STT 10: We Want Smart Blinds

Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…

What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!

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Sadly, I’m not following this show because audio-only podcasts don’t hold my attention the way video-podcasts do. I worry about my longtime favorite shows eventually going audio-only.

Not following is not what gets podcasts to be done in video. This podcast needs 30,000 subscribers, then there will be video. Subscribe & share.

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I’m subscribed, I just don’t watch/follow it. Same with FOP.

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Harmony hubs have a plug-in for Homebridge, and a Mac app “Harmony Bridge”. Can be used to add any modern TV, receiver, etc. to HomeKit.

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It was a good show, loving all the episodes so far as Home Automation is a bit of a hobby of mine.
Mikah recommended the WeMo switches to do 3-way, I looked at them as well when doing a 5-way switch (1 set of lights with 4 switches) and I ended up finding the WeMo wouldn’t work well.
I’ve since settled on the Leviton Decora HomeKit switches which work great.
For 3/4/5 way switches you have the Hot switch (closest to the fuse box) as the smart switch (~$50) and then the other switches get converted to a companion switch (~20), it requires a bit of re-wiring at each switch box but can be done pretty easily if you’re an amateur electrician. (The switches are on sale now)
The only problem with the Decora switches is that you have to choose between Z-Wave (SmartThings), Wifi (Alexa and Google) or Homekit.
I have a couple of Echos around the house but everything else is Apple so I went with the HomeKit switches and then on Homebridge I’m using the Alexa plugin and a Dummy Switch with a HomeKit Automation that keeps the Dummy Switch in sync with the real Decora switch.
I could have probably have done this easier if I had purchased the Wifi Switches and than just used Homebridge to add them to HomeKit.

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Be careful on the Homebridge Plug-in, you want to use this one: https://github.com/nicoduj/homebridge-harmony

It’s about a year old now, the old harmonyhub one stopped working when Logitech changed the API last fall.

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Regarding @mikahsargent lamenting the ATV remote; $6.99 will cure some of your woes - makes it grippier if that’s an issue…in your choice of colors as well.

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I have an Echo Tap (the portable speaker) and I love it. I didn’t realize they had discontinued it. In an update a couple of years ago, they enabled “wake word” support, so I can say “Alexa, …” and it responds. This does eat battery if it’s not in the dock, but it’s so great to listen to music and take into the front/backyard.

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