21–27 of 27 posts
Coincidentally, I bought an ESP32 (ESP-WROOM-32 Rev1)[0] last month, and have a bluetooth toothbrush and a couple of Amazon Smart Plugs. I guess you could make your own brushing compliance system with an alarm, and add a camera plus CV to detect an absence of motion to prevent basic cheating. 0. https://www.ebay.com/itm/262809348271 It's probably not the best or cheapest available.
My espresso machine turns on my coffee grinder. No wifi/bluetooth/etc. Just bad EMI immunity.
Can this really be true? Can you explain more about what exactly is going on? Your grinder must be controlled via a microcontroller (and your espresso machine must make the FCC cry?)? My grinder is a simple physical on/off switch that’s directly wired to the motor.
The espresso machine has no low voltage electronics, it is basically just switches, thermostats, a heater, a pump and and a valve. It has two inductive components, a pump and a solenoid valve with no protection. This is a recipe for huge amount of EMI when the devices are turned off (when inductive component is turned off at a right time the voltage rises and can cause spark and high voltage that is applied to the outlet).
Since the grinder is connected to an outlet close by it is subject to EMI. I have not looked inside the grinder but there there are components like thyristors and triacs which are used to keep a device turned on until it decides otherwise, that can get turned on by EMI. Generating enough voltage can cause a thyristor or triac to turn on by itself which is then enough to keep it turned on and cause the device to wake itself up without the user pressing the button.
I will also add that I have two versions of the grinder. Only the older one is affected by the problem. I find it likely somebody spotted and fixed the problem (it is extremely easy to fix just as it is extremely easy to overlook).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who's done lots of automation and lived with a spouse that isn't as enthusiastic about it, one of the key things to think about is intuitiveness. The setup of "automatically adjusts lighting based on finishing brushing teeth before bed" could easily be "the bedroom lights do random and frustrating things when I'm trying to get ready for bed". The problem is complex interactions are hard to see, like what h…
What I'd probably do is use it to control lights in the bathroom. You're supposed to brush for at least some amount of time, change the color of the lights as you approach that time.
It also apparently grades how well I clean my teeth, but that appears to be based purely on 1 star per 30 seconds, up to 5 stars.
When I saw the title I was prepared for a great hack. Something that truly belonged on Hacker News. But this seems a lot more lame. "I made lighting controlled by a ESP32, then put it inside the brush and connected the button to it." But reading the twitter replies further down the chain, it seems the toothbrush sends data to the charging base, and the ESP resides there and analyzes the signals sent to the base? Much…
My espresso machine turns on my coffee grinder. No wifi/bluetooth/etc. Just bad EMI immunity.
Coincidentally, I bought an ESP32 (ESP-WROOM-32 Rev1)[0] last month, and have a bluetooth toothbrush and a couple of Amazon Smart Plugs. I guess you could make your own brushing compliance system with an alarm, and add a camera plus CV to detect an absence of motion to prevent basic cheating. 0. https://www.ebay.com/itm/262809348271 It's probably not the best or cheapest available.
Camera in bathroom.. let's hope you don't get a lot of visitors.