My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:08 am

PROJECT TITAN HUMIDITY & TEMPERATURE - OLD SCHOOL VS NEW SCHOOL:
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:19 am

PROJECT TITAN - VOICE ANNOUNCEMENTS:
An amazing project that I had mostly shelved due to - too many complexities in its deployment was rebooted because of a great person which I will call out below.

There had been a on going thread in another forum about different types of voice / speech applications which might offer the end user a solution. Sadly, lots of the different options either required lots of programming skills, expansive hardware, to various cloud hosted services. :|

None of the above options were for me and thus I almost gave up again too. :cry:

This week end a UDI forum member by the named of Thanatar offered a vocal solution that almost anyone can use and deploy. The end result is the Autelis Bridge, Dash Box, Green Eye Monitor, and Insteon network - Now has a pretty voice which offers many predefined custom vocal alerts and announcements. :mrgreen:

In the following thread entry I will document all of the prerequisites, steps, and hardware that is needed to accomplish this fantastic goal.

Since this is a live document I shall back fill all the image captures, videos, and hyper links for the resources to complete this task. Grab a tall cup of coffee, kick back that recliner, and get ready for one of the most exciting things to help finalize Project Titan! :lol:
VOICE ANNOUNCEMENT - PROJECT GOALS:
Since just making this thread entry I have been asked many times already what the project goals are for this new found capability. As many of you know with the incredible generosity of my good friend BBB I have on site a Amazon Echo. :P The echo is a reactive device in which you must ask (query) her for a reply and answer. As of this writing there is no method to make *Alexa* speak anything with out being prompted to do so.

Worse yet this assumes the questions are basic in nature and has nothing to do with things so specific as home automation, energy, weather, environmental, and security.

Thus, the goal for me has always been to find a method that could be customized to offer voice announcements within and around my home. The goal here is to create as many custom voice announcements which cover some of the most basic to advanced conditions that may exist in my home.

The primary goal was to define the different conditions which as of this writing are these:

ALERT, CAUTION, DANGER, NOTICE, WARNING, REMINDER, WEATHER, PROGRAM, etc

Once these basic headings were defined the next step was to determine what specific areas I wanted voice announcements to be present for. My first pass has defined the following areas I feel would benefit from having voice:

INSTEON, WEATHER, ENERGY, NETWORKING, TEMPERATURE, SAFETY, SECURITY, etc

Once all of these basics have been scoped and defined the end result is the Autelis, Aquanta, Dash Box, GEM, Guardian, ISY Series Controller, Insteon, Water Hero will have a proactive voice feature that will add value, flexibility, and power to the integrated home automation system.

Lastly, all of this voice capability is locally based and doesn't rely on the cloud so its secure, reliable, and consistent in its behavior and performance.
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE - WHAT YOU NEED:
This project assumes the use of the following services and hardware in place. To state the obvious some of this is just expected but I shall call this out in case its not plainly obvious because you just never know! :lol:

1. Computer: It doesn't matter if its a PC vs Laptop but you need one. The RPI will need a monitor, keyboard, and mouse unless you plan on SSH into the system to gain remote access to the controller. Initial connection and ease of use is better to have the above connected to reduce complexity etc.

2. Internet: This is needed to access the oddcast website for the TTS.

3. ISY Series Controller: You need this controller and the Network Module.

4. Raspberry Pi: It doesn't matter what hardware version pick one.

5. Micro SD card: Buy the largest capacity you can because having more space is always better than not having enough. You will also need a SD to Micro SD card adapter to format the memory card

6. Speakers: You have the choice of hooking up basic USB speaker to the RPI or using a more advanced I/O card like Thanatar did which offers even better sound quality and speaker options.

7. 3rd Party Software: Audacity, 7 Zip, Win32DiskImager, OpenElec.
RASPBERRY PIE - SETUP & CONFIGURATION:
You will load your RPi with the following OpenElec disk image located here: http://openelec.tv/get-openelec/categor ... pi2-builds

These are the steps from the WiKi to install the image to the RPi: http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/Raspberry_Pi

http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/HOW-T ... ab=Windows

You will need two pieces of software to first unzip the image file and than a program to mount the image to the Micro SD card. Both of these software packages are free and come highly recommended and I have personally used them both for years.

7 ZIP: This software will allow you to unzip the compressed file to your computer system:
http://www.7-zip.org/

Win32DiskImager: This software will allow you to mount the disk image to the Micro SD card:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/

Once the image has been properly mounted to the Micro SD card you can eject the memory card and insert it into the RPi while its unpowered. When the RPi first boots up you will be presented with the OpenElec splash screen and on the top left will be a status indicator calling out the program is being run and uncompressed.

This process will take about 5-10 minutes where you will literally see nothing happening. Just walk away and get a big cup of coffee and sit back and wait. Once the image has been fully expanded you will see the OpenElec main page with the various options.

The following feature selections must be enabled / disabled for a successful deployment on the OpenElec software. As I quickly found out several small options not enabled / selected resulted in a huge *Gotcha* and nothing worked :| :evil:

On the RPi change the the following parameters in the OpenElec software:

Settings -> System -> Audio and ensure its set to your audio output device. I enabled both the HDMI and Analog, unless you use a HifiBerry Amp which I will detail later.

System>OpenELEC>Services>Enable Samba & SSH
System>Settings>Remote Control> Turn on both options.
System>Settings>Web Server>Allow remote control>On
System>Settings>Music>Playback>turn off Play next song

Place your audio files under the Music folder on the Pi.

Network: The RPi should be assigned a static IP address and the best method to use is to reserve that address using MAC filtering on your router. Doing so ensures the system can be found on the network and always has the same IP address.

As noted up above please ensure Samba is enabled doing so will allow you to simply navigate from your computers network as seen below to see the files and folders with in the RPI. I have highlighted the music folder where all the custom vocal sound files will reside.

It goes with out saying if you decide to create a new directory, folder, etc the file path in the *Network Resource* must also match the very same. Otherwise the command string won't operate as expected to retrieve the sound file.

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I am currently using a set of amplified USB computer speakers for my proof of concept. But *Thanatar* noted he went with a RPi add on board called a HiFiBerry Amp+. This amazing little piece of hardware will enable you to plug in real speakers for crystal clear sound for a beautiful PA system found here:
https://www.amazon.c...s=hifiberry
TEXT TO SPEECH (TTS) SETUP:
The text to speech is called oddcast.com located here: http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/t ... hp?sitepal

This amazing website is where all the magic happens to allow a person to select more than 20 male / female voices. You have the option to select dozens of alternate languages, filters, and sound effects.

I selected *Julie US* because she offered in my eyes (ears) the most natural and pleasing voice out of the bunch. As noted up above using common abbreviations will allow you to make her speech sound more natural and the tempo correct for your use cases.

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This image capture shows how I set up my desktop to allow quick and concise launch of both applications to reduce the amount of editing and dead space in the audio file. As seen here I simply placed each application side by side and this allowed me to press the *Say It* button and the record button quickly.

Having used this specific setup has allowed me to create high quality vocal sound files which require no editing due to empty dead space in the file. It's safe to say when you're in a production mode and need to fire off dozens of voices being efficient is key. :ugeek:

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VOICE SETUP & CAPTURE:
Now that the Raspberry Pi has been setup and configured to accept data, remote access, played with oddcast, your next step is to download the following audio capture software called *Audacity*. This software will enable you to record the TTS audio vocals from the odd cast website.

You may download the audio capture software directly here: http://www.audacityteam.org/

Below is the Audacity sound capture software and wanted to high light the selections that were used to record the *Julie US* voice announcements. In my early testing for what ever reason the software would not allow me to record directly from the laptops sound card and would only capture sounds from the built in microphone.

Having probably selected every option in dozens of combinations what you see high lighted in red are the settings that finally allowed me to capture the vocal sounds from the oddcast website of the character *Julie US*.

Ultimately what I found out was the software would remember the previous selection in the same recording session. So the solution was to simply exit the program and let the new selections take hold so the proper audio capture options could be recalled upon a new application launch.

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Once you have recorded your custom voice announcements you will select File -> Export Audio which will than display the image you see here. You will name the sound file to what ever makes sense to you. I opted to follow a similar naming convention (Schema) that made sense to me. In this case I was making custom voice announcements for the attic fan being activated due to a temperature threshold being met.

Its important to note the ISY Series Controller does not allow or accept spaces or special characters when making NR's. This simple mistake can leave you scratching your head for hours because you think what you have written should work! :evil:

The system will never cry or tell you why the vocal announcement doesn't work. It will in fact actually show you that your NR did work but there is no sound?!?! :?: :?

So what is the short of it?

All of the names you create must include a underscore (_) in the file otherwise nothing will operate as expected. Meaning you can not simply type in the word:

Walk The Dog <- This will not work at all to generate a sound.
Walk_The_Dog <- This will work because the system accepts this format.

You can not use special characters like (-) because the system calls these out as illegal operators but again the f^cken thing won't ever tell you this but will still return a 200 response saying all is good! :roll:

Meaning you can not enter the following and expect the system to accept it and work:

Attic_Temp_-25'C <- This will not work even though the NR will render a 200 OK confirmation.
Attic_Temp_25'C <- This will work because the illegal operator has been removed.

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Once you have decided on a file name that makes sense. The software will pop up another window that allows you to enter details about the sound file. I would encourage you to use this simple but important feature. As seen below in my video proof of concept when I select the sound file the actual TTS string appears.

This was done for two specific reasons, one being any software like the OpenElec player will display the full title and not the abbreviated one you entered for the sound file. Next it was a method to recall exactly what punctuation's were used to created the specific phrase which offered the stop, pause, and emphasis for the vocal sound.

Having created more than 250 vocal announcement's using this simple but effect portion of the details page helps in tracking the specifics to recreate the very same in the future.

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This image capture is just a quick sample of the many custom vocal announcements getting ready for my home automation system. I won't lie this process has been extremely fun, exciting, but takes a hell of long time to complete!

As of this writing I am still making dozens more that pop into my head because I know it can offer that Nth degree of awesome, cool, and useful integration. :P

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ISY SERIES CONTROLLER - NETWORK RESOURCE:
For the vocal announcement NR you will select HTTP, GET, RPI IP ADDRESS, and the text string which I have highlighted below is what needs to be copy and pasted into the Network Resource (NR) to the upper right high lighted in blue.

You need only change the last portion of the text string which in this case indicates mail.mp3

/jsonrpc?request={%22jsonrpc%22:%222.0%22,%22id%22:%221%22,%22method%22:%22Player.Open%22,%22params%22:{%22item%22:{%22file%22:%22storage/music/Mail.mp3%22}}}

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Once you have entered the string value and selected *Add* the system will pop up another field box which I have highlighted in red. You can ignore this prompt and close the window then select update and save at the bottom of the screen.
.
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As noted early on it was important to come up with a schema which reflects your own environment and makes sense to you. :P As you can see highlighted in red and green are some of the categories which made sense to me. In red those are the custom voices I will use for the GEM, in green are the custom voices for the Insteon network etc.

Having the same leading header keeps things organized, visually pleasing, and just makes sense to me. :mrgreen: :lol:

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Now that you have been able to successfully create vocal announcements, recorded them in audacity, and included them into your NR's. The next step is to push it up a notch by including *Integer Variables* into the text string.

Doing so will enable you to call up any of the voice announcements in random or specific order of need.

EXAMPLE:
TROUBLE SHOOTING - NEXT STEPS:
As noted up above (IF) you read every step I called out several gotchas which to the lay person isn't very obvious. There are steps you can do and test to confirm your system is working properly and to help isolate where the root cause is.

ISOLATE: Your first step is to confirm the RPI and the OpenElec software is properly set up to receive remote commands from the ISY Series Controller. To remove any doubt your setup is correct you need only enter the following text string in a web browser keeping in mind to change the IP address you assigned to the RPI and file path to the vocal announcement.

In this example my IP address is 192.168.1.137 - The vocal announcement file is Entry_MS_Low_Battery.wav Simply changing these two parameters including the text string should result in audio playback from the RPI. If not verify all of the settings called out up above under the RPI section. Confirm the IP Address is correct to the RPI, Audio output is properly selected, etc

192.168.1.137/jsonrpc?request={%22jsonrpc%22:%222.0%22,%22id%22:%221%22,%22method%22:%22Player.Open%22,%22params%22:{%22item%22:{%22file%22:%22storage/music/Entry_MS_Low_Battery.wav%22}}}

If you watch the monitor and also hear the sound coming out of the speakers you know the RPI and OpenElec software is properly configured which indicates the problem lies in the Network Resource (NR) you created.

Below is the dummy 200 OK response reply from entering the same text string listed above. You will notice it says all is fine and OK. Yet there is no sound coming out of the computer system?

As noted you need to ensure the audio output is set for your speaker hardware in place. You can select HDMI, Analog, or Both. I obviously selected *BOTH* because I didn't want to ever have to worry as to why there was no sound coming out of the RPI due to incorrect audio output selection! :|

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This image capture shows a 200 OK from the ISY Series Controller. :roll: Yet again there is no bloody sound coming out of the RPI. :evil: As noted the system will not accept illegal operators like (-) to preceed a word. You need only use common words and remove any operators: -/+/=/%/&/? etc.

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Still no sound coming out of the RPI via the ISY Series Controller when you select the *Test* NR function?!?! :cry: Ensure the label includes a underscore (_) to connect the entire phrase. :D Also note when creating your NR's the system is indeed case sensitive including the file extension.

As you see here I had already created something crazy stupid of 100 vocal phrases only to find out I needed to add the underscore to the files. :cry:

Live and learn I say . . . :geek:

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VIDEO - DRY RUN:
This video demonstrates a small sample of the custom voice announcements I have created using the Audacity software, Oddcast website, and played back using OpenElec software hosted on the Raspberry Pi.

This video also high lights the power and capability of the oddcast TTS system which allows the *Julie US* character to speak as naturally as possible. Using basic punctuation's the system can be made to stop, pause, and emphasize the string text.

You will notice this pause and emphasis when *Julie US* vocalizes the dusk to dawn notification.

[video][/video]

This video was created to express my great thanks and appreciation to the all mighty *Thanatar* who helped me realize this vocal announcement technology into my home. All the credit and hard work goes toward my new friend Thanatar . . .

You Rock - And you know it . . .

[video][/video]
VISUALLY IMPAIRED - JUST SAY IT:
Having worked closely with a few good people with visual disabilities this voice announcement feature has really offered tremendous help to those with poor vision. As of this writing I am creating basic to advanced vocals for those who can benefit the most from such a fantastic integration.

With the inclusion of the Amazon Echo to initiate and start a sequence of events the first part of the puzzle has been met. With the inclusion of the reactive voice confirmation this has completed a large portion of the visual aid project.
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:26 pm

VOICE ANNOUNCEMENTS - TEXT TO SPEECH - JULIE U.S: CUSTOM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Having spent a considerable amount of time over the last few weeks on custom announcements. I was asked to offer a few samples of what I have created for the system. A few good friends have shared their ideas and sound files with me - Its safe to say there is lots of variance when it comes to what is important and there isn't much consensus.

One of the areas I wanted to have voice announcements were related to out of band or faults in the homes electrical. It comes as no great surprise that having the DB, GEM, ISY Series Controller in place allows this to happen with out issue.

This is a quick snap shot of the areas being monitored for out of band electrical conditions.

ELECTRICAL:

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The next area of interest for me was the Insteon network - In this specific use case I wanted to be alerted when the heart beat node for any specific hardware was missed. As seen below the custom voice announcements covers many different locations and hardware in use.

This covers the flood stop actuators, leak sensors, and related smart integrations like door bell, garage position sensor, tilt sensor, power loss monitor. The heart beat notification is a crude way to determine a loss of battery power and in range / out of range RF.

HEARTBEAT:

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As a proof of concept I made custom announcements for the combination smoke & co detectors in the home. By default the security alarm system knows exactly which sensor has been tripped and the corresponding email, zone label, and image is presented for local viewing. Adding the custom voice announcements offers that last piece in the system which also declares any faults in the system.

SMOKE & CO:

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As noted in previous thread entries one of my on going projects has been to reduce long term cooling costs while offering a comfortable environment. To assist in this effort many years ago I deployed the massive 1 wire sensor array through out my home. This same 1 wire temperature network monitors many points in the attic for both hot and cold.

In the below screen capture I defined temperature ranges which would invoke Julie U.S. to speak and tell me if and when a threshold was met. In this case the range starts from 40 - 70'C plus.

TEMPERATURE:

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If a defined temperature threshold has been met active venting in the attic is enabled. Active venting is employed to reduce the amount of heat conductance that transfers through the insulation, vapor barrier, and drywall.

Below are the initial custom announcements which are spoken when active venting is initiated by the reactive systems in the home.

ACTIVE VENTING:

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Planning ahead voice announcements have been created for the Water Hero system. At the moment the API has not been fully developed so I won't know exactly what all the conditions can be invoked. But as you see below I have created the basic ones I know will be present.

They cover from when the security alarm system enables, disables the main water line. Announces when the monthly cycle tests has been initiated and completed and when there is water flow detected when there shouldn't be.

I am really looking forward to being able to integrate the Water Hero system with my home automation system and security alarm system in the near future! :mrgreen:

WATER HERO:

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Other areas that voice announcements have been created is to address environmental's in and around the home. My first go at this was basic weather alerts which are in part tied to the ISY Series Controllers weather module. In the future more advanced and complex weather alerts will be provided by the Weather Flow monitoring system.

As of this writing primary weather alert messaging comes from the radio's I have in place now. The system is currently tied to different infrastructure elements in the home and deployed in several parts of the home for the best alert notification.

As I continue to research and plan out the isolated and dedicated PA system in the home my hopes are most of this will be finalized by second quarter of 2017.

WEATHER:

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Since there is no easy way to make Julie U.S. speak random values not already defined. In quick trial test I decided to make predefined values in stepped form. Where I want to know the exact value these spoken phrases have been created.

In this case you will see the humidity value(s) of say 25, 30, 35, etc. Depending upon my use case I decided some of the spoken phrases should be as general in nature. Doing so would allow the same spoken phrase to be used elsewhere in system.

Where a specific value was not needed but a defined range was I created the very same. In this case you can see I made Julie U.S. offer the range from say 25~29, 30~34, 35~39, etc. Doing so for other numeric values reduces the hundreds of NR's and programs that must be created.

HUMIDITY RANGE:

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:42 pm

AMAZON ECHO - ALEXA SPEAKS:
As noted in a previous thread entry located here: http://forum.universal-devices.com/topi ... ses/page-1

Another fantastic UDI forum member named Blueman 2 shared how he was able to ask Alexa specific and unique questions which relates to a persons home environment.

As of February 02, 2017 I have followed his excellent *How To* article and done the very same! :mrgreen:

Video 1: What is the current line voltage in the home
Video 2: What is the current up time of the ISY Series Controller
Video 3: What is the current temperature of the basement freezer
Video 4: What is the outside temperature of the home

This proof of concept is a *Bridge Gap* solution in allowing me a true two way feedback from home automation, energy monitoring, and energy management. The first goal is to be able to ask Alexa all of the relevant data points as it pertains to the homes super structure.

Key areas I wanted to know were environmental, energy consumption, energy targets, power levels, force protection, and security status.

I hope to back fill all of the steps I took to achieve this incredible accomplishment in the next few weeks. As noted in another *Dash Box Feature Request* my over all intent was to give the Brultech Green Eye Monitor a reactive / proactive voice.

I believe the first steps in this endeavor have been taken and the outcome thus far has been simply outstanding . . . :D

No sooner did I publish this entry my inbox was full with questions as it relates to this topic.
HOW IS THIS INTEGRATION DIFFERENT:
Some of the key differences in the Alexa integration are as follows in no specific order of importance or relevance.

- The system uses the native Alexa female vocals.
- There is no need to type, record, transfer, host the custom vocal announcements.
- You can query the system for up to date values, conditions, data.
- The system is extensible as it simply requires more Echo, Dot, Tap.
- To use this custom two way vocal feedback is essentially free minus the hardware.
HOW IS THIS INTEGRATION SIMILAR - LIMITATIONS:

The key take away's I have initially thought up are these in no specific order.

- The system relies on several cloud hosted services.
- The system requires a Internet connection at all times.
- The phrases are still limited to what you created and entered.
- Because the system is connected to the cloud there are risks for privacy & security.
- The end user relies heavily on 3rd party companies in hopes these service will continue with out interruption.
- There are obvious costs difference between an Echo vs RPi - but they are less using a Dot
- Using the Alexa integration a person can receive new data on demand.
- The system is not reactive in information but still requires a person to initiate the task.
- The user interface is completely hosted in the cloud and thus if it goes away you're SOL.
- Users must be trained to know key phrases to invoke a valid response.
ALEXA VOICE - PROJECT GOALS:
As noted up above having this ability adds to the arsenal of vocal capabilities. Which translates to more timely data that a person can use and apply if and when needed. Having spoken to a few really great friends about this project has inspired me to keep pushing the envelope in this space. :ugeek:

Since having Julie U.S. in operations for about a month this has given me insight about how I want this new found 2-way feedback to work in my own home. I didn't really want to duplicate every aspect of the Julie U.S. reactive announcements I had in place now. So given how I use the system it only made sense to task Alexa to provide me timely (live data), accumulated, and changing events.

Right now the system will tell me vocally if specific conditions are met such as the dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, sump, furnace, hot water tank, have completed, met or exceeded a defined threshold etc.

So instead of that kind of thing I will program Alexa to tell me hyper local information such as: What is the current inside / outside temperature, the line voltage, current power consumption, up to the minute KWH, who has accessed what area, what resources were used, what are the lowest vs highest values seen, how many times something has cycled on / off, etc.

Given the two voice announcements have similar attributes there will be some over lap. When I think about the how and why it really comes down to, why? :?:

Using Julie U.S. is intended as the gatekeeper for the home. Meaning her only job is to inform me when normal or out of band conditions have been met. This is the virtual guard dog that barks at you to let you know something important has happen.

Julie U.S. is local and I never have to worry about her breaking down or her services being terminated or paying a fee.

Alexa is the virtual tool a person can use (IF) and when needed to obtain up to the minute information. Viewing her this way in my home automation system reduces possible failures and dependencies. My plans moving forward is to start off slow by adding elements which on the surface aren't really needed but are very much a nice to have.

Being able to ask Alexa the current line voltage in the home is by no means a critical thing. But, it highlights the difference between being alerted the home is exceeding the very same. :|
PROBLEMS & LIMITATIONS:
One of the first problems I ran into is having to use 4.XX ISY Series Firmware branch. In the newer 5.XX Alpha firmware the system allows a person to define a precision for decimal values. Because the 4.XX branch does not directly support this with out lots of math. When I ask Alexa to provide me a value she replies back with a whole number. :cry:

In the big picture its not a huge loss because these minor issues will be resolved once I am running on 5.XX. :mrgreen:

For now I will just have to accept the fact when Alexa speaks I will need to convert what I hear into common sense values. Its odd hearing her say when asked what is the freezer temperature and she replies back.

*The current interior temperature of the freezer is -196'C :| :roll: Instead of saying its -19.6'C as one would expect - But hey this is all proof of concept before its launched en-mass for another massive project on the go! :lol:

Other challenges I found out quickly is the fact Integer variables can not be used directly in the update program which I will detail later. Since Integers do not illicit a change I opted to use a State variable that had regular update intervals that would refresh the network resources I created for logged data.

One of the most important aspects of this project is being able to recall historic value or one's that can be compared directly. Doing so will allow me to query and interrogate the systems in the home about accumulated data points.

As of this writing I am pressing forward to complete the math to allow these conditions. Thus far the bulk of the data returned by Alexa has been spot on. Some not so much due to the fact some of the rough math I used didn't work out! :? :lol:
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:38 am

AMAZON ECHO - ALEXA SPEAKS - VIDEO DRY RUN:
Below is short video of a dry run I performed on the system. The next few weeks I will complete the endless network resources (NR) inside of the ISY Series Controller to access the temperature, humidity, power, energy, water, security, force protection etc.

Thus far I am extremely happy with the end results of this mini project. :P As noted up above the current limitation in my system is running on 4.XX firmware and thus when you hear Alexa reply back about the various temperatures around the home she notes them as whole values. :roll: :?

It sounds a little odd hearing her say the outside temperature is like -174'C vs -17.4'C! :oops: But like I said once 5.XX goes into full beta release this decimal precision will take care of that part.

As you listen all the way from the beginning to the end you will notice all the values Alexa stated back are different. This high lights the value this integration offers the home automation enthusiasts in terms of real time up to the minute data value reporting.

As noted up top I had existing Integer programs in use instead of State Variables. :cry: Thus when I queried and asked Alexa what XYZ was she would return with a stale (old) value instead of a current up to date value.

With a few simple changes and re-purposing a few state variables I was able to obtain logging data such as low, high, and current values. For this use case some of the important elements for me is being able to know if I am at a specific target / range.

For those like my good friend (BBB) or those having Time Of Use (ToU) rates. Knowing the current KWH consumed for the entire home or specific loads helps meet important targets.

[video][/video]

In this video I am testing out the different canned phrases the system will react to and offer feedback. You will notice when the power level is one watt Alexa's reply is *1 Watts*. :? That is another limitation where a person must decide to use a singular vs plural phrase. Since it will be rare for any important circuit load to be one watt.

Having Alexa state something is *586 Watts vs 586 Watt* is perfectly fine for me. Those who have helped me demo this integration either didn't notice this small nuance or weren't bothered by it at all.

You will also notice when the video gets to the part where I ask her what the counter power is. I wanted to play with longer replies and decide if I liked the longer (extended) replies. As of this writing I am on the fence of using short exact replies vs longer ones. This is not much of problem for dedicated circuits like a fridge, freezer, sump, stove, furnace, HWT, dryer, washer, etc.

But when you're crafting canned names and phrases its hard to decide how best to use them. I have several outlets which in the DB are simply labeled *Lights & Plugs*. Using the DB's details section I can add in the specific details for those outlets etc.

When a person is using Alexa one needs to decide on only one major load (device) to be labeled and the appropriate canned phrase to reply back with. I suppose having her reply back with every device is a option but having tried that early on. It sounds just terrible and hurts my head when the over all intent is to have succinct and short relevant answers.

[video][/video]

This video I am just going through various 1 wire temperature sensors embedded into the homes super structure. This test was more to find out if the canned phrases I used made sense and could be spoken by anyone with out prior knowledge or experience.

I've found too often people will have systems in place that lack common sense, human ergonomics, to ease of use. :? :| If this home was for me alone I am sure there might be a few custom phrases I would use like *Who's your Daddy* :lol:

But, since this is more geared toward being a tool vs a toy I have tried very hard to avoid silly intents and canned replies in the system. Its not to say I haven't built a few - because I have! :mrgreen:

Just that my first priority is to get the serious stuff underway before entertaining the fun stuff that makes others go :evil: :o :lol:

Lastly, you will notice I asked Alexa *Solar vs Solar NET* power. I wanted to know the difference when I was still consuming vs generating more power than I needed which left me in a NET plus energy condition. There is much work left to do in this area along with hundreds of programs to be crafted but rest assured once done this new found ability will go a long way to a smart home and those living inside it! :P :D

[video][/video]
AMAZON ECHO - ALEXA SPEAKS - SERVICE OUTAGE:
On February 28, 2017 there was a massive service outage which affected the entire Eastern AWS server system. This service interruption lasted almost the entire day and there were no details to the general public for several hours. This high lights the failure point of relying on any cloud based service.

As noted early on those considering this sort of integration must accept a cloud first vs local first topology is just an accident waiting to happen! :| I am extremely great full that my primary systems are not reliant on the happy cloud and have a dedicated and managed network appliance which can never be impacted by the above. :mrgreen:
Teken . . .

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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:38 am

AMAZON ECHO - ALEXA SPEAKS:
Teken . . .

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:39 am

AMAZON ECHO - ALEXA SPEAKS:
Teken . . .

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Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 05, 2017 12:14 pm

DRYER SAFETY - SHOP BLOWER:
In this past thread entry listed here: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... &start=210

I talked about all the things I had underway to ensure a safe environment when using the clothes dryer. I had intended to make a video of the leaf blower cleaning but forgot to do so last summer. :cry: So this year I have set a reminder to do the very same this summer. :lol:

Anyone who has ever used a gas powered leaf blower knows they smell, are loud, and unwieldy. :| As I was passing along the local Costco I stumbled upon this little blower.

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Its safe to say I was a little skeptical in something that costs only a mere $24.XX that it would offer much in ways of high speed oomph or enough air velocity to do much good in anything. In terms of shear size it fits the bill nicely as seen in this image capture it can be extended or reduced to fit the users needs.

My plans for this little blow devil is the usual leaf blowing, grass clippings, snow blowing, and of course blowing out the dryer line! :lol:

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As a extra value add this little blower includes a few attachments for those air mattresses. This will be a nice back up to the foot pump and the super huge compressor in the garage. :mrgreen:

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I honestly can't say if the air speed is 100% as I don't have a direct method to measure this and might use my Weather Flow meter to confirm. :P But my red neck hand tests indicates it moves lots of air in the excess of 75 MPH.

Given the small motor in this device it came as no great surprise its loud when used in a enclosed space like a home. But once outside its a lot quieter than a standard gas leaf blower by an order of 2-5 times in dB level.

Moving forward I will be using a plastic bag to connect the blower tube to the dryer vent coupling. I will update this thread entry next summer and link the video of what I find on the other end.

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Teken . . .

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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:02 pm

EC ALERT ME - WEATHER ALERT MESSAGE SYSTEM:
As Project Titan continues to ramp up here in the GWN for the Teken household. In previous thread entries I had documented a lot about weather related notification and integration. The primary goal(s) were to have hyper local, local, remote, and geo located weather data and alert notifications that could inform the entire family.

In past threads I show cased all of the portable and home weather radio's I have and use to obtain up to the minute weather forcasts and conditions. I offered extensive testing and review of all of the features along with the pros & cons of each unit. Some of these hardware appliances are hardwired to the home automation and security alarm system for notification.

The next step for me has been a crowd funding project called Weather Flow.

The Weather Flow Air & Sky system will provide me hyper local weather data from temperature, humidity, wind speed / direction, Ultra Violet, rain, lightning, barometric pressure, etc. All of this will be fully integrated into my home automation and security system when the product is finalized in March and public ready in May 2017. :mrgreen:
THE NEXT STEP - BIG BROTHER SUPPORT:
On February 05, 2017 I was accepted in a Government Beta weather program that allows developers to access weather related data directly from the source. :P

Essentially I have access to tens of millions of dollars of high tech professional weather hardware and this data can be relayed to anyone in the world.

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WARNINGS:
Like the portable weather radio's I have on hand this web based system allows a person to customize and define which events should be sent to the end user(s). As seen here, these are the *Warning* categories from: Blizzard, Extreme Cold, Severe Thunderstorms, Tornado, etc.

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WATCHES:
These are the watch level events that can be selected.

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STATEMENT & ADVISORY:
These are the statement and advisory notices which can be selected.

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SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODING (S.A.M.E):
Very much like the portable weather radio's the web based system allows a person to define any region of interest. One can monitor multiple areas which cover an entire Province, city, region, to township.

It really comes down to use case, over all intent, and how you plan on using this powerful alert messaging system. My goal(s) are to help friends and family who don't have the technical knowledge, finances, or capability to mimic all of the things I have been able to accomplish and enjoy in my own home.

Using this powerful tool a person can create buffer zones to monitor hazardous conditions like a Tornado. When a person defines a outer region which tracks these conditions these act as (buffer zones) which ensures a person is given plenty of notice and pre-warning of the same.

One can only imagine how many lives could have been saved if they only had that pre-warning that a impending threat like a flood, tornado, hurricane, wild fire, was fast approaching. :cry:

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The following are just images of the setup page indicating how to use this web base system.

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Once a person has defined all of the relevant weather conditions that concern them. The system will publish the settings for your review and confirmation as seen here.

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At that point you need only confirm the above and the system will send out a confirmation email about what conditions and information type will be provided. As many of those who have been following along in this five year long forum thread knows. I am a strong believer in fail over and having backups in place.

The rule of three is always ever present in my life and this new weather alert system will help compliment everything else I have in place now.

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PROS AND CONS OF ALERT ME SYSTEM:
Since I am a strong proponent of back up and layering of any system(s) I use. I am always cognoscente about the pros and cons of using any technology. Being fully aware and having both eyes wide open as they say, as to the limitations and liabilities of any system is paramount in setting expectations and expected results.

In no specific order of importance or relevance these are the things that come to mind for this type of service / alert messaging.

PROS:

- The service is free with no cost to the end user
- Multiple regions can be tracked and customized for personal use case
- Multiple custom alerts can be set up and sent to the end user
- The weather alert system uses professional grade hardware and backed by the Government
- S.A.M.E regions can be defined to offer a buffer or early alert warning of threats
- Offers weather alert messaging for those with no technical back ground or hardware
- Easy to set up and use - Takes less than five minutes from start to finish

CONS:

- The service is defined as a Beta program and as such can be halted anytime
- The alert messaging relies heavily on technology which have multiple (possible) points of failure
- This service assumes a person has access to email via smartphone, computer, etc
- There is no guarantee that the alert message will arrive on time due to mail service subscriptions
- If a person is not within a cellular data network alerts can be missed
- There is no scheduling event timer so all messages will be received if and when they occur

Regardless of all the CON'S I listed out I see great value and benefit to this system. It offers a FREE weather alert system for those with limited budgets. It offers huge safety implications for those who live in extreme climates.

I hope people can take advantage of this great service and maybe it will save a few lives along the way.

NOTE: I understand our American brothers in arms have (several) similar RSS and web based NOAA weather services in place now. I would encourage those living across the 49th parallel to take advantage of that fantastic system too!
Teken . . .

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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Mon Feb 13, 2017 12:57 pm

PROJECT TITAN - COMMUNICATIONS:
2016 ended with lots of interesting failures coupled with a number of great successes too! :P In a previous thread entry I detailed how I've been on a steady migration to bolster the KISS principle in as many areas in my home.

When it comes to telecommunications I believe its important to have the most basic to advanced hardware to allow the highest coverage, features, and reliability. In one area where I was looking to do better was for the main line. I've had this fantastic VTEC phone since moving in almost eight years ago. :D

Unfortunately, it seems the home automation Gods have conspired against me during the last part of 2016. :evil: :| :x Out of no where each phone started to have this strange speaker issue where it started to crackle or not be heard on the other end? This problem first appeared in one handset than others followed and thus left me with out one of the portable phones I use. :cry:

I don't know what is more depressing the fact the phone is rarely used. Or the fact the phone's are pretty much new with little hours of use and several just sat idle. Since it made no sense to have the phones repaired I thought it was possible to find the same phones on sale. But of course since its been more than eight years that wasn't going to happen.

I had to accept that fact so I decided to use our annual Costco refund and purchase a new brand and model of phone. After doing some on line research and reading countless reviews dumb luck would have it Costco actually carried the same model phone I was interested in! :mrgreen:

This was going to be a long term investment so I wanted more features in this new phone which kind of went against the whole KISS principle in this area. :roll: Since I already have several basic emergency phones in place it really wasn't an issue. Considering both phones had similar features minus a few extra's it was a gamble worth taking.

As some of you have noted I really do like the Panasonic brand.

This company just makes solid products and over all offers lots of value when compared to other competing products. At the time of review this phone was being sold for $179.XX so decided to review others with similar features. Low and behold the following week end it went on sale for $89.XX! :mrgreen: You didn't need to twist my arm to use that Costco refund for that purchase. :lol:

Below is the model I selected because it met several of criteria I wanted in a new smart phone.

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Some of the key features I wanted in a new phone were these in no specific order of importance or relevance.

- The phone needed to have at least one corded handset. This ensured a battery failure would not impact the family from ever using said phone.

- Battery Backup: I wanted to find a phone that had its own battery back up in case of a loss of power. This phone does and uses standard rechargeable AAA batteries.

- Low Power: Of all the phones I reviewed this phone had one of the lowest standby and idle power draw seen on the market. Considering the main driver is to reduce my energy consumption it only made sense to have a energy star device that met that need.

- Intercom: Anyone who has ever had a connected intercom knows its one of those things you really didn't know you needed or wanted until you used one. Having this intercom feature is not only handy but ensures short distance communications are present when needed.

- Call Block: This phone allows a person to save a number and have it blocked. After enduring what seems to be eight long years of beggars, telemarketers, I wanted this feature.

- Sound Quality: Anyone who has ever had the displeasure of hearing someone on the other end sounding like they are in a tin can, or ten thousand miles away knows sound quality is paramount in good communications. This phone offers static free, solid clear sound which seems to be hard to come by.

- Hands Free: I wanted a phone that offered more than one method for hands free talking. This phone allows a speaker option, plugin 3.5 mm head set option, blue tooth head set, and cellular linking.

- Long Distance: For most folks long distance isn't much of an issue when used in a standard home. But when a phone offers long distance RF performance you are assured walls, barriers, and other obstacles will not impact the communications and sound quality when present.

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ENERGY CONSUMPTION: As noted energy consumption or (Vampire Draw) was something I really wanted to keep down. The Panasonic KX-TG153CSK not only meets the targets but exceeds what I was seeing in the older VTEC model.

The base station is stated to consume 0.8 watts at idle and a maximum of 3 watts when charging. The three satellite phones consume an incredible scant 0.1 watt at idle and 1.80 watts when recharging!

TALK TIME & STANDBY: Panasonic indicates using their low output 400 mA paired batteries will offer 13 hours of talk time. :o Since I upgraded all of the phones to use Duracell high output 850 mA cells I have to gather the talk time exceeds well past 26 hours! :mrgreen:

Using the same 400 mA Panasonic batteries the standby is rated as 12 days. Knowing this device is so energy efficient allows me to have more than 22 days of standby power. Which ensures during a grid down event the phones will be ready for use.

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BATTERY BACKUP: As noted earlier on the base station includes a rechargeable AAA back up system when the main line is out. In the older VTECH phone I had it plugged into a UPS system to ensure 100% up time. With this extra back up battery system it will offer yet another layer of fail over during a grid down event allowing for longer operational use and standby.

TALKING CALLER ID: This model includes a talking caller ID which announces the name, number, or custom ID you have defined. The first time I heard the system recite who was calling it was like living in a fantasy world! :lol: When screening calls in the past one had to view the caller ID and determine if it was worth picking up. Assuming the person didn't leave a voice message there was no method to know who was calling.

With this fantastic talking caller ID I just have to listen and decide from there.

REMOTE MONITORING: One of the great features this phone has is being able to remote monitor, listen, and speak to someone on the other end. The system can be set up to monitor which ever handset and if defined sound level is detected the system will actually call you! :shock:

Panasonic notes this is more geared for *Baby Monitoring* but obviously a person could use it for other use cases like security.

SMART CALLING: The Panasonic KX-TG153CSK also includes a smart application which can be installed on your cellular phone. Using this smart application the system will send a SMS / email that someone has called the home. I am in the middle of trying this out so will need to update how this works and (IF) its as useful as I hope.

Knowing someone called and not missing an important phone call would be really great if they couldn't get you on the cell.

CELLULAR LINKING: This system can link to a cellular phone via blue tooth. I'm not sure I see the value in this besides not having to pick up your cell phone considering its still using your minutes when someone calls?

Maybe if you can't find your cell phone and just being able to pick up a standard phone instead? :roll: :?:
PROJECT TITAN - MONITORING:
New to me is this phone allows any handset to listen to a incoming live (recorded) message. In the past all of the phones I had only the base station could be used to listen incoming phone calls. This Panasonic system allows any of the handsets to be used as a remote monitor so you don't have to race to the kitchen to stop and listen to who's calling.

This feature can be turned on-off for each remote handset if required. It has proved to be really handy while in the garage and not having to get off the floor while doing mechanical work.
PROJECT TITAN - RANGE TEST:
This week end long distance range tests will be conducted outside of the home. The first part is to see how far the intercom will reach before noise and drop out occurs. The next test will be performed on a live call to validate the same. Initial outdoor tests will start at 15 feet and will increment every ten feet until something is observed.

My hopes are for at least 50 feet of clear reception in both intercom and telephone modes.

If that passes the rest is just pure gravy and I will be assured of rock solid performance inside of the home as it has already been proven as such. The other qualifier is cold weather performance operations as one of the hand sets is installed in the garage. Like the older VTECH phone I always had one of the satellite phones in the garage in case of emergency and summer use.

Given both of these phones are LCD one always needs to be mindful of the display freezing up or getting distorted and breaking. Normally this appears as a black smear where the liquid crystal starts to freeze and it just hazes over. :cry: :|

During the last eight years I have never seen any problems with the VTECH phone and hope for the very same in the Panasonic. Extreme cold isn't normally a problem inside of the garage because its so well insulated but there are lots of time where I leave the door open while shoveling and other chores while the mercury is below -35'C.

I've often thought about placing a phone in or around a thermal container or blanket. But for what ever reason never got around to it - so maybe this season I will.

Let the games begin . . .
Teken . . .

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