually build my own, so I could share a set in future. But if you search on Printables.com, there's loads of options, so you can pick one that suits your style!
I've actually created a page on my site that covers this: handsonkatie.com/recommended-products/ Have a nosey and I'll always keep products that I really like there!
You do make it sound nice and simple. Thank you! Does this rely on having one WiFi network that reaches all parts of your home? I think I may need a zigbee mesh based system to avoid that obstacle.
We love your channel so much Katie. You're such a smart and beautiful creator with really enjoyable content. You are so engaging and entertaining, it actually makes me kinda sad when your videos end. Thanks for the effort you put in. Just whatever you do, keep up what you are doing cos its a winning formula. Just a note on running ESP32's off a USB battery pack though. In most cases it wont be possible. ESP32's do indeed use a miniscule amount of power and can last weeks on a large battery pack (20-30Ah). Unfortunately most battery packs have a minimum threshold of power usage to stay active past a certian period. An ESP32 doesn't draw enough power from the battery pack to keep it discharging power to the ESP32. There are devices you can get that will prevent this by pulsing a higher current draw from the battery at set intervals to prevent the battery pack from powering off. But they're not easy to find as it is so niche a problem that usually only tinkerers make them by hand and sell very limited quantities if any at all. There is an electronic engineering creator on youtube, quite a popular channel actually. He makes them and provides schematics on how to do it. I believe he also sells them on his site as well. But I am sorry to say I cannot think of the channel name off the top of my head. If anyone knows who I'm talking about, can you please post the name of the channel below so people can track him down if they need such a device. I think hes German or Russian. I cant remember. And from memory he does a lot of testing and reviewing of test equipment and oscilloscopes.
Thank you honestgoat! Great comment and yes you're completely right, I was trying to not get too deep into the detail on this to keep it accessible, but there are various challenges and as you say you need to pick your ESP32/battery pack carefully, plus there's usually workarounds but these naturally depend on your use case (eg if outside then a solar panel as a boost charger works great), but probably a video in its own right!
Great channel, and this is again a great video 👍 I’ve seen some RFID / NFC devices in the beginning of the video. Will you be doing a video about these to ? I’m struggling getting them to work in Home Assistant om both Android and iPhone with the same tag. Also tried NFC-Tools. Thanks in advance.
Interesting one, you'd need to Google around but lots of options, eg this would be a simple install in your pipework and show not just temperature but flow rates also: www.digiten.shop/products/digiten-g1-2thread-water-flow-hall-sensor-switch-flowmeter-counter-with-temperature-sensor-female-and-male-thread-1-25l-min
Hi, been watching your very interesting channel for a while. Can you help!! You say that we can find out all about Home Assistant on earlier posts but i have looked and cannot find them. Much appreciate some guidance as to where I might find them Kind regards Fan from Suffolk...
Great tips! There are some nice starter kits available that will provide an ESP-32, various sensors and connectors, instructions on getting started, and a breadboard to easily hook things up for those that want to get started in an easy way. Incidentally, why would you go to the trouble to soundproof a dungeon only to add a sound sensor? ;D
Great point Chris - I might do a quick video on these kits in future, great way to start. As for soundproofing, the neighbours complained, so I had to soundproof, but the sensors are to confirm when I need to tighten the rack.... 😉
Topic for some video: It would be nice to add a battery suport. So that we could have ex external temperature sensor with battery level and easy charging.
Really enjoyed this and it's got me asking a couple of questions. Changing Wifi networks/SSID's is a real pain which has led me more towards zigbee, why are you sticking with wifi? Is it reliability or cost? Are all think links provided amazon as a sponsorship thing? No Aliexpress??
Hey, thanks. ☺️ I use a secrets file that holds my WiFi details, so changing it is one line of code (I have a dedicated IOT ssid network also). That said no particular reason I'm sticking with it, it just works! I've got ZigBee devices too and things like the esp32 C6 support ZigBee for example. Links are just as it's easy, can add others like AliExpress in future!
With use of common.yaml in esphome changing networks in WiFi is dead easy. Put the WiFi details in a common file and push them to all devices with an update all. Now changing zigbee coordinator… that’s a pain! I use both 😀 Edit : sorry @handsonkatie didn’t see your reply saying basically the same!
Sorry for the "Um, actually", but it's such a specific reference, I can't help wondering if this was a deliberate gaff: Dr. Horrible's freeze ray stops time, it is specifically not an Ice Ray (that's all Johnny Snow). The gag is that people keep thinking it's an ice ray because of the name.
Alright, got HA so that's a checkbox, got none of those chips but I am considering, that's why I am here aaaaaand no sensors. Still I'm gonna watch it and leave my opinion and questions. Thank you for your time to make this video. 1. I will have to watch this video multiple times to take a decision, I am building my smart home slowly and very carfelly, if a device exists in my home it means it deserves the attention and is a good spent money. No impulse buying here just because a gadget is appealing in any way. 2. will have to decide if regular network wifi is the communication type i need as the wifi devices i already have in my house are quite a bunch 3. it must be controlled only locally, no batteries, everything must be supported for a very long time Home automation is somewhat avoided by people exactly because the life span of gadgets are pretty low, companies changing stuff to render your gadegets obsolete. What you have in your home for a vey long time? This could be subject of a video, including the type of hosting the HA itself. I have tried and gave up so many times till i found the best gear for myself. I could share some info on what and what not. I will watch all your videos from the first to the latest, cheers.
This is the one area that I just can't ever to get to work, have watched numerous tutorials and have never gotten a single ESP Home device to function....HA keeps wanting me to adopt a device????
this is the most refreshing take on nerdy smarthome stuff I saw in a long time.. thank you !
The most creative, entertaining and informative smart home channel there is! Stay awesome!
Katie, you are an inspiration to this old geek. Love your channel. I found it at YT's recommendation after watching another channel on home automation after searching on Alexa (that I use currently). Now I have to subscribe. I love your energy and the pace of content delivery is just about right to be able to deliver so much information without taking forever or going so fast that most of the viewing time is spent on pausing and rewinding. After watching this and one other video of yours, I feel I have to go down the HA rabbit hole. Thank you, Alice.
The hardest part of these project today is figuring out how to build the housing :) What a time to be alive.
3D printer
@@petrol_prophet Yes I have 5 of them, what's your point?
@@JohnVanderbeck then you should know it's not hard to build the housing.
I just bought my first 3D printer a month ago and I have already printed several housings for Arduino based smart home items.
Its a box with some holes in it, and a few mounting blocks inside, and then a lid.
How is that hard?
The "ultra-sonic-waves" hand gesture is adorably cute!
Every one of your videos I watch make me come up with more and more ideas. A few of them are actually about Home Assistant
Just changed my WiFi password, changed my esphome common.yaml file, one click, 79 devices updated with new password👍 Love the HA esphome combo. Fair to say I automate most things!
It's great, eh??? ☺️
Love this video: enthousiastic host, clear tutorial, well structured, humorous, geeky, beautiful editing. What more do we want?
Great overview and entertainment as always. Thanks
I combined T-sensors inside and a weather station outside to control a sizable fan sucking air out of the flat to have a kind of AC. The main motivation was that given a temperature difference of only 2°C between inside and outside I get an efficiency (Q/W_el) of 900%, 3x that of an AC. Ofc there are some limitations, notably that it only works when outside really gets colder than inside, you still have to manually open and close windows, and that the fan is louder, but in total I am quite pleased with my setup. For anyone trying to replicate that be consoled that the devil is, as always, in the details ;)
Great example.... and love the stats!!!
Hi Katie!
I came to the comments to recommend a solution for testing USB cables, but by the time I started typing this, you showed the solution! Everone needs one of these simple USB cable checkers.... I gave 10 of them as xmas presents to everyone in my family. Best present evar!
I know this is an older video; I'm revisiting it to work up the courage to try ESPhome again on my freshly re-installed Home Assistant Rpi. Last time I tried I had no end of troubles, eventually having to re-install. :(
Cheers!
Absolutely, they're great little devices aren't they?? See how you get on and join my discord channel if any issues - loads of super brainy folk there who can help!!
@@handsonkatie OK, so I don't discord much but will give it a shot. what's you channel or whatevs it's called? Or send an invite? Cheers!
Great video. Thanks Katie for showing us the power 😊
I think I'm in love. Smart, pretty, and funny.
Thanks for this great video! I bought a kit with sensors a while back, so this has been helpful for me to understand how they actually work lol. Also the cable tester thing looks super helpful. I was questioning whether my cable was actually transmitting data to my esp board today. Good to know there's an easy way to test it. Subscribed! :)
Great again! As usual, informative, cheeky and with double entendres! Bravo
Wow! Congrats Katie! Now really EVERYONE can manage setting up a home assistant enviroment! 👏
ESPresense would be an interesting subject for you to cover. I use it in conjunction with my Apple Watch to ensure the light doesn't turn off if I am actually in the room but not being detected by motion and many other fun things :)
Great idea! I have just the video coming up for this, will look to include if possible!
@@handsonkatie Awesome 😁
Nice video. I bought an esp32 and a HC-Sr501. Trying to connect them but no script available in ESPhome. Or is it just me?
Quick google threw up this? Might be worth a shot?
home-automation-india.github.io/esphome/cheap-reliable-pir/
Awesome presentation. I’m glad the algorithm sent your channel, I like the content and love the chair.
Good one. Few notes.
1. ESP firmware installation works from some browsers, not all. E.g. it does work in chrome but not Firefox.
2. Before plugging in power to the sensor, check what voltage it works with. Might be 3,3V or more, but sometimes 5V might break one working with 3,3V. Logic voltage is another subject ;) Just check parameters of the sensor and connect to a proper esp32 pin
3. I used these moisture sensors but at least for me, they were not reliable. I need to give them another chance
Great points - I cut a lot out of this trying to keep the balance between detail and simplicity!! 1. I had in my notes, but forgot to mention! 2. another great tip (esp as lots of ESP32 chips have both!) and 3 - I've heard this before, but I've had loads - at least 5-6 running for years without any issues - hence I mentioned the capacitive point as I can certainly see the resistive types degrading pretty quick. Might be worth giving them another shot!
@@handsonkatie re 3, true. Resistive corrode and adds chemicals to your soil… don’t try this with basil :) I will try it with esphome, I was trying like 2 years ago with custom python script I prepared for RPI. But couldn’t find consistency between devices or even readings of a particular device. Few pumps are still waiting to be used and add water from air condition to the plants on the balcony while I sleep ;)
Another great point actually - indeed these resistive types just seem more silly the more I think about them!! Ah, that could be the difference - give it a go, I'm thinking of doing a dedicated plant/gardening video in the future, so might deep-dive a bit more!
The way I've been choosing to use my powers, is to convince my brothers new girlfriend who's just moved in with us, that our house in haunted, with lights randomly switching on/off, the thermostat turning itself up, random spooky sounds coming from a hidden speaker.
Am I using my powers for good? Not entirely...
Is it fun watching her freak out? Absolutely!
Genius idea!!! 😈
If you really want to freak somebody out go. To developer tools then services and type in "TTS" and choose the text to speech option. A list of speakers will show up if you have any Chromecast or other smart speakers. Then type in whatever you want it to say, unfiltered. The best part is it works on soundbars so it's fun having it say something while watching TV with my friend and his wife because they have no idea what's happening. I pretend like I didn't hear a thing.
Wifey: “How did you learn about all this neat automation stuff we enjoy so much?” Me: “Well, it’s on the internet.” ☺️ 🙈 🤣
The great thing about standards is, there are so many to choose from. ;-)
They’re like fonts-everyone has their favourite...... and somehow Comic Sans still exists 😊
Love the energy
Nice interesting piece particularly learning electronics, software
Amo tus explicaciones. Gracias
Very good, got to think on some applications now.
You’ve revealed another one of your superpowers: AI prompt engineering! Your stable of sensor superheroes was quite impressive!
Just been doing a lot of the same and really love it when you get your geek on 🥰
So true!
She has fantastic tips!
Nice, quite helpful. I consorted with Home assistant some time ago but found no use for ... it and only last week came about the ESP Home. Now, having some unused RasPis around and a bunch of sensors from my recent compensatory shopping spree, it is time for some fun now. Tested HAOS in virtualbox, now it is installed on Pi3. Sluggish installs due to little Ram, but working.
A small note: some boards (ESP8266) may not be happy with "D2" pin and will not compile - one needs to use GPIO reference ("GPIO4" instead of "D2" in my case).
Also, the compilation may be terminated with error ... the cause of which may be insufficient RAM too. In that case, stop any unnecessary addons.
Great tip and yes as a general rule, if something isn't working as expected - always check the spec sheets of your device, there's sometimes peculiar features like this!
@@handsonkatie These are not straightforward clear, one is not sure if his cheapo ESP version is compatible or what it could be. It is waa matter of 5-minutes googling or a brief mention in an YT vid to find a suggestion, though.
@@liszcgsedt ah, well then there's certainly value in pointing out the more 'sensible' brands of these devices. Certainly all the ones I now use are very clear and well documented. I might add these to my site!
@@handsonkatie They very mostly do work, I would not worry. Certainly not as much as to dig deep into individual chips and boards specifications of dubiously reliable budget gadgets from Aliexpress. :D Besides, I have a bunch of these laying around.
Very clear explanation of the process.
Haha I love the extra 'flair' in this overview.
Wow, very nice approach to ESPhome! Congrats!
I was wondering what source of electricity do you user for your chips? Do you just plug it in an general use electric plug? Or use any kind of batteries? Maybe LiIon batteries?
Everything! Mainly just usb cables and mains supply from my solar/batteries, but I use small batteries in places (eg just made a rocket cake for my son's birthday with flashing LEDs) and mini solar panels occasionally too (eg outdoors)
Great video. Can you help me with a thought? How do I build a temperature sensor automation that changes the colour of a smart bulb according to temperature change? Let's say below 20 degrees Celsius is a light shade of blue, as the temp rises the shade of blue gets darker and once the temp reaches 35 degrees, it becomes red, and gets redder henceforth. Any idea would be greatly appreciated.
I might do a video on this - this is a bit 'codey' at the moment, but it's not too tricky when you understand what each piece is doing. Assuming you have an led light and temp sensor already set up, you effectively want to 'pair' the temperature scale (let's say the range is 0-40C for ease) and the RGB scale you want to shift the light along - so 40C equals the highest RGB value and 0 equals the lowest.
You'd need to create a data template in home assistant that does this pairing - something like this:
action:
- service: light.turn_on
data_template:
entity_id: light.led_strip
rgb_color: >
{% set temperature = states('sensor.temperature_sensor') | float %}
{% set min_temp = 15 %}
{% set max_temp = 30 %}
{% if temperature < min_temp %}
[0, 0, 255] # Blue for cold temperatures below min_temp
{% elif temperature > max_temp %}
[255, 0, 0] # Red for hot temperatures above max_temp
{% else %}
{% set red = ((temperature - min_temp) / (max_temp - min_temp) * 255) | int %}
{% set blue = (255 - red) | int %}
[{{ red }}, 0, {{ blue }}]
{% endif %}
Interesting video. Had proved many thoughts and implementation ideas. Amazing work!
Amazing video! Entertaining and educational! Great references and accent! Cheers from Nova Scotia, Canada!
Hey. Thanks for all that info. I have quite a few sensors already using hubitat. I wanted to move over the home assistant for years but never found the time yet. You made me want to try other sensors I didn’t know so may be next winter would be the best time to do the move. Thanks again!
Winter is the perfect time for tinkering on these sorts of things!! 🤣🤣
Thanks Katie. really getting into your channel. its very informative and easy to follow. But also fun to watch. I don't think I have found another channel this good and ticks so many boxes. Looking forward to the next Video/short.
Hi Katie. I'm not that familiar with smart sensors. But I'd love to learn more. When you mentioned the sound sensor, I got an idea that would be great for me to learn about sensors.
Do you think it would be able to detect mosquitoes? And do you think that if I could connect many sound sensors in different parts of the room, maybe I could get an app to try to pinpoint its location?
Love it! Really creative idea - don't know mosquitoes well enough, but sounds very possible - indeed I'd imagine they've got a distinct sound pitch of their irritating whine! Having separate sensors would also let you locate as you say!! You'd just need to research/test different mics to make sure you got the right sensitivity - but could be a neat idea to have it alert you when one is detected!
@@handsonkatie Not just sound an alert... but ⚡ *zap* ⚡ the mosquito by activating a _(relatively low-power)_ *Tesla coil* ?! 🤓
Great Little overview of all of these available sensors. I’m always torn between tasmota and esphome, since esphome is often very cumbersome to get playing along
I need to have a good play with tasmota - haven't in some time!
Excellent video
I have a need for a small device like these that would allow me to smoothly adjust the brightness of an LED. I have a microscope that I accidentally burned out the control board on and the company does not sell replacement parts. I've searched for the part number in loads of places and it seems it's a custom part so I can't find anything. And I'm not smart enough to build a new one myself. Any ideas?
If I follow you, then yes this could be a super simple use of something like WLED. Just get the led ring, strip or whatever you want and an esp32 and you'll be away. You can also buy pre installed packages where it'll work out the box
Hi Katie, can you help me with the code? As said, bought SR501 as you recommended but cannot find platform in code to use. Please advice?
Check my response to your previous comment?
@@handsonkatie I only got a ❤ from you. I appreciate that but it didn't solve my problem
@GentleTel I added a link to a guide with code? You appear to be posting in multiple threads?
@@handsonkatie I'm sorry for posting a second thread but I realy had no answer in the first thread or I simply cannot find it so please give me that link in this thread
No problem, here's what I posted on your other thread:
Quick google threw up this? Might be worth a shot?
home-automation-india.github.io/esphome/cheap-reliable-pir/
Katie you have become a legend in our little DIY group. Just letting you know that you have a gaggle of gay men who are 3d printing, esp32'ing, Home Assistant'ing and drinking wine watching your videos (well except me, I drink grape juice). We all take shots at every riské joke or when the temperature suddenly plummets. 😂🍷🌈 One of our friends commented that he loved the fact that you are wielding your sensuality without a care what others say. One of our "feminist" lesbian friends nearly had a conniption though (the irony). Here's hoping your channel gets to 1 million subs soon.
Edit: I have bought a pack of 20 ESP32Wroom boards with touchscreens and am currently embarking on a 30 day weaning my smart home from any kind of cloud dependency. Goodbye Alexa/Siri/GA and Bixby. I would like to see an in-depth tutorial on integrating HA with ESP32 if you can work that into your video releases or even a post on your site. My current issue is the disparate instructions that sometimes contradict each others. For example, I've been trying to find a GUI builder that is easy to use for nonprogrammers so I can replace my current WiFi light switches with ESP32 Touchscreens.
Hello Nelson! Well your comment made me chuckle and yes, I do life is too short for a sterile and conformist existence.... :) However, my mischievous side is now plotting, given you've revealed the rules of your game, so don't blame me when the next video is stale and dull for 19 minutes and then has 1 minute with 30 risqué puns in a row sending you all to hospital.... ;)
Great to hear about your micro adventure, good luck de-clouding! And I'll definitely add it to my list (which keeps growing!!)
@@handsonkatie Lol, oh boy! I shall disseminate the news to our little group, there be many preparations to be made. Wine (and grape juice) for the toasting, pearls for the clutching and smelling salts for the occasional nip appearance (or for when one of our friends finally take a close look at your logo) 😁
@@legacyoftheancientsC64c lol
@@legacyoftheancientsC64c > _"... the occasional _*_nip_*_ appearance"_
.
"Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), also known as a Section 1 warning, is a warning issued under Section 1 of the Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988"
😜
"con - *nip* - tion", eh? 😆 You didn't choose that word by accident, right? \* 😉 Oh, how I love puns (intentional or not) and playing with words. Thank you for the amusing comments. 😁
.
\* I was pretty sure you wrote it on purpose, after reading your next reply to Katie in which you say: _"... the occasional _*_nip_*_ appearance"._ LOL 😂
With all of those sensors it would be hard to sneak up behind you to put hands on. I am titillated with excitement to learn more about smart home devices with you. **Sitting up at attention in the back of the class**
trouble shooting chips at the end are great!
brilliant video, a friend gave me a couple of sensors and I did not know where to start. Thanks for this overview, it made life simple for me ;-)
how about sensing people in a room? Can RFID tags be used to identify who is where in your home? That way you could route personal calls, emails, etc. to the proper location in the house. Even provide a person to person intercom within the house.
You can have all different ranges of RFIDs, so yes - this is in fact how companies like amazon track items moving around warehouses and so on. So definitely could be done - more commonly though things like mobiles and smart watches can perform the same result!
Very good video, informative and well presented.
what is these @21:38?
Link is in the description!! 😊
Nice content. Love it. Subscribed!
Can I install multiple sensors in 1 chip?
You definitely can!
that plant screaming for water got me looking through all the other open tabs in my browser, really did not think Katie made sounds like that :P
🤣🤣 Everyone has a zombie mode!!
Thanks for easy videos to watch. 'Cheap' components makes them sound like they will break rather quickly. 'Inexpensive' components makes the parts sound like they aren't made of Chineseium. Even if they are. Again wonderful videos.
Yes! At some point I'll need to deconstruct a bunch of commercial 'premium' devices to show how many simple sensors and chips are in them that are really cheap... or inexpensive ...😉
@@handsonkatie It is amazing how many inexpensive components there are in consumer products. On of the many reasons I got in to electronics. Thanks for your reply.
@@lonpowley...it's almost like they're trying to make money out of you.... 🤣🤣
The fact that you said Doctor Horrible has a Freeze Ray made me subscribe to your channel. That fact alone give you cred :)
Well technically he doesn't, but that was a test to see who gets into the Evil League of Evil.... Bad Horse will be told.... !
Honest question Katie, what is your logo? I’ve been trying to figure it out for a few videos now but I’m not sure…
Also PHENOMENAL video I really love the way you broke this all down, and it made me want to try to more into individual sensors rather than prebuilt solutions!!!!!!! 😌😊☺️
😂 glad you enjoy!! As for the logo, it's become a rorschach test! Is it a log, is it a sewing reel, is it a vinyl roll ..... ☺️
@@handsonkatievery interesting! I always thought your logo looked like my parents fighting. 🤔
Another great video, what was the name/model of the usb cable testing board?
Thanks! Link should be in the description - but for extra ease: amzn.to/3RR5JZL
Tot must have very large hands, according to the Amazon page these are 50x54 *cm* ... 😂
😂😂😂 stone age USB size!
Dr Horrible reference 😂
You just earned 1.000 nerd points. ❤
...be careful, Bad Horse might hear you..... 😉
The hackiest thing I've ever added to my smart home was a DHT22 to see when my refridgerator failed. It had a bad board or something but come back fine if you unplugged it for a few seconds. I hooked a DHT22 into a tasmota flashed 15A smart switch, got them both working in HA, and wrote a script in NodeRED to control the logic. I got another 15 months of life out of that fridge!
This is a great example! Love it! It's also a common thing I hear about that fridges temperature management is a bit ropey, so it'd be quite interesting to see how a temp sensor measures up to the fridge's perceived temperature! Plus how long it takes to re-chill the fridge every time you open it! Endless fun!
What is the device that you used to check the USB cable? Do you have a link? I how that i have been bitten by this in the past 😢
Check the description - link there! 😉
Nice video.
But why use the BME280 when you can do much more with BME680?
but why use a BME680 when you can do so much more with a DS18B20? ;) And on it goes!!
@@handsonkatie Or what i use now the BME688 - uses AI
@@fredericoalmeida5473 Doesn't everything now have an AI badge on it!? 😂 Great spot - hadn't seen that, will have a nosey!
@@handsonkatie Really amazing as you can train it yourself.
awesome video, gorgeous presenter
Thanks for making this type of info so accessible. Unfortunately, I can only watch when my wife is not around. For some reason, you make her jealous.
How refreshing to see a woman nerding out on home automation :D
Have you looked into micro-power sensors from a German company called enOcean? They harvest power from the environment and can transmit their readings to a specialized transceiver. Their generators will derive power kinetically, from light, or from temperature differentials. They also have a wireless remote, powered by an internal piezoelectric generator (i.e. does not require a battery or super capacitor), that sends Bluetooth advertisements upon button press and release. These devices are a little pricey, but the lack of maintenance is priceless.
Ooh very interesting, hadn't spotted them - will have an investigation!! ☺️ These self powering devices are starting to get in range of consumer price points, so will get very interesting soon...!
How do we get a laser sensor so it detects if someone passes by or is standing in the way… and have it work with Home Assistant?
Well you can use a laser - just google things like 'Laser Transmitter Module KY-008', but I think in most cases like yours people tend to use PIRs or ultrasonic sensors - so have a google for them too!
@@handsonkatie Can you make a video explaining how to make it?
It might be good to out it in a mailbox to see if there is something in it or not. Or combine it with a motion sensor to count how many people entered the room and if they have left or not even if there is no movement.
Amazing, entshuasistic and informative video. I am using raspberry pico as it seems to have lower power consumption.
Great solution - pico's are excellent little chips too!
One type of sensor I'd like for ESPHome is an inductive driveway sensor. I've actually got such a sensor buried next to my driveway but it's part of a Dakota Alert setup which is fairly analog and limited. I'd like to see a more modern version which is maybe hybrid solar powered and can signal battery condition as well as vehicle alerts.
Is this for detecting vehicles or anything more? If the former, then could be worth looking at longer range RFID tags as an option...?
@@handsonkatie It's for detecting when any vehicle comes up my driveway, so can't assume there would be a RFID tag on the UPS truck.
@@handsonkatie The bigger picture here - I've currently got a Dakota Alert vehicle probe buried next to my driveway which has a wireless transmitter on a tree nearby. On the receiver side I've got a Simplehomenet (company out of business) receiver which then transmits an Insteon signal. I then have an old Insteon device which I monitor with code I wrote in Java which sends a MQTT notification. My smarthome code gets a MQTT notification of a vehicle in the driveway, requests an image from the camera overlooking the driveway and stores that image for review, but it also sends that image to the Sighthound service which tries to determine the vehicle type/make/model/color and possibly even the license plate. My smarthome code then gets the vehicle specs back and recognizes the vehicle, it then sends notifications to display devices around the house as well as push notifications to my Android phone. All of this is custom stuff I wrote. The Dakota Alert/Simplehomenet/Insteon part is the weak point. I'd like to replace the controller in the tree with something solar/battery powered which can send a digital notification (ideally MQTT) that my smarthome can react to, but also indicate things like a low battery.
Oh I see, so you just want to detect any car - I'd personally take all that out, just install a camera, connect to Home Assistant and use image recognition on that feed to do everything and more. There's lots of approaches, but things like: www.home-assistant.io/integrations/doods/ will let you run image recognition - so it could recognise cars (and number plates etc). It'd also let you train to recognise YOUR car, the postman's car vans vs cars plus you could add anything you want - eg recognise people and take photos of them.
I could do a little how-to video on this in future if helpful.
Well.....once again a stunning performance 👏 🎉 and since watching this, I've made my first esp32 device! PIR, light level, temperature and humidity, and....I've designed up a case to put on my 3D printer (A BCN3D R19, that I made from the ground up off open source plans, even the motherboard) so Im very greatful for your videos. Ive even managed to learn python to flash the esp32 as my HA is core edition so I have to do the flashing outside..... of HA environment lol 😂😊
Once I've printed my case and proved it, I'll put it on my grabcad channel.
Thank you! 😊 And sounds like you're really motoring along now!! Great to hear it's helpful!
Very entertaining, but I am having a few issue, do you do home visits 🙂
🤣🤣 I could make an A-team style van and turn up with five 3d printers, laser cutters and electronics to modernise homes!
where do. you get the b-parasite "sticks"?
Link in description!
Hi Katie ! Great video,very informative and you are such engaging presenter ! Quick question : What hardware are you using for your home Assistant server ?
I use an Raspberry Pi 4 with 8gb ram and an nvme drive for storage (ran it for years with an SD card, but a proper drive is more reliable!)
Thanks a lot !
"Damn Katie, since I watched your first video about Home Assistant, I bought like 100 sensors, 20ish microcontrollers, and a lot of electronics. I still haven't found the right hardware for Home Assistant. I wanted to buy a Raspberry Pi 5; do you think it is overkill for a beginner? Also, I ordered LoRa modules, and I have no clue how to use them, but I will figure it out. (What have you gotten me into? 😄)"
😄😄😄Well you're clearly a convert! Hardware for Home Assistant - I run a Rpi4 and it's super smooth, so a Rpi5 will give you years of future-proofing - I'd probably go with a Rpi 5 anyway as cost wise they're pretty much on par and excellent value for the extra grunt!
You have covered sensing the environment so well, how about actioning the results. Relays, wifi sockets, alexa ? Please :-)
Oh that's a video in it's own right, I've got so many!!! Added to the list!
Thank you for getting me into this. Love your videos. Clear and articulate. Can you recommend housing for these sensors so they look a bit more aesthetic?
Thank you! Oh goodness, there's millions - I usually actually build my own, so I could share a set in future. But if you search on Printables.com, there's loads of options, so you can pick one that suits your style!
@@handsonkatie oh God, I can't get a 3D printer now as well. My wife will kill me!
But they're so lovely..... and a cost-saving.... ;)
@@handsonkatie can you advise on search terms to find some?
I've actually created a page on my site that covers this: handsonkatie.com/recommended-products/ Have a nosey and I'll always keep products that I really like there!
You do make it sound nice and simple. Thank you! Does this rely on having one WiFi network that reaches all parts of your home? I think I may need a zigbee mesh based system to avoid that obstacle.
You can do either approach - I actually use ESP32s as bluetooth extenders and part of a Zigbee mesh!
@@handsonkatieI will give it a go! Thanks for the inspiration!
this is a better version of Paul Hibbert :) thanks for your videos on multiwall, organization, 3d printer selection....
Thank you! I'll never be as good as Paul, but it's a lovely compliment!! I'll keep doing my best!
We love your channel so much Katie. You're such a smart and beautiful creator with really enjoyable content. You are so engaging and entertaining, it actually makes me kinda sad when your videos end. Thanks for the effort you put in. Just whatever you do, keep up what you are doing cos its a winning formula.
Just a note on running ESP32's off a USB battery pack though. In most cases it wont be possible. ESP32's do indeed use a miniscule amount of power and can last weeks on a large battery pack (20-30Ah). Unfortunately most battery packs have a minimum threshold of power usage to stay active past a certian period. An ESP32 doesn't draw enough power from the battery pack to keep it discharging power to the ESP32. There are devices you can get that will prevent this by pulsing a higher current draw from the battery at set intervals to prevent the battery pack from powering off.
But they're not easy to find as it is so niche a problem that usually only tinkerers make them by hand and sell very limited quantities if any at all.
There is an electronic engineering creator on youtube, quite a popular channel actually. He makes them and provides schematics on how to do it. I believe he also sells them on his site as well. But I am sorry to say I cannot think of the channel name off the top of my head. If anyone knows who I'm talking about, can you please post the name of the channel below so people can track him down if they need such a device. I think hes German or Russian. I cant remember. And from memory he does a lot of testing and reviewing of test equipment and oscilloscopes.
Thank you honestgoat! Great comment and yes you're completely right, I was trying to not get too deep into the detail on this to keep it accessible, but there are various challenges and as you say you need to pick your ESP32/battery pack carefully, plus there's usually workarounds but these naturally depend on your use case (eg if outside then a solar panel as a boost charger works great), but probably a video in its own right!
Hands on Katie, Id like that..😂
Jokes aside great video!
Came for the detailed information, stayed for the nerdy jokes!
Great channel, and this is again a great video 👍
I’ve seen some RFID / NFC devices in the beginning of the video.
Will you be doing a video about these to ?
I’m struggling getting them to work in Home Assistant om both Android and iPhone with the same tag.
Also tried NFC-Tools.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks! Regarding RFID tags - I use them all the time, so I can certainly add it to the list!
I have an ESP32 and work with it. Your videos are fun to watch and great information on actually how to do useful things!
How can I measure the temperature of the water coming out of my shower head? Is there an ESP 32 solutions for this? Or is this special kit?
Interesting one, you'd need to Google around but lots of options, eg this would be a simple install in your pipework and show not just temperature but flow rates also: www.digiten.shop/products/digiten-g1-2thread-water-flow-hall-sensor-switch-flowmeter-counter-with-temperature-sensor-female-and-male-thread-1-25l-min
Hi, been watching your very interesting channel for a while.
Can you help!!
You say that we can find out all about Home Assistant on earlier posts but i have looked and cannot find them.
Much appreciate some guidance as to where I might find them
Kind regards
Fan from Suffolk...
Great tips!
There are some nice starter kits available that will provide an ESP-32, various sensors and connectors, instructions on getting started, and a breadboard to easily hook things up for those that want to get started in an easy way.
Incidentally, why would you go to the trouble to soundproof a dungeon only to add a sound sensor? ;D
Great point Chris - I might do a quick video on these kits in future, great way to start.
As for soundproofing, the neighbours complained, so I had to soundproof, but the sensors are to confirm when I need to tighten the rack....
😉
I'm sure this has been pointed out already but Dr Horrible's freeze ray is not an ice beam "that's all Johnny snow" the freeze ray stops time
Also I enjoy your tips on home automation
POINTS TO YOU!!!! 💯💯💯 I thought no one was going to point that out (I'd thought of doing a death ray and an ice beam to be really obvious!)
I appreciated it, it was subtle enough that if you know you know but not hit you over the head obvious.
Just to share, my most recent home automation is to flash a light in my living room when the washer is done and ready to be changed.
You can join my Evil League of Evil any day.... 😉
Topic for some video: It would be nice to add a battery suport. So that we could have ex external temperature sensor with battery level and easy charging.
Yes, that's a nice idea - I've done this (and also solar panels) - one for future!
Really enjoyed this and it's got me asking a couple of questions. Changing Wifi networks/SSID's is a real pain which has led me more towards zigbee, why are you sticking with wifi? Is it reliability or cost?
Are all think links provided amazon as a sponsorship thing? No Aliexpress??
Hey, thanks. ☺️ I use a secrets file that holds my WiFi details, so changing it is one line of code (I have a dedicated IOT ssid network also). That said no particular reason I'm sticking with it, it just works! I've got ZigBee devices too and things like the esp32 C6 support ZigBee for example. Links are just as it's easy, can add others like AliExpress in future!
With use of common.yaml in esphome changing networks in WiFi is dead easy. Put the WiFi details in a common file and push them to all devices with an update all. Now changing zigbee coordinator… that’s a pain! I use both 😀
Edit : sorry @handsonkatie didn’t see your reply saying basically the same!
DS1820B! There on is one temp sensor to rule them alL!
Or the DS18B20 perhaps??? 😉
Sorry for the "Um, actually", but it's such a specific reference, I can't help wondering if this was a deliberate gaff: Dr. Horrible's freeze ray stops time, it is specifically not an Ice Ray (that's all Johnny Snow). The gag is that people keep thinking it's an ice ray because of the name.
You're exactly right and well spotted, only one other person has spotted that!! Consider yourself accepted into the Evil League of Evil! 😈
Nice ❤
The SHT40 is much better for temp.
"It's not a death ray or an ice beam That's all Johnny Snow."
❄️🔫 Points to you!
@@handsonkatieHoly smokes you replied! Hey thank you for this video. It really helped demystify ESP32 boards and how to integrate them.
@@patrickory1 Of course! I'll pass on your kind words to Bad Horse!
Thank you for a brilliant introduction to the ESP ecosystem.
But what's wrong with hours of headbanging? :D
Very true, I should edit to say 'save hours of banging your head, to give you hours more to headbang...'... 😂
🤘🤘😁
Alright, got HA so that's a checkbox, got none of those chips but I am considering, that's why I am here aaaaaand no sensors. Still I'm gonna watch it and leave my opinion and questions. Thank you for your time to make this video.
1. I will have to watch this video multiple times to take a decision, I am building my smart home slowly and very carfelly, if a device exists in my home it means it deserves the attention and is a good spent money. No impulse buying here just because a gadget is appealing in any way.
2. will have to decide if regular network wifi is the communication type i need as the wifi devices i already have in my house are quite a bunch
3. it must be controlled only locally, no batteries, everything must be supported for a very long time
Home automation is somewhat avoided by people exactly because the life span of gadgets are pretty low, companies changing stuff to render your gadegets obsolete.
What you have in your home for a vey long time? This could be subject of a video, including the type of hosting the HA itself. I have tried and gave up so many times till i found the best gear for myself. I could share some info on what and what not.
I will watch all your videos from the first to the latest, cheers.
Captain Disillusion will do a special video on you if you keep up those SFX,
This stuff is like redstone in real life haha
This is the one area that I just can't ever to get to work, have watched numerous tutorials and have never gotten a single ESP Home device to function....HA keeps wanting me to adopt a device????
Do alot of these types of projects. Great video and technical content. Being hot also doesn't hurt :)