Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


linw

2849 posts

Uber Geek


#222919 4-Sep-2017 09:15
Send private message

A while ago I mentioned my plan to be able to monitor my still (alco!) temp from my phone. Well, this now has been accomplished.

 

I used a wemos D1 mini with DS18B20 temp probe which turned out reasonably easy to get functioning with sketches already available.

 

For the phone app, I used Blynk and its server. You get to choose from a large variety of widgets to show your data. I just selected a simple gauge to display temp to two decimal places.

 

You are supposed to be able to create the phone app in a couple of minutes but I struggled to get it working for quite a while and still don't quite know what the problem was. But, yesterday, my dutiful Father's Day son was out and he got it going on his S8 and from then I was able to get it on my S5.

 

So a bit of a mystery but it works now! Really chuffed with this fun/educational project.


View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
davidcole
6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #1857971 4-Sep-2017 10:59
Send private message

Is that pulling data from the internet, or local only?





Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server
Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight 




linw

2849 posts

Uber Geek


  #1858339 4-Sep-2017 18:02
Send private message

You have a choice, David. You can download a file to create a local server or you can use Blynk's server in the cloud. They provide for a local server in case security is a high priority. 

 

Have a squizz of their site - it may (or may not) be interesting. That link to my phone was the big challenge but blynk seems to have done that admirably.


hio77
12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lizard Networks

  #1858393 4-Sep-2017 19:51
Send private message

Great to see more getting into the esp8266 micros.

 

 

 

I have a stack of these sitting in my room, Drives SWMBO insane, however soon as i feel I need something to be automated, its done :D





#include <std_disclaimer>

 

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

 

 




richms
28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1858410 4-Sep-2017 20:22
Send private message

hio77:

 

Great to see more getting into the esp8266 micros.

 

 

 

I have a stack of these sitting in my room, Drives SWMBO insane, however soon as i feel I need something to be automated, its done :D

 

 

I have about 4-5 of most of the common board of them waiting something to do other than a wifi deauther which is fun for a short while.





Richard rich.ms

davidcole
6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #1858497 4-Sep-2017 21:29
Send private message

They look cool. But I'm at the point where I want to be able to plug them into the wall directly and use them for temp monitoring. Hopefully with no exposed wiring.




Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server
Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight 


  #1858510 4-Sep-2017 21:56
Send private message

I had a server cupboard that was overheating. Chucked an Xiaomi temp/humidity sensor in there to monitor it. Found it was getting up over 35 degrees on a warm day so bought a cheap fan, and plugged it in via a Sonoff relay. Now openHAB monitors the temp and if it goes above 31 turns the fan on until it drops below 30. 

 

Problem + Automation = Solved :).

 

Sorry for slightly OT - but does involve a temp sensor and an ESP8266 micro... :)


richms
28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1858511 4-Sep-2017 21:58
Send private message

could have got the sonoff TH and a probe and taken openhab out of the loop entirely.





Richard rich.ms

 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
  #1858521 4-Sep-2017 22:04
Send private message

Nah I like openHAB to be in the loop - means I can disable the fan or force it to run if necessary. Plus can control/monitor when away from home via the OH app.


amanzi
Amanzi
1292 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1858961 5-Sep-2017 13:46
Send private message

SumnerBoy:

 

Chucked an Xiaomi temp/humidity sensor in there to monitor it.

 

 

Did you have to use the Xiaomi gateway with this sensor? If not, how are you getting readings off it?


davidcole
6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #1858964 5-Sep-2017 13:49
Send private message

amanzi:

 

SumnerBoy:

 

Chucked an Xiaomi temp/humidity sensor in there to monitor it.

 

 

Did you have to use the Xiaomi gateway with this sensor? If not, how are you getting readings off it?

 

 

And are these battery powered or can be AC adapter/usb powered?





Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server
Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight 


  #1858967 5-Sep-2017 13:49
Send private message

amanzi:

 

Did you have to use the Xiaomi gateway with this sensor? If not, how are you getting readings off it?

 

 

Yep, got the gateway as well. Have a little python script which listens for broadcasts from the gateway and transposes them to MQTT messages, which OH subscribes to. 

 

Find the Xiaomi stuff very very good. Cheap, reliable, and so far the battery life seems pretty good.


  #1858969 5-Sep-2017 13:50
Send private message

The sensors are all battery powered, with no external power options.


amanzi
Amanzi
1292 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1858984 5-Sep-2017 14:13
Send private message

SumnerBoy:

 

Yep, got the gateway as well. Have a little python script which listens for broadcasts from the gateway and transposes them to MQTT messages, which OH subscribes to. 

 

Find the Xiaomi stuff very very good. Cheap, reliable, and so far the battery life seems pretty good.

 

 

Thanks! Just starting my HA adventures and trying to keep things cheap at the moment.


  #1858985 5-Sep-2017 14:15
Send private message

Would definitely recommend the Xiaomi stuff then. There are a few Github repos around with examples of how to interface with the gateway. I have mine on an IOT VLAN which is completely locked down and it works just fine. I.e. nothing calling back to some Chinese server, everything is local. Requires a little bit of faffing around to put the gateway into "dev" mode but once that is done it is pretty straight forward.

 

Good luck.


davidcole
6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #1858986 5-Sep-2017 14:15
Send private message

amanzi:

 

SumnerBoy:

 

Yep, got the gateway as well. Have a little python script which listens for broadcasts from the gateway and transposes them to MQTT messages, which OH subscribes to. 

 

Find the Xiaomi stuff very very good. Cheap, reliable, and so far the battery life seems pretty good.

 

 

Thanks! Just starting my HA adventures and trying to keep things cheap at the moment.

 

 

If you have a raspberry pi(s) already, whacking on a DHT22 sensor is about as cheap as you can go, just $4 for the sensor, and hack together some code (although I already have some that reads one of these and posts it to MQTT). 

 

But if you don't have some PIs, that's a farily expensive way to do it.

 

 





Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server
Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight 


 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.