Category Archives: IOT / Domoticz

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Domoticz + NodeRed + HomeAssistant MQTT

UPDATE 20240122 : below

I’ve got my RFXCOM connected to my Domoticz, and not connected to my HA.

RFXCOM 433 Mhz

To have the changes of my IOT devices being known to HomeAssistant I wanted to use mqtt.

Domoticz writes the mqtt topic (payload) like this
(topic: domoticz/out)

{
	"Battery" : 100,
	"LastUpdate" : "2022-11-17 18:21:59",
	"RSSI" : 6,
	"description" : "",
	"dtype" : "Temp + Humidity",
	"hwid" : "4",
	"id" : "230E",
	"idx" : 8461,
	"name" : "Living Temp/Hum",
	"nvalue" : 0,
	"stype" : "Cresta, TFA TS34C",
	"svalue1" : "20.0",
	"svalue2" : "60",
	"svalue3" : "1",
	"unit" : 1
}

So you can’t see which device it is by the topic name, the idx is in the json (8461)

To get this device ( a temperature sensor) into HA using mqtt i rewrote the mqtt topic using NodeRed

Temperature Humidity Sensor

NodeRed flow

[
    {
        "id": "836cc419ddb2ca2b",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "domoticz/out/#",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto-detect",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 200,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": [
            [
                "dbe628e18027a287"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "a6cb517fd1cc9987",
        "type": "mqtt out",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "",
        "qos": "",
        "retain": "",
        "respTopic": "",
        "contentType": "",
        "userProps": "",
        "correl": "",
        "expiry": "",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "x": 870,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": []
    },
    {
        "id": "dbe628e18027a287",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "MQTT REWRITE",
        "func": "var varidx = msg.payload.idx;\nmsg.topic = \"home/\"+varidx+\"/payload\";\nreturn msg;\n",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 570,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": [
            [
                "a6cb517fd1cc9987"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "type": "mqtt-broker",
        "name": "MQTTSERVERIP",
        "broker": "MQTTSERVERIP",
        "port": "1883",
        "clientid": "",
        "usetls": false,
        "compatmode": true,
        "keepalive": "15",
        "cleansession": true,
        "birthTopic": "",
        "birthQos": "0",
        "birthPayload": "",
        "closeTopic": "",
        "closePayload": "",
        "willTopic": "",
        "willQos": "0",
        "willPayload": ""
    }
]

The function node code ( rewrites the mqtt topic)

var varidx = msg.payload.idx;
msg.topic = "home/"+varidx+"/payload";
return msg;

Now we have a idx separated payload “home/IDX/payload”
(The other entries svalue/nvalue are from testing.

Adding the MQTT entries to HomeAssistant configuration.conf

mqtt:
 sensor:
  - name: "LivingTemperature"
    state_topic: "home/8461/payload"
    unit_of_measurement: "°C"
    value_template: "{{ value_json.svalue1 }}"
  - name: "LivingHumidity"
    state_topic: "home/8461/payload"
    unit_of_measurement: "%"
    value_template: "{{ value_json.svalue2 }}"

Now i can add the card to the dashboard.

This should now be a generic mqtt translator

A quick update:

Adding a motion sensor:

Home Assistant
  - name: "LivingMotion"
    state_topic: "home/45/payload"
    value_template: "{{ value_json.nvalue }}"

Add sensors to be reset to the switch node

[
    {
        "id": "836cc419ddb2ca2b",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "domoticz/out/#",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto-detect",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 200,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": [
            [
                "dbe628e18027a287",
                "768bb6e4b6731436"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "a6cb517fd1cc9987",
        "type": "mqtt out",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "",
        "qos": "",
        "retain": "",
        "respTopic": "",
        "contentType": "",
        "userProps": "",
        "correl": "",
        "expiry": "",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "x": 870,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": []
    },
    {
        "id": "dbe628e18027a287",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "MQTT REWRITE",
        "func": "var varidx = msg.payload.idx;\nmsg.topic = \"home/\"+varidx+\"/payload\";\nreturn msg;\n",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 570,
        "y": 140,
        "wires": [
            [
                "a6cb517fd1cc9987"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "768bb6e4b6731436",
        "type": "switch",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "property": "payload.idx",
        "propertyType": "msg",
        "rules": [
            {
                "t": "eq",
                "v": "45",
                "vt": "str"
            }
        ],
        "checkall": "true",
        "repair": false,
        "outputs": 1,
        "x": 330,
        "y": 260,
        "wires": [
            [
                "e46fed76a596a719"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "e46fed76a596a719",
        "type": "delay",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "",
        "pauseType": "delay",
        "timeout": "5",
        "timeoutUnits": "seconds",
        "rate": "1",
        "nbRateUnits": "1",
        "rateUnits": "second",
        "randomFirst": "1",
        "randomLast": "5",
        "randomUnits": "seconds",
        "drop": false,
        "allowrate": false,
        "outputs": 1,
        "x": 500,
        "y": 260,
        "wires": [
            [
                "3f7eeffc8d066de3"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "3f7eeffc8d066de3",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "cfb00976f06591d6",
        "name": "nvalue 0",
        "func": "msg.payload.nvalue = 0;\nreturn msg;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 700,
        "y": 260,
        "wires": [
            [
                "dbe628e18027a287"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "type": "mqtt-broker",
        "name": "MQTTIP",
        "broker": "MQTTIP",
        "port": "1883",
        "clientid": "",
        "usetls": false,
        "compatmode": true,
        "keepalive": "15",
        "cleansession": true,
        "birthTopic": "",
        "birthQos": "0",
        "birthPayload": "",
        "closeTopic": "",
        "closePayload": "",
        "willTopic": "",
        "willQos": "0",
        "willPayload": ""
    }
]

UPDATE 20240122

I’m using domoticz as a 433->mqtt bridge, and some virtual devices i can toggle with curl (bash scripts)

I needed to make a custom 433 door sensor in Home Assistant with toggles to OFF after a few seconds. (There is NO off signal in this cheap sensor i’m using)

I’m changing the payload complete, to have a payload which matches the device class for door: (state with on/off)
It was nvalue = 0/1

(Whenever the IDX changes, I only have to update this Nodered part)
HA won’t notice the change.

var nvalue = msg.payload.nvalue;
msg.payload = {};
if(nvalue == 1)
{
msg.payload.state = "ON";
return msg;
} 

AND after 5 seconds

msg.payload = {};
msg.payload.state = "OFF";
return msg;


Node-RED Deploy
Export nodes
Export
[
    {
        "id": "d8a1af40d14307a9",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "a8ec6104.cb08c",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "home/35/payload",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto-detect",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 220,
        "y": 720,
        "wires": [
            [
                "ac3f66d770bb8f56"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "31cb1ca9e4060710",
        "type": "delay",
        "z": "a8ec6104.cb08c",
        "name": "",
        "pauseType": "delay",
        "timeout": "5",
        "timeoutUnits": "seconds",
        "rate": "1",
        "nbRateUnits": "1",
        "rateUnits": "second",
        "randomFirst": "1",
        "randomLast": "5",
        "randomUnits": "seconds",
        "drop": false,
        "allowrate": false,
        "outputs": 1,
        "x": 660,
        "y": 760,
        "wires": [
            [
                "dbf50e2146f5e631"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "96d60ca0976c555c",
        "type": "mqtt out",
        "z": "a8ec6104.cb08c",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "home/frontdoor/payload",
        "qos": "",
        "retain": "",
        "respTopic": "",
        "contentType": "",
        "userProps": "",
        "correl": "",
        "expiry": "",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "x": 1010,
        "y": 720,
        "wires": []
    },
    {
        "id": "ac3f66d770bb8f56",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "a8ec6104.cb08c",
        "name": "If open",
        "func": "var nvalue = msg.payload.nvalue;\nmsg.payload = {};\nif(nvalue == 1)\n{\nmsg.payload.state = \"ON\";\nreturn msg;\n} \n",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 490,
        "y": 720,
        "wires": [
            [
                "31cb1ca9e4060710",
                "96d60ca0976c555c"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "dbf50e2146f5e631",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "a8ec6104.cb08c",
        "name": "Send Close",
        "func": "msg.payload = {};\nmsg.payload.state = \"OFF\";\nreturn msg;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 810,
        "y": 760,
        "wires": [
            [
                "96d60ca0976c555c"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "type": "mqtt-broker",
        "name": "MQTTSERVER",
        "broker": "MQTTSERVER",
        "port": "1883",
        "clientid": "",
        "usetls": false,
        "compatmode": true,
        "keepalive": "15",
        "cleansession": true,
        "birthTopic": "",
        "birthQos": "0",
        "birthPayload": "",
        "closeTopic": "",
        "closePayload": "",
        "willTopic": "",
        "willQos": "0",
        "willPayload": ""
    }
]

HA Part : Instead of the generic setup above (Old post part)

mqtt:
 binary_sensor:
  - name: "FrontDoor"
    state_topic: "home/frontdoor/payload"
    value_template: "{{ value_json.state }}"
    device_class: door
IOT / Domoticz

Radar module RCWL-0516 with MQTT

RCWL-0516 module (radar)

Last year i was playing with this radar module also, but today i made a version with MQTT and a linux client.
(There is a project on the internet which uses a HC-SR04, and a arduino connected to the Laptop. This setup is more sensitive and no need for a usb thinghy.)

HC-SR04 module (ultrasound)

Last years version, using a micro transformer and a ESP-12

When using MQTT i can integrate this in HomeAssistant, Domoticz, NodeRed and more.
But i’ve written a python script which runs on my Laptop.
For example i can: Kill vlc, change to my work desktop, stop sound output and lock the screen. (everything you can script)

I wanted to have a “mobile” version of the sensor so i can place it anywhere. (Frontdoor, gardengate, candydrawer 🙂 )

These modules are very cheap, but do their job well!

I’ve used a Wroom ESP32 and a BattBorg together with the module, that’s it.

Simplified schematic (without the battborg)

I’m using PIN34 as an analog input.

Radar module pins:

  • CDS not used
  • VIN 5V power
  • OUT 0-3.3V signal (analog)
  • GND
  • 3v3 not used

Arduino sketch

#include <WiFi.h>
#include <PubSubClient.h>
#include <Wire.h>

const char* ssid = "MYSSID";
const char* password = "MYPASS";
const char* mqtt_server = "IP-MQTT-SERVER";
const char* mqtt_username = "";
const char* mqtt_password = "";
const char* clientID = "radar";

const int tiltPin = 34;
int tiltState = 0;    
int previousState = 0;   

WiFiClient espClient;

PubSubClient client(espClient);

String translateEncryptionType(wifi_auth_mode_t encryptionType) {
 
  switch (encryptionType) {
    case (WIFI_AUTH_OPEN):
      return "Open";
    case (WIFI_AUTH_WEP):
      return "WEP";
    case (WIFI_AUTH_WPA_PSK):
      return "WPA_PSK";
    case (WIFI_AUTH_WPA2_PSK):
      return "WPA2_PSK";
    case (WIFI_AUTH_WPA_WPA2_PSK):
      return "WPA_WPA2_PSK";
    case (WIFI_AUTH_WPA2_ENTERPRISE):
      return "WPA2_ENTERPRISE";
  }
}
 
void scanNetworks() {
   int numberOfNetworks = WiFi.scanNetworks();
   Serial.print("Number of networks found: ");
  Serial.println(numberOfNetworks);
   for (int i = 0; i < numberOfNetworks; i++) {
 
    Serial.print("Network name: ");
    Serial.println(WiFi.SSID(i));
 
    Serial.print("Signal strength: ");
    Serial.println(WiFi.RSSI(i));
 
    Serial.print("MAC address: ");
    Serial.println(WiFi.BSSIDstr(i));
 
    Serial.print("Encryption type: ");
    String encryptionTypeDescription = translateEncryptionType(WiFi.encryptionType(i));
    Serial.println(encryptionTypeDescription);
    Serial.println("-----------------------");
 
  }
}
 
void connectToNetwork() {
  WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
   while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
    delay(1000);
    Serial.println("Establishing connection to WiFi..");
  }
   Serial.println("Connected to network");
 }

void reconnect() {
  while (!client.connected()) {
    if (client.connect(clientID, mqtt_username, mqtt_password)) {
    } else {
      delay(2000);
    }
  }
}
void setup()
{
  {
    Serial.begin(115200);
    scanNetworks();
    connectToNetwork();
    Serial.println(WiFi.macAddress());
    Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
    client.setServer(mqtt_server, 1883);
    pinMode(tiltPin, INPUT);
  }
}
void loop() {
  tiltState = analogRead(tiltPin);
    if (tiltState < 3048) {
      client.publish("radar/state", "0"); //
    } else {
      client.publish("radar/state", "1"); //
    }
     delay(100);
   {
    if (!client.connected()) {
      reconnect();
    }
    client.loop();
  }
}

Lockscreen!

Below shows the speed of detection, and sending though the network

Python script which does a lock-screen using XDOTOOL

from paho.mqtt import client as mqtt_client
import subprocess
import time

broker = 'MQTT-SERVER'
port = 1883
topic = "radar/state"
client_id = "radarclient"

def connect_mqtt() -> mqtt_client:
    def on_connect(client, userdata, flags, rc):
        if rc == 0:
            print("Connected to MQTT Broker!")
        else:
            print("Failed to connect, return code %d\n", rc)

    client = mqtt_client.Client(client_id)
    client.on_connect = on_connect
    client.connect(broker, port)
    return client

def subscribe(client: mqtt_client):
    def on_message(client, userdata, msg):
        state = msg.payload.decode()
        print (state)
        if state == "1":
            subprocess.Popen(["xdotool","key","Super_L+l"])
            time.sleep(30)


    client.subscribe(topic)
    client.on_message = on_message

def run():
    client = connect_mqtt()
    subscribe(client)
    client.loop_forever()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    run()

change
subprocess.Popen([“xdotool”,”key”,”Super_L+l”])
into
subprocess.Popen([“switchdesktop”])
to run a script named switchdesktop

#!/bin/bash
# This is the switchdesktop script, it goes to the next screen using winows-page-down combo
xdotool key "Super_L+Page_Down"

Todo:

3D print a case
Make a version which becomes a Access Point.
Then make another arduino setup which controls my Nikon.
So it can act like a wildcam (offline)

Something like below, using a optocoupler ( i still got some leftovers from my doorbell to gpio-pin project.)

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Home Assistant/NodeRed update

Upgraded the 2nd (Main) nodered machine to 3.0
Now the node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket nodes work again.

Also updated HA, and added some iframes using below.
The HA update broke my mqtt lighting due to changes in the code.

Below also in the example some iframe entries.
( When adding grafana, you need to change grafana.ini

allow_embedding = true

mqtt:
 broker: mqttbrokerserver <--- still errors on this part, 
 discovery: true   <--- but where to configure?
 light:                             <--- Moved this under mqtt
  - name: "KitchenOutside"          <--- added a dash
    payload_on: "99"
    payload_off: "0"
    unique_id: "KitchenOutside"
    brightness_scale: "99"
    brightness_state_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    brightness_command_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    state_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    command_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/control
    optimistic: false
    on_command_type: brightness

panel_iframe:                     <--- iframes added
  nodered:
    title: "NodeRed"
    url: "http://noderedserver:1880/"
    icon: si:nodered
    require_admin: true
  domoticz:
    title: "Domoticz"
    url: "http://domoticzserver:8080/"
    icon: si:homeadvisor
    require_admin: true
    
influxdb:
    host: influxserver
    port: 8086
    database: homeassistant
    max_retries: 3
    default_measurement: state <--- changed this

HomeAssistant add long-lived access token:

  • Click you profile icon bottom right
  • Scroll all the way down and press create token

Node-red

Add a HA node to a flow, double click and add a server with the little pencil

Base URL is important, you can’t just add http://internalip:port
Use a the URL configured in HA (config/network)

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Home Assistant and 433 Dimmers

Getting 433Mhz dimmers working under HA is a pain in the *ss.

After moving my Rfxcom from domoticz to HA, there was still no good way to add dimmers.
I’ve tried adding switches and migrating them to lights, but it didn’t work.

So i took another approach.

Domoticz has a good 433 to mqtt plugin. So i used NodeRed to talk to HA and Domoticz via MQTT.

Rfxcom 433Mhz

Domoticz

MQTT gateway setup

Home Assistant

/config/configuration.yaml

light:    
  - platform: mqtt
    name: "KitchenOutside"
    payload_on: "99"
    payload_off: "0"
    unique_id: "KitchenOutside"
    brightness_scale: "99"
    brightness_state_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    brightness_command_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    state_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol
    command_topic: ha433/kitchenoutside/control
    optimistic: false
    on_command_type: brightness
  - platform: mqtt
    name: "Living5Spots"
    payload_on: "30"
    payload_off: "0"
    unique_id: "Living5Spots"
    brightness_scale: "30"
    brightness_state_topic: ha433/Living5Spots/brightcontrol
    brightness_command_topic: ha433/Living5Spots/brightcontrol
    state_topic: ha433/Living5Spots/brightcontrol
    command_topic: ha433/Living5Spots/control
    optimistic: false
    on_command_type: brightness

Node Red

Flow

Node-RED Deploy
Search flows
Node	
"d4aab6722750908c"
Type	function
show more 
Export nodes
Export
[
    {
        "id": "31dba0859e04acb4",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "a49c5bcd66c12a46",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "ha433/kitchenoutside/brightcontrol",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 330,
        "y": 160,
        "wires": [
            [
                "e2501f2b6e2ab43d"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "e2501f2b6e2ab43d",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "a49c5bcd66c12a46",
        "name": "Dimmer function",
        "func": "var idx = 9735;\nvar bright = msg.payload;\nmsg.payload = {};\nmsg.payload = {\"command\": \"switchlight\", \"idx\": idx, \"switchcmd\": \"Set Level\", \"level\": bright};\nreturn msg;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 690,
        "y": 160,
        "wires": [
            [
                "5f0314b0950d24c0"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "5f0314b0950d24c0",
        "type": "mqtt out",
        "z": "a49c5bcd66c12a46",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "domoticz2/in",
        "qos": "",
        "retain": "",
        "respTopic": "",
        "contentType": "",
        "userProps": "",
        "correl": "",
        "expiry": "",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "x": 970,
        "y": 160,
        "wires": []
    },
    {
        "id": "95eb4d0ed97fdefb",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "a49c5bcd66c12a46",
        "name": "",
        "topic": "ha433/kitchenoutside/control",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto",
        "broker": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 320,
        "y": 220,
        "wires": [
            [
                "d4aab6722750908c"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "d4aab6722750908c",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "a49c5bcd66c12a46",
        "name": "Off function",
        "func": "var idx = 9735;\nvar bright = 0;\nmsg.payload = {};\nmsg.payload = {\"command\": \"switchlight\", \"idx\": idx, \"switchcmd\": \"Set Level\", \"level\": bright};\nreturn msg;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 670,
        "y": 220,
        "wires": [
            [
                "5f0314b0950d24c0"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "8c74c5f6.9a7a48",
        "type": "mqtt-broker",
        "name": "mqttserver",
        "broker": "mqttserver",
        "port": "1883",
        "clientid": "",
        "usetls": false,
        "compatmode": true,
        "keepalive": "15",
        "cleansession": true,
        "birthTopic": "",
        "birthQos": "0",
        "birthPayload": "",
        "closeTopic": "",
        "closePayload": "",
        "willTopic": "",
        "willQos": "0",
        "willPayload": ""
    }
]
Mqtt Broker output

So …. this works, and i have now a generic mqtt “router”

Update: Below works now

Computer, Hobby, IOT / Domoticz, Tech

Not much new

Last days .. welllll doing al kinds of stuff.

Composite video print designed and ordered from china.

Changed some vlans in my network.
I need to think of a way to extract/migrate domoticz 433 info into a new instance.
For example .. i’ve got some instances in my device list which are only being controlled by domoticz, there is no remote i can reuse.

Tried welding again, because i could not do it for a long time, i noticed i have to practice again after 2 years.
(I’ve got a dedicated power outlet outside now .. 🙂

Last 8mm films work done. (Converted all of my dad’s old 8mm reels)

Designed a hidden remote cabinet, holding remotes out of sight for the occasions when automation doesn’t work.

Designed also a wooden wall with hidden cabinets in our bedroom.

Repaired a Gardena Leafblower .. again!

IOT / Domoticz

Shelly Flood Sensor

I’ve had this Shelly sensor for a long time. But never posted anything about this.
Last weekend we had a -situation- in our kitchen, so what better time to test this device again!

This little disc shaped device has three metal points on its bottom side, those are the flood (water) sensors.
It stay’s in sleep mode when all’s good.
It does several things when it detects water.

  • Emits a alarm signal
  • Wakes-up wifi
    • Sends a MQTT message (when not connected to the cloud like i have)
      MQTT is a alarm message AND it wil send the temperature of the device!
  • After a while (when dry) goes back to sleep

There are connection point on the print you can use .. happy hacking!

My node-red configuration

Above is the part where the mqtt messages gets processed by Node-Red
Sending it to PushOver and my little MqttLcdNotifier

Above is the MqttLcdNotifer .. there are several parts to this

  • Top line is from shelly flood and other notifications
  • Text input puts text from the NR GUI on my TV and the LCDDisplay
    • same parts are being used by my 3D printer when the print tool is getting TO hot, or printing is finished
  • Trigger at work WAS a notification for work .. nonfunc
  • mqttlcd-button is the mqtt message send from the display (the one that i was pushing) to stop the beeping and clears the display
  • Bash notify, is as previously posted a flow which i can control from my linux machines notify “compiling complete” for example.
    This is also being broadcast from my livingroom using speakers.
    (See separate post about this)

Wellll, put this in place 2 years ago, never looked at it again .. still works

Volume is low, due to alarm sounds 🙂
Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Raspberry and SSD

I had a crash recently on one of my raspberry-pi’s ..
SDcard failure, they are not made for a lot of write actions.
In the past i’ve changed some images to read only and with a r/w overlay.
Also tmp filesystems in memory .. all not ideal.

So i’ve started to make every RPi ssd bootable.

I’ve got several ssd already from other projects.
Sata to USB adaptors are cheap, only a few euro’s.

Steps to take:

  • Download Raspberry Pi Imager tool
  • Choose OS > Misc Utility Images > Bootloader > USB Boot
  • Select storage and write to a temporary sd-card (Not needed any more after flashing for normal operations)
  • Boot USB with this Micro-SDcard .. i didn’t have a screen connected .. So i just waited a few minutes
  • While i was waiting i wrote a OS image to the SSD using the same imager tool
  • Choose OS > select sata/ssd drive
  • Change options (cog), enable ssh, choose hostname and set password
  • Write to drive
  • Remove sdcard from RPi attach ssd/sata and boot

My 3D printed sdcard case, luckily there was still one in there (32GB kindda big, but it was only for temporary use .. 16GB was broken ..

So .. without attaching a screen or keyboard, just a network cable. I have a running OS on a RPi from SSD

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Energy bill and ledserver

Having a lot of devices and running a Lab wil use a lot of energy. Now with the energy crisis in Europe, i had to take a closer look at whats using power in my house.

I notished some weird usage patterns while measuring.

I’m using a few shelly power plugs, to measure devices and powerstrips.

With these devices you can control devices connected to it.
On/Off/Timer etcetera.
It wil measure the power usage in watts, and it even got a temperature sensor.
I like the fact that it perfectly integrates into your home automation using an extensive API.
curl commands to controll, and even MQTT messaging. Intergrating in Home Assistant is a breeze.

So i was monitoring a bunch of stuff using Nodered/Grafana/Homeassistant and saw some recurring usage.
But being always late to check things, i made use of my ledserver i’ve build a long time ago.

This ledserver consists of a Raspberry Pi Zero, with a led string and a API written in python.

Below is autostarted on the Raspberry

( I made this ledserver for work, it showed the status of servers and services. Beside that every colleage had a range which he could use for his own scripts. I made some little bash script templates to have led funtions standard in your bash profile.

#!/usr/bin/python


# apt-get install python-flask
#

import Adafruit_WS2801
import Adafruit_GPIO.SPI as SPI
import struct

from flask import Flask, render_template, request
app = Flask(__name__)

PIXEL_COUNT = 32
SPI_PORT   = 0
SPI_DEVICE = 0

pixels = Adafruit_WS2801.WS2801Pixels(PIXEL_COUNT, spi=SPI.SpiDev(SPI_PORT, SPI_DEVICE))

pixels.clear()
pixels.show()

@app.route("/led/<deviceName>/<color>")
def action(deviceName, color):
        if deviceName == 'reset':
                print ("reset")
                pixels.clear()
        print (deviceName)
        led = int(deviceName)
        s = color
        r = int(s[ :2], 16)
        b = int(s[2:4], 16)
        g = int(s[4: ], 16)

        pixels.set_pixel_rgb(led, r,g,b)
        pixels.show()

        templateData = {
                'rled'  : r,
                'bled'  : b,
                'gled'  : g,
                'deviceName'  : deviceName,
        }
        return render_template('index.html', **templateData)

@app.route("/control/<controlcommand>")
def actioncommand(controlcommand):
        if controlcommand == 'clear':

                print("clear")
                pixels.clear()
                pixels.show()

        templateData = {
                'controlcommand'  : controlcommand,
        }
        return render_template('index.html', **templateData)

@app.route("/range/<start>/<stop>/<color>")
def rangecommand(start,stop,color):
        s = color
        r = int(s[ :2], 16)
        b = int(s[2:4], 16)
        g = int(s[4: ], 16)
        startled = int(start)
        stopled = int(stop)
        while (startled < stopled):
          pixels.set_pixel_rgb(startled, r,g,b)
          startled=startled + 1
        pixels.show()

        templateData = {
                'rangecommand'  : rangecommand,
        }


        return render_template('index.html', **templateData)



if __name__ == "__main__":
   app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=8080, debug=True)

Now you can control the leds with a simple curl command:

curl http://ledserver:8080/range/startled/endled/colorinrgb
curl http://ledserver:8080/led/lednumber/colorinrgb
curl http://ledserver:8080/control/clear

So today i made a little script to show power usage.

I’m reading the current power usage from a LS120 Youless

Youless LS120 device, which you can connect to your P1 connector.

With below bash script i’m reading the webinterface and update the ledstring.
I was using this ledserver for general notification usage. Below a 2 minute hack ..

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
number=$(echo $(curl -s http://youlessip/a | grep Watt | head -1 | awk '{ print $1 }') / 100  | bc)
curl -s http://ledserver:8080/control/clear
curl -s http://ledserver:8080/range/00/$number/010101
sleep 10
done
Using 9 leds = 9xx watt

IOT / Domoticz

Homewizard Watermeter

Today i got my watermeter in.

It’s a little device you can place on your watermeter.

You get a plastic clip/holder which you can use to place the device on your watermeter. You can easily remove the device to read the values.

The device measures the little round gauge, so it has no idea what the current values are. Add the current values of your meter to the output of the device.

The device works by measuring the rotation of the red part.

By default it sends the information over the internet to a server. Your phone connects to this server and the app wil give you the graphs.

If you want your own intergration, you have to enable “local api”
See image on the right.
When you want realtime data, you have to connect a usb-c power supply.
When using batteries, the device wil only connect to wifi once per 5 minutes, and you can’t use the API.

I wrote a little test script in bash to draw graphs using mqtt and Nodered.

#!/bin/bash
calib=29.621
data=$(curl -s http://10.1.1.176/api/v1/data)
totalwater=$(echo $data | cut -f9 -d\" | tr -d ':,')
currentwater=$(echo $data | cut -f11 -d\" | tr -d ':,}')
totalwater=$( echo $totalwater + $calib | bc)
mosquitto_pub -h 127.0.0.1 -m "$totalwater" -t watermeter/total
mosquitto_pub -h 127.0.0.1 -m "$currentwater" -t watermeter/current

Variable calib is what my watermeter was when i attached the device.
It wil add this to the newly measured values.

Home Assistant found the device using autodiscovery

I have to look into adjusting for offset in HA

Computer, IOT / Domoticz

Android and devices in your neighbourhood

When i play around with Arduino’s which i have flashed and start with their own access points. It’s sometimes not clear which remote IP is connected.

Applications like Tasmota,Wled and Easyesp startup with their own Access Point, which you can use to connect to and configure them to your real accesspoint.
So you connect to this temporary AP, and want to remote access it with your phone’s browser. Not all apps (certainly not my apps) have a captive portal. Most won’t .. Which ip to use to connect?

Install JuiceSSH of you don’t have it .. it’s a must have really

Select quick connect – local device

Enter command “ip neigh”, It wil show devices connected to your android phone or which where broadcasting in your network-neighbourhood

Most of the times it also your default gw .. which can be found in settings. But above gives you more information.