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Home Assistant Presence Simulation

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Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#11

Post by Rebelgecko »

bloopernova wrote: post #6

Slightly related, please forgive the offtopicness: has anyone implemented a DIY UWB location base + beacon/tag? I ask because my neurodivergent wife loses things, and often Tile either doesn't work or isn't load enough. I read that UWB promises 10cm² or 10cm³ accuracy, which would be ideal for finding lost stuff. I've seen a couple of commercial offerings, but they didn't have pricing.

I used some Decawave kits ~a decade ago and they worked pretty well... however if you want to DIY something as usable as Airtags I think the main struggle would be getting the package compact and with low power consumption (unless you want to track large things and are fine with a chonky battery)

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#12

Post by Fokamul »

Hm I'm not sure if this helps. Because thieves will first knock on doors, even for tens of minutes. Ring etc. Normally people will open and thief will say some BS and go away.

Cameras with backup power and backup internet connection is your first priority.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#13

Post by joshstrange »

Just a note to anyone interested in trying out Home Assistant:

It's amazing _but_ do NOT use a raspberry pi to run it. Save yourself a ton of headaches and buy a mini pc (there was a list of used mini pcs posted here yesterday from ebay). Also I recommend using HAOS (or whatever the "we install and run the whole OS" option is called) so that you can use things like plugins without messing around with docker. I love docker but trust me, life is easier on HAOS.

I liked HA but felt like it wasn't really "stable". I used a Pi 3 for a while, then a Pi 4 decked out (highest ram, NVME storage, super nice case, etc) and still felt like it was unstable. I chalked this up to HA but then rolled the dice on a Beelink mini pc and it has been rock solid ever since. Also don't be misled by the lower price of the Pi, I paid more for my Pi 4 setup than the Beelink (or about the same).

I blamed everything from the Zigbee/Z-wave dongles, to HAOS, to HA itself, etc but in the end it was RPi. The 4 was the last Pi I'll ever buy.

EDIT: I was in a hurry and didn't add my normal disclaimer when I talk about the RPi's:

Yes I know some of you have a Pi 1 that been running you entire life since it first came out and you think I'm full of crap. I've owned every Pi 1-4 and never been truly happy with them. I bought them "raw" and sourced all the parts myself, I bought high-end (at least in price) kits with everything included, I bought all official accessories (like power), they always were just that little bit unstable.

It would work great for days/weeks then randomly not be reachable (wired or wireless). I spent just shy of $200 for my last "builds" which included a NVME drive (240G, lest you think this is where the cost was), RPi case, RPi NVME hat, RPi 4 8gb model, SD card, power, etc and the result was still instability. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe I'm a moron but my experience with them has not been great. That said I want to love them and I loved my RPi 1B even with all it's warts, a $35 "credit card sized" computer was awesome. Maybe I just don't want to tinker as much anymore and value stability.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#15

Post by vaindil »

joshstrange wrote: post #13

Just a note to anyone interested in trying out Home Assistant: It's amazing _but_ do NOT use a raspberry pi to run it. Save yourself a ton of headaches and buy a mini pc (there was a list of used mini pcs posted here yesterday from ebay). Also I recommend using HAOS (or whatever the "we install and run the whole OS" option is called) so that you can use things like plugins without messing around with docker. I love d…

Counterpoint: I've been running HAOS on an RPi 2 and 3 for several years without a single issue, and I do use a z-wave dongle but no Zigbee. I only do basic stuff with it (a few automations for my z-wave thermostat and switches, AdGuard Home), but it's been rock solid for me.

I only had issues once, when I tried to run the Unifi Network Application addon. A RPi is not strong enough for that, but I just uninstalled it and moved on.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#16

Post by gedy »

joshstrange wrote: post #13

Just a note to anyone interested in trying out Home Assistant: It's amazing _but_ do NOT use a raspberry pi to run it. Save yourself a ton of headaches and buy a mini pc (there was a list of used mini pcs posted here yesterday from ebay). Also I recommend using HAOS (or whatever the "we install and run the whole OS" option is called) so that you can use things like plugins without messing around with docker. I love d…

I mostly agree, but found that HA isn't too bad on Pi if you don't continuously update the versions even if it suggests. I had a lot of trouble keeping a stable system until I just ignored them until I really needed to install on new system, etc.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#17

Post by shimon »

jeroenhd wrote: post #9
dharbin wrote: post #5

Can it automate a cutout of Michael Jordan attached to a model train set?

You jest, but with an ESP32 flashed with ESPHome and a few dollars of electronics to regulate the power, I think controlling model trains would actually be quite doable. Your biggest challenge is probably dealing with network/scripting latency for events that need to happen in quick succession, like when dealing with switches. Or, if you consider Lego DUPLO trains to be model trains, there's this: https://community.h…

In many cases, a simple off-the-shelf smart plug would suffice.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#18

Post by domrdy »

joshstrange wrote: post #13

Just a note to anyone interested in trying out Home Assistant: It's amazing _but_ do NOT use a raspberry pi to run it. Save yourself a ton of headaches and buy a mini pc (there was a list of used mini pcs posted here yesterday from ebay). Also I recommend using HAOS (or whatever the "we install and run the whole OS" option is called) so that you can use things like plugins without messing around with docker. I love d…

Or a 2012 MacMini, $~90 on ebay. Quiet, small form factor, runs Linux.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#19

Post by ewoodrich »

shimon wrote: post #17
jeroenhd wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You jest, but with an ESP32 flashed with ESPHome and a few dollars of electronics to regulate the power, I think controlling model trains would actually be quite doable. Your biggest challenge is probably dealing with network/scripting latency for events that need to happen in quick succession, like when dealing with switches. Or, if you consider Lego DUPLO trains to be model trains, there's this: https://community.h…

In many cases, a simple off-the-shelf smart plug would suffice.

That's why I try as hard as I can to find either truly "dumb" devices with mechanical switches vs momentary buttons or devices that remember their last state after A/C power is restored. Hard to figure out the second option though without trying it unless a review happens to mention it specifically.

Re: Home Assistant Presence Simulation

#20

Post by Geezus_42 »

Fokamul wrote: post #12

Hm I'm not sure if this helps. Because thieves will first knock on doors, even for tens of minutes. Ring etc. Normally people will open and thief will say some BS and go away. Cameras with backup power and backup internet connection is your first priority.

Funny because I never answer my door when anyone knocks. If you're knocking on my door it's because I don't know you, which means I probably don't want to talk to you. Anyone who knows me knows to call or text before they come by.
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