Messages

1

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 11, 2015, 06:43:47 PM »

Many devices in North America use 315 MHz.  I think X10 uses 310MHz for some reason.  If you are in Europe you probably won't need 315 MHz because it is not allowed AFAIK.

Yeah I think this explains why I have never seen any 315MHz device.

I'm not sure about 2.4 GHz  I've never tried to do anything with it on Arduino.

I don't know what kind of 2.4GHz protocol are using these lights. I ordered one such ceiling light from China but it hasn't arrived yet. When it comes, I'll tear down the driver to try to find out what it uses. The one 2.4GHz product I know which is actively used on Arduinos is the NRF24L01 module. They are very cheap and I suspect these lights might be using it. Otherwise, there is another option to buy an extra remote controller, tear it down and "push" its buttons by an Arduino...

2

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 11, 2015, 06:24:45 PM »

@Vahegan: without getting into the war of Linux vs windows, I tend to disagree... Windows Power corporates of 1000s of PCs ... Data centres ...etc. That sound pretty reliable to me ... On a personal level, I am running VC on Windows 7 installed on a Mac mini 2006 ... They only down time is to install updates ... 24/24 7/7 ... And is very very reliable... I always say that windows is as good as the hardware it runs on.

Well, not willing to engage in war either, and this is a little offtopick, but, I was a PC user from DOS times. I went through all the versions, including the most stable NT4, and through up to Win7 (also not bad), and then switched to MacOS. I am now running MacOS on windows PCs - exactly the contrary to what you are doing. And, using the same hardware, I had to restart Windows once every few days, whereas on MacOS I can go without a restart for months. Even now, if something goes wrong, its usually the few windows applications running on a virtual machine...

As for interface ... Many apps since iPhone 3 are merely webpages ... Well designed ....
Another solution I am using and is magical ... Pythonista. You can make great interfaces easily. As well it gives iOS means to communicate with VC ... The only downside ... One have to open pythonista then load the desired "app" ... Couldn't find a way to make direct shortcuts

As for web - you can't use sliders on a touch screen as they are intuitively meant for, you can only tap on them - this is enough of a downside to forget the web interface for any controls other that those used once in a month...

Pythonista - I assume, this is Python programming on iOS. Don't know how reliable it is going to be. Needs to give it a try...

I have been following Orvibo before I discovered broadlink... They are pretty much the same ... But it would be a shame to loose RF ... Lots of window coverings & LED lighting use RF ...

Well, it does have 433MHz, its only missing 315MHz transmitter. Frankly, I don't know which devices use this frequency. I am concerned with using my Livolo switches, which are 433MHz. They also have curtain switches, BTW.
And, both Orvibo and Broadlink lack the 2.4GHz control - most of LED lights are now using this frequency. This is yet another reason to make an arduino-based remote controller device...   

3

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 10, 2015, 06:01:32 PM »

Personally I think it makes more sense to do it through VoxCommando but only if you are already committed to have a PC running all the time (or at least all the time you are home and awake).

Well, VC runs on Windows and I personally wouldn't like to trust this operating system too much.

As I see the home automation system concept, there must be a central server which will execute the commands, take control decisions based on the information from various sensors and human instructions from various interfaces. This must be a very reliable device - it can be either a PC running linux/unix, or a state-machine microcontroller device.

Then, the control interfaces for the server - these can be based on different platforms. A windows PC with VC (in my case, this is Pipo X7 - a small and inexpensive box running Windows 8.1) - specifically for voice control. Other interfaces could be mobile phones (especially good when voice control is out of reach), tablets, PCs, or any other smart devices communicating with the server. The server, in turn can control various devices by either sending to them commands directly via the network, or through a bridge device similar to RM Pro/Orvibo or an Arduino device with the same functionality.   

The only drawback is that iRule is a bit overpriced (IMO) and kind of unpleasant to work with.  But the possibilities with it are quite good.  There are other options than iRule too, and probably some decent free ones.

Thank you, I need to read some more about this. Looks quite good, although the builder part is indeed a little bit overpriced. But can invest in this, if it will do the job.

4

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 10, 2015, 04:17:39 PM »

We already have some of those modules here and Kalle is probably going to start tinkering with it today. I really hope we can come up with a wifi based version

Hi Dave, that is cool to hear. So we are thinking in the same way, but I am only thinking yet, and you are already doing this!

@dave, I think Vahegan meant control the blaster directly through wifi from iOS.. so the missing part is iPhone app ... on a second thought, your idea would work, from iOS to VC through web api..and VC to blaster ... not very elegant ... but works. on a third thought  that means a udp server on arduino (not sure how practical that with memory limitation) can receive calls directly from iOS

Yeah, that's what I meant. And writing an iOS app is not an easy thing, need to register with Apple (they charge $200/year if I am not wrong) and write the code on a mac. And I think they need to approve that application, or otherwise it cannot be installed on an unjailbroken device (unless it is registered with a developer account). This is one big con against going the arduino way. Of course we can have a web server on the arduino and control the blaster from a browser on the phone (is this what you meant in your earlier post, Haddood?), but that's not going to be too convenient, I am afraid. As for memory limitation on an Arduino - I don't think that's going to be a problem. It doesn't have to be the nanos, we can use Mega2560 or even DUE, should we need to. Chinese clones are very cheap now, you can get a DUE for as little as $15 on Aliexpress. But I still believe that operating the controls by web interface on a gadget is very inconvenient: screen resolutions are different depending on the gadget, and on some screens the interface will be too small, on others you will have to scroll to access all buttons. Also, you will not be able to move any sliders by sliding, only by tapping. A native application is way more convenient for such things.

One more way is the Orvibo Allone, which is basically the same thing as Broadlink RM Pro. Officially, they don't have a PC application as well, but some people hacked it for use with Blocks Ninja. And then, this other guy used their hack and after some work with wireshark was able to write a PC software to control Orvibo. So we can use Orvibo (it is even slightly cheaper than RM Pro, but lacks the 315MHz interface - no big deal). In the mean time, am almost sure that RM  Pro is using the same approach to software so I think that, after some playing with wireshark, this guy's software can be modified to work with RM Pro.

5

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 08, 2015, 06:41:53 PM »

I'm not sure if you've been following Dave and Kalle's progress developing an Arduino RF/IR blaster integrated to work with VoxCommando via an Arduino gateway/bridge. http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=1921.msg19356#msg19356

Yeah, thanks for pointing me there, this looks similar to what I had in mind. I was also thinking that the arduino-based IR/RF control unit could be hooked up to WiFi (using cheap esp8266 modules), so that not only the PC with VoxCommando, but also other control servers on the network can send commands to it. 

... In terms of working with an Android device, I guess it depends what you mean. The VoxWav Android app allows both voice and touch control of VoxCommando commands, so in that sense one would have Android control over RF and IR.

Well, I am using iOS-based gadgets therefore I am afraid this app is of no use to me. I was only considering to buy an android device solely as a bridge between the PC and RM Pro, but as I said, I believe this to be an ugly solution having to send all the commands through a java-based device.

6

Integration Ideas / Re: Broadlink pro with RF

« on: July 08, 2015, 01:56:16 PM »

Here, this guy has a solution. But its an ugly solution: requires an android device (a cheap set-top box) with e-control, as a bridge, and then his software will control the android device to control RM PRO. Kind of, too complicated, therefore not too reliable.

I can see two approaches to this:

1. To use wireshark, as it was suggested, to analyze the packets sent to RM Pro and, based on this, to write a PC software that will send such packets.
Cons: may require quite a lot of time and effort

2. To build an Arduino-based device with the same functionality as RM-pro. This can be even cheaper than RM Pro and, using ready-made libraries for RC-2 and 433MHz RF modules, might require even less effort than method #1.
Cons: This will only be controllable from PC or from any browser, there will be no native application for iOS/Android, unless someone is willing to develop one.

I feel more inclined and interested in method #2, but I am not sure I will find time in the near future